EIGHT DAYS...
Next Wednesday I am going in for my jaw surgery! I met with the surgeon this morning for my pre-op appointment and spent a good deal of time chatting with Dr. Buttrum and the staff. He explained that it was going to be about 3-3 1/2 hours for the procedure which is a little bit longer than typical. He let me know that my case is a little bit more complex because of my joints or something like that. Because of the complexity of it I will also have two board certified surgeons doing the procedure instead of my surgeon and a resident. That's not saying there won't be any residents or interns there because I had to sign a consent form for the possibility that everybody and their brother might be there watch/participating/videotaping... So in one aspect I feel really confident in that knowledge and yet in the other it makes me wonder what the hell is so complex that there will be 2 surgeons instead of one... Why I did not ask them that question is beyond me since I asked everything else I could think of.
Regardless, I'm not really worried about the surgery or the after effects I'm just anxious. I just want it to get here and get it over with so I can stop thinking and dreaming about it 24-7. I have dreams almost every night about it -- some good and some scary. Sometimes in my dreams I get to see what my face might look like when it's all done and some of the dreams my face is horribly deformed. haha. I know it won't be bad but I can't help all the questions that race through my mind. I also feel like I'm super critical to what I see in the mirror right now - but I guess that can't really be helped since the last several moths have been nothing but surgeon and orthodontist appointments who are trained to see all of the flaws and don't mind telling you. For example last month when I had my appt with the surgeon he told me that they could do the surgery on both my upper and lower jaw instead of just the bottom. But he followed that up by reminding me that my ears and eyes aren't exactly symmetrical either so my head would never be perfect. Nice of him eh? He really is a super nice guy, just being honest plus I would not voluntarily elect to do the upper jaw if at all avoidable so I will just live on with my uneven eyes and ears. There go my dreams of being a supermodel... Reminds me of Gessica's wedding when the hairdoer whispered to me when he was done with everyone "don't worry I was able to hide your ears for the most part". This is the man that also told me when he first started doing my hair that he didn't want to put it up because it would make my face look too harsh. Thankfully I can handle the criticism now that I'm older. Geez. Also why I only go to my cousin and mom for my hair, at least I know they're not going to tell me that my face is a disaster and my ears are crooked. haha.
Anyway. Surgery next Wednesday morning at St. Vincent hospital at 11:00am. I will be spending the night and they hope to have me on my way home Thursday afternoon. I will be going home to Rochester with my mom where I will stay until she brings me back to Indy on Monday so I can have the bands taken off on Tuesday! It was really tough to decide where to go after the surgery but I know that I will be able to rest better at home with her. She has been pushing for that all along because of the dogs and I know she's right but it's still hard to be away from Kyle and the dogs for that long. But then when I get back I'll have the next week and half here with them before going back to work. So it all works out in the end. They gave me all of my prescriptions today for after the surgery and some syringes so I could start getting used to "eating" that way. By "eating" I mean for the first week while my mouth is completely rubberbanded shut I will only be able to get nourishment from what I can put through that syringe! :) You're totally jealous, right?? I have been instructed to drink eight - eight ounce glasses of liquid everyday -- more if I can handle it. Three of those drinks have to be high protein and I'm supposed to get as many calories as possible. I told my mom to just stock up on ice cream and milk so I can have shakes all day long! So then after they take the bands off on the 9th I can start a few more solid foods - but still no chewing. Absolutely no chewing for two months they say. I will be living on applesauce, mashed potatoes, cottage cheese and of course, ice cream! :) Ok and maybe some soup. Well technically I can really have anything that I want as long as it can be blended up and made into a shake! Meatloaf shake anyone? MMmmm! A lady at work today tried to pawn off some frozen baby food - peas. Seriously, if I'm going to eat baby food it will sure as heck not be peas. Thank you very much for the thought though.
I should really shut up and get to bed so I can get up and go to work in the morning. Have I ever mentioned that I don't like the cold? In case I have not, I do not. Now I have to take the dogs out for their last potty and freeze my tail off some more.
Anyone want to get paid to take them out everyday thru the winter?
Just so you will always remember - here is a picture of my face - the last time you will ever see it this way!
