Hanging in there

I was able to eat more today than yesterday - for some reason, my stomach didn't really want anything at all yesterday. Psychologically, blended food just isn't that wonderful to contemplate, but I think it was something else. The same food was much better today.

So I was able to eat more for lunch today. And that's a good thing. I walked around a bit, and even did some stuff around the house. I'm starting to be less of a burden (although there's still a lot of distance to cover before I'm back to being a contributing member of the household), what with a few dishes done and setting up a new email address for my mom. I still haven't been able to shave my upper lip or chin yet, which makes me look rather ... edgy.

Anyway, I'm feeling much better and the swelling has decreased again. At this point, I keep hoping that I'll wake up to find that it's completely gone. No such luck yet, but then they said that it will resolve in 10-14 days. And I'm on day 6. So that would be surprising.

I feel like I'm reiterating a lot. I may write less frequently. Because unless I come up with something else to write about, I'll just be chronicling the types of blended food items I was able to consume and the size of my puffy cheeks. But when there's news, I'll write.

Not as fun as expected

I'm reminded that most people really don't like shaving. As a matter of fact, I don't like shaving. But I prefer shaving to looking scrubby.

Until today.

Long facial hair, a somewhat dull razor, the remnants of some adhesive on my face, and considerable swelling ... I had to take a seat after a bit. Now it looks like I'm trying to grow a poorly groomed goatee, because just the mustache and chin are unshaven. And part of my neck.

So I look like a goober, but I'm going to pull through. I sure hope I can shave better by Sunday, though. Of course, even if I am clean-shaven on Sunday, I half expect that some kid will ask what's wrong with me. My response, obviously, will be to mumble "don't do drugs, kid" through my tightly fastened teeth.

I feel nearly normal!

It may be an exaggeration, but I feel much closer to normal than I have since Monday. I'm still quite noticeably swollen, but not nearly as much as I was. The prescribed pain medications are more than enough for the pain, and I'm actually hungry. I feel like doing random, sometimes mischievous, things, which I'm sure you'll all take as a positive sign.

In a little while, I'm actually going to shave - I put it off yesterday for a few reasons. I'm quite looking forward to not looking like a swollen scrub. Now I'll look like a clean-shaven, swollen man!

I'm actually entertained by how much larger my head is than my limbs at the moment.

Once I went to bed last night, and all this morning, my breathing has been natural and easy. Life is great!

A little gratitude

Because of the swelling, I sometimes have a bit of difficulty breathing. It's not as if my breathing is totally impaired, but sometimes it's not as easy as I'd like. And since the inability to breathe is my greatest (physical) fear, the whole experience has been quite unpleasant in that regard.

The purpose of this post is not to focus on the discomfort, but on my blessings. On two occasions, I have received priesthood blessings (the same as Peter and the apostles of old gave in the New Testament - by the authority and in the name of Jesus Christ) that promised me that I would have health and that I would be all right.

I cannot say that my faith is so unshakable that I never felt any trauma for a moment. I hope that a bit of adrenaline when I had to strain to breathe is excusable. But I knew all along that the Lord was taking care of me. If I hadn't been sure of that, I'm sure I would have had a much harder time sleeping these last few days.

Any family will attest that I have been sleeping more than enough since Monday.

Baby steps

Every day is a little bit better. Yesterday, there was no more bleeding. Today, the swelling has gone down noticeably, and I have a much larger range of comfortable motion. I still have to move slowly and deliberately, and sometimes a movement will unexpectedly create tension in my jaw, which is not comfortable. But I am still amazed at how much easier this seems than the descriptions of what I was to expect. And even though it's going so miraculously well, I'm amazed at how unpleasant the overall experience is. I'm sure I won't mind in retrospect, but this really isn't much fun at all.

And I don't know how I'd be doing this without my family. My mother in particular has spent countless hours helping me out. I'm considerably more self-sufficient now than I was two days ago, and in a day or two, I anticipate being able to do just about anything around the house that I really need to do, but having Mom here has made this so much easier to take.

Anyway, on a more positive note, I'd like to reiterate that I'm very little pain - the pain is almost completely negligible, all the time - and I'm not as hungry as I expected. I'm not as articulate as I might have expected, but with some patience I'm able to communicate. The swelling is receding, I'm able to move around on my own, and I think I'm technically legal to drive. Everything really is going swimmingly and tomorrow I should be able to take off my chin strap - and then shave!

Settling in

It's been another day. I've been sleeping a lot, for several reasons. One, I have some serious catching up to do after last semester. Two, there isn't a whole lot else that I can do. Three, I'm hoping I'll heal more quickly if I do. My mother said she's never seen me so inert. I think that includes the pneumonia episode in the fourth grade.

I seem to have stopped bleeding from my nose when I move around, which is definitely okay by me. That means that I should be able to walk around without fear, although jogging is still out of the question.

Those who have lived with me know that I am fond of brushing my teeth. Well, it's awfully hard to brush some areas of the mouth with one's jaws wired shut. I woke up this morning and noticed that the taste in my mouth was somewhat considerably less than ideal. Again, I'm hoping that when the swelling decreases, I'll have increased mobility and at least be able to use mouthwash a bit better.

I think I'll be more active today. I think I was so lazy yesterday because of aftereffects of the general anesthesia. I wasn't legal to drive yesterday, but as I understand it, I am today! Not that I have any plans to go anywhere. And I am getting pretty good at playing The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past. Oh yeah!

The First Day

I'm now at home in Davis, just over 24 hours after leaving the surgery itself.

I had an adventure in the recovery room - it was hard to breathe at first because I was so swollen, and because my nose was bleeding. And because my jaw was wired shut. Anyway, that was quite uncomfortable, and I'm pretty sure they kept me there longer than they meant to, but all's well that ends well.

Once I got to my room, things were much better. My mother stayed in the room with me and read a couple chapters of The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia). My nurses were great, although some seemed overworked. After my experience in the recovery room, I really wanted quick responses, just to be sure that if something urgent happened, I'd be taken care of.

Once I got to my room, everything hurt less than I expected it to, and I recovered more quickly than I thought I would. I can walk around now, although I risk a nosebleed when I do, and can somewhat laboriously ingest liquids. I'm sure than as the swelling goes down, it will become easier.

That's all for now. I'm going to vegetate for a while, and then go for a walk.

The surgery itself

I was completely unconscious for the surgery. I remember cracking jokes with the anesthesiologist, nurses, resident, principal surgeon, etc., before going under, and then coming back up. Not a whole lot to tell.

The report is that everything lined up perfectly, and the surgeons were quite pleased. I did not get a scratchy throat, as is common after having a tube down it, and I have feeling in my cheeks, which means (I believe) that I will not have a permanently numb side of my face, resulting in unknowing drooling for the rest of my life. I'm really okay with that bit. I've had extremely little pain, and the bleeding in my mouth stopped quickly - it's a day later and I don't think I'll bleed from my mouth again unless I do something stupid (figure skating, anyone?), and I really doubt I'll be doing any of that for a little while. I still get nosebleeds pretty much any time I look down, but I really don't have much to complain about.

Into the Fire

Sunday night, I realized that I was brushing my teeth after eating the last solid food I'd have for a month. I'm generally either stoic or goofy about these things, but I admit to being somewhat daunted by the prospect.

I was glad that I was familiar with musicals, because I remembered a song from the Scarlet Pimpernel soundtrack. The Pimpernel tells his crew that there is always a dangerous situation that someone needs to enter. I decided that it was my turn, and that it was time to go, as he put it, "into the fire."

And, as is always the case, things were better in the morning.

Getting started

So many of my friends and family have expressed such concern and compassion to me as I've prepared to have my jaw surgery performed. Now that my jaw has been operated on, jaw is wired shut and my cheeks are very swollen. As a result, I'm considerably less articulate than I was before, and although any of you are welcome to call me, it's not likely to be very rewarding for you.

I'm writing this blog so that those who are interested in knowing how I am can easily access general information. I check my email regularly, and if you are in the area, you're more than welcome to come visit. I'll post about once a day to let you know how my recovery is going. And I appreciate all of the emails, prayers, good intentions, and other concern.