PJ Fiala's Blog

PJ Fiala has me on her BLOG today. There's also a giveaway posted so go check it out!

Duty, Honor & Love is also having a release party on Facebook.

Today is also the Marine Corps 241st Birthday! I can only imagine how crazy Tun Tavern was! Happy Birthday Marines!!

#MarineCorpsBirthday #241Years #HappyBirthdayMarines # Marines #MarineCorps #USMCBirthday #MarineLife #AuthorRyleighRhodes #SemperFiFund

Box Set Benefitting the Semper Fi Fund

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L5MTAES…

 

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/duty-honor-love-1


iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1148317712

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/duty-honor-love…/1124481558

Please check out Facebook as we will be having random giveaways on our page!

Duty Honor and Love

#SemperFiFund #ebook #boxset #AuthorRyleighRhodes #Enforcer

Donate Directly to the Semper Fi Fund

Summer Indie Book Awards Voting is LIVE

Summer Indie Book Awards

Voting is here. You can vote for more than one book. You can vote once daily. TL Smith and Lila Rose are also nominated! Lots of great authors and books are nominated.
#SIBA #Enforcer #EnforcerSeries #AuthorRyleighRhodes

Click HERE to Vote

Military Box Set November 2016

I'm apart of a military box set coming out in November. Lots of great authors. It's 99 cents if you pre order now. Price goes up in November all proceeds are going to the Semper Fi Fund.
Click on the link below:

AMAZON US

#SemperFiFund #BoxSet #99pennies #VeteranCharity #Enforcer #November2016

Summer Indie Book Awards #SIBA

I've been nominated for the First Annual Indie Book Awards. 

Join the Facebook Group HERE for news about voting. Voting Starts September 1st.

Summer Indie Book Awards Facebook Page

#SIBA 

Love and War: From Marines to Marriage

It's rare that I just share an article on my blog. I try to keep it to books and cooking or other randomness in my life. However, I just wanted to share a post that I had recently read by Melba Newsome. From Marines to Marriage. Great quick read. Click the Link Below:

Women's Day Article

Mainly I'm tired of seeing veteran suicide stories. #22TooMany #VAFails #PTSD This article just hits me in the feels. Everyone has different battles. Be kind. 

Cover Reveal

#CoverReveal #TeaserTuesday #Enforcer #EnforcerSeries

Sorry to be so short winded, but here's the new cover! Special thanks to Shauna Kruse of Kruse Images and Photography. Model is Matthew Hosea. Cover Designer is Rebel Edit and Design. 

#KruseImages #MatthewHosea 

My Experience with Septoplasty

My Experience with Septoplasty

*** The opinions expressed on my blog are based on my own thoughts, knowledge, and experiences. Please keep in mind that I am NOT a Doctor or other health professional so please consult the appropriate professional. All information presented on this website should be regarded as friendly advice and opinions based on my experience and research. This information is for educational purposes and should not be interpreted as medical advice. No responsibility is assumed by the author nor anyone connected with this website for the use of this information and no guarantees of any kind are made for the performance or effectiveness of the recommendations provided. ***

Things to have on hand before surgery for convenience:

Qtips
Hydrogen peroxide
Anitbiotic Ointment
Gauze(2x2 or 4x4 seemed to work best for me)
Tape(Non irritating for frequent changes)
Throat Spray like Chloraseptic
Bendy Straws
Ice Pack(Frozen Peas, the hospital sent me home with an icepack that I could reuse)
Neck Travel Pillow
If you can pick up prescriptions early do it(Antibiotics and Pain Meds)
Homemade make up remover pads(see link)

Pre-surgery

I picked up my prescriptions. I also looked at various juicing recipes. I do not own a juicer, but there's a place in my town called Juice it Up. I bought a big drink called the "Optimizer" which includes: Beet, Carrot, Celery, Cucumber, Pineapple, Red Grapes. I did have juice left over from the night before, so I sipped on that after surgery. Sweet Tea is also a vice of mine. I had time before my surgery. I bought a tea from Chick - Fil - A and poured it in my Yeti cup for storing it in my fridge for after the surgery. I used a bendy straw through the lid because you're suppose to keep your head upright as much as possible.
Also knowing I'd be on antibiotics, I purchased some Kombucha. I'm sensitive to dairy, but yogurt or kefir would be beneficial as well to replace the good gut bacteria the antibiotics will kill off.
Some other things I did, I consumed a fair amount of lemon water, limited caffeine. I was also taking chewable Vitamin C, cinnamon and garlic capsules. I've also struggled with anemia. I only had a 6 day wait before surgery, so every other day I took a Blood Builder.
I also premade these makeup remover pads. I knew it would be a few days before I could properly shower.

Day of Surgery/First 24 Hours(Tuesday)

Take a shower, it will be a few days before you can take one. I wore an older T-shirt and comfy clothes that were easy to get on and off. Wear a t-shirt you don't care about dripping blood on. If you do get blood on a beloved shirt, the hydrogen peroxide should get it off easily.
*If a family member, that wants to help out after surgery, gets queasy at the sight of blood, I recommend they wait a few days.*
My surgeon recommended with every gauze change( or at least 8-10 times the first day), that I use a Qtip dipped in hydrogen peroxide to clean the blood off and prevent "crusties". After the peroxide use another Qtip and apply a thin layer of antibiotic ointment. In reality, the first day there's clots and the bleeding is slow not much clotting or "crusties", but I followed his advice anyways.
I'm very sensitive to narcotics, so I have not been hungry. I was given a variety of anti nausea meds via IV before leaving the hospital. The surgeon ending up adding another prescription for steroids. Which a family member picked up for me along with more gauze and tape. I'm basically sipping between juice, sweet tea and lemon water.
I have some tape residue from being Endoctracheal intubated that the makeup remover pads could not get that off, but in general it did clean my face better than a baby wipe.
I'm suppose to eat a meal to take the steroids. Solid foods are more difficult to swallow, but I bought a few pouches of baby food just in case. I did try to drink some kombucha earlier this morning but the carbonation irritated my throat so I will wait a few more days before I try again.

25 hours- 48 Hours After Surgery(Wednesday-Thursday)

The bleeding isn't as bad as the first day. It oozes after I Qtip clean. Stuffiness and headaches are normal. The ice pack is coming in handy. I haven't needed the pain meds as much, and I'm trying not to use them as they make me more nauseous. I am flat out starving but I can only swallow liquids and soft foods. My glasses have been irritating the shunt/splints in my nose, but the ice pack has been helping.
The pain isn't bad, the pressure from the swelling is causing most of my discomfort. Nap as much as possible. The bleeding has slowed down a lot, but I feel more stuffy and blocked up. The throat spray is being used more today than previous days.

49 hours+ Surgery(Friday to Post Op)

My sore throat has not improved. I'm still eating soft foods like chia seeds and baby food. I haven't had to keep the gauze on my nose as much. Which is nice because the tape has dried out my skin quite a bit. I'm hoping once these stints/shunts come out I can breathe better and I will be able to eat. Or at least breathe through my nose so it won't irritate my throat as much.
My face doesn't look swollen, but parts of it are numb. I can't really move my upper lip. I randomly get short dizzy spells, although this could be from not being able to eat I'm not sure.

Post Op Appointment - 8 days

I have another post op for suctioning 5 days from now. I took/drove myself. The suctioning was awful. The stint/shunt removal was mostly pressure. The suctioning was pressure and pain. The sprays he used to open up my sinuses as well as numb them made me sick to my stomach and gag. He did try to numb it but it's hard to numb when there's blood and mucus blocking the way. I felt the pressure from suctioning in my teeth and cheek. I am breathing a lot better. I wish I hadn't drove myself. I suggest having some kind of reward lined up for afterwards. A cookie, a pedi, something to make you feel not as icky. I went home and napped because I was shaky and just didn't feel well after the whole process. In my opinion, this was the worst part of the whole ordeal. So far I'm breathing so much better and I'm not even fully healed yet.

I'm use to working out 3-5 days a week, and I'm on my feet a lot at work. I had a hard time staying still. No heavy lifting for 10 days was difficult.

#DeviatedSeptum #Septoplasty #SinusSurgery

New Cover for Enforcer

I'm hoping to unveil a new cover for Enforcer this summer sometime. I have worked with Shauna Kruse to pick another image. That image happens to include Matthew Hosea. Since Enforcer was my debut novel, I'm also working on edits.

I have not forgotten about Nathan & Mackenzie's story. My main focus is finishing that story before I release or re-release anything else. I have also started working on Q and Wilson's stories, but do not have a timeline for when they will be released.

#Enforcer #NathanMackenzie #TreasureStateSeries #EnforcerSeries