I don't know if I broke my nose, or if it was genetics or both, but I had a NOSE. It didn't just have a deviated septum and a large hump, the tip was not supported and hung very low. According to the Dr. this would have continued to drop with age, and...well, it was already distorted plenty for my liking.
I'd never really thought of plastic surgery before. I accepted me for who I was. A man approached me on an airplane once and commented on my beautiful Roman nose, not to mention my husband being attracted to me as well. But something cool happens at my age. In addition to having a feeling of absolute contentment, I didn't care what anyone thought of me. I also realized I wanted to fix my nose for ME. With Paul's support, I went under the knife. The Dr. did a decent job reconstructing my nose.
I often think back and wonder about this time in my life. Did opening up my face in the operating room somehow re-wire my immune system or jump start it into overdrive? I suspect this was THE moment. But I have no way of proving it. Geez...I can't even prove I'm sick with a deadly disease right now. I can't prove that if I continue to live this way, without treatment, I will die within five years. I KNOW this... I just can't prove it, yet.
After my nose surgery, about 8 months later, I developed a terrible hip problem. It was a deep pain, sometimes sharp pain, always an ache, and sometimes it burned on top of it all. I used left over surgery medication to help me walk without pain. This lasted for months. I finally went to see a bone Dr. The pain wasn't so present that morning, but it was such an intense pain for months, surely he would see something on the x-rays. Nope, nothing. The Dr. returned to the exam room to tell me how perfect my hip structure was, all the while looking at me a little sideways. I don't know if he thought I was looking for medication or if he just thought I was crazy, but I felt d-u-m-b. Paul and I walked out of there, relieved that I did't have anything wrong with my hips.
When the hip pain left for a few months and then returned for a while I wasn't worried. I had perfect hips! The following year, I developed strep throat for the first time in my life. Forty years old and I had strep throat for the first time! It wasn't just any strep throat, it was an infection that would take 60 days and three rounds of antibiotics to finally get rid of. Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous.
I was glad to get rid of the throat infection when my ear began to throb, and throb, and HURT. I worked through it for a few weeks, and finally went to the Dr. again. This time, he suggested decongestants. It was cold and flu season, so I had no reason to suspect anything other than I had caught a bug. I had no reason to suspect this might be related to my hip pain. I simply didn't know. Using decongestants to relieve the clogged Eustachian tube did the trick that spring. I popped them every day to avoid the build up.
Fast forward a year and this is where the story really begins in October 2010 with the foot pain. I can pretend the story starts there, but I know deep down that it goes further back. Very likely as far back as my nose surgery. I could be wrong. The truth is, it doesn't really matter when or what started it. I just need to find treatment now. Maybe once I'm on a road to recovery, I can let the cause take up space in my mind. It might help the fight against Wegener's someday. But for today, it's just an interesting thought that I have.
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