Another two weeks...

It’s amazing throughout this whole process how many highs and lows there are. I have to say right now I am at a low point. Two weeks after my last appointment I started to swell up again, badly.

It has been getting harder and harder to pack the strip inside my wound. I had taken this as a sign that my wound was healing and rightfully so. But I guess the infection inside my jaw thought otherwise. It got so bad that I had to take out my jaw bra and put it on. Obviously I made another appointment with Dr B. I feel like I live there now.

Now I live about 3 hours from the hospital. Since my appointment was at 8 am I decided to stay at a local Baltimore hotel with my mom the night before. We ended up staying at a Marriott Hotel which was very nice and comfortable. It was located right along the inner harbor so the view was very pretty. That, and that fact they had a nice plasma to watch LOST made the stay enjoyable. Too bad I was not feeling that jolly.

The one side of my face right now was pretty big. It got to the point where I could feel the pressure around my eye. I was still trying to pack my wound as best I can. Guess this morning I applied to much pressure because as I packed it I heard a little pop. You can guess what happened next. I must have reopened the wound as trickles of pus started to come out. I covered that up very quickly. Let the doctor take over from here. Gross. :(

Dr B could not understand why I kept swelling. He could see no hole in my mouth where saliva could get in. The x-rays and Cat Scans call came back normal. It must be the plate. He stated sometimes bacteria can attach itself to the plate and he only guessed that could be it. He was hoping my body would fight off the infection by now. All we could do is drain the swelling and wait to see what happens. If this did continue we would have to take the plate out. Another operation. Ugh!

Two Weeks Later

Two weeks later I am back at Johns Hopkins. The drain has been working well. All the junk has come out and collected on the gauze that I had covering it. Quite gross but by this time I am so used to it. The swelling was completely gone and I looked normal. Well, as normal as to be expected after reconstruction. I had a big smile on my face when I saw the doctor. Things looked good.

Dr B took out the drain and replaced it with a sterile strip of gauze. I would have to pack the wound and change this every day and keep the area clean till the hole started to close up. (By packing I mean I would have to insert the strip into the hole as far as it will go with the end of a sterile q-tip.) After that, they would stitch it closed. He gave me the needed supplies and I went on my merry way.

I would see him in another month.