Hitting It Right On the Nose

Something that I didn't share from my post earlier about our weekend at my parents, is that it started out with a bang. . . literally.

I had borrowed a cookie cutter from a neighbor a few days prior. As we were packing up the car, she texted me and let me know that she needed it back. I got it and went over to her house to return it. We often borrow things from each other and we just leave the items on each others' porches.

So, I went up her front stairs, and as I neared the top, I slipped (it had been raining and the wooden steps were wet). I reached out to stop myself, but didn't manage to, and slammed my nose into the banister. I heard a horrifying pop, which I am still not sure if it was my teeth slamming together or my nose breaking, either way, it HURT.

Well, actually, at the moment I did it, it didn't hurt at all. To me, the worst injuries I have ever gotten are those that don't hurt right away. I think the flight or fight mechanism and all that kicks in to play. I calmly set the cookie cutter on her front mat, walked back to the car, and got in as if nothing had happened.

I might have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for the very small fact that my nose was puffing up like a biscuit in the oven and M noticed it right away. "Oh, my God, what did you do to your nose?"

You know how when someone reacts to an injury you haven't seen yet, it almost makes it worse, because you imagine it looking AWFUL? Well, that's kind of what happened to me right then, only I was too scared to look. At this point, my body's defense mechanisms were no longer protecting me from the pain and it had really started to hurt. I also started to feel a little light headed.

Now, the car was packed. The house was locked up. We were actually on time for our departure to my parents' (this is practically unheard of). We had a three hour drive ahead of us, an overtired Will who had been kept up in the hopes that he would sleep for this drive, and two eager-to-go dogs in the back seat. M ran in to get me some ice wrapped in a towel. I finally managed to look at myself in the mirror and was pleasantly surprised. I thought I would look terrible, but honestly, with the exception of a red, swollen spot on the left side of the bridge of my nose (the impact point), I didn't look that bad.

M wanted me to go to the urgent care clinic, but I didn't want to waste two hours of our day. I knew that if it was broken, there was nothing they could do for my poor nose, anyway. I texted a friend of mine, who is an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor and asked him if he thought I should be seen. He asked a few questions (Did I have clear fluid coming from my nose? No. Were my eyelids puffy? No. Could I breathe out of my nose? Yes.) and then said to take some Tylenol, apply ice, and try to enjoy the weekend.

I took did as he instructed and felt pretty miserable for the drive down. However, it started to feel better by the afternoon. Sleeping that night was kind of uncomfortable and I would say it was more swollen when I woke up Sunday morning. I am definitely a little congested and my left eye is a little black. My nose doesn't look that bad, though, and I have never really liked my nose anyway. I figure if I end up needing some sort of reconstructive surgery down the line, it will be a bonus, right? Well, maybe not quite, but I am trying to be positive.