Day 2 of Recovery

We had a good night last night. They moved us into a different room so Momma was able to sleep on a sofa bed, next to Gabby's bed. This wasn't great for Gabby, because Momma snores and Gabby had to kick me awake a few times to get me to stop. Gabby started on liquid pain medication last night and she did well with it. The surgeon came by this morning and told us Gabby was ready to be discharged. We had to go to his office before going home to get instructions on how to care for the incisions inside her mouth. Everyone on his staff was so glad to see Gabby. They all said how wonderful she looks. He told us again, that she was a magnificent patient and he was extremely pleased with how things look. She took a long nap after we got home and another shower which was much easier today than yesterday. Gabby has had several visitors to keep her company today and is very thankful to be home. She gets tired very easy, but we are only on day two of recovery so... so far, so good.

Day 1 of Recovery

What a difference a day makes, as you can see from the pictures. The night of the surgery was long and basically sleepless, but the surgeon came to see us early in the morning and removed the sling. This was a relief, because Gabby said it was very uncomfortable. I actually started tearing up when he did. She looks so great! The thing that she has been most self conscious about her whole life is gone. We took a side view picture to show you. If you look at the first pictures we posted of her from the side and the one from today, it is an amazing difference. She had kids in grammer school call her "Jay Leno" and "butter face"(which is horrible teenage phrase). When she looked at herself in the mirror today, she just stood there with her mouth dropped down in misbelief. I said, "What do you think?" and all she responded was, "WOW!". The surgeon gave Gabby permission to take a shower and wash her hair. This process is very draining for someone who is woozy from pain meds, lack of sleep, and minimal nutrition, but she did great. We took a break, then took a short walk down the hall for a little exercise. I took her picture at this point. We are exausted, but Gabby is anxious to have visitors. We are looking forward to going home tomorrow.

3 hours post surgery

Go - Day of Surgery

We woke up at 4:45a.m. and headed to the hospital for our 5:30a.m. arrival time. We took this picture of Gabby and recorded her weight of 127.5 lbs. (She managed to put on 2.5 lbs in a week, by eating three hefty meals a day.)

We went through all the hoops prior to surgery. She was taken to the OR at about 7:20a.m. and by 7:40a.m. the anesthesiologists had come out to tell us that she was intubated and the surgery was ready to begin. The next several hours seemed like days. We got an update at 8:30a.m. and 10:30a.m. letting us know everything was going well. We were shocked when the surgeon's nurse came out at 11:30a.m. and said everything was done and the surgeon would speak with us soon. He said Gabby was the perfect patient and everything just "fell into place". He said he was pleased that he was able to use the titanium screws to stabilize her jaw and did not have to wire her mouth shut. We got to see her at noon. She was totally out of it, but she looks great!!! He expects she will stay in the hospital for two nights. I know everyone wants to visit, but it is still too early. We will ask the surgeon tonight if she can have some visitors tomorrow. We agreed we were going to do this blog so others could follow us through this journey. Gabby agreed to me posting a picture of her each day during her recovery. (in case you think I'm a horrible mother for posting these pictures) I will try to post again tomorrow. El

Ready, Set, ...

I am keeping up with the blog because Gabby is too busy to do it. She is eating four meals a day and spending her time with friends. Everything is set for Wednesday. We are set to arrive at the hospital for 5:30a.m. The surgery (Mandible and Maxilla Sagittal Split Osteotomy) is to start at 7:30a.m. He thinks it will take 5 - 6 hours to complete. He told us Gabby will be out of it for the majority of her hospital stay. She will be discharged on Friday. We appreciated all the prayers. We will try to update the blog each day after the surgery to keep everyone informed. El

Pre-Op

We spent 3 1/2 hours at the hospital today. Gabby had blood work done, we met with a nurse who asked a million questions, and we met an nurse anesthetist. Gabby feels better after talking to her about how the intubation will be done. We are set to meet with the surgeon one more time. He took mouth impressions yesterday to do a mock surgery so he knows exactly what needs to be done when he starts the surgery. The impressions that he took yesterday aren't exactly what he wants, so he needs to do them again. We also discovered that the tech that will be helping him throughout the surgery is the mom of a girl she knows from her high school. Gabby likes the fact that THIS tech will be in the OR with her. I am preparing all of Gabby's favorite meals. She is starting to freak out about not being able to eat solid food for 2 months. We figure she will most likely lose weight, so we will keep track of her weight on the blog also. Today she is 125 lbs. El

Week before surgery

This week will be spent eating solid foods that I like, going out with my friends, and visiting doctors. I am very nervous and I'm anxious to have my questions answered by the surgeon, and the anesthesiologist. This is what I look like one week prior to surgery.