Surgery

Hey yo wassup! So now I can officially say I've survived jaw surgery. I went in Monday, May 11th for the proceedure. Kyle went with me to the new hospital in Murray. I was so scared I shed a few teardrops walking into the hospital so I called my mom knowing she would have encouraging words. She did. :) I checked in at 8:45am, changed into the infamous hospital gown and cringed as they inserted the IV. By 9:30am I was in the operating room. The hospital staff and anaesthesiologist talked to me a bit while I was laying there completely dependent on their skills. They asked me what I had for dinner the night before. My response was "hamburgers.. wow I feel weird.." then I was out. The surgery took a little over two hours. They went in through my mouth (so no scars) and cut just my jaw just below my nose and toward the back of my jaw to move it forward. Then they cut my bottom jaw and moved it back. (I make it sound so simple). I was told they were going to have to cut the top of my mouth to widen my bite, but they ended up not having to do that part. I starting coming-to in the recovery room listening to a nurse talk to someone on the phone about me. I remember moaning. Moments later I was being wheeled up to a seperate room for the night. I blurredly (?) saw Kyle walking by my wheeled bed and trying to talk to me. The night in the hospital was gnarly. They were pumping me full of antibiotics through my IV so I woke up having to take a wiz at least once an hour all night long. The first time I got up to go to the bathroom I took it slow and had Kyle and the nurse helping me. Walking back to bed I almost passed out and the nurse said they had to get my blood pressure back up because it was eerily low. I went home Tuesday morning, not knowing if I was strong enough to be away from the excellent nurses who helped me. But then I realized I was married to someone who cared about me much more than any of those nurses and he would take care of me even better. He did. Kyle is such a great fellow. I'm so grateful for his love and patience. By Wednesday morning, I had 4 bouquets of flowers sitting on the entertainment center and 3 get well cards sent through the mail. I have amazing family and friends who are so thoughtful and supportive. The whole first week wasn't very awesome. Nights were horrible. Kyle woke up with me every time I was up and helped me gag down some liquid lortab in the middle of the night. I had a wrap around my jaw/head with ice packs in it for the first 5 days before I dared take it off. The ice packs were so soothing. I left the house without a problem, but took a blanket and pillow with me in the car and was nervous we'd hit a pot hole. Sunday morning we went to my parents to see my brother Spencer and his family who were in town from AZ. He is being deployed for the third time soon. It was nice to be with family and spend some time outside. I'm such a talker, it's very frustrating not being able to converse easily. Oh and I was on a strict liquid diet ALL WEEK. I can't tell you how much I dreaded mealtime. I drank instant breakfast drinks, juice and tomato soup. Not much of a variety, but the chocolate protein shakes weren't bad. The tomato soup was my favorite. I don't know how much weight I've lost, but I can definitely feel it. I'm sure I'll gain it back and then some as soon as I can have delicious food again! I'll have my jaws banded shut for 6 weeks to give time for my jaws to heal. Luckily, as of Tuesday, I can take off my bands three times a day for 45 minutes each to eat some applesause, mashed potatoes or other soft foods. Last night we made root beer floats! Yum! I feel really weak and the worst was being light-headed all the time. We borrowed a bunch of movies from Kyle's mom's large collection. My favorite was watching While You Were Sleeping. That flick has always been one of my faves. Oh Enchanted is a good one too. And I watched Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and enjoyed that one too. Anywho, I haven't taken any meds since Saturday and feel much better than last week. I started back at work on Tuesday working 11-5 instead of my usual 8-5. I got some interesting reactions when I walked in the building with a face the size of a soccer ball. Most people didn't know I was going in for surgery. The Customer Service department, however, take very good care of me and were excited when I came back to work. I won't be able to answer phones for a while, but my co-workers are very understanding and patient with me. Oh and did I mention my bottom lip and chin are still completely numb? I can't feel anything. That's why I might have a messy chin and not even notice. If you're a good friend, you'll tell me to wipe my chin, right? The doc says the feeling usually comes back within 6 months. Oh and did I also mention I have the most amazing surgeon on the planet? If you need an oral surgeon for anything let me know. I have never been more impressed by a doctor and his staff. Kyle and I really did enjoy our week together. That was the most time we've had together since our honeymoon! It was nice and we got along great. Welp, see ya later!