What a journey it's been this week alone. I've cried, laughed,bleed, fought, and finally succumbed my situation.
I can definitely say, there is no way of 100% preparing for this surgery. Everything you think you know, or you think you can handle changes the moment your in recovery.
The first 3 days...
The first day was more like a blur in time, I remember people coming and going, nurses checking me often, and kept
Asking "do you need more morphine" why yes please ;) trust me, take all the drugs they give you, no need to suffer through all that.
When I finally came to my senses it was late in the nite, early morning. I honestly felt like I was going to die! I couldn't breath through my nose, my mouth was wired shut, my swelling was soo tight on my cheeks I could barley get air through my teeth.
And to top it off, my mouth was as dry as a dessert. Luckily my wife left me my white board. So I paged the night shift ICU nurse. I explained to her I was thirsty, and I needed water. She denied me water and said she would have to asked the doctor.
I then asked her to rig up some tubes/straws she could rig up between my cheeks so I could breath (I seen this on YouTube) and she denied me that. This nurse was brutal! I honestly thought I was going to die!! So she jacked me up on morphine and Ativan instead :-S
Finally the next morning came, I was alive!!! It was a Miracle. I was then introduced to my day Nurse Lisa. What an angel!! She thought my idea of the straws was a great idea and hooked me up right away. She also provided me all the water I could handle.
And apple juice!!! My overall care experience from those next 2 days where very pleasant!
Day 4 coming home...
So it's day 4 and I get to go home, I figured I would be thrilled to be able to come home and sleep in my own bed. Boy I was wrong!! I missed out on all the hospital perks like instant pain relief, humidified air mask (these are so good) mouth sucker. So non the less thing got a little tougher, but we have made due.
Liquid diet sucks, but I am enjoying the fresh smoothies. I definitely recommend you try and mix Boost or Ensure into any of your meals. You need all the vitamins you can get to encourage a quick recovery.
Day 5 and 6 where by far the worst for pain for me, but with a steady supply of solid pain meds and lots of ice and sleep got better.
As I write this, I'm slowly falling asleep!! Lol it's hard to keep a solid energy level just on liquids alone. But overall today was a great turning point for me. My swelling has gone down a lot, the pain is now just a mild throb. I shaved for the first time and could kinda see my new face below all this swelling and it made me happy.
Anyways nap time and I will leave you with my 1 week smile
Take care
Eric
I hated the liquid diet. Luckily I was given the ok to swallow soft foods. How's your diet going now? (I'm 13 days post op)
ReplyDeleteHi Camilla,
DeleteThanks for stopping by my blog, and congrats on making it to day 13 post OP. It is definitely a deflating process, but its key to stay positive through this recovery process.
I'm not going to Lie, Liquid diet SUCKS!!! and so does being wired shut. I'm going to be 4 weeks post op as of tomorrow, I have found some great Puree recipe's online by doing a search on "Double Jaw Surgery Recipe's" I have found I enjoy my smoothies mixed with my Boost or Ensure. Some of my favs are: Chocolate Boost mixed with Banana and peanut butter yummy!!
Or Vanilla Boost mixed with Coconut milk,banana,and pinapples topped with vanilla ice cream.
Or the Classic strawberries and Banana with a vanilla Boost.
I kind of gave up on the Puree foods as nothing really tasted how it should!!! I mean I even put a burger in the blender! (Don't ask I was desperate :P)
But in the end, you make due, and just try and get all the vitamins in as you can, and drink lots of water to make a speedy recovery.
Wish you all the best, keep in touch.
Eric