ben had his big oral/maxil surgery this past wednesday.
we had to be at the hospital by 0605 to check in which
meant we were up at 0430...or better known as o dark thirty!
we checked in, got ben on his bed, in his gown and his cute lil
cap on! the nurses did their vitals, paperwork and such and
we were also seen by the surgeons and anesthesia.
promply at 0730 (and this is when the nurses said the exact time
would be when they go back) he got his happy juice, a kiss and
i love you from me and he was wheeled out to surgery.
before he went the nurse had asked ben what he was here for
and he said correctly surgery on my mouth. she asked him
if they knew exactly what they were doing and when ben said
he couldn't remember she went on to say...well we will cut
above your teeth (way up under your lip), pull the whole thing
down and then cut open your palate...umm thank you nurse for
giving us the visual for the rest of the day! sorry for the graphic
info but if you wanted to know, there you go! ben already had
his expander appliance in so this surgery was to open up his
palate to start widening his jaw. they don't cut into the roof of
his mouth as it would disturb the soft tissue...
ben was in surgery for about two hours and during that time my
sister came to wait with me and a sweet friend brought me some
coffee and a snack! we went back to the waiting room about 0930
and shortly after that ben's surgeon came out and said everything
went great. they said they were concerned he wouldn't be able to
open his mouth that well, like most patients don't, but he said ben
opened up like a hippo and did great!
we joined ben in recovery and although pretty medicated up he was
talking to me and saying he was ok. he was then transfered to an
impatient bed where he would recover until early that evening.
they had told us depending on how he was doing would determine
if he had to spend the night or not. our goal was not to spend the
night...at all!
he was recoving well and by the time ben's surgeons came to see
ben he was tolerating oral pain meds and thin liquids. actually
by that point he had water, jello, juice, soup and ice cream! they said
we could go home and both of us were very happy. they told us to
watch for nose bleeds (they cut up into his sinuses as well) that
lasted for a long time and just general things for a post op patient.
i knew the drill as i had tons of patients out of surgery.
the next few days were just resting days for both of us. ben did better
sleeping during the day then at nights so i was trying to catch up on
sleep too...i think im still trying since his actual injury over 3 years ago!
ok...so I started writing this post last week and am now getting back
to it. was going to post last night bur after the tragedy in CN and those
sweet babies losing their lives i couldn't do it.
so it has been a lil over a week since ben's surgery and he is doing
better. his energy is still not normal but for the most part his pain
is under control. there have been a few times in the last few days that
he accidentally came down hard on his teeth (he bit his lip and it shocked
him a bit) and then he sneezed and forgetting to do an open mouth
sneeze. poor guys face looked like he was in so much pain. other then
that he is getting better. he had some follow up appts on monday and
has more this coming monday. they liked what they saw.
we have started the horrid task of turning his appliance. it takes a lil
pick thing and we push it down. the more it opens the more it widens his
jaw and separates his front teeth! poor guy now at this point has about
a 1/2 inch gap between his two front teeth.we have to turn it til sunday
and then we are done. the pics below are just a few days after we started
turing his appliance. i will try and get updated ones soon. in a few weeks
braces will come and then they will all be back together and straight,
with a wider jaw!
more updates to come on ben's progress with all of this.
A Christmas Prayer
by Max Lucado • December 14
Dear Jesus,
It’s a good thing you were born at night. This world sure seems dark.
I have a good eye for silver linings. But they seem dimmer lately.
These killings, Lord. These children, Lord. Innocence violated.
Raw evil demonstrated.The whole world seems on edge.
Trigger-happy. Ticked off. We hear threats of chemical weapons and
nuclear bombs. Are we one button-push away from annihilation?
Your world seems a bit darker this Christmas. But you were born in the dark, right?
You came at night. The shepherds were nightshift workers. The Wise Men
followed a star. Your first cries were heard in the shadows. To see your face,
Mary and Joseph needed a candle flame. It was dark. Dark with Herod’s jealousy.
Dark with Roman oppression. Dark with poverty. Dark with violence.
Herod went on a rampage, killing babies. Joseph took you and your mom into Egypt.
You were an immigrant before you were a Nazarene.
Oh, Lord Jesus, you entered the dark world of your day.
Won’t you enter ours? We are weary of bloodshed. We, like the wise men,
are looking for a star. We, like the shepherds, are kneeling at a manger.
This Christmas, we ask you, heal us, help us, be born anew in us.
Hopefully,
Your Children
please keep all of the families in CN in your thoughts and prayers.
i don't know why people do what they do and i probably never will...
they need our prayers...
**i had to turn the word verification back on because we were getting
alot of spam and yucky comments. its the only way to stop them so
we went ahead and did it. sorry if the word verification is a pain but
it will prevent alot of stuff that comes to us!
