Carol

[Guest guest]

Wow, 4 weeks have gone by already! Although I'm sure they haven't

flown by for you it is amazing how resilient one can be in dealing

with a wired mouth. I can't wait to hear about how you feel when you

finally get unwired in 4 more weeks!

Dr. Sachs said that in theory I could leave the hospital as soon as

Tuesday afternoon but he said that he wasn't sure I would feel up to

it so I may have to stay until Wednesday. I have to say that all the

staff at LIJ were SO NICE!! It made me feel that much more secure

about having the procedure there. When I finished my pre-admin

surgery testing all the nurses hugged me and kissed me on the cheek

good luck. In Italy I'm accustomed to this public display of

affection but it's not often that in the US I have been treated with

such affection in a hospital environment.

Dr. Sachs was really good at describing to me exactly what would

happen on the day of the surgery. He even said I could bring in a CD

that they could play for me while they put me to sleep in the OR. He

said that they've had all sorts of music ranging from the Smashing

Pumpkins to classical music. That made me giggle and I thought that

was very sweet of him. My brother is now busy making me a surgery mix

to listen to:-)

I've also made the first 6 of my post-op visits and it looks like at

least two of them will be with Dr. Schwarz. Well after hearing from

you how great he has been with you I felt very comfortable seeing him

and not Dr. Sachs.

Just 4 more days to go! Eeeeeppp! I've gotten to the point where I am

not even ever hungry but I just eat out of the principle of knowing

that I won't be able to eat for a while come Monday. My brother

teased me yesterday as I ate my salad that it looked like I was

struggling and forcing myself to eat it. Lol!

Thanks for listening. I'm sure I'll be posting some nervous posts on

Sunday night. I just hope I can get a good night's sleep!

Sara

> > > > Hi All

> > > >

> > > > Well today was a LONG day! Started off at 9am at the orthos

to

> > get

> > > my

> > > > hooks on. I am now the proud donner of 16 metallic hooks.

> Grrrrr

> > > says

> > > > she! Actually they are not as bad as I expected. A lot less

> > obvious

> > > > when I smile than I thought they would be. The bottom center

> hook

> > > is

> > > > killing me though, really digging into the inside of my life

> but

> > > I'm

> > > > sure my mouth will build a barrier to this just as it did the

> > > braces.

> > > >

> > > > Next stop was the hospital to go through all the pre-admin

> > surgery

> > > > testing. Unfortunately for me, it being the day after

Memorial

> > day

> > > > meant that there was the longest line ever so it only took me

> > three

> > > > and a half hours to get what could have taken 40 minutes. Oh

> > well.

> > > At

> > > > least it's all done now. I got blood drawn, blood pressure

and

> > temp

> > > > measured, chest xray and a whole set of questions asked and

> > > answered.

> > > > All very basic stuff. What I made sure to do was tell them

that

> > > I've

> > > > had previous ops before and vomited afterwards as a result of

> the

> > > > anesthesia. They gave me two little tablets to take pre-

surgery

> > to

> > > > help descrease the nausea. One to take the night before and

one

> > to

> > > > take on the morning of the surgery with very little water.

They

> > > also

> > > > confirmed that I will have a catherer put in since the

> operation

> > > will

> > > > be approximately 4 hours but they also helped to calm my

fears

> > > about

> > > > this as well.

> > > >

> > > > After this I ran to Dr. Sachs to have my pre-op discussion.

He

> > gave

> > > > me good news in that he has decided that they will only need

to

> > > > operate on my upper jaw. My lower jaw should swing into the

> right

> > > > position. Whoopee! No lower jaw which really made my day.

He'll

> > be

> > > > removing the two upper bicuspids and also performing genio

> which

> > I

> > > > knew already. We went through a lot during the discussion but

> > since

> > > > it's been a long day and I have to get up at 5:30am to fly to

> > L.A.

> > > I

> > > > think I'll call it a night for today. I'll try to sort out

all

> > the

> > > > information he gave me into a nice, short and concise posting

> for

> > > > everyone tomorrow.

> > > >

> > > > Thanks for listening/reading.Can't believe surgery is almost

> > here!!!

> > > >

> > > > Nite to all.

> > > > Sara