No Bloody Nose is Going to Spoil my Thanksgiving

Acting on the advice of Dr. Byrd, last night I went out and after some research bought a warm mist humidifier for our bedroom. I was already using Bactroban ointment daily in the effected nostril to keep the tissues moist.

This morning, I woke up with yet another nosebleed, minor, easily controlled, but unpleasant, inconvenient, and unpredictable.

Doesn't my nasal mucosa know that I have work to do, patients who are counting on me being at my best, family and friends with whom I want to be fully engaged, and important pending lectures and meetings that are the culmination of weeks of work, months of planning, and years of being aware. 

A stuffy nose is no fun and doesn't help my focus, but my real concern is the unpredictability. Will it reoccur when I  walk into an exam room or onto the stage? 

I preach to anyone who will listen that control is an illusion, that life is random, and that it is how we cope with the challenges that is the measure of our mettle. Maybe I need to pay better attention to my own rants. And maybe I should consult my reassuring ENT specialist to see if there is a nasal vessel that needs to be cauterized.


Will my nose be my Waterloo, my Achilles tendon? I doubt it. More likely it will turn out be just a speed bump  rather than a dead end.

So it was particularly timely that today I received these warm wise words of my fellow CLLer.

"Feeling gratitude can be hard in the face and aftermath of super storms or
the diagnosis of a cancer. Frank evidence that life is fragile and that we
are temporary.

But again and again we see how adversity restores our awareness of the
beauty in the world and the value of our relationships to one another. 

Happy Giving Thanks day to all. 

~ Karl"

Patients Against Lymphoma
Patients Helping Patients

Thanks Karl