Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Things I'm most worried about...

I'm not actually too worried about the surgery itself. I have two wonderful surgeons who have been doing this surgery together for years. I'm young, I've done plenty of research, and I have a clear idea of why I'm doing this which helps me have a good attitude.

Mostly I'm worried about the recovery:
nosebleeds-I get them fairly often when I go home because of the high altitude, so add that to jaw surgery, yikes!
throwing up-my surgeon has already told me that I will have a tube in to drain the blood out of my stomach, but I'm still nervous. I'm going to ask about anti-nausea meds at my next pre-op appointment (which is in 2 weeks!)
getting back to school-3 1/2 hour plane ride 23 days post-op. Enough Said. (Has anyone done this??? When was the first time any of you flew after your surgery?)
the cold-last January we had classes canceled multiple days because it was -25 F with a -45 F wind chill! I'm buying plenty of scarves to wrap up in!

And the big one...
the SPLINT-I will have the splint in for 6 weeks! I will have post-op appointments with my OS at 1 week and 2 weeks post-op, but won't have a 4-week appointment because I'll be back at school (yay!). So I'll fly home the last weekend in January to get my splint out...I've heard a lot of people say that their speech was affected by the splint and eating is messy. I suppose the first few weeks of the semester will be interesting! Also, will I be able to close my lips over the splint?

5 weeks from tomorrow (when I will not be posting because I have classes all day, a meeting, a paper to write, and an exam to study for)!

<3 Stefane

4 comments:

  1. Wow I could never live where you live! I live in hot muggy Florida. I hated the splint. I took it out before I was supposed to, it kept me from being able to close my mouth. I totally don't reccommend taking it out on your own though-- I called my doctor after I did it, and he was luckily okay with it. Most people don't seem to have a problem with the splints-- they are more of a nuisance I guess. I think that me not being able to close is not typical but I don't know... Good luck with your surgery! I look forward to see how you're doing!

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  2. ooof...the splint sucked. really. just makes it hard to eat and really self conscious and not to mention talking with it...

    Throwing up isn't a big deal after...it felt pretty good to me...i had a splint and was rubber banded shut when I threw up and still came out pretty good, I didn't choke or anything. Just think, it's temporary and then you will have an awesome bite! it is worth it! Good luck!

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  3. Hey!

    You're sounding a lot like me. I am going to school in Winnipeg, Canada and it's been unseasonably warm right now, but soon it will drop to -45 for months on end. I'm also trying to get all of my school stuff done so that I have that week-end before my surgery on the 9th to take a breather, relax, eat some good food and take it down a notch after the semester ends. I'm T-27 days today...
    As for flying, I decided not to do it, but only because I want to spend the time alone recovering and not watching everyone else eat good food. My surgeon said that if I wanted to fly home even for X-Mas it would be fine.
    Are you having upper or lower/Or both?

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  4. Thanks for all the encouragement and support! It seems so close, yet so far away at the same time!

    I don't have a choice with the flying thing...I have to be back for the start of the semester! I've already asked my surgeon about it and he said that I should be alright to fly by then.

    5 weeks!

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