Jaw surgery completed.
07.29.2010 10:00 AM
Last thing I remembered was gently nodding off under anesthesia. Then, what felt like just moments later, I snapped awake with pain pain pain pain all over my face. I couldn't swallow because my throat was so sore, like strep throat sore, but nurses kept plying me with meds and drinks, telling me to cough, and I couldn't drink anything down, I just coughed it up, it hurt so much.
I had told Joe prior to surgery that if I looked okay, he was welcome to go to the hotel and get a good night's sleep for the long drive home the next morning. But that night, I remember nodding in and out of consciousness with him by my side, alert as a retriever at a hunting party, patiently wiping the blood from my nose.
They put me on an IV with some sugar water and morphine. Morphine really helps kill pain, but it's only good for an hour. The other narcotic called Lortab Elixir lasted longer, but had to be administered orally. It was nurse Laurie who came in in the middle of the night who finally manage to get me to take the mix orally as well as get some juice in me. She was bright an chipper woman, and I was very grateful to her for her patience.
Joe slept in the reclining chair in my room and kept a close eye on me for the rest of the stay. Drinking felt like drowning, and he was by my side whenever I started choking.
In the morning, everyone wanted to know if I wanted to stay another night or leave. The surgeons seemed to highly recommend that I go home to finish my healing, so I consented, and I'm glad I did. I feel much better here.
The surgeon sent me a gigantic calla lily as a get well gift and my orthodontist sent me a gift certificate to Walmart. These things still seem bizarre and otherworldly to me. Flowers? Walmart? How about an orchid and a six pack of Boost? Where am I going to put that gigantic lily? It's comical on some weird level!
My mom has been worried sick. I had Joe call her and fill her in on the deets. If I were capable of rational thought, I'd be able to say, "Yes, please come," or "No, I'm not up to it, there's nothing more you can do here" but I still have limited reasoning. All I can do is eat, drink, and sleep, sometimes read some comics or play on my DSi. I would love to see Mom and Kitty, but I'd probably sleep through most of the visit.
I'm going through a "go away and let me lick my wounds now" phase. The docs tell me today and tomorrow will be the worst as the swelling gets worse, but that around Saturday things should be getting better. In the mean time, my face is so swollen, I feel like you could pop me with a needle.
Okay, that's all I have left in me right now.
I've looked in the mirror. My jaw is straight. My teeth line up. So surreal. I can't believe it happened.
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