Picture update

Definitely not the most flattering pictures.


4 days post-op


Today, 6 days post-op

I've definitely had my fair share of swelling, but surprisingly (knock on wood) I haven't had any bruising at all. Yesterday I went for a walk around my neighborhood with my mom for the first time since surgery. It felt really nice to get out and get some fresh air. I might do it again today, but it does take a lot out of me.
I have x-rays today at 2 and then my first post-op appointment with my surgeon today at 4:15. I'm still wearing the jaw bra except when bathing and eating, which is getting easier, but still a task. I've lost 7lbs so far, hopefully I won't lose much more. I'll update with the results of my appointment. Till then!

First post-op update!

Hi guys! Sorry I didn't get to updating sooner. I've just been so tired and became a bit nauseated when reading/writing. So I had my surgery (upper, lower, genioplasty) on Friday morning starting at about 8:30 am. I finished at about 2:30 pm. It went really well, minimal bleeding, and my doctor even decided to give me a bone graft on my palette (freeze-dry, apparently) to facilitate the healing process. I spent two nights in the hospital and came home Sunday afternoon. I've had hardly any pain, thanks to the morphine while in the hospital. I have two thin splints wired onto my top and bottom teeth as well as my top and bottom teeth wired to each other..so I'm pretty firmly shut. I've been wearing a "jaw bra" around my head that my doctor wants me to wear for a week - it's kept the swelling down for the most part except my lips are HUGE. I wore ice packs around my face for about the first 48 hours, I don't know if they helped much, but it definitely felt heavy so I'm glad to be done with those.

Post-op recovery has not been as bad as I thought, at least so far. The first two days after surgery I had a good amount of blood that dribbled from my nose which was a bit bothersome, but then that dried up in my nose and made it hard for me to breathe even though I used a breathing mask in the hospital and a humidifier at home as well as a few different nasal sprays. Most of the gunk in nose is gone now, though so that's a relief. I also had a very sore throat from the breathing tube they inserted during surgery...still doesn't feel 100%. My other biggest complaint is the oral pain medications I was prescribed - it's disgusting, makes me want to throw up which would not be good at all. I'm to the point now where I can barely tolerate it, but it's definitely made me debate whether I should even take it, but I'm a little scared of the pain I might have. It is quite hard to speak and be understood, but I expected that. Eating was quite difficult at first, but it's getting a little easier. I've been using a syringe that I stick on the side of my mouth and push the "food" in there, but it really has to be liquid thin consistency.

I've lost about six pounds already, my doctor said if I lose more than 15, then it's feeding tube time - which he hasn't had to do ever before. I'm hoping I won't be the first. I'm already getting tired of chicken broth and ensure, but there's really not many choices while I'm wired shut. I see my doctor next on Thursday to check in and then again on Friday, July 2nd - when my wires are removed and I will have rubber bands instead. My biggest concern now is keeping my mouth clean - I use a prescribed mouth wash and a super soft toothbrush on the front of my teeth but it never seems enough. My doctor said he expects my braces to be "sparkling" when he sees me on Thursday, which will be quite the task I think. Any tips?

Overall, even though it's been hard at times, I have no regrets and am really happy that the worst (I hope?) is over. I've been up and walking around my house, can't imagine going out in public quite yet, but we'll see..maybe I'll take a stroll around my neighborhood tomorrow. The only problem is the pain medications makes me quite drowsy. I look forward to recovering and seeing the final results when the swelling diminishes. I'll keep updating as much as I can, probably after my next appointment.

P.S. Please pardon grammatical errors and punctutation.

I've included a few photos:


Before being wheeled into the operating room



Post-op


First post-op meal - vegetable broth

Twas the night before..

Quick update and final 'before' photos..

Orthodontist appointment went well. No heavy duty hardware, just two small hooks you can barely notice (you'll see in the picture). Received a call from one of the RNs. I have to be there by 6:30 am, so not as early as I had thought. Surgery will be around the same time. My last meal was cheese and bread (around 7:30 pm, just a bit past the 6 pm cut off, woops). I took a nice long shower since it'll probably be a few days before I'll be doing that. Now it's off to bed. See you guys on the other side!




P.S. Please pardon the old makeup.

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow at this time I will be in the ICU recovering from surgery...hopefully. I cannot believe how quickly time has passed..seemed like I was months away and now less than a day! I still have an orthodontist appointment later this afternoon to have surgical wires put on..I changed this appointment to the latest possible time so I wasn't walking around with heavy duty hardware in my mouth for several days. The last few days I have been eating everything! I figured I'd get as much in before the upcoming weeks of liquid dieting.

Surprisingly, I am not feeling too nervous..I'm sure I'll have a bit of hard time trying to go to sleep tonight and of course I'm sure I'll be super nervous tomorrow morning. As of yet, I haven't received a call form the anesthesiologist or the exact time I should be there tomorrow, but I've been told I should expect to be there by 5:30 am and the surgery should begin around 8am lasting about 5 -6 hours. I will be at Kaiser Hospital in Santa Clara. My mom will be taking me and staying until I am done and my grandparents (who are still telling me it's not too late to change my mind) and my sisters, brother and brother in law will be visiting that night. My dad should also be coming that night, he'll be driving from Arizona. So I'm sure I'll feel much better to have a lot of family around me.

I'll probably be updating again later this evening after I speak with the anesthesiologist and get back from the orthodontist. I'd also like to post some before shots to compare. I haven't decided whether I'll take my computer with me to the hospital..what do you guys think? I'm actually not quite sure what to bring with me since I've never stayed in the hospital before. I was thinking change of clothes, iPod?

Frustration

So today I was supposed to attend my post-op class - where I would find out how and what to eat and take care of myself. You are supposed to bring whomever will be taking care of you along with you to the class, so I had planned to attend with my mother. I should have known, being the flake my mother is, that she wouldn't make it. I stupidly decided to wait for her and it became too late at that point to go by myself. I called to reschedule this appointment and I find out that the next class is June 24th - 6 days after my surgery! So now none of my questions will be answered, I will not know how to properly take care of myself, what to eat, how to eat, etc. I was looking forward to at least some of my uneasiness being put to rest after attending this class, but now that is not going to happen.

I don't want to sound like a heap of self-pity, but I feel like I cannot count on anyone to be there for me. It looks like I am going to have to take care of myself. Whatever, I have two legs and hands that will work perfectly fine. I can always take a taxi cab to and from the hospital. Looks like I'll be doing this on my own, and maybe that's better anyway.

Getting close...questions?

So tomorrow is my last appointment with my surgeon before surgery and I would like to make sure I have everything answered and all the important questions addressed. But what to ask? I suppose I'd like to know how I am going to look appearance wise post-op - the final outcome. I'd also like to know a little bit more about the genioplasty procedure I am having. My biggest concern is being wired shut for two weeks. What happens if I get sick and have to vomit? Could I choke on it? I know in the hospital I'll have nothing to come up, but what about when I've been home and eating for a few days? What happens when you have the urge to yawn or sneeze? What if I have a panic attack because I feel like I cannot breathe?

Another big concern is nerve damage and numbness - so I've begun taking Vitamin B12. I plan to sleep as elevated as possible for as long as I can and utilize the ice packs as much as possible. The combination of being cooped up in my room and limited breathing gives me claustrophobia. I'm wondering for those of you who have had the surgery, how long was it before you were able to get up, go outside and go for a walk? I think this will be my saving grace, throw on a headscarf and take a walk outside, get some fresh air.

As the big day approaches, I've been getting more and more nervous! I feel like I'm having so much operated on compared to most people with both jaws and genioplasty. Hopefully I'll put some of those nerves to rest after my appointment tomorrow. Till then!

Brainstorming...

So here I am..less than six weeks away and I feel like I should probably start preparing myself with the many necessary items I will need post-op. I'm trying not to wait till the very last minute to go out and try to buy everything in one shopping trip. I've been adding to a list as I think of more and more things I'll need. Here's what I've come up with so far...please feel free to add or suggest anything else you think is necessary or helpful. Thanks!

Here's what I already have
- Zip N Squeeze bags (have 1 package, need more?)
- Juicer
- Blender
- Humidifier

Here's what I need to buy
- Saline nose drops
- Reading pillow (for sleeping/resting at a 90 degree angle)
- Dry erase board
- Ice packs
- Styrofoam cups
- Sippy cups
- Baby toothbrushes