[bebop]

will say a prayer and wish you and your daughter the best of luck!

[January]

Prayers are winging their way for you, your daughter and all involved.

Hugs,

Jan

[SandyWeb]

Thanks, everyone, for your support.

The surgery had a complication. Well, actually, the surgery went fine at only 4 hours...and they didn't even need to do a chin reconstruction. We were told that the removal of the breathing tube hurt her very, very much.

Anyways, she was throwing up blood (through her nasogastric tube) from the time of the surgery right up until I left at 7PM that night. I understand that she didn't stop until 5AM this morning. They were concerned as to why there was so much blood in her stomache. She was on the highest dose of morphine (4 cc's per hour), plus they were giving her a SECOND dose of anti-nausea when I left that evening....and I guess another one even later in the night. Every time she was heaving and gagging while throwing up the blood (through her nose tube), it was hurting her face so much. Plus she had all other types of meds running through her system. She also had the cold jel packs tied to her cheeks (but the swelling shouldn't be starting until about 24-48 hours after the surgery, and she said that she was starting to feel pressure from her skin). And the bruising hasn't begun yet either, so I imagine that will make it very uncomfortable.

She has the cool air mask on her nose and mouth, which she loves because it helps her breathe better. (They removed the nasogastric tube at 5AM when she stopped throwing up finally). The jel packs, of course. The IV with lots of goodies. She even had a suppository this morning (yuck) for anti-inflammatory. She CAN talk, but she prefers to write on her pad...and I'm sure that the more swelling and bruising that happens, the less she'll want to actually talk.

I had to go home at around 7PM last night because I was getting sick. It is one thing to see all this happening to a stranger, but I was feeling like passing out SOO many times when I saw it was my own little girl. I was in bed by 7:30PM last night, after lots of diarrhea (nice thing to hear, huh? *smile*) My sister spent the night with her, and said that doctors and nurses were all over Carly all night long. She said they'd be in there about every 2 hours, giving meds, checking vitals, adding and removing things. She even had a few sips of water from a little cup this morning! So she will continue to get stronger and more alert since she's not throwing up anymore, I would imagine.

Thanks for all your well wishes and prayers. As long as she can learn to drink and keep her fluids down, she should be coming home soon. Eeks! And as long as she has good pain control (since she won't be on morphine anymore), I think she'll heal as quickly as can be expected from anyone. She's a strong girl!!

I'll keep you up-to-date as I can. Thanks so much to a worried mother's questions and freak-outs! Lol.

God bless,
Sandy

[(JD)]

(((Hugs))))

My swelling was immediate, so glad she gets a reprieve for a bit on that...
I can't take epinephrine, which they usually use to curtail bleeding... sorry to hear of her problems there.

Sounds like she's on her way to recovery. Take Care!

[SandyWeb]

I know I keep posting about my daughter's wired jaw, and everybody is probably sick and tired of hearing about it. But it gives me comfort to type it out and know that SOMEBODY is reading it.

My daughter had a bad nosebleed yesterday morning where they had to change all her bedsheets and clothes, plus give her a spongebath. At least she's in her jamies now and not that funky johnny shirt anymore.

She still hasn't been able to drink anything yet. Whenever she tries to take a few sips of water, it makes her feel nauseaus. So she's still on the IV saline and morphine, plus whatever drugs are running through her.

Her swelling and bruising has started, and she can feel the pressure on her skin from that.

The staff don't believe they will be releasing her until Monday now. Usually the try to get patients out of the hospital as fast as they can , but since she had such a bad nosebleed and she's not getting her fluids into her tummy (which means she wouldn't be able to take her liquid medications), they are considering keeping her longer.

I can't imagine how scary that nosebleed must have been. It probably started to fill up her air mask and clogging her nose (which is basically her only air passage), plus then it's just running all over her clothes and sheet, pillows and all the wires and tubings, etc. And there weren't any family members there at the time. But she bounced right back. She's smiling (with her big lips. Lol), she's alert for longer periods of time, and she's not throwing up anymore. I just pray that is her one and only bad nosebleed.

Thanks for listening to a freaked-out mum.

God bless,
Sandy

Oh my Sandy.

You sure are going through a lot.

Hugs to you and your daughter.

[SandyWeb]

Hi everyone,

This will probably be my last post on a subject that is probably boring everyone to tears by now. But in case you're interested in how everything turned out:

My daughter came home on Friday afternoon. We saw "before" and "after" x-rays of her mouth, and what a difference! Her teeth touch together. Yeah!

She went through quite the surgery. They broke both jaws, shifted bones around to line up teeth, surgically cut out all 4 of her wisdom teeth, and inserted a few titanium plates in her gums to keep the bones together. She's been talking since Day 1, and I asked the surgeon if that happens a lot. He said, "No"...and we all laughed. She has big puffy cheeks and around her jaw, but that's it really. Another doctor commented that it didn't even look like she had the operation!

She is still just as puffy today, but the swelling should be going down now. There are a couple of old-looking bruises on her jawline, and little ones at the corners of her mouth. She has a lot of heart palpitations, but they think that is from the narcotics. She's hurting, of course, but she's on 6 different meds here to help with pain and inflammation and her stuffy nose. And we have those lovely wire cutters. Yikes!

She is no longer on morphine, but instead she is taking Dilaudid (every 4 hours, so mum is not getting any sleep!!!!! LOL), plus another narcotic and the other meds. She has begun to drink now, too, which is GREAT. So far it's just been chocolate milk, and chocolate milkshakes from those little tetra packs. And she drinks a lot of water when she takes her meds to get the yucky taste out of her mouth.

I want to thank everyone for your insights and support throughout this procedure. I've never known anyone to go through anything like this, and I appreciate all that you told me. It helped me to understand it a little better, and not be so worried. You're a great bunch of people!!!! Now just 6 more weeks until she can open her mouth. YEAH!!!!!

God bless,
Sandy

[sabby]

I"ve been reading along and watching your posts about your daughters surgery. It's been quite a ride for all of you I'm sure. But I'll bet you are glad to have her home safe and sound.

I'm so glad she came through everything like a trouper! Kids are so resiliant aren't they? I hope you can begin to get some rest now too. I'm sure your nerves are shot!

Sending healing and relaxing vibes to you and your daughter!

Hugsssss
J