Going Under The Knife…I Mean Balloon

Woo-hoo, it’s over! The anticipation of a surgery looming is the worst. I’m glad it’s over and thankful that it went well. My doctor says the everything went great, except for the fact that I seemed to have a high amount of bleeding. Not sure if I really needed to know that or not. But other than that, he seems optimistic that it will relieve most of my sinus headaches.

It’s very strange that a tiny balloon (think angioplasty) can make that much difference. And it’s strange that by looking at me, you can’t tell I just had surgery. Although my post-anesthesia, loopiness might give something away. Coming out of full anesthesia is one of the most bizarre things. As I was in the recovery room and was back and forth from sleep to alert, I remember feeling like Darth Vadar with huge, ginormous arms. The oxygen mask must have been the Darth Vadar issue, but I'm not sure about the huge arms. So weird??

The recovery from the surgery is supposed to be relatively easy. I’m still pretty tired and a little uncomfortable, but that should go away soon. The hardest part is that I’m not supposed to lift more than 10 lbs. for a week and then no more than 20 lbs. the next week. Ummmmm…since Tate is 30 lbs. these days, I’m not sure how that is going to work. He may be learning some new climbing tricks.

Now I’m supposed to rest with as little activity as possible. Thank goodness for laptops, because there is really nothing good on TV, and I can’t take much more of the news coverage about the South Carolina governor’s rendezvous in Argentina. Maybe I’ll finally get our vacation pictures from last month posted.

I’m so very thankful for the blessings of modern medicine and sweet family and friends!

A Brief Escape Into Denial

Denial: a. the refusal to accept or believe something. b. blogging while in the midst of a swarm of moving boxes and/or dirty diapers two days prior to surgery.

I am in denial. I really, really should be wiping down a few areas with anti-bac wipes for the umpteenth time or unpacking the umpteenth box of the day. Instead, I’m blogging. That’s clear denial folks.

Even though this is the first “real” day for me in the house we moved into a week ago, I feel the need to show just a little love to the blog and document the chaos that is our life right now. Surely, it will provide for great perspective later on when things have slowed down.

Wade wrote a play-by-play of everything leading up to the last week here. Since then, we added a wonderful out-of-town trip for me. I had a great time seeing my friend Paige play a very convincing and conniving Lady Macbeth at the Arkansas Shakespeare Festival (you must go see it if you live in the area) and getting to see sweet Anna’s Preschool graduation.

While I was away, Wade got to suffer solo through 3 days of yet another stomach bug for Tate. Poor guy. He hasn’t had one single ear infection or even had to be on antibiotics a day in his life, but I have completely lost count of the number of tummy problems he’s had. This one is specifically working its way out in the lower areas, so the diaper rash is even worse than the ailment itself. So sad. Hopefully the combination of rice, yogurt, toast, probiotic supplement, and SmartWater (has electrolytes) will get him on the mends quickly.

And all of my catch-up blog posts may be coming soon as it looks as if I’ve got some forced down time ahead. After years and years of pretty intense sinus headaches and infections, it’s been recommended that I get a surgery that will hopefully fix the problem. So later this week, I’m going under full anesthesia to have someone “break my brain bones.” Wade just loves when I say that! :)

It’s really not that dramatic, but the outpatient surgery is called balloon sinuplasty. I’ve got to stop reading about it online, because I’m freaking myself out a tad. Or maybe it was the waiver I signed about the possibilities of even worse problems, facial deformity, and/or death. That’s always helpful in alleviating any fears.

Need to get back to those boxes and diapers. So until next time, we are all surviving over here and are remaining thankful for the blessings of a new home (even if it is a complete wreck still) and the opportunities for relief modern medicine will hopefully provide soon.

Goodbye denial. I’ll miss you.

Coming Attractions

It's only June 9, but I'm pretty sure I can confidently say that June is/will be a complete blur for the Strzinek family. I need to take a blogging break to keep up with real life, but just to entice you to come back for more, here are the sneak previews:

Gulf Shores Vacation

Tate 2.5

Saying Goodbye To Our 1st House

Summer Spectacular

My Friend, Lady Macbeth

Going Under The Knife...I Mean Balloon

Freelancing Around Town

"I Ride The Train!"

That is the quote that I've heard quite possibly more than 100 times in the last 48 hours. The rest of the conversation usually goes like this:

M: Yes Tate, we did ride the choo-choo train.
T: I go under bridge.
M: We did go under a bridge.
T: I go under another bridge.
M: Yes, there were big bridges and little bridges.
T: I see the waterfall. I ride the train.

You get the point. Tate had the time of his life riding on the Forest Park Miniature Train for the first time this past weekend. I wondered if the 40-minute ride would be too long, but I really think he could've done the whole loop two or three times. He loved it, and we all three had a great time.

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