There was a lot going on this week, though none of it had much to do with work. I even took three days off to get everything done. In the end, it all really only took two days, and I spent the third day doing nothing but lying around at home.
The week actually started turning strange last Thursday evening. Around five or six, I was looking at my phone when I suddenly felt a warm flow in my nose. I knew right away it was a nosebleed, and at first I didn’t think much of it. I tried to stop it, but the more tissue I used, the worse it got. I stuffed one nostril, and then the blood started coming out the other side. Some of it even ran down into my throat.
A coworker happened to walk in, got startled, and rushed me to the local clinic. The doctor on duty packed my nose with cotton and gauze and got the bleeding under control. Anyone who has had that done knows how miserable it feels. I went back home and held out until after ten at night, but the discomfort was beyond what I could tolerate. I figured a few hours had passed, so it was probably fine by then, and completely ignored the doctor’s instruction to wait until the next day before removing it.
So I slowly pulled it out myself.
The moment it came out, the blood started pouring again.
At that point I panicked a little. It was already late, but fortunately the doctor had handed me some extra gauze and cotton before I left. The problem was that I didn’t have scissors, so the gauze was too long. I stuffed it in as best I could, leaving a big section hanging out, and it turned red almost immediately. Clearly there’s a difference between how a doctor packs a nose and how I do it. By the time I was down to the last strip of gauze, I gave up on replacing it and just let it soak through and hang there. Then I went to sleep, hoping it would somehow be better by morning.
It wasn’t better. If anything, it felt even worse.
The bleeding came back again on Friday night, and then once more this week. Since my father and younger sister were both leaving and I needed to take them to the airport anyway, I decided I might as well get checked at the hospital too. On Tuesday I asked my supervisor for three days off and headed home that afternoon.
Early Wednesday morning I went to the hospital and registered with the ENT department. The doctor had me sit down and examined the inside of my nose with a thin scope. He said a capillary had ruptured, but it had already scabbed over, so the main thing was not to touch it or pick at it and just let it heal on its own.
What I didn’t expect was being told I also have rhinitis. From the images the doctor showed me, the nasal turbinates were enlarged, almost blocking both sides. That at least explained why my nose always feels stuffed up. He prescribed a nasal spray and told me to use one spray in the morning and one at night.
My mother came along too because her lower back has been hurting. She got imaging done, and the doctor said the bone had already healed into its current shape. He asked whether she had ever had a fall before. She said yes, she had, but at the time it didn’t seem serious and she never paid much attention to it. Now, according to the doctor, there isn’t really anything to be done about it. He just told her not to do heavy labor or lift heavy things.
Then on Thursday we left a little after three in the morning and spent about three hours getting to Zhongchuan Airport. My father’s flight was at 8:10. It was his first time flying, so my younger sister went in with him to help. I’ve never flown either, so I was no use there. My sister’s own flight wasn’t until after two in the afternoon, but since it was the same day, she could see him through first. Everything went smoothly.
My father is heading to Xinjiang for work. A cousin from my aunt’s side works in a leadership position at a local urban construction company there and found him a gatekeeping job. It’s light work, which suits him well.
After seeing him off, it was still early, so the whole family went over to the Qinwangchuan Cultural and Creative Park for a walk. I’d heard it used to require an admission ticket, but now it doesn’t. Once we got inside, it was obvious why: the place had been abandoned for quite a while, with weeds growing everywhere. It looked like it had once been some kind of film or TV shooting base.
My sister’s flight was after two in the afternoon. She transferred in Shanghai and didn’t reach Tokyo until after one in the morning the next day. I tried to stay awake until she landed, but after driving all day I was too exhausted and fell asleep just before one. Later she told me that after landing, she took a car to where she was staying and paid more than 400 yuan for a trip of only a little over half an hour. That surprised me. She said that was already considered cheap because she had booked it through Taobao; if she had just taken a taxi at the airport, it would have been more than 700. That was enough to make me realize I had no idea what those rides cost.
Once we were done seeing everyone off, only my mother, my wife, and I were left, and we all split up. My wife went into the city for an eye exam, while my mother and I went to the Baiyin vehicle administration office to remove the mortgage registration from my car.
That part went very smoothly. We arrived right as the office reopened in the afternoon. All the paperwork had already been mailed to me, so all I had to do was sign, upload the documents, and that was it. Afterward I sent photos over to the bank staff member handling the release, and it was officially done. Three years later, I finally got the green registration certificate back in my hands.
After that, my mother and I headed home. My wife didn’t come back with us because she had an exam on Saturday.
I’ve been back home for three days now, and all I’ve done is eat, sleep, wake up, and eat again. Turns out being busy is probably better.