Day 1: Thursday: Day after Surgery

This is the day when things started to go worse.  Because I hadn't really slept that well, and I don't remember being told to do so, I hadn't really drunk a whole lot over the night.  Mostly they kept trying to get me to pee.  I've read it before that other people had a hard time urinating again after the surgery because it burns.  Let me tell you, they are not kidding.  It hurt so bad.  When I finally did manage to work through the pain, I was only able to go a tiny bit.  Really, since I hadn't drunk a whole lot, it would make sense that there wouldn't be much in my bladder.  I did drink a lot the day before so that I wouldn't be dehydrated afterwards.  The night nurse kept threatening to catheter me again if I didn't go some more.  When I finally was able to go a tiny bit more, she decided to do a bladder scan to see if I was faking.  Fortunately, I was in the clear as there was little in there.  The second year resident popped up after all this.  I don't really remember much about her visit.  Apparently, she told me to drink more liquid and to try pee standing up which the nurse wouldn't help me with.

The overarching issue that I had overnight was that I came off the pain meds from the surgery and was in a lot of pain.  Their solution was to give me oxycodone, liquid.  I had a hard time taking it because it was a liquid and I wasn't drinking yet.  The other issue is that they were trying to get me to drink laying down.  Of course I would choke!  The nurse finally gave me a shot of Toradol I think, but that seemed to at least dull the pain, but they said it was a one time thing.  Eventually, I was able to drink enough that when I needed the next dose of pain meds they gave me oxycodone liquid.  All that really did was make me sleepy.  I still felt the pain, I just couldn't do anything about it.  It was miserable.  This was around the point at which the resident showed up.  She might have also made a comment about my swelling but I'm not sure.  I do remember her saying that they would be doing my bands in the morning.

Finally, at about 5 am, a whole bunch of residents popped up in my room to watch the banding.  The fourth year resident and the second year resident slowly put the bands on my teeth while trying to get my drug addled mind to shift my jaw forward so they could lock it into position.  I got scolded by the senior resident for not drinking enough at this point.  That is all I remember about the visit.  Apparently, I found out later they said a whole bunch of other stuff, but I don't remember it and slept for the next three hours.  During that time, I guess I as slowly swelling like a balloon.  At about 8 am, they took me downstairs to do xrays and final band adjustments.  Downstairs in the oral surgery clinic they made sure that my jaws were in the right alignment.  Then I waited two hours in a side room for a transporter to take me upstairs.  I was miserable.  I got taken away before my mom could get to my room and no one seemed to be able to find me.  Eventually, someone came to take me upstairs and I finally made it back to my bed.  By this point, I was in a lot of pain and pretty out of it.  The nursing staff since I was in a neurology unit didn't really seem to know what to do with me.  The food that I kept getting was also too thick.  I got thick thick cream of broccoli soup and then another time I got some other soup that was too thick and chunky.  When I left the surgical area, I had an awesome head ice wrap that worked wonderfully.  When I left to go downstairs for xrays, someone tossed it in the trash because they thought it was dirty.  As soon as I got back upstairs, I kept asking for a new one.  I kept asking like every hour or two or every other time I saw the nurse saying, "Can I please have an ice wrap?  My surgeon says I am supposed to have one for the first 24 hours."  She would say yes and then never bring one.  I finally got one as I was leaving and couldn't really use it that much.

Here I am walking in the hallway trying to get some exercise and feel better.

Later on the female resident (I feel terrible I don't remember her name), showed up and asked why I was laying in bed, I should be moving around.  I would feel better, the swelling would be less, and I would be able to eat and drink better.  She also told me to eat in front of the mirror as that would help me position things better since I was numb from the nose down.  Apparently, she had explained this earlier, but I didn't remember anything anyone said overnight.  I started following her directions, needing help to get up initially, but I was finally able to drink enough liquid to satisfy the target.  For some reason, it seemed like the nurse didn't want to let me go.  Finally, the surgeon's office called my mom and asked how I was doing at home.  They seemed surprised that I still hadn't been released and worked to get me out.  It didn't help that when we finally got approval, I had a weird episode where I started getting cold and shivering.  I'm not sure what started it but it freaked her out enough she wanted to talk to the dr again and recommended that I stay another night.  I wanted to go home so badly.  Again, the dr intervened and was able to spring me out so I could go home.

Here I am attempting to use a syringe in front of the mirror.

The ride home was an adventure.  I was in quite a bit of pain and it was so long.  It lasted two excruciating hours.  It didn't help that we had to drive through the city so some of the roads were a little bumpy.  I felt every bump on that ride home.  Fortunately, the pain meds I got shortly before I left made me sleepy enough to make the time pass.  When I got home, my family's dogs were very excited to see me.  They knew something was wrong and they were overall very well behaved around me which surprised all of us.  At this point, I was surprised at how little swelling I had, but I was in so much pain.