fun with jaw surgery

Hello guys! This is the first time I'm actually posting anything here. Chengyi here btw.

First of all, I want to thank Yunsong and Liangwei for visiting me twice, once at the hospital, once at home. I really appreciate it. :) treat you all lunch next time. Go eat Indian buffet. Haha

Next, i want to thank Aaron and Yunsong(again) cos they helped me when i got drunk that day and puked in yunsong's car.(sorry for the car yunsong). Really sorry for all the trouble. Treat Aaron to Indian buffet also.

today is the 6th day after my operation, nad my face is still swollen like some pumpkin. It was like this 1 day post-op: Notice the two nice containers dangling there to pump excess blood out of my mouth so i dont choke



Now its like this:


The whole operation process itself is really a traumatising ordeal. Let me convince you why.










Day 1 : slacking day

Went to Changi hospital after lunch(my 2nd last meal. Its was chicken rice, which i can't eat now). Checked in into my ward, and to my disappointment, i was not allowed to slack around east point as i had expected i could. Within 5 minutes of checking in, i was tagged with the hospital tag and ordered to change into those super unglam hospital pyjamas. Being the very obedient boy i am, i do not question authority, and i donned the ugly pyjamas. Then i rotted for like 1 hour, just observing people around me. The person on the bed to my left going for operation on his back cause he too fat. The person directly opposite removing kidney stone. Oh ya, my ward on the forst day was the operating ward. So everybody got op the next day. After awhile i think the nurses decided the were too free, so they stuck this huge needle thing into the back of my hand to use for intravenous stuff after the op. Was quite gross. Then yunsong and liangwei came to visit me while my aunt and uncle and cousin were watching "so you think you can dance" with me.(i love that show man). I was supposed to fast after 12 am, so i basically stuffed myself with junk food. Actually hospital food tastes not bad leh. the first dinner was pineapply pork rice. But well, yunsong insists i am a very not discerning eater, so maybe its just me. That night was the last chance for me to sleep properly in days, but thanks to some fat guy(to my left), who snored at like 110 decibels, none of us in the other beds could sleep, so ended up reading "My sister's keeper" by jodi picoult the whole night. That book not bad.


Day 2: Operation day ( ARGH)

At around 7 am, that fat guy woke up. So i slept for like 45 min. I was told to brush me teeth really really well. So i spent like 10 minute brushing me teeth in the morning. Feld very hungry and thirsty, but cannot eat. I tried eating a sweet also get caught by nurse. Damn suey.
Then they pushed this v v high bed into the room and ask me to climb on in. Then they interrogated me on my diet, bowels and blah blah.
then the bring me to the operating theatre, and another identical interrogation process begins. After the standard shenanigans from the nurses, i finally met the surgeons and the anethesiologist( had to check dictionary to spell this damn word). They asked me the same damn questions again. Now they had to check the tube hey poked in my hand the day before. Turns out that the needle i blocked cos its lodged in my vein or sth liddat. So they had to repoke the whole thing. Only found out after i woke up, and i was like wtf? I spent like 10 hours with this tube sticking out of my left hand and now its useless? urgh. Anyway the anesthesia knocked me out, and i woke up at 8 pm with a swollen face. Oh ya, my nice surgeons poked another tube through my right hand, and in order to do it, they must tie this nice thing ard it while i as asleep. And they forget to remove it, It was there for llike 11 hours. So until now my right and got this slightly swollen band. The first night was pure hell. Due to the fact that my operation was around the jaw area, i would be unable to breathe during the op itself. So during the op, they stuck this tube down my windpipe to pump oxygen. As a result, my windpipe became irritated, and produced copious amounts of phlegm. I was lying down on the bed in ICU, and felt out of breath cause my nose was goddamn clotted with phlegm. Apparently this problem is anticipated, so they have this nice contraption, which is basically a tube with a vacuum pump, to suck the phlegm out. Ok, if i was able to open my mouth, this wouldn't be much of the problem. Unfortunately, my jaws are tied together so they dont drop off. I have to suck the phlegm out through the gaps in my teeth. this isnt exactly very easy and pleasant. This is but one reason for my discomfort.

Next, as i will be bedridden for awhile, they had to make sure i dont pee in my pants. So they shoved a urinary catheter up my pee-hole.(ouch.) It was not just painful, it was undignifying but wth. If i stay still, the catheter hurts a little. If i move, it hurts alot. Think you guys get the idea. The removal of this catheter thing is very simple. The nurse simply pulls down your pants, and yank the tube of of your freaking pee-hole. It fucking hurts. I was traumatised for life. Hurt like 10 times more than the time i broke my arm. For days after this ordeal, it hurts when i pee. Not to mention the loss of libido(of course this is temporary) My appendage is fully functional now, thank you.

Moreover, as i was in ICU, they had to take my blood pressure once every 15 minutes. They quite technologically advanced leh, the machine automatically take one. For those of you whole have taken bp before, I am sure the constriction around your arm is not very pleasant. Once every 15 minutes means i wasn't able to fullt straighten me arms until 3 days later.

My mouth, which has been shut and bloody for hours, stank like a sewer. I blow air out of my nose, and find out that it stinks. Its that bad. Not to mention not drinking water for more than 24 hours. The vile smell contributed to my insomnia i guess.

To make matters worse, i have lost all feeling in my lower lip and chin due to nerve damage. Surgeon says this might take years to heal completely. Does that mean that kissing will not turn me on now, as the nerve endings there are not connected to my brain? Don't dare to ask the surgeon. Haha. I'm a shy boy.




Day 3:

I was discharged from the ICU today. Went for lessons on how to feed through a syringe and proper oral hygiene now that me teeth are tied together. Got my first taste of the complete nutrition in one milk shake thing. Taste not bad sia. breakfast? Milo. Lunch? soup Dinner? soup. If you know my eating habits, you will know i am a sad boy now. I am now in a B2 ward, cause me operation costs 9k less than if you stay in a B1. The gahmen figures that if you can afford B1, which in actual fact doesnt cost that much more than a B2, you can jolly well afford the operation without subsidies. So for the first time in v long, i had to sleep without aircon. Well, actually its quite coll at night. Buti couldn't sleep at all cos my nostrils are clogged, and i am told that under no conditions am i supposed to blow my nose, as it might cause my operation scars to tear open. AT around 10 pm, a perfectly healthy looking guy checked in, and jus refuse to off his head light. It was glaring into my eyes, so i drew the curtains ard my bed. The nurse found ou then she was not happy. Don't let me. So in the end i just typed on my phone "please shut that light, its affecting me." should have seen the look on the mother's face. It was dark and i looked like a scary monster with my freaking swollen face. She backed away when i approached. Actually, an upside to the swelling is that since i looked so F-ed up, i can look at random people and scare the shit out of them. They will look at me from the side, and think i don't notice, then i will turn and look at them right in the eye. Almost all of them flinch. YEAH MAN. Din't succeed in making little kids cry though. Some even laughed at my big face. Evil little beings. Those jokers probably thing a have a bloody tumour or something like that. Anyway, i couldn't breathe that night. I was turning hysterical and bugging the nurses, Then they decided to give me nasal drops(Something you never want to try) and i asked for a painkiller injection.( which gave me a non-stop 2 hour slumber) I was freaking happy. Finally some sleep.

DAy 4:
Discharged!

Was supposed to be discharged at 12, but as Changi is super inefficient, they pharmacist was very late, and i reached home at 3 liddat. Fell asleep for awhile, then yunsong and liangwei visited. Haha. They keep writing notes to each other then i cannot see. I showed them the drivethru song(americans are bloddy free). Love you guys man. Thx for the protein yunsong, haha. Tastes quite nice.


WAh. The entry damn long. K la continue another day. Thanks for the support again :)

-ChengYI ( - . - ) bigface