Recovery Week 4: November 23-29, 2015

My recovery continues to go well. I feel better and have more energy after every week. I had a follow up appointment with my Surgeon on Monday. He said everything is looking and healing well. I go back to see Him in two weeks.

As far as pain I really don't have any in my jaw or face, just an occasional nerve recovering that tingles. There is still a tiny bit of swelling left in my face (mostly on the right side), and still some numbness in my bottom lip and chin. The Surgeon said that it can take up to six months for all the nerves to recover, and all the numbness to go away, so everything is normal there.

My hip and thigh are still sore from the bone graft, but his is normal as well. The Surgeon and his Nurse told me that being more active and walking will really help with that. I was much more active this week and have noticed a difference.

Thursday was of course Thanksgiving. I hope yours was great! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It was cold and snowy here in Colorado Springs, but beautiful. Our family spent the morning at home, and the evening at my Parents house with them, and my Brother and his Wife. It was a good day!

One note about Thanksgiving. For my liquid diet, I have stuck with a lot of powders, soups, pre-made meal replacement shakes, yogurt, apple sauce, and the like. I have not really tried blending and drinking a "normal" meal. So, on Thanksgiving, I decided to give it a go. My Dad has a Vitamix blender, so in went some; turkey (white & dark), stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, gravy, cranberry sauce, a little riesling (a sweet white wine), and some water to thin it all out. Surprisingly, it tasted okay and did not make me vomit. It was very strange drinking my Thanksgiving meal, but I am grateful I was able to have it. Good times indeed. Here is a picture of me with my blended Thanksgiving dinner.

Want to try my liquid Thanksgiving dinner?

Overall, I am feeling pretty good. I am growing weary of the liquid diet, but I don't want to mess anything up or knock some of my teeth out, so I will stay the course. Hopefully, if all continues to go well, I will be able to start chewing food in two weeks. Here are some updated picks of how my face is looking.

You can see the right side of my face is a little swollen still compared to the left side.

Thanks to the many who have reached out with kind words, thoughts, and prayers for my recovery. As always, thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I pray that God blesses you and your family.