Day 4 Post Op

 Pain: 6-7/10
Inconvenience: 9/10

There it is folks. The face. Swelling has gone down a bit, lips are still pretty jacked up, eyes stuck in a forever sad expression. They are sad because I cannot eat or breathe or smile.

Today was hard. Uncle Cameron and Aunt Lisa and their kids just flew in from Hawaii and stopped by. It was good to see them even though I was obviously less than ideal company. My mom picked up a lot of the slack and made them lunch, etc. They have adorable kids.

I'm soooo sick of taking medicine. It's like every 2 hours more medicine which upsets my stomach and makes my mouth taste bad for hours on end. The ice packs are my saving grace. Whenever I put a fresh one out of the freezer on my jaw it's like AHHHHH the most intense relief I've ever felt in my life. Without them my face feels like a hot balloon about to explode.

The pain, oh the pain. Just listen up... Don't get jaw surgery. I don't know what else to tell you.

Day 3 Post op! The jaw bone connects to the pain bone

 Pain: 5/10
Inconvenience: 10/10

I don't know where it came from or why I can't get it out of my head, but "the jaw bone connects to the...PAIN BONE" keeps repeating in the back of my head.

I'm home from the hospital, under the diligent care of my beautiful mother and sweet husband. Recap time:

Tuesday morning Hunt and I checked in to the hospital surgery center nice and early at 6am. Some nice nurses made me get into my hospital gown ran some blood and urine tests, which resulted in a big high five and laugh between Hunter and I when they announced the surgery was a go because I was definitely not pregnant. We waited for about an hour for the anesthesia tech and nurse and Dr. Wyatt to get themselves all set, and I'll not mince words with you, I was so freakin brave. Calm, cool, and collected, my friends. Only a short burst of tears when they gave me my anesthesia and wheeled me away from Hunter. I only caught a glimpse of the OR before I conked out without even counting down from ten.....

Then, there were lights, voices complimenting my coral painted toe nails, Hunter whispering into my ear something about being a champion...and NAUSEA. Ugh, the nausea. I was so loopy, all I could do was wave my hands around and the nurses kept thinking I was saying something about getting the doctor confused with Hunter, when finally my soul mate saved my life and announced "I think she is saying she is going to throw up," followed by a mad dash to get some anti-nausea meds into my IV. I felt the burn as the medicine ripped through my veins and BOOM out like a light again. This happened maybe 3 or 4 more times, while I was only catching glimpses of the stark hospital walls as they wheeled me to my private room.

Faint of heart, read not on.

I can't remember much of the rest of this day, lots of sleeping interrupted by my heart pounding in my chest warning me about the oncoming puke, followed by my begging my body not to do it. I was so scared that the force  would rip my jaw in two. But alas, my nurse finally did not make it in time and the vomit came. Oh it came. Bloody, thick, spewing through the sides of my cheeks where there were spaces to escape my teeth, all over. The bed, my gown, the nurse, all covered in vomit blood. Apparetly I had swallowed copious amounts of blood during the surgery. Sorry for the details, peeps, but it's life. The poor nurses had to figure out how to change my bed after I threw up everywhere, and kept laughing at me as I tried to motion for them not to worry about it. I think even I laughed a little bit at the looniness of trying to sleep in my own mess. I felt better after I vomited, but it didn't last long. Every hour or so the pounding would return, and the nurse taught me how to use the suction device to just suck it straight from my mouth without getting it everywhere. Happened 5,6 more times, each time more painful than the last because there was nothing in my stomach any more so it was a violent dry heave. Pain: 9/10. Awful. Maybeee a 10 but I'm saving my 10 for child birth just in case it's worse.

Finally I learned a very valuable lesson: STOP pressing the morphine button! After that, I didn't throw up. When I woke up the next day, the nurses took out all the most annoying things attached to my body and I felt SO much better. Cathatar, intibation that went into my lungs and stomach, and oxygen mask, gone. Whew, felt so much better. I drank some Gatorade with the help of Hunter, and slept and laid around. The pain wasn't too bad but the nastiness of it all was maddening. My mouth felt like a prison and I was rotting away inside.  I couldn't breath, speak, eat, nothing. My wrist felt like it was being gnawed away my the IV, and I kept asking the nurse to take it out, but she wouldn't! So when she left, you betcha I took matters into my own hands. Ripped that sucker right out. Props to my father-in-law for laughing it off and calling for the nurse as my blood shot out of my wrist and my IV sprayed all over. The nurse was so kind of told me I could keep it out for a few hours through my sobbing apology.

Anyway, not much else happened. The next morning (today) Hunter picked up my mom from the airport and I was discharged. We stopped by Dr. Wyatt's office and he said the surgery went totally smoothly and I was doing great. I'm alright. A little frustrated, terrible indigestion, headache, burning hot and swollen, but not as bad as you might expect 2 days post op.

My mom and Hunter and being such wonderful servants. I feel bad letting them wait on me so much, but I really not no other choice because standing and walking results in terrible dizziness. Drinking tons of medicines, Gatorade, 7-up, and Ensure. Bleh, all gross. Anyway, I'm starting to talk a little bit now because the Dr. loosened my bands a little bit.

HAVE to shout out to Hunter for being the best care taker in the world, seriously can't believe how kind and patient he is and how he understands my every mumbled grumbled word. He was my translator to the nurses. Mother-in-Law for cleaning my house until it shined when I got home from the hospital I found my bed with new silky sheets, linen closet organized, and fridge stacked with food for Hunter and mom. My father-in-law for being a great caretaker in the hospital as Hunter went home to shower, my sister Kate for the amazing care package complete with clearplay, books galore, and 42 hand written notes to open every day of the recovery. My sister-in-law Jen and brother AJ for the Mist Born series which I have wanted to read for so long!! My niece Lizzy for the "cats rule dogs drool" bookmark and for telling me I look "not too scary" while face timing today. My wonderful dad who let me be on his insurance for this entire thing, and for finagling a way to come visit later on, and my kind and devoted mother for flying all the way out and missing family reunion to spend time doting on me and just being a light around the house. And all those from church who've inquired and brought over nice things!

I was scared to be discharged from the hospital because it was nice to be under such watchful care, but I gotta say it feels sooo good to be home. Amazing what a long hot shower and your own bed can do. Here are some pics!

 Second day of recovery. Parents-in-laws and Hunter.

 My first walk around the hospital. Exhausting.

 Dr. Wyatt and me

Mom and me.

 Discharged!!

Good to be home!

T Minus ONE days!

Twas the night before surgery and all through the house,
I was like a crazed starving tornado eating everything in sight.

 I.mean.everything. Kit Kat bars, Reeses' Fast Breaks, cookies, fruit snacks, red vines. All this after a delicious steak dinner at Flemings, too. Wipe that judgmental scowl off your face, I'm having jaw surgery tomorrow and that means...my teeth are going to be WIRED SHUT! Six weeks of eating nothing but things that can be sucked through a straw. If anyone knows me, you know that there would be no greater challenge life could throw my way than to take my food from me. Terrible. But let's start from the beginning.

Since high school, I have been suffering from chronic headaches. I never though much about it until college and I started to realize how many bottles of Ibuprofin I was going through, and it occurred to me that it probably wasn't normal to be in pain that many times a week. I started to track my headaches and pay attention to how they started. I felt like the pain would radiate through my jaw joint, down the base of my neck, and behind my eyes. Almost every night I would wake up with a pounding headache and have to take medicine. They started to get progressively worse (migraines) and my jaw reflected the degeneration- about once a week it would lock up and crack super loud, which was very jarring and a little bit scary. I realized the two were probably related, so I started looking into what it could be. After seeing a dozen doctors, I was diagnosed with TMJ disorder, which is essentially arthritis in my jaw joint because my jaw/bite has grown in a way that puts lots of pressure on my joints. Turned out, my brother in law Tanner, his mom, and his sisters had all been treated for TMJ as well! This turned out to be a huge blessing because after seeing SO many doctors that gladly took my money and did ZERO help for my TMJ, they were able to direct me to a doctor that actually knew what he was doing! Trust me when I say, that in itself was a miracle.

Dr. Correa took a bazillion tests and treated me with a splint for about eight months, and it relieved my symptoms, but it was only a temporary solution. After everything was stabilized, it was time for braces and surgery. The idea of the surgery is that it will correct my bite and the misalignment in my jaw, which will relieve the pressure in my jaw joints. Eight months more of braces to get everything set for surgery, and here we are! Granted this was a much watered down version, and if you want to hear about every treatment (physical therapy, splints, acupuncture, chiropractic, etc), I can surely give that to you personally. But I'm prettttty sure my phone won't be ringing off the hook in response to that offer.

So my sister Kate recommended I start this blog, as an outlet and a way to keep everyone updated on my recovery.

SO! I'm feeling surprisingly calm... headache, as usual. Maybe a little stressed if anything, because I'm a planning freak and I'm going over and over in my head trying to make sure I have everything set for my recovery. I've got a plethora of items including, funny looking strawed bottles, juicer, hand blender, mesh strainer, wedge pillow, alcohol-free mouth wash, baby tooth brushes, baby nose sucker, mini white board (to communicate with), tons of liquid foods, etc.

People always say this when they go through hard things...but...the support I've felt from my family has been SO touching. I feel so buoyed by their faith and kindness. Without even asking for it, my family has been fasting and praying, sending gifts, calling, sending thoughtful emails, etc. My mom is coming out to take care of me for a week after I'm discharged from the hospital (best mom ever), because even though Hunter was more than willing to step up, there's nothing like being under the watchful care of mama. Speaking of which, I would be remiss if I did not give a giant shout out to the best, sweetest, most amazing husband in the world...a bazillion back rubs, doctors appts, and dollars later, we are finally looking at a hopeful end to the suffering. Thanks babe for always taking care of me and always supporting me in every way in this treatment.

The surgery is 7:30am tomorrow, so we have to be there at 6am to check in. The surgery should take about 5 hours and then I will be in the hospital for 2 days after. I should probably head to bed, here are a few pics for "before" surgery, even though the doctor said I wouldn't really look much different afterward (thank heavens). You will probably get a kick out of how frankensteinish I look right after surgery though, so you can compare that hideous face to this slightly less hideous one.


You can see here how my jaw swings to the right.

Here is a pic of me smiling my braces smile with my "last supper" tonight. Filet mignon with gorgonzola sauce, asparagus, and peppercorn mashed potatoes. AKA manna from heaven. It's going to be bittersweet remembering that meal as I slurp up my chicken stock and gatorade for the next 6 weeks.

Anyway, bed. Good luck to me! xoxo