Day 2: Home from the hospital

This morning I got to go home! But I guess I should explain how we got there.

Yesterday afternoon, Dr. Lee came to visit and said that I would need to stay the night again. He said as soon as I had a hold on my pain management I would be able to leave but he thought it best I stayed for the time being. He was very impressed with how well I was recovering though. So the nurses brought a roll-away in my room so Kevin could stay with me through the night. I worked with the nurses on duty to come up with a plan for my pain meds. I was still alternating between Tylenol with Codine and Ibuprofen, so every 2 hours I was taking a dose of something. I tried to spread out the dosages a bit, so I could get some rest and not have to wake up so frequently but after a while I got a little behind the pain and it was too much. The rest of the night was pretty uneventful, but Kevin was there to help me every time I needed to get up.

Dr. Fujimoto, my other surgeon, woke us up first thing in the morning around 6am. He asked about my pain and said that if I felt comfortable, I could go home. He also said I looked really well and was recovering nicely. After he left, Kevin and I rested until mom showed up. She had spent the night at Lauren's since Dad had to go back home the night before to take care of Francis (he has pneumonia so we're both on the mend. He's just trying to steal my thunder…). But dad told us he was going to pick us up when I was discharged.

Mom showed up and I had breakfast, and we started to get everything ready to leave. Around 11am they gave me my discharge papers and dad showed up to pick us up. They called the transport guy to take me down to the lobby, and it ended up being the same guy who brought me up to the recovery room from ICU. He said he remembered me. It's hard to forget a face like mine right now.

We made our way down to the lobby and loaded all of my stuff into the car. The ride home was nerve-wracking. My jaw felt so susceptible to every little bump in the road. Also, I'm not able to fully lay my head back because it puts too much pressure on my jaw. So in an effort to provide myself a little bit of relief and support for my neck, I laid my chair in the Escalade back a small bit. Unfortunately, it must have been too much though because all of a sudden my jaw had a huge muscle spasm. It seemed like my jaw was struggling to open and then stay closed at the same time. It was totally unnerving. I don't mind the pain so much, but just the idea that something might have gotten knocked out of place freaks me out! Apparently these muscle spasms are normal and expected in the first couple weeks of recovery.

We eventually made it home where Mom's team had sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers! Then we set me up in the recliner with all of my necessary things in arms reach: phone, ice bag, water, chapstick, tissues, etc. This will be my go to for a while; I plan on sleeping in the recliner for next couple of weeks. Those who I used to call family then proceeded to eat Togo's lunch in front of me. That's right people, on the very. first. day. home. It smelled so good. So I reminded them I had not yet eaten lunch and was promptly served some lovely chicken broth :P

As I dozed in the recliner, the doorbell rang and a delivery man showed up with a huge balloon bouquet from Mary Jo. I was grinning ear to ear, which is very difficult right now. Kevin was actually concerned that I would hurt my jaw from smiling and told me I needed to calm down. LOL. Thanks Mary!

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and being doped up, in my case. Later, Amy came over to visit and brought with her some awesome gifts to keep me in good spirits throughout my recovery. Supplies for 7&7's and an iTunes gift card from the TriPod (thanks guys!) and some crafts that are totally up my alley from her, dave and the kids. I don't know what I would do without the support I've received from everyone. The love and encouragement has been overwhelming and I'm so lucky to have so many people who care about me. It's one thing that has helped me stay focused so far through my recovery. So whether you wrote on my Facebook page, sent a card or gift or even are just following along here, thanks for sticking through it with me.

On a much more hilarious note, here's my progress picture for the day. I really think I am starting to resemble a certain Austin Powers villain…

Thanks for reading!