Keepin' the nose clean

Shayla saw Dr. Beck as a follow-up again on Wednesday of this week (it's Friday today) and was given yet another clean bill of health! I don't know how many people understand what that means, when an ENT looks in your nose, but it is not a pretty site to see! It's gotta be worse than seeing someone pick their nose...well, maybe not that bad. And Longsuffering Shayla, she sits there and lets anyone gawk up her nose that wants to get a look!

I realized today that there is one side effect from the tumor removal surgery that others may not understand and be a bit 'grossed out' by; since a nerve had to be cut during the surgery, she has no feeling on the left side of her face from about mid-lip, up to her under-eye area. And, since she no longer has the multiple chambers of the sinus cavity in her left sinus, it drips almost constantly. Put those two together, and sometimes she doesn't realize she has a drip sitting above her lip until it actually gets to her lip. So, don't be embarrassed to point out that she may want to wipe her nose. Wouldn't you like to know if you were going to have an unwanted drop of anything fall from your nose to your mouth?? Pretty unappetizing to say the least!

Shayla is adjusting to school life better than expected at this point. She is attending early morning seminary (a HUGE thing all by itself) and starting to engage in life again. The one thing we will checking out a the beginning of next month is her light sensitivity. She finds it blinding to look at the overhead projector screen in her classes and spends a lot of time with her head down to protect her eyes. Her teachers think she is not paying attention. She is just trying to protect her eyes.

Next scans: yes, we have scans coming up February 2nd. All are expected to be clean, just the 'routine' chest x-ray and MRI. She will meet with Dr. Whitfield (opthalmologist) the same day,then we meet with Dr. Chang again the 5th to get the reports.