Surgery and Home Again

July 24th:

I had a lot to get accomplish before my scheduled arrival time so I left the apt at 9am to take care of last minute errands. I return home just in time to shower and get picked up by my friend Harold who works at the hospital. I arrive at the hospital around 10:50am (a cool 10min before my scheduled arrival time) One thing I noticed is the surgery waiting room is PACKED. To be U of M Hospitals, this room was pretty small. But eventually I find an open seat and wait. Harold stops by to check up on me and give me some last minute words then heads off to work. Around noon, I see my oral surgeon walk down the hall for I guess his lunch break and then I realize that his surgeries will be pushed back. To my surprise, a few minutes later, I am called back to pre op. I go through all of the usual pre op stuff. Met with nurses, anesthesiologists, fellows, residents, and my oral surgeon. It was pretty cool seeing him. I was referred to him at the last minute and had only met with him once for like 5min. Seeing him in the pre op relaxed me a bit as he seemed pretty eager and comfortable with my procedure. He planned that I will be done in 1.5 hours. My surgery time was 1pm but they didn't take me back until 2:15pm. Didn't matter to me much because I was in no rush. I was staying overnight regardless. They wheel me in and I go from the rolling bed to the skinniest surgical table known to man. come to think of it, the table for my knee surgery was just as small. There were people in the room getting ready then all of a sudden, I am told I am about to receive the shot in my IV which will knock me out.

The next thing I remember is waking up in recovery. I was told surgery went as scheduled and the doctor came by to tell me that everything couldn't have been better. First thing I noticed is that my lower lip, tip of my tongue, and chin is completely numb. Seemed pretty routine which made me happy. I was told I would only be in recovery for no more than 2 hours but the hospital was pretty crowded. My attending nurse kept saying they are waiting for a bed since I was ready to leave. He was shocked that I wasn't in any pain but the only thing I wanted was water so I was given some. Harold stopped in to check up on my and said I looked pretty good. He said he noticed a difference. On his way out he picked up my cell phone from security so I could contact people. Eventually I get word that they have a room for me and I would be on the same floor that my other friend works on.

I am taken to my room and I meet Teressa and Calvin. Teressa would be the nurse taking care of me for the night and Calvin was filling in for Steve who was the tech for the night. Everyone was really nice and friendly. Everyone got a kick after learning that I am an athletic trainer for the university. I even had a good heart to heart with Teressa who wanted to be a PT but didn't like clinics which was the same for me. She was awesome and took really good care of me. She didn't really know how to handle my case very well but it was good that I know a few things about this surgery so I asked for ice to help with the swelling, the doctor wanted me to drink a lot of water and so I did. I drank so much water that I was taken off the IV after my third trip to the restroom and my third 32 oz cup of water. Between the IV and the water, I never urinated so much in my life. They had to keep track of all my fluids too so I would lose between 300-500ML. In the morning I lost upwards of 550-600ML. I was given morphine shots a couple times, IV drips of an antibiotic, and anti nausea meds. I slept at random bouts for 1-2 hours. Since I had to sleep at a 45 degree angle, I would snore once then wake up then go to sleep just to snore once again. This was repeated thru out the night/morning.

The staff change over occured at 7am and I met Peggy (nurse) and Raymond (tech) Breakfast is served and its cream of wheat, orange juice, milk, and custard. I hate cream of wheat so I ate some of the custard. I was first greeted by my friend Kyle who is a 10min walk away. It was good seeing someone I know who was visiting. He was surprised at how well I was talking and how different I looked. Much of the swelling haven't kicked in yet either. He left to go to work and Harold stopped by briefly. Again I noticed the nurse was a little worried about my case as she didn't have experience with lower jaw surgery. Both Peggy and Teressa have asked why would I need such a procedure which I explained to them. Steve thought I was hit upside the head and had a skull fracture lol. Well Dr Edward's residents and fellows come up to see me and are happy with my status. All I would need is to be heavily rubber banded then xrays and then I will be discharged. He even said he has written the paperwork already. Around 9am I am taken down in a wheel chair to the oral surgery clinic. I noticed that the place was pretty busy. A couple of the physicians I knew and have met the past 2 weeks stopped and said hi and how good I looked. So first come the dreaded rubber bands. First the fellow tries to band me up but has problems with my bite since it was slightly off. Dr Edward's resident comes in and does the banding. This was the worse pain I have every felt through this whole process of being braced. It was very uncomfortable. Once I was banded I had to wait 15min to see if my bite would adjust. Well my muscles didn't like this very much and I relapsed. So I was banded tighter and then waited 20min. Still this wasn't enough then I had to wait 30min. After this time I did not know what to do. The pain was nearly bearable. I felt dizzy and nauseous at some points. My happy mood changed immediately as I was centered on the pain. After 30-40 min, xrays were taken and the resident and the xray tech were amazed how the change in my bite. I tired to get excited but the pain took control. Next I was wheeled up by one of the guys who was with the girl who wheeled me down. He immediately noticed a change in my demeanor and how I couldn't talk very well. I told him what I just went through and he was speechless.

Back on my floor, I ran or wheeled into my friend who is a nurse on the floor. We caught up for a bit and he hung around my room until he was paged. He informed me that I shouldn't be on this floor. I told him about how the hospital was booked and he explained to me that the nurses on this floor do not have experience with a case like mine. Then I realized how Teressa and Peggy reacted when they saw me. It was sad to see Teressa go. In a way I had hoped I could have stayed as she was returning tonight. Both Peggy and Teressa said it is not often where they get a healthy person in after surgery. Around noon Kyle returns with some soup, gatorade, and a starbucks energy drink for me. He didn't realize that it was a energy drink and Peggy pointed out that I could not have that type of drink in the hospital nor would I want one but it was a nice gesture. For lunch there was creamy tomato soup, chocolate ice cream, apple juice and something else I couldn't remember. Kyle eventually leaves. I was not hungry but Kyle and Harold felt otherwise. After a few evil texts from the clowns I drink some OJ and Apple juice. At least it was some calories. Soon I begin to notice that I am talking much better. I also notice that I am bleeding a little bit more and swelling has increased big time especially on the left side. I then notice that one of my rubber bands (the one causing the most pain) had come undone. I tell Raymond who gets Peggy. Peggy tries to get the rubber band on but when she sees the blood she freaks a little and then pages my doctor. She informs me that I am being discharged and that I need to call the person picking me up. She also says that the dr wants to see me before I leave to fix the rubber band. Harold comes up within 10min with my bag from security. but being discharged takes over an hour. I was so frustrated at this point. Harold tells me how U of M patient's biggest complaint is how I was treated with a lot of waiting and not knowing whats going on. So finally I get discharged then I ask Peggy to call down to let my dr I am on the way. I wait in the waiting room for over 40min (Harold goes back to work) Another dr who I knew fixes the rubber band. At first he couldn't see what the problem was since my jaw already adjusted to my new bit but he tried anyway to get the rubber band on which he frustratingly did. He was a real trooper.

Then it was off to the hospital pharmacy to get my drugs of Lortab (Hydrocodone and Tylenol) and liquid ibuprofen. Well my insurance did not cover the ibuprofen so the Lortab was filled. We headed off to CVS to pick up some last minute stuff like peroxide, the liquid ibuprofen, and straws. I finally make it home by 5pm. Sad that after being told I will be discharged by 9am, I am not discharged until 1pm. At this point, I am just happy to be home.

Right now feeling in the tongue is better and I am starting to feel sensations in the lower lip and chin like tingling and itchiness. After a quick shower, I take some meds, and prepare some tomato soup and add some sour cream. I also add a nice big cup of water. I have to stay hydrated. Now that I am home, I hope that I will not be going to the restroom ever 3omin LOL