For reasons entirely unrelated to surgery I slept horribly last night (loud neighbors). With only a few broken hours of actual sleep I was not happy in the morning and stayed low, drinking and taking the requisite meds. By afternoon I was ready to shower and get out for a bit and took a jaunt around the neighborhood. Being in public, albeit trying to avoid interaction, was incredibly refreshing. With that I felt up to more and spent the rest of the day cooking soups and blending smoothies, experimenting with recipes and foods. I will post more on that including meal plans and recipes separately. Today introduced acai smoothies, again a treat I have really been looking forward to.
Incremental changes are exciting to see each day. Today swelling continues to go down, however bruising is more noticeable. It's not a huge area, around and below my chin near the incisions. As the bruises heal the area grows and has turned bright yellow. Very strange looking. No change in numbness, I have resigned myself to that for awhile and will update when it progresses noticeably. I get lots of tingles after I lie down to sleep, a good sign that my body is working on it even if it's not visible yet. For the first time I can feel and see the end of my jaw bone and my cheek bones are starting to show better.
Even with daily changes and my extensive planning to get through recovery as quickly as possible, today was a reminder that no matter how well I am doing there is no fast track through recovery. I can do the right things and make it easier, but it has to run the full course which is a long road. Day by day - pay attention, adapt and wait it out.
Day 6
Today started off with my Mom departing. She came in the night before surgery and has been immensely helpful by my side through operation day and the challenges of the first days in recovery. Although I am set up and comfortable taking care of myself at this point, could not have managed the first few without her and the moral support has made the rest of it easier and more fun.
Swelling continues to drop. Still more swollen on the right side. Today I can almost see my profile and my cheeks and lip appear more natural. I'm hoping to look close to 100% for my one week post-op tomorrow, but even how it is today I think Dr Best will be pleased. Bruising has expanded more in the chin area, plus a slight shade on my throat where the tube was. A dab of tinted moisturizer covers it up for the most part.
Eating was a little traumatic today. One of the smoothies I had prepared yesterday included wheat bran for extra bulk. Unfortunately the flakes didn't liquefy in the blending process and it wouldn't go through the tiny space in my teeth where I am able to drink. I am hopeful after tomorrow's appointment I will be able to manage. In the meantime, an acai smoothie with added almond butter tasted amazing. I continue to drink every two hours, trying to keep well hydrated with small portions of substantial nutrients.
Activity is mostly back to normal, no naps or fatigue anymore. I attribute this to my surgical team for doing a good job setting up recovery so that I didn't have prolonged pain, medication, or complications. More or less since the afternoon of discharge my head has been clear. Now only continuing the week of antibiotics, which don't seem to have any side effects. At times I almost feel like nothing happened, but looking in the mirror is a reminder that how I think of myself, what I feel like and how I look are nothing alike. Plus, I don't actually know what my new face will look like.
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