9:00 AM: Physical Therapy
Today they gave me a handout of exercises to do on my own, a resistance band, and small roll pillow to support my neck. After PT I went straight to see Dr. Piper.
HOORAY, I got to take my splint out for the first time since surgery and remove a couple of the frontal bands forever! From here on out, I was able to remove the splint for 15 minutes, five times a day. Dr. Piper said everything looked great. It was amazing to see how much my bite was corrected with this surgery. My teeth almost fit together like a normal person's, and Dr. Piper said that the orthodontic braces that I'll wear after 9 months in surgical braces should work pretty quickly.
Lisa taught me how to properly use the Therabite, by doing 30 up-and-down pumps, and advancing to the next hole only when it becomes easy to get the bar all of the way down on the current hole.
FYI-There are five holes in the Therabite which are set to progressively increase difficulty as one moves up in number. You don't have to get to the last hole, #5, until 3 months post-op.
Next, I learned how to properly do the Jiggle Exercises, by quickly moving my jaw side-to-side for 5 seconds, 5 times. I would do both every time I took out my splint. She also gave me a bag with tons of extra rubber-bands and supplies for the months to come.
TIP- Be sure to keep your breathing hole open and clean by shooting the waterpik through it.
My temples and the sides of my head were still numb and sensitive to any touch.
FYI- When you start the splint breaks and exercising your jaw, it is totally normal to have bump-ups in pain and swelling. And at every appointment, they'll ask...
MY PAIN
My pain levels this week were always slight to mild (1-4), as I was taking all medications religiously at the prescribed times. Dr. Piper said, "It is much easier to keep up with pain, than to play catch up with pain." I kept this in mind, and by following his detailed instructions, never had any severe pain. However, I did have some continued lightheadedness from the medications, facial achiness, and was generally tired.
I was really pleasantly surprised that it was not more painful. Besides the soreness and sensitivity on the incision sites and on the sides of my head, the main discomfort I had was in my ears. For the first week, I felt a constant pressure and random sharp shooting pains in my inner ears. However, the shooting pains would only last for a few seconds and then were gone. I would also get an occasional stabbing pain in my jaw muscles. The ear and muscular pains were never constant and usually only happened while I was taking out my splint, doing my exercises, sneezing, or yawning. I had zero neck pain or headaches, which was such a relief!
TIP- Wear leggings, yoga or work-out pants, because it does hurt if your pants are rubbing against the stomach incision or the sensitive skin around it.
Considering the pain I was in before surgery, for me, this new healing pain was very manageable.
MY DIET
On a positive note, I said SEE YOU LATER to my liquid diet, ground up medications, and syringe feedings! And HELLO, to my No-Chew diet. On the No-Chew diet you can eat anything as long as the food is altered to a pureed consistency. (I really was excited about it, there was probably just food in my braces in the pic below.)
My first real meal was Panera Macaroni + Cheese (pureed in the Magic Bullet with extra milk to thin it). Then it was time to band back up, use my heating pad, and take a nap.
During our long late afternoon to early evening walk we saw a pod of Dolphins looking for food right along the bay wall. They were only a few feet away, and it was as if they were giving us a show to lift my spirits, by swimming back and forth and popping out of the water right in front of us. Then, I remembered that in many cultures, the Dolphin is a symbol of protection, and is said to bring good luck. I like that belief, and although I don't really believe in luck, they made my heart very happy.
They were iPhone camera shy, but you get the idea.
DAY 7- Tuesday, Jan. 10th
7:40 AM: Piper Clinic
Dr. Piper and Lisa were very proud of my healing progress and continuous low pain levels. Dr. Piper said if I kept doing so well, I would be able to go home a day early. I wanted to do a happy dance.
9:30 AM: Physical Therapy
After Physical Therapy, I spent the rest of the morning focused on my 15 min. splint breaks, eating, using my heating pad and resting. Then we walked from the Vinoy to The Pier and back, which was two miles in the heat. After this, I took a much needed one hour nap. In the evening, we took a stroll around the resort and then downtown to get some frozen yogurt. Although I felt puny, it was a good day.
9:00 AM: Piper Clinic
I was feeling really good, and because I was doing so great, my stomach Suture Removal was moved up from Thursday to Wednesday.
Since it was still healing, after she removed the stitches, Lisa placed steri-strips over the incision site. She instructed me to leave these strips on for three days, and brushed on an orangish-brown glue to keep them in place. I also had to wait another 24 hours before I could take a bath. After the strips came off, I began massaging the area daily to try and help flatten the scar tissue.
TIP- Shop at The Fresh Market. After my appointment we went to The Fresh Market on 4th Street, where I was able to get Greek yogurt, fruit and small individual containers of prepared foods. I kept them in my hotel fridge, and ground them in my Magic Bullet at each meal time. Some of my favorites were chicken salad, pesto pasta salad, egg salad, Thai honey chicken, dill cucumber tomato salad, quiche, and sun-dried tomato + mozzarella pasta. Smoothies, protein shakes, oatmeal, and soups are great, but it feels really good to eat flavorful foods (even if they are pureed).
Later, as I was going for another walk in Vinoy Park, and being passed by runners, I was thinking...
TIP- Shop at The Fresh Market. After my appointment we went to The Fresh Market on 4th Street, where I was able to get Greek yogurt, fruit and small individual containers of prepared foods. I kept them in my hotel fridge, and ground them in my Magic Bullet at each meal time. Some of my favorites were chicken salad, pesto pasta salad, egg salad, Thai honey chicken, dill cucumber tomato salad, quiche, and sun-dried tomato + mozzarella pasta. Smoothies, protein shakes, oatmeal, and soups are great, but it feels really good to eat flavorful foods (even if they are pureed).
Later, as I was going for another walk in Vinoy Park, and being passed by runners, I was thinking...
Below you can see the most bruising that I had the entire time. There was redish bruising behind my ears.
And there was yellowish bruising on the sides of my face, where the skin had been pulled back. All in all, I thought it was totally amazing that there weren't more signs of a major five hour surgery.
3:15 PM: Physical Therapy
Once PT was finished, we were off to see the amazing + eccentric art work of Salvador Dali.
The inside view from The Dali Museum. The architecture is breathtaking.
After the museum it was back to the hotel for some rest, another walk, splint changes, eating, heating pad time, and packing to go home!
TIP- Be careful when you're packing. After being somewhere for over two weeks, you'll have a ton of stuff to get together. I over did it a bit, by getting up and down too much. This made me lightheaded and dizzy. Don't try to do it all yourself, even if, like me, you're anal and like things packed a certain way. Get your family to help you, because they'll be happy to do it.
DAY 9- Thursday, Jan. 12th
TIP- Be careful when you're packing. After being somewhere for over two weeks, you'll have a ton of stuff to get together. I over did it a bit, by getting up and down too much. This made me lightheaded and dizzy. Don't try to do it all yourself, even if, like me, you're anal and like things packed a certain way. Get your family to help you, because they'll be happy to do it.
DAY 9- Thursday, Jan. 12th
9:00 AM: Piper Clinic
Finally, after my final appointment and checkup, I was officially discharged a day early. This was a wonderful day, because since I was feeling less pain and more independence and strength, I was really ready to get home.
Finally, after my final appointment and checkup, I was officially discharged a day early. This was a wonderful day, because since I was feeling less pain and more independence and strength, I was really ready to get home.
11:00 AM: Goodbye, St. Pete! We're out of here.
We decided to drive to St. Pete, rather than fly, because I did not want to risk getting motion sick during the flight, with my mouth banded closed, and because I didn't want the pressure to hurt my ears. Driving was also good for me, because I was able to bring everything I needed and I had my own car while I was there. Dr. Piper just told me to make sure to get out and walk around along the way, watch my neck posture, and to prop my feet up in the car. I used the neck roll from the Physical Therapist, which really helped. The only added discomfort I felt was in my stomach incisions, probably from sitting for so long. It helped me to lie back some of the time, and to wear yoga pants which I could fold down. Here's a funny picture of me getting in my one hour nap...
The only bad thing about us driving (besides 20 hours in the car and one flat tire), was that it was difficult to do my splint breaks. It really sickened me to even think about changing my bands and doing my exercises in a public restroom. Thus, after one quick, tearful experience, I managed to do my exercises, eat, brush my teeth and band back up in the car while riding. I made the most out of our hotel stop and got several breaks in there, as well. You just do what you have to do to get home.
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