Post-op Days 2-5

Saturday, June 13th: The combination of meds hit hard today and caused Rebecca a ton of drowsiness. I tried halving the muscle relaxers but that caused some small muscle spasms in the jaw area, so I decided to keep her on the full dose. We visited the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa and enjoyed a cool IMAX on the future of space exploration. However, the kids weren't too impressed with the museum, so we left and went shopping for a bit at a mall in Tampa so Bec could walk around some more. Even though she has been extremely drowsy, as long as we are moving she is doing well. The minute she sits down, she falls asleep. All in all, today was a great day, and Bec is feeling better than I expected. 

Sunday, June 14th: Today is Gracie's 3rd birthday! Of course we brought presents for her (even though we had no extra room in the car), and we started the day by opening presents and singing happy birthday. Later that evening, we had a little party for her and had some cake. 

To keep Rebecca busy, we went to the Florida Acquarium today. We also went on a short dolphin cruise and saw a few Dolphins in the bay. The meds were making her even more drowsy today, but Bec was able to enjoy the aquarium. The med schedule is crazy. I downloaded a pill app to help keep track of everything, and here is a pic of her pillbox to give you an idea:

Bec is really looking forward to tomorrow so she can get her jaw unwired and have breaks from the splint.

Monday, June 15th: Today's the day Bec's jaw is unwired! We started the day off with some Starbucks to try and get a little kick of energy:

Then we headed to Dr. Piper's office. Rebecca's abdomen incision (where they took the fat grafts) has been bothering her. There is a ton of bruising above and below the incision, but Dr. Piper said this is normal. He said the bruising could even go down her thigh. After checking the abdomen incision, they finally removed the splint and introduced Bec to the jaw exercises she will be doing throughout her recovery. She was glad to have a little freedom from her splint. Here is her new look post-surgery (there is still some swelling, but the a-symmetry she had on the left side has shifted a little):

She was also able to move the rubber bands around and has a new look with the splint (she has a total of 10 bands for the next few weeks...in a couple of weeks she switches to 6 bands):

Today was a busy day. We now have a med schedule in addition to splint schedule to manage. The exercises have caused some additional pain and swelling. That is expected and should subside soon. Bec is able to remove her splint 5 times a day for 15 minutes. In a little over 2 weeks, she will have 30 minute breaks 5 times per day. 

Tuesday, June 16th: We had another checkup at Dr. Piper's this morning followed by some neck therapy. Bec has increased drowsiness today and is noticeably drained from this whole process. Dr. Piper's staff assured her this is normal and told her that she's doing exceptionally well. Dr. Piper told her that her speech with the splint in is great. Her pain levels are managed very well, even without pain meds around the clock. Bec will be released tomorrow, but we will be staying until Thursday so she can have therapy on her neck one additional day.