“I’m excited. Let’s do this,” I exclaimed in the pre-dawn hours last Monday morning with my advanced medical directive in hand.
My mom was driving me to my out-patient sinus surgery appointment at West Florida Hospital. Check in was at 5:30am. I spent the night before surgery at her house since she lives just three minutes away from the hospital.
I have battled sinus infections and chronic sinusitis for as long as I can remember and finally decided to bite the bullet and schedule surgery to correct my deviated septum and “roto-root” the extra inflamed tissue inside my nasal cavity. Plus, a little touch-up on the tip of my nose wouldn’t hurt while I was at it.
Downtime would be two weeks out of the office followed by another month of no pressure on my nose and a full year until complete healing.
Dang. It’s tough to be down that long but the anticipated increased quality of life with my breathing finally made the decision a no-brainer.
Even though many people dread surgery, I was actually looking forward to a little downtime for me. Take it easy, unplug from the office, catch up on some binge-worthy tv shows. Spend more time with my mom and husband without the daily grind of a 2+ hour daily round-trip commute to the office. (Thank you, Skanska!)
Although I have enjoyed all of those things, the hardest part post-surgery is granting myself the permission to slow down and heal. No physical activity whatsoever for me. Lots of cat naps. Plus, I’ll look like a goober for a while back in the office if my bruising has not yet subsided and I have to wear a funny contraption over my nose to support the bridge of my reading glasses.
But, my doc gave me “homework” post-surgery just like I give to my clients post-estate planning. The post-surgery instructions are just important as the surgery itself to obtain optimal results.
The same is true for the “homework” I assign to clients. The “homework” is as much a part of the overall success of their estate planning as the actual signing of any documents themselves. [So if I’ve emailed you to remind you to do a lingering homework item, such as signing a deed to a new home you’ve purchased that needs to be transferred to your trust, please get back with me so we can get it taken care of.]
Although I didn’t need it, I was glad to check-in for surgery armed with my medical directives. Always better to be safe than sorry.
You can download a free Five Wishes health care directive from our website here. After completion, you will sign it in the presence of two signing witnesses, at least one of whom should not be your spouse nor a blood relative. Nor should either witness be one of your named health care surrogates.
Alternatively, if you are looking for a more full-service approach, Florida residents can schedule an actual estate planning consultation with me online here or by calling our office: 850-439-1191.
I’m glad to report that I am making great strides in my recuperation daily. My swelling and bruising has subsided substantially and the pain has dissipated. I get my nasal cast off later this afternoon.
My recovery photos aren’t pretty but hey, you should’ve seen the other guy!
Kristen “Looking Forward to Breathing Again” Marks
