Mike's Update of 9/10/09

Thank you for the many prayers and well wishes.

The hospital called and reviewed some of the “craniofacial surgery post-operative instructions.”
The surgery will begin Friday (9/11/09) at noon and will last 3 hours. I should be able to come home Saturday afternoon (9/12/09).
I have to admit to a little anxiety as I read the instructions and noted what to expect:
Risks: “You may be numb near the lips, cheeks, nose, teeth and forehead due to bruising or damage to facial nerves from the fractures and soft tissue damage. Numbness may last for months, and can last up to a year.”
Swelling/Bruising/congestion: “Expect swelling and bruising after surgery greater than or equal to the same swelling experienced at the time of injury. The second night after surgery will have the worst swelling.”
Incisions & Care: “You may have multiple incision sites including lower eyelids, under eyebrows, or intra-oral (inside the mouth) which will be closed with sutures. Coronal incisions (from ear to ear across your scalp) may be closed with sutures or staples”
What? Nobody told me about being cut from ear to ear. The doctor said it is unlikely but if they need to it is an option. Cool thing is if they do the incision it will be a zigzag from ear to ear. Maybe I shouldn’t have paid for a hair cut until after surgery.
Exercise/activity restrictions: “Some activities to avoid after surgery will include: nose blowing, sneezing, bending over at the waist, and heavy lifting greater than 15 lbs for two to four weeks.”
Pain: “After surgery your face will be sore, similar to when you were initially injured. Most of the discomfort after surgery will be related to swelling around your surgical sites. You will be given pain medication after surgery, but it is our practice that by two weeks post-operative you should be weaning off of the pain medicine.”
Two weeks? I expected only one week. Maybe I won’t be back to work as early as I planned.

OK, enough scary glamorization already. It probably won’t be even close to that bad.

While I admit to some painful anticipation my faith and trust is that everything will be fine and that the 2 week wait was sufficient to make sure the eye is ready for the experience.

Oh yah did I mention the coolest thing is that my second daughter is being induced early Friday morning and will likely deliver her baby boy sometime while I am out in never-never land. By the time I am brought out of my slumber, I may well be a grandpa, again.
That will be a nice pain killer.

Thanks again for everything and look for some before and after pictures.