Biquette's 2022 Christmas card and good news!

[elagache]

Dear 65GS.com faithful,

Well here we are, two days before Christmas.  With all that was going on, I hadn't planned on making a Biquette card.  However, in mid-November I reconsidered.  While going through old photos of Biquette I ended up finding a sequence that captured my year and what I was feeling at the time:



It is very hard to describe the experience of the facial surgeries that I have gone though.  Beyond the suffering and misery is the feeling of violation: Will I ever feel like a normal human being again?

Nonetheless, this story may yet have a happy ending.  After struggling with breathing throughout this year-long ordeal, I had a 7th surgery on my nose last Friday (December 16th.)  This surgery worked on both sides of my nose at once.  The skin graft on the left side was thinned to open up the nostril on that side.  There was some scar tissue on the right side that was acting as a valve flap which was removed at the same time.

The surgery itself was hard and the first few days were difficult.  However this past Wednesday, I had the stitches removed. At the same time, stints that were inserted to support the each nostril while they were healing were also removed.  All of a sudden I could breathe again!  I have to be careful to make sure no new scar tissue is formed that would block the nostrils once more.  However 7 days after the surgery, it is looking like the end of the this ordeal might be finally within reach!

Thanks to everyone for your support and prayers during this very long year!

Edouard

[cwmcobra]

Thanks, Edouard, for the Christmas greetings and the update. SO HAPPY to hear about success in the last surgery. I can only imagine how good it feels to be able to breathe again after such a long period of difficulty. Considering this success, is this perhaps the final surgery? What a celebration that would be!

Happy that you have much to be thankful for this Christmas. I pray that the new year will continue your path to full recovery!

Merry Christmas!

Chuck

[Jim]

Merry Christmas and happy holidays  to everyone  chilling out here 3 ft snow drifts and 20-30 mph winds between me and the shop nicer out next week.Jim

[GS66]

Merry Christmas and thank you for the good news!

[Jimbo]

So happy for you.  Looking forward to your posts on how you and Biquette are once again enjoying time together.
Have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

[red65gs]

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Hope next year is better than the last. Make everyday count!

[elagache]

Dear Chuck, Jim, Jim, Jim (in triplicate even!  ), Don, and mid-60s Buick caregivers you occasionally need some care of their own!

Thanks everyone for your continued well wishes!

Thanks, Edouard, for the Christmas greetings and the update. SO HAPPY to hear about success in the last surgery. I can only imagine how good it feels to be able to breathe again after such a long period of difficulty. Considering this success, is this perhaps the final surgery? What a celebration that would be!

Yes, that would appear to be the 64 dollar question and the answer is . . . . . . it depends!

As I have learned the hard way, plastic surgery is anything but an exact science.  The nose isn't the worst place to have facial surgery, but it is still a very difficult area for surgeons to work on.  During the consultation which led to this last surgery, my plastic/reconstructive surgeon hinted that perhaps one more surgery might still be needed after this one.  Why he thought this he didn't explain.  But in his many years of experience, he saw something which led him to that suspicion.

I don't see this as a negative.  He is determined to make thing right and he has the skills and experience to get the job done.  I have no doubt he tried to resolve everything in this surgery and hopefully he did succeed.  At this point I need to allow my nose to heal and once more recover from the swelling caused by the surgery.  Hopefully indeed that will resolve everything.  If not, I'm very thankful that my surgeon won't abandon me in a state that leaves me miserable for the rest of my life.  By my thinking it is a win-win!

So, . .  . . . . stay tuned! 

Thanks again!

Cheers, Edouard 

[option B9]

  Edouard, great to hear that you are breathing better. I would say that a good uplifting Christmas gift for you would be to get in your Buick and take a well deserved ride around your area. It would be good for you & the Buick !!

                      Tony 

[dsags]

Edouard, that is great news ! So glad you are breathing better. Hope it lasts. MERRY CHRISTMAS.

[Jimbo]

Edouard,
 Please give us a update on your progress. I hope everything is getting better.

[option B9]

  Edouard, Yes please keep us updated. Spring is here and the weather will be getting warm. More of a reason to get out and take that Buick for a ride and enjoy Mother Nature at its best. If you need us we are just a click away.... 

             Tony,Karen
          Nina, Michael
          Steven, James
          & Iris the cat.

[elagache]

Dear Jim, Tony, and 65GS.com community,

Please give us a update on your progress. I hope everything is getting better.

I wish I could report otherwise, but I'm still have considerable difficulty breathing through my nose.  It did appear to be getting worse even.  Back on March 1st, I sent to see the reconstructive surgeon because I was still bringing up bits of blood from my nose.  Sadly, the scar tissue that was removed in the surgery of December 16th had reformed because the stint in the right nostril was removed too early.  So that is the explanation for the worsening breathing on that side.  The skin graft on the left side continues to be very restrictive.

So in a clear about face, the surgeon decided to try one more time to improve my breathing in both nostrils.  However, his success has resulted in him being seriously backlogged.  The earliest surgery date that was available was April 21st.  I still don't have many details, but I'm sure things will get clarified as the time approaches.

Of course I'm not very happy about this, but I really have no choice.  I simply cannot breath very well at this point and I'm putting saline almost hourly to keep my nostrils open.  I really need to at least get the right nostril working more normally.

Sorry, but that's the latest news.

Edouard

[GS66]

Thank you for the update, we are all concerned for your health. I hope the April surgery turns out better than expected, you deserve a break on this.

[cwmcobra]

Amen, you definitely need some relief, comfort and satisfaction. We all hope and pray that the next surgery will be the last. May it be so this time!

[Jim]

Gotta  be light at the end of that tunnel .luck .jim