Trixology
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: elagache on December 23, 2022, 11:35:33 PM
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Dear WeatherCat faithful,
Well here we are, two days before Christmas. With all that was going on, I hadn't planned on making a Biquette card. However, in mid-November I reconsidered. While going through old photos of Biquette I ended up finding a sequence that captured my year and what I was feeling at the time:
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Biquette/Photos-of-Biquette/2022-Christmas-card/i-fWsvrH4/0/38883376/XL/2022%20card%20scanned%20image-XL.jpg) (https://canebas.smugmug.com/Biquette/Photos-of-Biquette/2022-Christmas-card/i-fWsvrH4/A)
It is very hard to describe the experience of the facial surgeries that I have gone though. Beyond the suffering and misery is the feeling of violation: Will I ever feel like a normal human being again?
Nonetheless, this story may yet have a happy ending. After struggling with breathing throughout this year-long ordeal, I had a 7th surgery on my nose last Friday (December 16th.) This surgery worked on both sides of my nose at once. The skin graft on the left side was thinned to open up the nostril on that side. There was some scar tissue on the right side that was acting as a valve flap which was removed at the same time.
The surgery itself was hard and the first few days were difficult. However this past Wednesday, I had the stitches removed. At the same time, stints that were inserted to support the each nostril while they were healing were also removed. All of a sudden I could breathe again! I have to be careful to make sure no new scar tissue is formed that would block the nostrils once more. However 7 days after the surgery, it is looking like the end of the this ordeal might be finally within reach!
Thanks to everyone for your support and prayers during this very long year!
Edouard
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I hope you feel better. by the way, those were not "stints" they are called "stents" Sorry I am married to a college English professor for the past 45 years. and yes, she has been known to correct signs in stores.
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Thanks for the updates, Edouard! Looks like you can smell the odors at the end of the tunnel. er. . . something like that. It’s so cold here the ISS only sends data every 20 minutes!
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Great news Edouard. I am really happy for you.
To the rest of you WeatherCatters around the world, I wish you a sincere Merry Christmas and let's hope the New Year is an improvement on the old one.
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Thanks Weatheraardvark, X-Air, and Blick for your well wishes!
By the way, those were not "stints" they are called "stents"
Actually, thank you very much! I suspected I was misspelling the word, but couldn't think of an easy way to find the correct spelling.
To the rest of you WeatherCatters around the world, I wish you a sincere Merry Christmas
x2!!
let's hope the New Year is an improvement on the old one.
I suppose we can all hope for that, but better still, perhaps we all should hope in a really BIG way and aim instead directly for the Second Coming!! (https://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Forum_support_documents/Custom_emoticons/Angelic_smiley_small.gif)
Cheers, Edouard [cheers1]
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I’m glad to read that things are looking up, Edouard!
Stay warm, everyone, and enjoy your holidays
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Dear WeatherCat faithful,
Sorry to have not kept folks informed but I have been dragging since the surgery of December 16th. I'm still having considerable difficulty breathing through my nose. It did appear to be getting worse even. Back on March 1st, I sent to see the reconstructive surgeon because I was still bringing up bits of blood from my nose. Sadly, the scar tissue that was removed in the surgery of December 16th had reformed because the stint in the right nostril was removed too early. So that is the explanation for the worsening breathing on that side. The skin graft on the left side continues to be very restrictive.
So in a clear about face, the surgeon decided to try one more time to improve my breathing in both nostrils. However, his success has resulted in him being seriously backlogged. The earliest surgery date that was available was April 21st. Well, time has gone by and the 21st is this Friday. This time, the stints will be left in for 2-3 weeks to make sure the scar tissue on the right side doesn't form again.
Of course I'm not very happy about this, but I really have no choice. I simply cannot breath very well at this point and I'm putting saline almost hourly to keep my nostrils open. I really need to at least get the right nostril working more normally.
Assuming nothing goes wrong, this would have to be the last surgery. Whatever the results, I'll have to live with it. Still, definitely not looking forward to going under the knife for an 8th time.
I would appreciate your positive thoughts and prayers as Friday closes in.
Thanks for your support.
Edouard
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You are on my list. Seems to be a lot of prayer needs this year. Apparently, I'm not the only one getting older!!
I did get a good report from my cardiologist last week. I guess my cramming for the tests helped!! [lol]
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Edouard, thanks for the update. This has been a terrible ordeal for you. Let's hope tomorrow goes well! You are in my prayers.
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Thanks X-Air and Blick for the prayers and well wishes,
This procedure isn't exactly starting off on the right foot. CVS botched the COVID test so I barely got the results to the surgery center on time. Then at 2pm this afternoon the surgery center decided to move my start time tomorrow from 10:45 to 6am! Fortunately, I was able to adjust my transportation, but that's asking a lot of a patient on such short notice! At least I won't have to fast for as long.
Thanks again,
Edouard
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6am there is not so bad. That would be 8am here. [lol] [rolleyes2]
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Fortunately, I was able to adjust my transportation, but that's asking a lot of a patient on such short notice! At least I won't have to fast for as long.
At this point, you take any good news you can get. Hang in there.
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Good luck with it Edouard!
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Dear X-Air, Blick, Stu and WeatherCat faithful,
Thanks for the prayers and good wishes. This surgery went considerably better than the December one. No problems with nausea from the anesthesia and last night wasn't as tough as the first night after the December surgery. The plastic surgeon succeeded in opening up left nostril where the skin graft is. That turns out to be especially appreciated since he had to block the right nostril in order make sure the scar tissue that he removed doesn't form once more.
All in all, I'm in as good a shape as can be expected from this sort of surgery. The situation looks promising after a day. It is hopefully onward and upward from here.
Thanks for your support!
Edouard
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"It is hopefully onward and upward from here." Usually said after a takeoff from what we called a runway in the jungles of 'Nam! [lol]
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Terrific initial report, Edouard!
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Dear WeatherCat faithful,
Alas, I am continuing to have health misfortunes. In mid-April, I was diagnosed with a hernia. It was not too serious, so I couldn't get an appointment with the surgeon until mid-May. However before I could schedule that surgery, a routine skin check turned up a melanoma tumor on my left ear. A melanoma had been removed from that ear in 2021, so the concern is that the melanoma had come back and may have spread. That triggered a more aggressive response. I was sent to an oncologist and surgeon of the head and neck. He will remove the new tumor on my ear, but he will also do what is called a nodal biopsy. To do this, they will inject a radioactive tracer in the area of the tumor the day before. That tracer will be carried to lymph node in my neck where any cancer would have spread. The surgeon will remove that node identified by the tracer and have it checked for melanoma. If there isn't any cancer in the lymph node, hopefully they will have solved the problem. If there is, then more cancer treatments will be necessary.
The surgery is this Friday the 16th, so I would appreciate if folks could keep me in your thoughts and prayers.
Thanks for your support,
Edouard
P.S. Somehow the hernia will have to be repaired sometime after that.
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Thanks for keeping us in the loop Edouard. You are in my prayers and I am joining you in hoping for the best possible outcome. Cancer is no fun .
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Adding you to my daily prayer list... again! :P
You have confirmed my philosophy of avoiding doctors. [banghead] Their offices are always full of sick people!! [rolleyes2]
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Dear Blick, X-Air, and WeatherCat faithful,
Thanks for your prayers and well wishes.
I got home from the surgery center about 2-1/2 hours ago. The doctor thought the procedure went well and he thought he did a good job reconstructing that ear. It has been already damaged by removing the first melanoma and a basal cell tumor back in the autumn of 2021. I hope he actually made some improvements over what it looked like before.
So it is time to recover and wait for the biopsy results next week.
Thanks again,
Edouard
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Great report. Let's hope the biopsy report and ear appearance follow suit.
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Dear WeatherCat faithful,
I had a one week follow-up appointment with the doctor who removed my melanoma from my left ear. The news is mostly good, but not quite. Most importantly, the cancer had not spread into my lymph system and he successfully removed the tumor from my ear with clear edges. However, the skin that he removed had some additional "noninvasive melanoma" spots on the tip of my ear. I didn't even know there was such a thing as "noninvasive melanoma" until this appointment. Apparently it is the very early start of melanoma before it can get harmful. As such it doesn't require a quick response. Alas, it still has to be removed and can only be removed by the same sort of surgery under general anesthesia. The doctor wants to wait a few months so the ear can get fully healed up. My ear is so badly damaged at this point that a skin graft may be needed to repair it for this subsequent surgery.
In the meantime, the doctor cleared me to go ahead the surgery to repair my hernia. It is scheduled for the second week of August. My poor body sure is being pushed very hard by all these surgeries. I sure hope these doctors know what they are doing, because I'm already feeling exhausted.
Still, I guess I cannot complain too much given how much worse things could have turned out. I'll hold the course and take the blows as they come.
Thanks for your support!
Edouard
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Thank you for sharing this summary of your cancer adventure. It is a blessing to have access to modern medical technology. I will continue to add my faith and prayers on your behalf.
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Thanks for the good news! ThU5:-) As for your ears, perhaps a "new fashion look" would help! Here are a couple of suggestions. Apparently, your choice of necklace is also important!
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Thanks Blick and X-Air for your prayers and positive thoughts!
As for your ears, perhaps a "new fashion look" would help! Here are a couple of suggestions.
*Sigh*, Definitely not my cup of tea. However, once this is all said and done, I might indeed allow my hair to be a little longer around my ears. I'm sure it would cheaper and less painful than any sort of cosmetic plastic surgery!
Thanks again,
Edouard
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Dear WeatherCat community,
July has come and past and the melanoma surgeon was pleased with how my ear healed from that surgery. The time has come to finally repair the hernia that was diagnosed all the way back at the beginning of May. That surgery is scheduled at 7am this upcoming Tuesday. The family health situation has further degraded so basically I had little choice but hire some home care giving services for all of next week. I've never had abdominal surgery before, but judging from the heavy-duty pain medications, it cannot be anything but a serious body-blow. Unfortunately, i haven't really recovered from the previous surgeries and am already feeling exhausted. Definitely not the best situation to be in before a major surgery like this.
So, I would like to ask you-all to keep me in your thoughts and prayers,
Thanks for your support!
Edouard
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You are in my daily prayers. 👍 I would also recommend some visits to your favorite high-priced restaurant! 😋
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Thanks X-Air for your prayers and support,
I would also recommend some visits to your favorite high-priced restaurant! 😋
Well, I’m not supposed to drive for about a week. So instead we will be having dinner from some of our favorite restaurants delivered. Next best thing!
Edouard
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You are in my prayers for a safe surgery and quick recovery. You've had your share of medical adventures. Let's keep this one safe and simple.
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Dear Blick and WeatherCat faithful,
You are in my prayers for a safe surgery and quick recovery. You've had your share of medical adventures. Let's keep this one safe and simple.
Regrettably, indeed I am way over my quota of medical misfortunes. Thanks to you and everyone for your concern and prayers. Yesterday's surgery went off without a hitch and I was home by 10am or so. There was some discomfort yesterday, but that has already calmed down. The prescribed pain medication is giving me some trouble with lightheadedness. However, I'm feeling almost no pain, so side-effect seems like a small price to pay.
We are lucky to have a caregiver assigned to us this week who is a nice and capable woman. So we seem to be in as good a shape as could be expected given the situation. I'll be taking it easy until the first part of next week. We will have groceries delivered this week and will have meals delivered from local restaurants until at least Thursday.
That's the situation after 24 hours. Thanks again.
Edouard
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Great!! ThU5:-) Are you notching your cane with each surgery?! [rolleyes2] You'll know if you need to cancel future surgeries when the cane breaks!! cmu:-) 😱