Day 1: Discharged and Home

Day 1 of Double Jaw Surgery

Good morning! As you can see, still minimal swelling. My lips are definitely plump though! I woke up around 6AM and another cancer patient with the same symptoms was next to me again.

I'm not suctioning as often anymore and the saliva is clearing out and no longer bloody looking. I was visited by the doc at 7AM and was told that I can be discharged today after they see I can take down food, not feel nauseous, go to the bathroom on my own (I've had a catheter the entire time) and walk around.  My parents came back around 9AM and hung out until I was discharged.

They removed the catheter and I was able to urinate 4x on my own. I was cleared for a full liquid diet (not just clear liquids) and they brought me a really smooth pureed broccoli and cheddar soup, cranberry juice, and custard. The nurse showed me how to eat with the 20ml syringe and red catheter attached to it. Pretty simple and a little messy at first, haha. I also was able to walk around the ICU and completed a lap without any problems, just took it slow and steady with my rubber-bottomed socks. One thing of note, when I did actually get up, my left nostril leaked fluid and I had to hold a gauze up to it until it stopped. It leaked intermittently depending on my body position.

I was advised to fill all my prescriptions at the hospital because they'd be harder to find elsewhere due to the liquid form. Apparently the medication system went down for a few hours and it was hard to ring patients up for it. There was a lot of back and forth between the hospital employee and my parents to see when we can get those filled. A few hours later though, I changed back into the clothes I came in, took a bunch of syringes and gauzes with me, and off I went in my rollchair to get into the car!! That was about 2PM.

 Home and Exhausted
 Finally back in my apartment, my dad helped me into bed as he sorted through all the meds and paperwork.  I had a pillow wedge from a previous incident and kept it knowing that I'll need it for this surgery. The incline alone on the wedge wasn't big enough, so I added my curved memory foam pillow on top of it and I was elevated nicely.

Morning swelling vs home afternoon swelling. Pretty much the same and minimal. I knocked out.

I slept for most of the day and still drowsy. Just like the previous night, I woke up every couple hours but it wasn't bad.