falling... part three

while i was in the hospital, i had made a flurry of calls and texts to people - one of whom was my mom. we decided to have her fly out to help take care of me. after my boyfriend brought me home and made sure i was comfortable and cared for, he headed out to the airport to pick her up. it was great to have her around, especially because she cleaned up and restocked my shelves. and it meant my boyfriend could go back to work the next day while my mom stayed with me.

she came with me to my primary care physician for a quick check and referral to a few doctors who could fix my broken nose. and she came with me to the ENT a few days later, too. i was pretty nervous to see him because i didn't like my options - i am not a huge fan of being knocked out with anesthesia (even if its only minor surgery!), but i'm also not a fan of having a crooked nose! the doctor finally came in, gave me a quick look over, and said that the good news was that my fracture was not severe. my nose would probably heal slightly crooked, but he said it would be subtle and it wouldn't affect my breathing or sinuses at all. BUT it would be crooked. he suggested that i have the surgery to fix the break, but said that ultimately it was my choice. i was happy for a moment - i could choose! and then he said that i had to choose right then. "right this second?" i asked, i couldn't believe it. "yes," he said, "we have to schedule the surgery right away, so you have to decide right now." in that moment i was overwhelmed. and burst into tears. yep, full on water works in 1.2 seconds.

my tears seemed to soften the doctor a bit, because he said that he would give me 5 minutes to think it over while he saw another patient. i was thankful, but it was hard to think out all of the pros and cons in such a short time - especially because i kept being distracted by how little time i had! in retrospect it doesn't seem like such a difficult decision, but i just was so resistant to the surgery because of the anesthesia. eventually, the doctor returned and i told him i would undergo the surgery (although i was thinking i could back out if i felt like i needed to!). i think he could tell by my face that i wasn't 100% committed, but he gave me the information i needed and i went to the front desk to make my appointment.

i had to wait a few days for the surgery, and i actually healed quite quickly in the meantime. i can understand why i needed to schedule the surgery right away. i still was pretty rough to look at, my boyfriend affectionately referring to me as "stacy-stein". but i continued to heal and got my strength back a little more each day. about a week after falling down the stairs, i returned to my primary care physician to get my stitches taken out, and after that i looked even more like myself!