At the hospital in the morning
Today was an eventful day. Around 1 am I woke up and realized my hands were underneath me and kind of bent. I was in such a deep sleep with the new pain medicines. I looked at both of my hands and they were extremely swollen and full of fluids. I tried not to panic. I called for the nurse, and he came in and asked if I wanted both IVs taken out. Definitely. He took them both out and put a new IV in my arm by my elbow. He was so nice about it. I was so scared. He used a little ultrasound machine to find a good vein for me in my arm. Apparently my veins are hard to find :). I had to make sure to keep my hands elevated above my heart, and he said I would be okay.
It was really hard to take a picture, but I knew I wanted to take one to show Phil. I had to do it one handed and with the fat fingers on my left hand. I was kind of shook up and laid there just waiting and hoping the Dr. Would come in early so I could show him. I took this picture of me waiting because I felt so miserable.
The Dr. And Resident came In and I was so relieved to show them my hands. They said the same thing, to make sure to keep them elevated. I was young and would recover fast from it. It just took hearing it from the Dr. To make me feel better. They then took the drains out of my neck. I thought it was just a little thing at the bottom of the neck. These were long drains inserted pretty deep in. It was the weirdest sensation to have him pull them out. I could feel them sliding through my skin. It felt good to have them out and have the freedom to move more.
They took the tape off of my chest and it had irritated my skin a little bit. It was pretty red. They checked my rash from the morphine and it is getting better. They asked if I wanted to go home and I said No :). All the Nurses were so nice and it was so nice being taken care of so well. But alas, for healing purposes, they said it was time to go :).
After the Dr. Left, my attendant came and put my flowers from my friends in a makeshift vase for me. It was so nice and they turned out beautiful. He talked to me about life and his struggles, and mine. He really was an inspiration and made me feel so much better. I went to shake his hand when he left and he gave me a hug. All the Nurses were like family here.
The Nurse had me sign some release papers, honestly I didn't really know what for-but I didn't really care either! I kind of missed my bed. They had someone with a big wheel chair thing that had storage for all my stuff. I was a little nervous because I really hadn't done much sitting up. I was a little worried I'd fall over :). They wheeled me down and Phil met me with the car. The whole ride home I kept hoping no one would hit us. I didn't want to ruin all of that work!!
We got home and Eli was so excited to see me. Apparently he hadn't eaten the whole time I was gone. He jumped right in bed with me and slept at my feet.
I really didn't have much of an appetite so I didn't eat much today. I can have non-clear liquids now like the ensure, smoothies, yogurts, etc. I slept mostly all day. My congestion in my nose was awful. I could not bear it. I had a humidifier by the bed which I read helps. I asked my Dr. About Breathe Right strips as I have seen those mentioned a lot. He said not to use them-they would widen my nose. I could not stand feeling so congested and being uncomfortable trying to breathe out of my mouth. I did read on a blog about using q tips to clean carefully. I was so miserable it was worth it even if I started a horrific nosebleed and had to go to the ER. I cleaned very carefully, and the grossest nastiest things I have ever had in my nose came out. And they were long and thick. No wonder I couldn't breathe. I felt incredibly better after that. It was so worth it.
I was worried about using the Afrin too much since my Dr. Said if you use it too much you can relapse and get more congested. And of course I am not allowed to blow my nose for a month. So I take the saline which I was told I can use as much as I want, and squirt it in, then clean as needed. It definitely has helped a bunch.
The bed has to be elevated and thankfully have an adjustable base foundation. So we moved it way up for me. I brought ice packs home from the hospital and iced like crazy. I am trying to get all my icing in as it is the third day, and after that I read it is not as effective. So I iced all over my face, cheeks, and sides of face.
I would highly recommend having wax at home ready for your braces, and when you get home, start putting in on the hooks by where your incisions are. This will better allow the incisions to heal for both pain relief, and for you to be able to brush your teeth earlier.
I am making it a habit to get up and get my own meds. This way I am getting at least a little bit of walking in.
My friends came over at night again. They made me laugh which still hurts my cheeks. I laid in bed while they were here because I am so tired.
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