Five weeks...

This past week was a mixed bag. Had my sixth post-op appointment today, though it was uncharacteristically late starting--Dr. Jelic and his staff is usually quite good about having appointments on time, but this time it was twenty minutes late, another ten before Dr. Jelic came in. His assistants are quite good, though, and his secretary came to visit me as she normally does to chat for a bit, tell me how good I look and how well I'm doing. Maybe she's just saying it, but I still appreciate it.

Highlights of last week...

One month-mark... and pictures!

Wow... a whole month since surgery. I say this a lot, but... hard to believe it's been that long already. This day last month, I was just coming out of anesthesia. The very first thought I remember having was... is it over? I don't feel any different. Of course, at that point, the pain, pressure, swelling, etc hadn't yet registered on my senses. They certainly would over the next hour or two.

Returning to work tomorrow

This last week passed by quite quickly. Last week of freedom, if you could call it that, before returning to work. I made the right call in not returning last week; I really wasn't up for it. I'm feeling much better now; maybe about 70-75% normal as opposed to the 60% it was this time last week. But... back to it tomorrow. We'll see if I can survive a full day. If not... a couple weeks of part time work before resuming full.

Dilemma

I faced a dilemma this weekend over whether to return to work today, at least part-time. I estimate I'm at about 60% now, and can work from home if nothing else.

In the end I decided not to. I still feel a little fragile, tire and lose focus easily, and know that stress or tension causes my right jaw joint to flare, so it would be best to give it another week and see if I can regain some more energy and give my jaw joint a chance to improve. I originally made arrangements to take an entire month off for surgery starting June 17th, and not return until the 15th of July, so to that schedule I will now hold.

3rd Post-Op Appointment

The third post-op appointment actually happened two days ago now, coinciding with the two-week mark post-surgery.

Two-week mark pictures

Promised these yesterday, but didn't get around to them. So here they are today...

Culinary Experiments

So yesterday, having had a successful result with the egg drop soup for lunch, I tried another experiment for dinner. While at Harris Teeter to get some new ibuprofin and toilet paper (only the staples, right?), I passed the hot bar section of the store and noticed a prepackaged cooked meat loaf with mashed potatoes. That got me thinking...

So I took it home and--no joke--pureed them both. Have two separate blenders, so I cut up the meat loaf into small pieces and then pureed it in beef broth and a can of tomato sauce, and the mashed potatoes in chicken gravy--got one of those powder packets for that purpose, made it on the stove, and then poured it over the mashed potatoes already in the blender.

The result? A very nice change of pace. The taste for both was recognizable, it was filling... and I daresay, good. At least, to someone who's been without solid foods for a couple weeks...

Mentioned it to Dr. Jelic at my third post-op appointment this morning, and he said that none of his patients had tried anything like that before, but he did have one who pureed a slice of pizza in a can of beer and said it came out well. So... may have to try that before all is said and done.

For dessert, I also pureed another large slice of watermelon, and this time instead of having it plain added a strong shot of vodka, sugar, and water. It was good, but caused my cheeks to slightly painfully pucker. Tonight I'll do the same but for more sweetness and some creaminess add milk and rum.

Now if you'll excuse me, I only finished half the meatloaf and mashed potatoes last night, so I'm going to have to rest for lunch now.

I cooked something!

Not wanting something canned for lunch, I actually cooked; made and pureed some egg drop soup--2 cups of chicken broth, powdered ginger, powdered garlic, black pepper, soy sauce, cornstarch, and two beaten eggs whisked as they were drizzled in. Took less than ten minutes and came out perfect--it's heavenly to eat (er... drink... you know what I mean). Best meal I've had in some time.

Lesson here is maybe I *can* still have some of my favorite things, just have to be a little imaginative about them.

A dozen days

Sorry for not posting yesterday, but I was actually out and about a lot. 

Now nearly two weeks into recovery, I'm trying to stay busy and productive. I'm writing, I'm taking care of some things with my place (you wouldn't think a ceiling fan blade replacement would take four visits to Lowes and Home Depot to resolve!) and today, I had an interior designer come over to take a look at my living room and master bath, which I'm planning to redo probably starting late in the year when my budget allows again.

So recovery is moving along...