in the hospital

hi everyone! i had double jaw surgery on wed april 28th. it is now 4:47am fri morning. i should be going home today! i will be wired shut for 6 weeks and off of work for 2.
first off let me celebrate that surgery was a success! :D the doctors said everything went great. it took about 5 hours.
when i woke up i remember feeling content. i could breathe better than i ever could before in my life.
by moving my upper jaw up, my doctor changed the shape of my nose, widening it and triming some cartiledge to shorten it. within a few hours it began to swell and since there was a breathing tube during surgery eventually it swelled to the point i had to breathe out my my mouth. i was a bit concerned about that but when my dr checked up on me the next day said it was completely normal. swelling peaks from anywhere from 24-48 hours and then tapers off. im approaching the 48 hour mark so thankfully can look forward to it gradually decreasing on the inside (throat, nose) and out. my upper lip is most swollen of all. my nickname at the hospital is angelina julie. lol
eating for the first time had me near tears until i dedcided to be patient and tenacious. i needed a syringe to get any fluid in my swollen mouth and could barely swallow so most drooled out into a plastic bin i had on my lap. everything i drank was clear at first but by day 2 dinner i was on ensure because i held everything else down. thankfully i had no nausea whatsoever since coming to after surgery. i believe it is because i had nothing to eat or drink, including water, for about 18 hours before surgery and i had friends specifically pray against it happening.
speaking of friends, i have some amazing ones. one of my roommates is fasting on a liquid diet the full time with me. another is giving up all media to support me. others have signed up on a calendar to have the same diet (liquid fast) as me for a few days at a time. i am being supported by people throughout the entire process and am so amazed and grateful.
one of the saddest thoughts to me when i first decided to get the surgery (3 years ago, i committed to it when I got braces) was that i would be going thru it alone. that was a huge lie! instead i have more support than i ever could have imagined and i give God all the credit for that. when you pray to Him in Jesus' Name, powerful things happen!!
anyhoo, i hope this has been a helpful post. please feel free to ask me any Qs bout my experience or leave a comment.
i promise you i am working on getting after pics up!
love ya
jules

HALLELUJAH

I got a letter from my insurance company that states, "Decision: Certify / approve benefit reimbursement for proposed orthognathic surgery."

I am soo excited and relieved!!!!

On April 28, 2010, I will have double surgery.

I'll get to join the club of before/after photos!

Details about the day I got the letter to follow. It was a huge turning point in my life. I will never be the same.

:)
JULIE