Hi all!
I'm out of the hospital and at home, thank goodness! I don't think I'll be able to update all at once, so here's an overview of the first 24 hours:
5:30am-arrive at the hospital, go through pre-admitting stuff
6:15- get taken back to pre-op, change into gown and get IV put in. After I was changed and everything they let my parents come back to sit with me before I was taken to the OR at about 7:30.
I don't remember much after they brought me to the OR...they had given my some relaxation stuff through my IV so I was already floating! The surgery started at about 8am.
I was moved to the ICU at about 2pm (I think...) and was in and out for a few hours. I remember asking for water and ice chips, which really seemed to help with the dryness in my mouth. However, it was so difficult to swallow! I had a tube going through my nose and into my stomach to drain the blood, which helped with the nausea, but made it even more difficult to get liquids down...
I didn't sleep much the first night...not because of pain or anything, but just because I was uncomfortable and people were always in and out of the room. I did have a catheter in, so I didn't have to even think about getting up to go to the bathroom or anything, which was nice...
Alright, I'm going to take a nap now, I'm pretty exhausted! I'll try to post again later (with pics of my balloon face) when I have a bit more energy!
<3 Stefane
Friday, December 18, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Where's my Teddy Bear?
Hello everyone, I'm on the other side now! I'm still in the hospital ,will hopefully be going home tomorrow morning, otherwise I might lose my mind!
Just a quick overview, and I'll write more tomorrow when I get home :)
The surgery went well, it took about 5 1/2 hours. When my surgeons woke me up in the recovery room the first thing that I asked for was my teddy bear, "Bear Guy," which they thought was hilarious. But they went out to my parents and brought him back to me...I spent last night and this morning in a Step-down ICU, which was wonderful with all the attention from the nurses. I never waited more than a couple minutes for anything, they stayed on top of my pain meds, so, yes, they were treating me like royalty Carrie! The regular unit isn't so great...I've given up on calling the nurses for stuff and just have my parents unhook me so I can go to the bathroom and everything. The nurses are really nice, they just have so many more patients to care for. I've mostly stuck with drinking water today, though I had a crushed up Popsicle this evening :) the hospital food just isn't at all appetizing!
I'll write more tomorrow once I'm home and everything!
Much love and best wishes, Stefane
Just a quick overview, and I'll write more tomorrow when I get home :)
The surgery went well, it took about 5 1/2 hours. When my surgeons woke me up in the recovery room the first thing that I asked for was my teddy bear, "Bear Guy," which they thought was hilarious. But they went out to my parents and brought him back to me...I spent last night and this morning in a Step-down ICU, which was wonderful with all the attention from the nurses. I never waited more than a couple minutes for anything, they stayed on top of my pain meds, so, yes, they were treating me like royalty Carrie! The regular unit isn't so great...I've given up on calling the nurses for stuff and just have my parents unhook me so I can go to the bathroom and everything. The nurses are really nice, they just have so many more patients to care for. I've mostly stuck with drinking water today, though I had a crushed up Popsicle this evening :) the hospital food just isn't at all appetizing!
I'll write more tomorrow once I'm home and everything!
Much love and best wishes, Stefane
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Just a few hours left!
Hello all!
I'm going to bed in a few minutes, so just wanted to give a quick update before I go into the hospital tomorrow morning :)
I saw the splint when I was at my surgeons yesterday- it doesn't look nearly as bad as I expected, so I'm not quite as worried about that anymore...
I'm all packed for the hospital, and have done some shopping for afterward...luckily my mom is going to do some more shopping and stuff before I come home from the hospital!
I'll be in the hospital for 2 nights, so I won't be posting until Friday afternoon!
So, I really have to get to bed, but I do want to thank all of you for your support and tips through everything! I'll see you all on "the other side"
<3 Stefane
I'm going to bed in a few minutes, so just wanted to give a quick update before I go into the hospital tomorrow morning :)
I saw the splint when I was at my surgeons yesterday- it doesn't look nearly as bad as I expected, so I'm not quite as worried about that anymore...
I'm all packed for the hospital, and have done some shopping for afterward...luckily my mom is going to do some more shopping and stuff before I come home from the hospital!
I'll be in the hospital for 2 nights, so I won't be posting until Friday afternoon!
So, I really have to get to bed, but I do want to thank all of you for your support and tips through everything! I'll see you all on "the other side"
<3 Stefane
The Before Shots
Surgery is tomorrow! I'll post again tonight about my last meals and preparation for the hospital, but I wanted to post pictures! My best friend is here and she took these today:
Saturday, December 12, 2009
4 Days...wow.
So, my last post was really just a rant...it's difficult when I'm going to school 1500 miles away from where I live an am having this surgery! But here's an overview of my appointments:
Ortho- The surgical hooks are on, and they are driving me crazy. I have wax on the bottom ones because they're cutting into my gums, but the top ones aren't hurting, just annoying :) They took my final x-rays and my molds there and I picked them up a few hours later to take to my surgeons.
At the surgeons- They took an x-ray of my jaw joint, which showed that I have developed arthritis in my left joint. This didn't really really surprise me, since I've been dealing with this for so long now! He took my measurements again (to confirm with the other surgeon) and used this contraption (wax bite plate in my mouth, connected to this metal thing) so he can mount my molds in relation to the rest of my face to preform the surgery and create my splint.
He also gave my more information about surgery day. I'll have to be at the hospital at 5:30am, they'll bring me to the operating room about 7:30 and the surgery will start about 8. Since Wednesday's are his day to get his kids to school he won't be there before they put me under, but he did tell me that we could wait for him to get there if I wanted to. After the surgery I will be in a step-down ICU overnight, so that I have more nurse supervision. For that first night I will have a tube going through my nose and down my throat to drain the blood out of my stomach, he said that this will help with the nausea, but I'll have anti-nausea meds if I need them :) (sigh of relief). I will also have a catheter in,so I don;t have to get up and walk to the bathroom. Those will both come out the next morning when I'm moved to a regular room. I'll get to walk around (a lot!) that day, and hopefully will be released the next morning!
Ahhhhhhh, this post is turning into another novel and my dad is yelling for me to come help clean the house (my best friend and her fiance are arriving tomorrow), so I'll write again with the rest of the info my surgeon gave me!
<3 Stefane
Ortho- The surgical hooks are on, and they are driving me crazy. I have wax on the bottom ones because they're cutting into my gums, but the top ones aren't hurting, just annoying :) They took my final x-rays and my molds there and I picked them up a few hours later to take to my surgeons.
At the surgeons- They took an x-ray of my jaw joint, which showed that I have developed arthritis in my left joint. This didn't really really surprise me, since I've been dealing with this for so long now! He took my measurements again (to confirm with the other surgeon) and used this contraption (wax bite plate in my mouth, connected to this metal thing) so he can mount my molds in relation to the rest of my face to preform the surgery and create my splint.
He also gave my more information about surgery day. I'll have to be at the hospital at 5:30am, they'll bring me to the operating room about 7:30 and the surgery will start about 8. Since Wednesday's are his day to get his kids to school he won't be there before they put me under, but he did tell me that we could wait for him to get there if I wanted to. After the surgery I will be in a step-down ICU overnight, so that I have more nurse supervision. For that first night I will have a tube going through my nose and down my throat to drain the blood out of my stomach, he said that this will help with the nausea, but I'll have anti-nausea meds if I need them :) (sigh of relief). I will also have a catheter in,so I don;t have to get up and walk to the bathroom. Those will both come out the next morning when I'm moved to a regular room. I'll get to walk around (a lot!) that day, and hopefully will be released the next morning!
Ahhhhhhh, this post is turning into another novel and my dad is yelling for me to come help clean the house (my best friend and her fiance are arriving tomorrow), so I'll write again with the rest of the info my surgeon gave me!
<3 Stefane
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Trip from Hell
So, the semester is over and my jaw surgery is less than a week away! I made it back to Denver by some miracle, and here is that story...
The Plan: Take my Friday final on Monday. Take my other 2 finals. Take a final on Wednesday morning at 8am, then leave Marquette and drive 7 hours to Chicago for a 7:25pm flight to Denver. Get home Wednesday night, ortho appointment at 9:40am, x-rays at 2pm, appointment with my OS at 3pm today (Thursday).
The Problem: A Blizzard (warning from 7pm on Tuesday to 1am on Thursday)
What actually happened:
My university sent out a message to all students on Tuesday afternoon: bad weather is on it's way, exams might have to be canceled Wednesday, DO NOT LEAVE FOR HOME ON WEDNESDAY. I called my mom, because I was starting to worry about making my flight and everything. We decided that the best thing for me to do was pack up my car and leave...then. I would miss a final, but I could not let this surgery be postponed. I left Marquette within the hour.
I hit very little snow north of Green Bay, but between Green Bay and Milwaukee it started snowing and I was slowed down. After I got through Milwaukee the snow picked up and the road conditions deteriorated. I couldn't see the road, visibility was low, and the snow was wet and heavy. It took me over 3 hours to drive a stretch that normally takes me less than an hour and a half, but I finally made it to my grandparent's house in Chicago.
The weather was supposed to be bad in Chicago until the middle of Wednesday afternoon, so we figured my flight (at 7:25pm) would not be affected by the weather...boy were we wrong! The flight was posting an on time departure all day, and was still when I got to the gate. FOUR HOURS LATER...I was still sitting at the gate. My flight was 3 1/2 hours late departing Chicago, so I got into Denver at 1am and got home around 2.
So, the trip sucked, but I made it! I met with my surgeon this afternoon, but this post is really long, so I'll write an update about that tomorrow!
Best Wishes and a Speedy Recovery to Carrie who had her jaw surgery yesterday!
<3 Stefane
The Plan: Take my Friday final on Monday. Take my other 2 finals. Take a final on Wednesday morning at 8am, then leave Marquette and drive 7 hours to Chicago for a 7:25pm flight to Denver. Get home Wednesday night, ortho appointment at 9:40am, x-rays at 2pm, appointment with my OS at 3pm today (Thursday).
The Problem: A Blizzard (warning from 7pm on Tuesday to 1am on Thursday)
What actually happened:
My university sent out a message to all students on Tuesday afternoon: bad weather is on it's way, exams might have to be canceled Wednesday, DO NOT LEAVE FOR HOME ON WEDNESDAY. I called my mom, because I was starting to worry about making my flight and everything. We decided that the best thing for me to do was pack up my car and leave...then. I would miss a final, but I could not let this surgery be postponed. I left Marquette within the hour.
I hit very little snow north of Green Bay, but between Green Bay and Milwaukee it started snowing and I was slowed down. After I got through Milwaukee the snow picked up and the road conditions deteriorated. I couldn't see the road, visibility was low, and the snow was wet and heavy. It took me over 3 hours to drive a stretch that normally takes me less than an hour and a half, but I finally made it to my grandparent's house in Chicago.
The weather was supposed to be bad in Chicago until the middle of Wednesday afternoon, so we figured my flight (at 7:25pm) would not be affected by the weather...boy were we wrong! The flight was posting an on time departure all day, and was still when I got to the gate. FOUR HOURS LATER...I was still sitting at the gate. My flight was 3 1/2 hours late departing Chicago, so I got into Denver at 1am and got home around 2.
So, the trip sucked, but I made it! I met with my surgeon this afternoon, but this post is really long, so I'll write an update about that tomorrow!
Best Wishes and a Speedy Recovery to Carrie who had her jaw surgery yesterday!
<3 Stefane
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
T - 14 days!
Two weeks from now I will be on the other side! Time is flying by!
I have a meeting with the Director of Dining Services tomorrow to discuss a plan for January. Since I'll be on a mush diet for the 1st month of the semester I won't exactly be able to eat in the cafeteria...I'm hoping that I'll be able to get permission to take food to my dorm and blend it into mush :)
Other than that there isn't too much going on, I'm swamped with final projects and exams...trying to not let myself get stressed out! I can't afford to get sick!
<3 Stefane
I have a meeting with the Director of Dining Services tomorrow to discuss a plan for January. Since I'll be on a mush diet for the 1st month of the semester I won't exactly be able to eat in the cafeteria...I'm hoping that I'll be able to get permission to take food to my dorm and blend it into mush :)
Other than that there isn't too much going on, I'm swamped with final projects and exams...trying to not let myself get stressed out! I can't afford to get sick!
<3 Stefane
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