@$&%@##*

Brian has a cold.  He's only had about 3 colds in his entire life, but of COURSE he gets one now.  He was pretty sick Wednesday, with spiking blood sugars on top of everything else.  By the next morning he felt normal, except for the nonstop drainage.  This morning I dosed him up with hot tea and decongestants before I left for work.  I have a call in to the surgeon to see what he wants us to do.  The nurse said he'll probably want him on an antibiotic and Mucinex for the weekend, which sounds reasonable.  Just NO DELAYS, PLEASE!

Update:  The doctor called in an antibiotic, just to be on the safe side, and recommended a Mucinex regimen for the weekend.  He didn't think it was anything to worry about.  Yay!!

S-7 days

The countdown begins:  today Brian had his surgical hooks...installed?  Put on?  Something.  Anyway, those are the things that will be used to secure his jaws shut after surgery.  He got the flossing lecture, which he's used to, because he never flosses.  He says he will work on that this week, to get his gums ready for action.  

We had barking pig tacos at Unforked for lunch, which started the list of "last" meals for this week:  Cornish pasties, medianoches (Cuban sandwiches), and tuna patties.  There's also plenty of leftovers from his Chewing Party in the fridge.  He won't be hungry THIS week!

I stocked up a little for his personal pantry.

I also finished up his bedside caddy for the hospital, which will hold his phone, iPod, and dry erase board.

There's really not much else to do to get ready, until the day before surgery when we'll get his recliner-world set up in the family room.  Wow.  It's so weird to finally be at this point.

The Chewing Party

We had Brian's "Chewing Party" tonight, with friends who came to eat Brian's favorite foods with him while he can still chew.  It wasn't exactly a balanced meal, but who cares?  We had lamb curry and rice, lasagna, pulled pork, a Gigantor pepperoni pizza from Minsky's (26" wide!), veggie pakora, pickled okra, and pickled asparagus.

Then for dessert we had Death By Chocolate, apple square, chocolate cheesecake, and golub jamon.  

After we all ate too much, Brian opened his "gifts," all things I'd read about on other people's jaw surgery recovery blogs:

a bamboo serving tray, gelato spoons for when he can't open his mouth very wide, and a sample pack of Shakeology protein shakes

a hot/cold pack that he can wrap around his face after surgery, a custom sleep mask and earplugs for trying to sleep in the hospital, baby toothbrushes for when he's able to TRY to brush his teeth, and drool towels

a mirror for feeding himself when his face is numb and he can't find his mouth, A&D ointment for swollen face, and a bell

a not-yet-finished bedside caddy for his phone, iPod, and personal-sized dry erase board for the hospital (it will hang on his bed railing once I finish it)

a "make your own flashcard" kit for when he can't talk and gets tired of writing the same answers, with a couple pre-made cards

Brian really enjoyed talking to everyone.  He's never really comfortable in a group of people, but I think this was the most relaxed I've seen him at any gathering.  I wish I'd taken photos of everyone, but I'm terrible as a photographer because I'm too busy talking! 

Almost ready--or are we?

So.  Brian had his pre-surgery lab work, which showed his liver enzymes were elevated.  That was no surprise, with his type 2 diabetes, all the meds he takes, and his awful diet.  Undoubtedly he has a fatty liver, just like his dad.  Just to make sure, the doctor referred him for an abdominal ultrasound.  Sure enough, fatty liver.  However, his spleen is also enlarged.  This is a problem.  No surgeon will operate on someone with splenomegaly without further testing.  Since all Brian's other blood work was normal (no elevated white cells, etc), it's probably nothing serious.  The big issue is establishing that it's okay in time to have the surgery. 

Maybe we should be more worried about his spleen, but with no symptoms at all, and normal blood work (except for the liver enzymes), I have a hard time believing it's anything serious.  Brian's never had anything normal in his life, so of COURSE his spleen would be enlarged.  We'll see a GI specialist this coming week and hopefully that will be that.

Bill did point out that Brian could have mono without even knowing it, since he's so tired all the time anyway.  That's a good point, but again, no elevated white count?

In the meantime, we're going on as planned.  Today I took off half a day from work to clean and cook in preparation for Brian's Chewing Party tomorrow.  I started to make the cheesecake and realized we are completely out of flour.  Bill is running errands now, and I've been doing other things around the house until the flour arrives.  I wrapped all of Brian's "gifts" for the party, which will make up his Surgery Survival Kit.  I'll post some photos of that tomorrow.

Back to cooking and cleaning!

The surgery train is picking up speed...

It's starting to become real--two weeks from tomorrow will be Surgery Day!  Brian had his pre-op lab work, which was all terrible, in terms of cholesterol and blood sugar and all that.  No one was surprised.  He's chronically sleep-deprived and lives on peanut butter sandwiches.  Just to be on the safe side, his doctor ordered an abdominal ultrasound to make sure his liver was okay.  He enjoyed the pebbled water wall at the Medical Pavilion while he was waiting.  I wonder how long he would have sat there watching and listening to the water if they hadn't called him in?

It took longer to sign in than it did to have the ultrasound!  I'm pretty sure it would have taken longer than 15 minutes if there was anything wrong with him, so that's another thing to check off the list.  The doctor made some adjustments to his meds with the surgery in mind.  We still need to sort out how to handle his meds post-surgery.  Some can be crushed, some are capsules that can be opened, but others we need to check on. 

 We've ordered the protein powder, and I've started assembling a survival kit, with drool towels, gelato spoons, a hot/cold pack he can wrap around his face, etc.  The main order of business this week is getting the house cleaned and the food organized for his Chewing Party on Sunday.  I'm actually making lists of things to buy, things to do, things to take to the hospital, things to get ready at home...I might be freaking out just a little bit.  But once I have my lists, I'll be fine. 

Why Brian is having this surgery, in 34 seconds

Turn your sound on, and I apologize for the background static.

Click here to listen to what sleep apnea sounds like

I recorded this one night because Brian didn't understand why I would come in his room and make him roll over.  He knew he snored, but he didn't understand how bad it was.  

And now, we wait...

We started this process two years ago, when Brian got the necessary orthodontia to move his teeth into the correct positions for post-surgery.

Now, the goal is in sight--but we have nothing to do!  He had his checkup for surgical clearance, and one last check with the orthodontist.  We've been looking into how he's going to eat after the surgery.

He taste-tested a couple of brands of protein powder and decided which one he preferred.  And we took a couple of pre-surgery mugshots.

Those are pretty ugly, so here's a couple of cuter ones:

In the next 10 days we'll be preparing for his Chewing Party, and then things will move along.  He'll get his surgical hooks on his braces on the 17th, with surgery on the 24th.