A septum to celebrate
Body modifications are often done in order to celebrate an accomplishment or for esthetic reasons. I chose to have my first professionally done body modification, a piercing, for both these two reasons.
It has been a month and a half since I completed my year long chemotherapy cycle and in order to celebrate beating cancer I decided to get a piercing. During my time battling cancer my flesh was pierced multiple times, and more often than not it was not my choice or to my liking; it was a necessity. During that time there was very little I could do to change my image other than haircuts or makeup, unfortunately my hair didn't last very long and I don't like wearing makeup, so I was forced to wait until I was cure. This is the reason I'm celebrating my accomplishment with a piercing and not a big dinner with family or buying a much wanted electronic device (as one would do after graduating, or for a birthday). I felt somewhat helpless and with out any control over my appearance, now I can make decisions over my appearance again. Now I can change the way I look and it's less painful than the year I endured in and out of hospitals, so why not do it and actually get something enjoyable out of it, not to mention something that has the potential to look good.
A Septum piercing seemed like the best choice for me. I believe it is the piercing that looks the best on the majority of people who get them (other than various ear piercings). It would be a decision to commemorate my great achievement of getting a second chance at life, one where I would have little to no regrets, one where I would appreciate every moment of the day and night, and one where I was finally mature enough and old enough to get tattoos and piercings. It would also possibly distract attention from my scalp onto my face and nose.
I waited at least a month before getting it done in order for my red and white blood cells as well as my platelets to reach normal levels so the piercing wouldn't be at a higher risk for infection, bleedings, or difficulty healing. That same day I had an appointment at the Oncology Clinic for a blood draw and a doctor's visit. After the doctor told me my blood count had just reached lower-normal counts I asked if it would be relatively safe to get a piercing or tattoo in my current state. She gave me the good news and said it shouldn't cause any more problems than it would to any average person. With her approval I decided to wait no longer and get it done that same day.
Machinedrive accompanied me the entire day and suggested we go to the Inkspot where he had his lips pierced, nose punched and his ears scalpelled. There we found out his regular piercer wasn't going to be in for a few weeks, so we settled for another available piercer. I planned to get my septum pierced at a 12 or 10, but the shop didn't have the jewelry I wanted at that size, so I had to settle for a 14g. After showing my identification and filling out the papers it took only a few minutes for the needle, jewelry and septum clamps to be prepared and properly sterilized. I sat down and began, for the first time the entire day, to get nervous. She placed the clamps and confirmed they were straight. Once I was ready I took a deep breath, and with a small pop the needle went through. The jewelry was then inserted and I had a brand new, freshly done septum piercing. I was warned having your septum pierced caused your eyes to automatically water whether or not one felt it was painful or not and that there would be a small amount of blood, I however was not prepared for either and it seemed as if there were more blood and tears dripping down my face than there was supposed to be. I was assured this was not the case.
My piercer offered me a lollipop as I left. I thanked her and happily accepted it. Although the piercing is smaller than what I wanted, I am very happy to have gotten it and I look forward to stretching once it's settled and healed. This will not have been my last piercing or tattoo done at that particular shop. I have many piercings lined up and several tattoo ideas I would like to get. I now believe I am "hooked" on piercings. The rush I got from getting pierced is one I hope to feel many more times.
Disclaimer: The experience above was submitted by a BME reader and has not
been edited. We can not guarantee that the experience is accurate, truthful,
or contains valid or even safe advice. We strongly urge you to use BME and
other resources to educate yourself so you can make safe informed decisions.
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