Day 2 – recovering

I tried to get some sleep but I had to wake up again for vitals at 4am. After that I slept until 6, went back to sleep and probably woke up around 8. By that time the hospital was getting busy and I just kind of drifted in and out. I think I slept on and off enough during the day before that I wasn’t completely de-energized.

Surgical staff came in and poked around, did some feel tests. I had the majority of feeling back in my face (except the jaw). Doctor said it was due to my good “capillary reflow” which I think is basically the reflow of blood to the jaw after they reattached it.

Breakfast consisted of the same liquid diet as the day before. Apple juice, tea, broth, and some water ice/sorbet which was even more difficult to eat today as Doc put a couple more bands on, which makes this the most inconvient day so far. But damnit, I did it. I found that it is impossible to eat jello with a wired jaw no matter how hard I tried.

After breakfast and vitals they took me off of my beloved hydromorphone. To my surprise I didn’t need it anymore. I started to work up some discomfort (and really, not a sharp pain, but pain from swelling and pressure).

Lunchtime came around and I got upgraded to creamy liquids, so I got cream of chicken and managed to eat that by pouring it into a foam cup. Pour any liquids into a foam cup! It makes it so much easier to eat/drink than some of the plastic cups they had at the hospital.

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no more IV drugs 🙁 I also look like I’m 12 again

After that I slept until discharge, where they unhooked my IVs (again, I think the 2nd most painful part of this ordeal, the 1st being having them put in) and gave me my cocktail of 7 drugs to get. Antiobiotics, oxycodone, nasal spray,nasal decongestant, sudafed, special mouthwash. Stopped by the apothecary before going home. Not a lot of swelling yet.

before all the swelling started

Got home, took all the drugs and felt very good. Brought me back down to a 2 on the pain scale. Iced my face once in a while to keep the swelling down. Drank some Ensure. And wrote blog posts for the last 2 days.

ahh, ice packs
looks like I got beat up