Rob's Sinus Surgery Day!

Today's the day I (Rob) get a "Septoplasty." What's that? It's to correct my nose's deviated septum.

     A "deviated septum" occurs when the septum is severely shifted away from the midline. The most common symptom from a badly deviated or crooked septum is difficulty breathing through the nose. - I haven't been able to breathe out of the right side of my nose since I was a teenager!
     In some cases the crooked septum can interfere with the drainage of the sinuses, resulting in repeated sinus infections, which I've had. Septoplasty is the preferred surgical treatment to correct a deviated septum.
   HOW DID IT HAPPEN? - Hockey. I think it was the last time I ever played hockey.

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A hockey puck changed everything

I was about 15 years old when I was playing a hockey in my parents' driveway with my two brothers. My older brother hit a "slapshot" and the hockeypuck smacked me squarely on the nose. Of course I remember it bleeding all over the place.
  AFTER EFFECTS? - After the accident I lost most of my sense of smell and couldn't breathe out of the right side of my nose. That was 36 years ago! So Tom always asks if I can smell candles, pine trees, dog poots (farts) or anything, and for the most part, I can't - I usually get a faint whiff of something if at all. So, the doc said this should help correct that. Having this also made me prone to a lot of sinus infections, too.
  THE PROCEDURE - It's actual surgery, and they'll be using a laser, so I'm told- to cut holes in the cartilage that makes up your septum. They'll put me under for it, and I haven't had a surgery since I was about 5, when I had my tonsils out. Hey! Maybe they'll pull the skin on my face tight and remove my "smile lines!"