This is a picture that I took while at my ENT Surgeon’s examination room.  Interesting?  Probably not.  At least you can see where the sphenoid/sephnoid is that was clogged with gunk.  Ok…now I know that the picture is not interesting to you anymore…LOL!

Well, today I am feeling stir crazy.  I have not been able physically to go to work.  It’s all that I can do to take care of myself and my two dogs.  I do appreciate my friends who drop in and help me out daily.  I spoke yesterday with my parents and they are totally supportive as they are praying for me and asking me if there is anything that they can do.  Their love makes me feel so much better.  It’s amazing that, here I am at 45 years old and I’m still close to my parents enough to feel their love giving me strength.  They are soon to celebrate 50 years of marriage!

My nose is draining.  It will for several weeks from what I understand from my surgeon.  The last time that I noticed it bleeding was yesterday morning.  So…I hope…the bleeding has stopped!  The splints will come out Monday afternoon when I go visit with my surgeon and perhaps that will help me to feel better and to have more healing to take place.  It feels as if there are toothpicks up my nose.  Okay…I guess I should have warned you that a gross comparison was about to come your way.

If you would like to leave a voice mail message wishing me well, I would appreciate it.  Just call my listener line at: 615-358-8255 (TALK) and that will make me feel even better.  I may even play them on my next podcast episode unless you state for me not to do so.  It would be good to hear other voices than those from the tv or radio.

Thank you for all of your supportive comments on Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail!  It’s amazing how folks like you have been there for me.   Many of you I have never met face to face.  Be glad that you do not see me right now.  I’d scare away Frankenstein’s Monster!  Honest.

That’s really all of the news that I have for you as of right now.  I appreciate your love and support!  Have a tremendous day!

Your Nashville Friend,

Thom

Well…now the healing begins.  I went through the surgery without a hitch.  I am weak and am trying to clot so that I can feel comfortable sleeping tonight.  A friend is staying over tonight to be my nurse.  I pay with food…and I have plenty!

I think that it just may take a little longer than I thought to heal up, but I have my “army of friends” who have totally stepped up to the plate to be there for me.  I have folks who will stay here with me, check up on me, and will keep on sending me prayers and support.  I know my parents are concerned about me and I thank them for their love and prayers as well.  You could not ask for a better set of parents than the one that I have.

I’ll try and keep you all informed on this website as to how I am doing.  I wish that I could text, e-mail, and call each and everyone of you as to how I am doing but I simply do not have the energy to do so.  I am weak but I am going to get strong.  I look rather bad right now, but you just give me a few days and I’ll look better than before…or I hope to anyway!  LOL

Your very grateful Nashville Friend,

Thom

I had a consultation with my surgeon yesterday.  He told me that the CT Scan that I had last Friday showed that the “mass” seems to be simply an infection…not a tumor, not tissue, not a problem.  He will be operating on me to remove it and to straighten out my septum so that I can breathe better.  All in all it will take me about six weeks or so to fully recover but worth it.  Thank you for your support.  I’ll try and put out another episode of my podcast this weekend.

Your Nashville Friend,

Thom

Well…here it is!  It’s my MRI.  Just thought that you would like to see that I actually DO have a brain.

Okay, so you would like to have a recap of my day.  First I went to my neurosurgeon.  After he looked at the MRI and had a discussion with me he came to the conclusion that the “mass” had not attached itself to my brain (thank GOD!) and that it really needed to be referred to an Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) surgeon.  So, after calling around they found one…a very good one…who was seeing folks today.

I went to the ENT surgeon and he had an intern to do the intake on me and to do the strength/resistance testing on me.  I then had them to look up my nose (I know…how glamorous) with a scope.  Good thing that they numbed my nose because it would have been quite painful.  They told me that my septum was crooked as well and can be fixed at the same time that they remove my “mass”.

If you look at the MRI, you can see in the middle two black looking “i” shaped formations.  The one on the left is longer than the one on the right.  It’s because at the bottom of the one on the right os the gray looking mass that have them concerned.  All in all, it looks to be the size of a marble, though it is not in  a nice round shape.

The ENT surgeon wanted to have me take a CT Scan so that he could have a better image to go by in preparation for surgery.  Surgery is what I chose over a nasal spray medication that he said could possible shrink it a bit.  I told him that I wanted it out just in case it was cancer/malignant.  He agreed that was a good choice and I went and took a CT Scan.  I’ll see him on Tuesday to get his analysis of the scan and discuss surgery that will take place the first week of March.  It should be an outpatient procedure.  After the removal, they will do the biopsy on it to see if it is benign or malignant.  I’m not going to worry about that portion at this moment.

Thank you for all of your support, prayers, love, concern, and advice.  I appreciate you.  Please feel free to leave me voice mail at 615-358-8255 or leave a comment here.  You can also leave me an e-mail at: Thom@ThomTakesOnTheWorld.com.

Your Nashville Friend,

Thom

For those of you who have been waiting to hear the interview that Tom from Ramble Redhead Podcast did with me last autumn, it is now on his playlist to download.  Feel free to listen to his episode 359 and please write a comment for him.  He loves to hear from his listeners to know how they feel about his podcast.  Tom is a good podcasting friend that inspired me to do my own so please go give him a listen.  His website address is: www.RambleRedhead.com (http://rambleredhead.com/).

I hope that you will find him to be a genuine man with a great sense of humor!

Your Nashville Friend,

Thom

I thought that I would write something in my blog to catch you up on what has been going on with me.  I am unsure if I will do an episode this week or not but I just thought that I would keep in touch with you, my readers, so that you will not wonder if I have given up or not.  I know I know…just get on with it!  LOL

I have been experiencing some numbness in my left arm since January 14th.  I woke up with it.  At first, I thought that I had just slept on it and started to rub it so that I would feel those wonderful “pins and needles” that we all know and “love”.  Those sensations just never came.

When my arm did not “wake up”, I thought that it could be a sign of a heart attack.  Ughs!  Well…using a level head…I checked to see if I had pressure on my chest; no.  I checked to see if my heart was racing; no.  Was I sweating or nauseous;  no.  Well…that was a relief…but what was it?

I called my physician to see if he could see me and he made room for me in the schedule that day.  He checked me out and found nothing externally wrong with me.  I had x-rays and that did not show anything.  My physician suspected a very minor stroke so he referred me to an orthopedic specialist.

The orthopedic specialist saw me soon there after.  I still had numbness and a weak grip in my on my left side.  He then scheduled me for an MRI and a Nerve Conduction Study.  If you never had those done, they are more torturous than you understand just viewing it.  The MRI’s worse part was the annoying loud thumping sound patterns that you can feel from your head to your toes.  The Nerve Conduction Study is where they shoot electricity through sections of your muscles to see if they react appropriately.  That was just like sticking your finger in an active light socket over and over again.

You are probably wondering why I am titling this entry, “Just Being Nosey!”.  I am getting to it.  Really!

Last Friday, I went back to my orthopedic specialist for the results.  I had been thinking that the results from all of the tests were to show me the extent of my minor stroke.  It was not a stroke as was suspected.

The news was not as I thought it would have been.  The MRI showed that there was a “mass” that was located in my lower left sinus cavity.  It has been pressing up against some nerves that go down into my left arm, therefore, producing weakness and reduction in nerve sensitivity.

This Friday, February 19th, I’ll be going to see a surgeon who will consult with me regarding my future.  Right now I feel  sinus pressure and my left arm is still slightly numb and weak.   I’ve been reading online about my situation and it has calmed my nerves.  I know that the surgery should be simple when that time comes.  I guess it is just like a wart that needs to be removed.  I’ll keep you informed as to what is going on with me.  I know that my loved ones are there for me and that means so much.  I’ll be fine.

Thank you for being there for me!

Your Nashville Friend,

Thom

I hope that you will share Valentine’s Day with those whom you love.  It is love that should be shared all year long.  I hope that you not only give but receive love.  I know that without it, I would be lost.

Your Nashville Friend wishing you a very Warm and Lovely Valentine’s Day!

Thom