My Story - Part Six

From 1997 to 1999, I started developing my web skills and honing my computer skills. I began building my homepage in March 1997. I spent a lot of time online. I did it because I had nothing else, including money. It was an escape from reality. I took a lot of heat online. (I am not going there for fear of legal action against me.) Because of the heat I took online, I don’t donate my time to places that are not willing to pay for my services. That comes from being burned way too many times online.

In March 1997, I began the long process of preparing for yet another surgery. In June 1997, I had a cleft evaluation, which I had not had in many years. The purpose of the evaluation was to evaluate my speech problems. I had a nasal endoscopy as well as other testing done at the time. On Tuesday, August 26, 1997, I was scheduled to have surgery but Dr. Colyer’s wife surprised everyone by going into labor the previous afternoon and having the baby the morning of my scheduled surgery. It was the first surgery I ever had to have rescheduled and it was hard. I definitely cried over it. On Monday, September 8, 1997, I had my surgery. During the surgery, Dr. Colyer rebuilt my pharyngeal flap and removed a wire from the right side of my nose. For two weeks following the surgery, I was on a liquid diet, which I was not totally prepared for. After the surgery, there was a definite improvement in my speech.

In September, I bought my third computer. It arrived four days after my surgery in September. The computer really helped me get through my recovery.

In February 1998, I learned that I would have my next surgery the following April. This surgery would build up my nose with muscle from my cheeks. It would help the columella. On Tuesday, April 7, 1998, I underwent the surgery. My birth grandmother was here for the surgery. I had asked her to come and be with me.

The rest of 1998 was spent waiting for the next surgery. Sometimes I felt like the planning for it was being dragged out. The waiting became frustrating at times.

In the fall of 1998, I finally got rid of my nasal stents for good. The last time I used them was on the night of October 30th. It was such a relief not to deal with them anymore.

In early December 1998, I went to see Dr. Colyer. At that appointment, he finally scheduled my surgery. On Tuesday, January 12, 1999, I underwent what would be my final surgery (although I did not make this decision until much later). During the surgery, he made an incision in the back of my left ear to remove cartilage and grafted it inside the post of my nose. He moved my columella just a tiny bit. He could not move my columella much because of the risk of the blood supply being cut off.