Tuesday, December 14, 2010

day 1: i think i am still woozy

24 hours post-op

Reporting live from my ward in Mt Alvernia!

I wanted to blog sooner but truly my mind was willing and my body was weak.

Wait wait wait - Before I get started can I please document how much of a scatterbrain I am. Before surgery the attendants were like "Oh wisdom tooth extraction right?" I was like "Jaw surgery.. Right?" And they were like "Yes dear, both."

OH. I had no idea. I remember briefly talking to my surgeon about it in the beginning of the year but I clean forgot about it! Haha so in addition to moving both my upper and lower jaw, I got 2 wisdom teeth extracted too. All the more healing to do!

I think it's a general consensus that the first night won't be that bad! At least for me it was rather manageable. The docs said that the swelling will get progressively worse over the course of the week, but by the time the end of the week rolls around, I should be starting to deflate. Yay! Augustus Gloop no more! I think if I had really wanted to, I probably could've been released today but we decided to stay one more night just in case. Plus the nurses here are really patient and attentive. Don't we all love a little fawning once in awhile? :)

I'm really chipper aren't I? I think I'm just glad that the whole surgery aspect of my journey is over and done with. Recovery is another daunting process, but I'm glad to finally be on the other side of the fence now.

--

The last thing I remember in the OT was the anesthetist asking:

"Do you drink wine"
"Nope.. Not quite a drinker doc!"
"But do you enjoy the feeling after you drink some?"
"Ooh I do it's…….."

And then I was out. Like a light. WOW GENERAL ANESTHESIA YOU ARE AMAZING!!

Next thing I knew I was back in the ward. I could hear voices of my aunts and my doctors but I couldn't respond so I promptly went back to bed. I remember feebly waving at my Aunt who I knew had just touched down in Singapore and that's about it! And for some reason I remember my doctor saying, "Yes the swelling will get worse so don't be alarmed."

Oh well.

I woke up multiple times last night to 1) have the blood sucked out of my mouth 2) pee in a bedpan. They were both pretty wonderful processes seriously. It didn't hurt of course, and it sure felt nice to relieve my body of unnecessary liquid in my... Cavities. No throwing up nor any serious nausea though! Just a fair bit of coughing and phlegm. Of course I felt a little woozy when I sat up for the first time post-surgery, but that was to be expected.

Food wise, I've been having chicken soup/ ensure milk through a syringe. And water, of course. It is kind of a pain to eat (like troublesome, it doesn't hurt) because there's a process. Like food -> water -> mouthwash. But still so far so good.. Only about 3 meals down anyway. I still have the rest of the week! And there are quite a lot of antibiotics to take in the week to come.. Uggggh bitter medicine is bitter. No complaints though! I would just rather have a speedy and most importantly safe recovery.

Numbness/ Swelling wise, yup I'm pretty darn swollen. I've been joking that I look like Santa Clause - Just that instead of a white beard I have bandages galore. With regard to numbness, I think I feel fine? But I can't quite tell because of the copious amount of bandaging I have around me. It's bizarre though, like I'm touching my face through this film type thing. I'll continue to keep tabs on that and update here accordingly.

In other news, Ensure Milk doesn't taste half bad! Though I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune once I realize that that's all my diet will consist of for the next one week.......

3 comments:

  1. My anesthetist don't quite have the humour yours had. She just asked, are you awake? I said yes. And then that's the last thing i remember.

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  2. hi anon, hahaha my anaesthetist really was quite a joker. but the important thing is that the anaesthesia worked, right? :D

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  3. Hi, may i know which surgeon performed ur jaw surgery? also, how much did it cost? did u get covered by medisave/insurance?

    Thanks,
    Girl considering jaw surgery.

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