I am combining two posts into one (hope you don’t mind), they do have to do with each other:My Works For Me is my blender:
My Oster blender is awesome, it crushes ice and makes wonderful milk shakes, anything you want. The blender frappe’s, mashes, grinds, and shreds like the best of them. And this blender will become my best friend for the next 5 weeks.
Which leads me to the second part of my post:
Possible titles to this second part:
I am a chicken.
I am a worrier.
Those who have surgery together stick together.
Or all the men in my house rejoice.
All of these are true to my subject. I am a worrier. When things become out of my control, I freak. I imagine the worst and I plan for the worst. And I usually end up making mountains out of mole hills.
Here is the deal I am having surgery in one week and one day (the 28th). The surgery will involve one night stay in the hospital, and my mouth being rubber baned shut. I am having jaw surgery (hence the title “all the men in my house rejoice”). This is a small description of what I am having done. I currently have braces on, got them on last November.
Orthodontics (braces) may also be needed to allow the teeth to align properly. Corrective jaw surgery involves moving all or part of the upper and / or lower jaw into a more favorable position. For example, the entire jaw can be moved backward if it’s too large. The goal of treatment is to improve function and restore facial balance.
In my case they are moving the lower jaw forward. THE ONLY reason I have agreed to go through this is my boss’ wife is the surgeons assistant, so she will make sure I am taken care of. You have to realize you are talking to a girl who has heart palpitations while going for her regular teeth cleaning. Still a possible chance I drive up to the hospital and they have to drag me in…(we will see…)
Now to explain my title “Those who have surgery together stick together”. Well two days before MY surgery, hubby is having outpatient surgery to fix one of his fingers that was damaged playing basketball. I was a little miffed at the timing. I have already told him, I will baby you after your surgery until mine, and from then on “it is all about me baby!” (I said jokingly….kind of).
I will be on a liquid diet for 5 weeks. I will get to lose weight (this is what I keep reminding myself of, the BIG BONUS). I will look good in my jeans this winter.
Now these are the thoughts running through my head:
What if I die?
What if I die and my house is a mess, I need to find time to do the “big clean”?
Are my personal records in order?
Are my sheets clean?
I will clean my house but I KNOW the next day after I return from the hospital my boys will have rearranged everything, and that is when people will want to come visit!!
My mouth will be rubber band shut and I can not yell at anyone for FIVE WEEKS!!!!
How do you tell the kids “come get your stuff off the floor of the living room” while your mouth is swollen and slammed shut?
The kids will more than likely be laughing. I am going to have to walk around with a big stick, just to look mean (the bruising on my face will help the mean look).
How many shakes can one person drink!!
I need recipes.
The first week is the worst from what I hear.
I should not move for at least a week and half.
I was eating breakfast with my hubby this morning and began the sentence “If I die….” and he looked at me “covered his ears” and said “YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DIE, you are just having jaw surgery”.
I really am scared.
Could you please pray for me leading up to and the week after please. I want to have time to clean my house really well (in between football practices this has been a challenge).
I need peace of mind that I will wake up. Like I said I hate being out of control “meaning put under anesthesia”. And pray things will go smoothly after the surgery. Things did not work out in having extended family here (don’t worry family I understand), but I am nervous how everything is going to work out between getting the kids to school, picking the kids up, dinners, football practices, etc…. (I wont be able to drive for AT LEAST a week)
I am choosing to have the surgery now and lose my weight now, so I can sit down at Thanksgiving and say “BRING IT ON BABY, I CAN CHEW NOW!!!”
If you know any good smoothie recipes I would love to have them. I prefer not to have the “meat and potatoes dinner in the blender” type of recipes they gave me at the Doctors office. I will drink some V8 to get my veggies thank you very much.
And I thank you in advance for reading and listening to my babbling and worries of my impending doom surgery.
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{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
OH MY! I will be praying for you. I’ve had oral surgery but nothing as extensive as this. Don’t forget Jell-o. Smoothies are good and healthy too.
Blessings to you.
Oh, my, Lori — will be praying!!
Do they still make Carnation Instant Breakfasts?
Best of luck to you. I’ll say a prayer.
I suggest investing in some Protien powder - I like Designer Whey brand. I make a cold Coffee shake. I take a cup of cold coffee, I splah of milk and a scoop of Chocolate Protien powder. In the past I have put it int he blender with ice. More often I get lazy and use a Tupperware shaker and pour over ice cubes. I accidentally bought Chocolate Peanut Caramel. I was too chicken to add coffer, But I drank a scoop of it in Milk and enjoyed it. These powders are not good in hot coffee.
I’ll be praying for you! And if I come across recipes I’ll let you know. Can you google it?
Poor baby! I’m praying, but that honey of yours needs to step up to the plate and bat a 1000!
Losing weight is definitely a bonus.
I’m emailing a friend whose son went through this. She will have great ideas!
Interesting I should come upon your site. I am having surgery TOO on the 28th. Except mine is for a solid mass found on my right ovary. The blogosphere doesn’t know about it because I haven’t posted about it yet so I’ll pray for us together. And if you can pray mine is not malignant that would be great!
And remember, God is always in control. He WILL take of you! Worrying does absolutely nothing except make you more sick. Just pray my friend…
I’ll be praying for you ! oh goodness, not being able to talk!!! yikes! Have peace,
Jenny in CA
Shalee pointed me this way because she remembered about my son’s broken jaw.
Besides your good blender, make sure you have a strainer and a couple of wide straws. McDonalds sells thicker-than usual ones, and most hospitals hand out EXCELLENT corrugated ones in the lidded cups that they give to patients.
When my son had his jaw wired shute, he ended up living mostly on shakes–whenever I went someplace I’d stop at a drive through and try to pick him a variety of flavors. The problem is, ANY little chunky thing gets stuck in your teeth, so forget the blizzard-style shakes. He is quite lean, so we bought him protein powder to mix in with our homemade shakes.
We found a yummy strawberry-flavored shake syrup at Costco. Another staple was Carnation Instant breakfast, in multi-flavor boxes. We went through LOTS of that, and it is so nice and easy.
Besides the shakes, he enjoyed instant mashed potatoes, thinned with milk, and fortified with generous amounts of sour cream and butter.
Sometimes I bought him KFC mashed potatoes and gravy, which he very much enjoyed– we put LOTS of gravy in to thin it.
He also liked tomato soup, also fortified with butter. Of course you as an adult may not need as many calories as my growing 14 yo son did. So add butter only if you need it.
I tried to give him at least two different ‘flavors’ at each meal. We found some mango juice that was protein fortified that he’d drink alongside his shake or his potatoes. And I encouraged him to eat at least a little something every 2 hours.
His favorite snacks were pudding cups, thinned with a little milk. He could also eat yogurt, spooned into the side of his mouth and then slurped in through his teeth– NOT the kind with seeds and chunks of fruit, though.
Hope that helps!!
All the best
Mary, mom to many
Will look for recipes. In the meantime, I know it is no coincidence that this is my daughter’s memory verse now-
“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” Psalm 34:8
And, I have to share the one that gets me through anything-2 Tim. 1:7
Melanie
Oh, I am so sorry Lori… I am a big huge chicken, too. When we were getting a tour of the “birth center” before my oldest was born, I had to leave the room because I was about to pass out. And I have passed out - at the eye doctor’s!! So I feel your pain… I will be praying for you.
And make sure that when you get back home, you have a bell to ring to summon your family to your side and a big notepad on which to write instructions.
Oh - here’s my recipe:
Send hubby to Dairy Queen each and every night for the milkshake of your choice!
crazy. wow. I am thinking of you.
You keep thinking of your winter jeans : )
I’ll jump right in and admit I’d be terrified. I’m the world’s biggest chicken. And this doesn’t sound like simple surgery either. Good grief. I can’t imagine being on a liquid diet for that long. I’ll definitely be praying for you.
And Susanne had a good idea. I’ll bet there are a jillion recipes for liquid diets out there.
I don’t blame you one bit for being scared. I think I’ll direct my prayer toward you being less afraid.
I’m the same way about surgery. I’m so sorry you are scared… I’ve been there myself so many times. I’ll say a little prayer for you.
I was going to add you to my prayer blog, but Melanie beat me to it! I will be praying for you, and Theresa too.
Oh No, I will be praying and thinking of you!!
When I am worried I always try to stop and think, “will I even remember worrying about this in 6 weeks or 6 months?” Some times it even works!
Many years ago I had a very small surgery on my jaw and found that pureed, tinned pears were so good.
You will have to do all your talking on your blog…A bell would be good, or one of those cordless door chimes.
I am sure that the boys will rise to the occasion beautifully and will look after you and your home perfectly.
I will be praying and I do have some smoothie recipes on my blog and they are delicious! Blessings!
Sorry to hear about that. . . . I like Vanilla Soy Milk, in smoothies. I just blend it with frozen bananas, blueberries and maybe a little yogurt. I know that you know about smoothies, but this might be a bit different.
I am so sorry to hear of this! This time of year is a perfect time for soups and broths as well as the shakes and other liquids! I had oral surgery last year and was also on liquids for 6 weeks. Unfortunately, I splured on just the shakes a bit too much and didn’t experience the weight loss I had dreamed of…
Let me leave you with the most important message of all…I will be praying!
Be sure to keep us posted!!!
OH OUCHY!
I will have you up on top of my list of prayers!
TAKE care of YOU!
My husband had his jaw wired shut for 6 weeks. He definitely lost weight, but still “ate” a lot! Smoothies are great. Our favorite is in the blender put: 1 banana, about 1/2 cup of yogurt (we use plain, but vanilla is good too), about 1/2 cup of some kind of juice (orange, cranberry-grape…any kind), and some frozen fruit. I just bought bags of frozen fruit at Costco. This is SO filling and it’s SO good! Don’t worry about the talking, you’ll be able to talk …it’ll just take a little getting use to on others to listen closely!
Oh, sweetie, I am sending many good thoughts your way. Your husband is right…you’re not going to die. And who cares what your house looks like. Anyone who’d judge your home when you’ve got your jaw rubber-banded is NO FRIEND. So, relax. A little mess never gave anyone cholera. In fact, never mind relaxing. Sit back and be a QUEEN with servants waiting on you hand and foot!
I had surgery about 12 years ago–a biopsy. (Negative, thank goodness.) I did not have the healing time you’re looking at, of course. But I can tell you the general procedure of the hospital. They’ll give you something to help you relax after you get there. You don’t go into surgery alert and talking and get knocked out. Trust me, once you have that hospital gown on and are in that bed, you’ll feel better. I’m not kidding–all the worry will be behind you. When you go into surgery, you’re very mellow, you get an IV…and the next thing you know you are in recovery. May I also suggest someone gets you a really cushy, soft pillow on which to rest your head at home? Sending you hugs…
Wow, you’re fast! I only posted a short time ago and already you visited my blog! So now I’m sending you even more good wishes! (Hey, and the Queen should have a little bell to ring. I bet it’s going to be hard to call out, too.)
Wow, Laurel, I missed this. Not sure how unless it was posted on Tuesday, my day away from home. (I didn’t check.) My prayers started when you said you would be needing something prayed about. GNC is ood for protien drinks. V8’s are great for veggies. I may mention here that when you go back to eating after a liquid diet, take it easy. Your stomach won’t be used to digesting solids. Add some Psyllium powder (also known as metamucil but the generic is cheaper, and has less additives) to the thinner drinks for fier, you will need it.
I have never had my mouth wired shut though I have gone for almost 5 weeks with no voice and 3 months on a liquid diet (I was pregnant and couldn’t eat solids–except peanut butter and honey sandwhiches).
As for the no talking, I would start learning and teaching your boys ASL. My kids have been learning it for a couple years and I have a bit from when Itaught special ed. It helped us a lot when I couldn’t talk. Also, each of our kids have a clap that I use to call them or all of them. I hate yelling so I clap for each of them if I need them. My BIL hates it ecause he says it’s like calling a dog but I would rather clap four times (for all) or two (for the eldest) than stand there yelling. This also came in very handy when I couldn’t talk. I would call them then sign or write down what I needed. It worked pretty well.
Thanks for letting us know, I’ll be praying too. From what I hear, you will have all clean sheets before you leave.
I have an underbite and having jaw surgery is one of my options to correct it, which would cost less than braces because insurance would pay for it since it is a skeletal issue and not cosmetic. Anyway, I have been putting it off, but I need to do something. I am a BIG chicken too. I like to be awake. I was awake when getting my wisdom teeth out too. I will be praying for you and I will be anxious to hear your thoughts. I don’t know of anyone that has had this done. Take care.
We love smoothies w/vanilla yogurt, milk, and some fruit thrown in.
You are brave and strong. Tell yourself this now. Think positive. Carol Burnett had this surgery but doesn’t talk about it.
My lower jaw has receded over the past 5-10 years. At 50, I dont have the $ for this surgery. I put my 2 kids thru college and gave them each braces. Thats my legacy I guess. I cry when I look in the mirror each day.
Have your surgery for me. Take care. Religion has never helped anyone so I am not one to pray to some spirit in this day and age. I do say be healthy and your family and friends love you and you are good.
Please keep posting.
Kate
:(…praying for your peace now, and for both of your speedy recoveries! I’m a big chicken, too, but somehow at times like that, calm prevails once things get started. Hope you have calm BEFORE things get started.
What @ soup? Can you eat warm foods? Would you like soup recipes?
I feel your pain! I’ll be having similar surgery in January except my lower jaw will be moved back and my upper jaw split and moved forward. Good luck to you! Keep us updated on how it went! How long did they say you’d have the braces on after surgery?
I’ll add you to the prayer post this week. Here’s my simplest and best smoothie recipe, in spite of having several books. One cup of any kind of milk in smoothie maker, add one envelope any kind of carnation instant breakfast, any flavor is good. Blend a minute. Add one handful of berries. Blend, add one handful of ice cubes. Blend til smooth and thick. Wonderful, wonderful and keeps me full all morning. xoxoxo
Oh, my! You’ll be fine and I’ll be praying. Just threaten the boys now .”I’ll take/throw away all game boys, wii’s, x-boxes, etc if you _____ (fill in the blank). I’ll look for some smoothie recipes and post them for you. Think good thoughts
As a fellow worrier, expecting the worst on every surgery my husband or son has ever had, I feel for you. I had to memorize Joshua 1:9 and Isaiah 41:10 to get me through it all. God is so good, and the what ifs I had, did not hold a candle to his precious Word. I’ll be praying for you!