Under the Knife

I continue to prepare for my climb this spring, sometimes consciously and other times not.  
I had not consciously planned to buy prescription sunglasses the day I dropped the kids at the theater with the grandmas.  But there I headed, to Eye Health NW where I ordered a pair of cute Oakley prescription sunglasses.  I would surely go snow blind without them.  Sunglasses hadn’t even made it to my to-do list yet, but check…done.  

Another preparation, though very conscious and much deliberated, is my decision is to have a septoplasty to correct a deviated septum so I can breathe through my nose. 

I wrote about it last September here.

Did I mention that it’s tomorrow?

Tomorrow I will be put under anesthesia for the first time ever.  A tube will be threaded down my throat and a machine will breathe for me during the 2 ½ hour surgery.  This freaks me out beyond words.  Though I need this surgery, it is elective.  I could call now and cancel.  I could even call in the morning to cancel.  But I won’t.  I need to breathe through my nose.

When the fear of not waking up from surgery freezes my heart, I brush past quick and force myself to block the thoughts I know will only drive me to panic.  The kids don’t need to see me panic.  And I don’t need to panic.  The surgery is a means to an end.   

Goodbye old nose.

I know I won’t be breathing clear for a while though.  The cartilage and tissue will surely need some time to calm down after all the snipping, mashing, and molding.  But by spring, even before spring, I’ll breathe clear for the first time in my life.  And I’ll have a chance to see what my body can do on a steep incline when there’s enough oxygen in my blood.

Here’s a video of a septoplasty if you have the stomach for it.  The surgeon is from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on Bravo, not that I’ve ever watched that show.