With a gentle push from my adult daughter, today I overcame fear and got back into my walking routine on Trinidad Head. Seven weeks ago I suffered a very traumatic experience after undergoing an oral surgery biopsy that had unexpected and traumatic complications. I had no idea what I was in for. I did not ask enough questions before jumping into a surgical procedure that would terrorize me.

Ten or twelve years ago I had my first biopsy. It was a straight forward procedure that healed relatively quickly and had benign lab results. I have a somewhat common condition called Lichen Plantus. It’s an auto immune response that mysteriously appears, but once you have it, you never get rid of it. The condition causes white patches inside your mouth that can be painful. I have never experienced pain but did recently experience a change of color and an unusual skin build up that raised the eyebrows of my Dentist and Periodontist. When told that I needed to have an Oral Surgeon do a biopsy because the Periodontist was not comfortable doing it and that we needed, “clean margins,” I didn’t question it, and moved forward to get it over with and eliminate the fear of the “C” word.

What I didn’t realize is that this second biopsy was larger and in a more challenging location than the one I had done the decade before. For whatever reason, this time I had trouble with my blood not clotting which resulted in a horrific and terrifying experience that mimicked a horror film. It started on the day of my surgery when I experienced two bursts of severe bleeding, The first was behind the wheel of our car while trying to drive myself home after surgery. Because I had had a local anesthetic I was told I could drive myself. Fortunately I remained calm and had a bag of gauze on the front seat. I was less than two miles down the road and able to turn the car around getting myself back to the surgeon’s office where I left a pool of blood in the parking lot and office lobby. Later that evening the clot broke free again and my husband drove me back while I wrapped my face with towels and applied pressure. Each incident brought me back to the surgeon for additional stitches and an IV. (We live rurally and 30 miles away.)

The trauma magnified when two weeks later I awoke at 2 am, choking on my own blood because the surgical site had once again broken open. Between the hours of 2 and 7 am I applied pressure on the site while waiting for the call to come back to the surgeon’s office. I remained “calm” but again, lost a lot of blood. It is a visual that remains in my head. It was 5 hrs before the surgeon could see me to add (again) more stitches to stop the bleeding and administer another IV. This time I was also prescribed 4 days worth of blood coagulation pills.

To say the least, this experience traumatized and scared the heck out of me. I felt very vulnerable and afraid of a repeat bleeding incident. Bed time became uncomfortable for me. Until recently I slept upright for fear of another incident. For weeks I agonized when the clock struck 2 am. I remained on soft food for 5 weeks and laid low. The surgeon had instructed me to take it easy and suspend my headland workout until my stitches dissolved. Hence the absence of my daily blog posts.

Today I turned a new page. I can not watch bloody movie scenes and I still hold onto my cheek when sneezing or yawning, but I am healing. My stitches have dissolved and I have been anxious to return to my walks on the headland. I took a few days to successfully test my endurance on flat trails. Accompanied by my daughter Alexandra and dog Baxter we took a spin up and around Trinidad Head and did some photography. It felt great to be back! I find it significant that it coincides with a much desired new year. Welcome 2021! Enjoy he pics! #iluvtowalk #baxteronthego #humboldt #humboldtcounty #trinidadcalifornia