i'll have to wear it for the rest of my life

Earlier this month I went to see a facial surgeon about my nose. I had been referred by the ENT doctor. I went to the ENT doctor because one side of my nose is slowly closing and I am at the point where it is making it tough to breathe. I have nightmares where someone tapes my mouth shut and I slowly suffocate because I get so little air. As Richard can tell you, I sound like Darth Vader when I workout; even when I am training 20 times a week and in the best shape of my life. My dentist can also tell you about how my gums are dry due to my mouth breathing all night and they bleed easily because of it. Apparently this is not a good thing.

My nose needs to be 'functionally corrected' due to one of the Miyoshi kids. I think it might have been Jimmy but I'm not sure. When we were in elementary school there was a random snow day or two. One of these days all of us children were sledding on the banks leading to the grass fields. I can't even recall who I was sledding with but we were taking turns sledding down together and then would alternate pulling each other up the bank. On one of my turns to recline in comfort while someone dragged me up the hill I got taken out by a sled coming down the bank. I clearly remember it literally running me over and seeing the underside of the sled. The rest of the details are fuzzy but I remember having a nose bleed and my nose having a scrape on it and being swollen and sore. There were other accidents to my nose, a basketball or two to the face, but the sledding accident was the one that kicked it off.

My septum was shoved over to the left side of my nose and a bump on my bridge formed from scar tissue. This is the one difference between my nose and Rachel's. While I have found out from the plastic surgeons that the bump keeps the end of my nose from looking extremely bulbous it also means I hate my profile.

I've had the septum checked into before. Was told to try nose spray. But over the last 5 or 6 years it has collapsed in even more to the point that the inside walls of my nose are actually touching on my left side.

The ENT took one look in August and told me it needed to be fixed. That the turbines needed to be cauterized too. I asked about taking out the bump at the same time and he referred me to a plastic surgeon for the whole deal. The first surgeon was good and told me all the right things. Then his assistant told me how much it would cost. I figured at these prices I should shop around and make sure I am getting my money's worth. If I have to wear it for the rest of my life I want to make sure I picked the best person to perform the surgery.

Today I went for another consult at a plastic surgery clinic. There were two surgeons; one is retiring and is mentoring the other one for a year. They studied my face intently. They both looked up my nose. They drew diagrams of my nose. They explained in detail how my nose was working functionally and cosmetically. They enjoyed the term bulbous to describe the end of my nose. They normally use the word 'blunt' but it doesn't accurately describe my nose. They agreed the septum needed to be fixed and gave me a detailed explanation of how to fix it. They were great. I looked into their faces and felt confident they would give me something I could wear for the rest of my life.

Of course their quote was higher that the other surgeons. But to quote Pape when I talked about getting a deal on laser eye surgery 'Is surgery really something you want to be saving money on?"

I still need to mull it over. It would mean no travel for the next year and some staycations. The scooter I am daydreaming of buying would have to remain a dream. Might not be able to move out of the current apartment into my own. This means everyone coming for the Games would have to find other accommodations or sleep in my room on the floor.

No answer tonight on this one. To be continued....