So, probably wondering, what’s up with the blog there, Trista? It’s been a while since we’ve heard from you.
I’m still here. The end of the year kinda went off the rails a teensy bit and blogging took a backseat. Apologies.
2017 was going along all normal-like until around late summer when things started to get a bit cray-cray behind the screen.
The hubs threw us a curve ball and after 20 years at Dallas City Hall, decided to take a LOOK at a new job. Whaaaaa?! Him even LOOKING at a job is a colossally big deal.
For the months he was interviewing I couldn’t say a peep, but knew there was a possibility that we would have to move. Move out of the house we just built, the pool we just put in, the neighborhood we love, the friends we adore…. I was excited for him, but at the same time, it made me sick with worry about the potential for having to find a new school for the little: charter schools, private schools, public schools, and that lead to campus tours, school interviews, etc. All of which seemed to begin in November and December.
Yeah, so of course he got the job. It’s such a great opportunity for him, he was perfect for it, and he was so much happier from the very moment he got the offer. Even so, we were all in a bit of shock that this “maybe” was now a solid reality and we had this grand new adventure on our horizon. All those things I had been obsessing over were actually set into motion.
In the middle of all that, he turned 50. Yeah, we’re old people, but we have no time for a mid-life crisis, but we did throw a great party.
December came on the heels of him starting his new gig and his new decade, and with it all the holiday madness of planning the company Christmas party and client gifts and company coming, I was meeting with school administrators and scheduling a shadow day, and dashing to a soccer tournament, rec games, and, and… it’s no wonder I wasn’t feeling so Christmassy this year. I actually put off decorating until like the 14th or 15th. I had the house littered with bins of ornaments and pine garland — and then things got bloody. For reals.
Between house hunting and Christmas shopping, I started having a series of massive bloody noses, with one finally landing me in the ER that followed with 5 days of packing in my nose, and an RX for Hydrocodone that merely laughed at the pain. I know, I’ve heard all the cute stories of how, “Oh, my so and so gets bloody noses.” And, “You just have to pinch it to make it stop.” I appreciate those helpful stories, but trust me when I say this is so extra. I’m talking about filling 7 tampons from my nose within a couple of minutes kind of bloody nose. It’s stressful, exhausting, and super scary, and that y’all, was my Christmas break.
Thankfully, I have an amazeballs friend who dashed over at a seconds notice for several of these daily episodes to help me. She took me to the ER, and not only sat with me for 5 hours while they shoved the balloon all the way up to my brain or so it felt like it, she put on rubber gloves, wiped my face and held the bucket for me to choke the blood out into. Everyone should be lucky enough to have a friend like Anna.
If you saw me over break, you may have wondered why my face was so swollen (that’s why) or why my nose was always running (just one side) or that I was clutching a tissue the whole time (and praying it wasn’t bleeding), or looked a snowy shade of ash white. No, I didn’t have the flu but I certainly didn’t want it (can you EVEN imagine that on TOP of this?!), or to have a public reveal of my condition, so I gladly hid out at home. Although with the help of my sweet parents and friends, we still managed to have our yearly tradition of 23 guests over for Christmas dinner without incident. When my parents left, I basically slept for three days solid. Overall, the timing was actually pretty good because I was able to recover at a really slow time of year so there’s that.
Listen, this has been a big inconvenience and lifestyle-cramping thing with the no exercise, no lifting ban, but it’s nothing like what I’m seeing my friends go through with cancer treatments and the loss of loved ones and I’m keeping that 100% in perspective. I have an amazing doctor who is taking great care of me. The schnoz is on the mend and has been cauterized 4 times, (yes, is somewhat painful and not so pretty when the blood dries so forgive me if it’s unsightly). I can almost breathe fully again and I’ve only a couple of minor bloodies since. (Touch wood.)
Here’s where I know you can’t help but want to diagnose me, now that you have this information. Why did it happen???
Well, quite frankly, I’m prone it as I have really thin (insert anatomical word for nose lining). My Dad struggles with same, but not nearly as severe. Ironically, he just had his nose caurterized last month right before he came to visit us. And yes, I’ve had all my blood work checked, twice. I’m totally fine. No, I don’t drink a lot. Frankly, I wish I did. And yes, my husband thinks the jokes about recreational drug use are hilarious. I do not. I don’t find anything about that funny.
Yes, it’s happened before. About 5 years ago, I had a blood vessel in this same side of my nose burst and spent 3 days in the hospital with cement in it to pressurize it to make it stop. That time it was triggered by a reaction to Flonase compounded by slight dehydration. Why this time? Not totally sure but suspect I ran myself ragged with stress and again, not staying properly hydrated. The weather changed (I know this because I had great hair for about 2 weeks) and BAM. Sometimes God has to do something drastic to make you take a break when you flat out ignore common sense.
Fast forward to today – my first day back to normalcy. YAY! We’ve been house hunting and I *think* we’re close to putting in an offer, we are ready to submit school applications, and overall we are looking forward to 2018 but not the packing bit. As you might guess, tissues in hand for just in case, I’ll be sharing features on wellness and self-care (I can’t wait to tell you about my new obsession with Neilmed and Bkr), organizing and purging, moving and decorating, and whatever else 2018 offers to send our way.
Happy New Year! It’s great to be back!!!
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