Updates

Just a few updates:
·Around Tuesday or Wednesday I discovered that I can easily drink my milkshakes/fluids out of a cup.
·I'm able to move around by myself easily and freely, although I have to be careful not to get up too fast for fear of a head rush.
·Tonight was actually a pretty big progression; a delicious dinner of liquidized Chef Boyardee.

Keep me in your prayers, as always.

Nochturnal Hallucinations

Ok, so this is my second time posting on any kind of blog so I'm going to give it the ol' college try. Because of the large amount of drugs that have gone through my system and the hours upon hours of sleep I've gotten on our extremely comfortable couch, my subconscious has experienced several vivid and very strange dreams. For example I woke up about 0545 hours this morning and came into the living room to drink something through my extremely messy syringe. After my morning dosage of flat Coca-Cola - because pushing fully-carbonated Coke through a syringe is even messier than pushing flat Coke through a syringe - I began to fall asleep. I awoke to the sound of multiple dogs barking and our chickens flipping out, so I went to investigate. As I got closer and closer I saw that there was a pack of about 5 or 6 wolfhounds poking around the chicken coop. As I neared closer one of them spotted me and began to skulk towards me. I reached into my pocket and realized I had no way to protect myself; I immediately looked to my right and saw three men on three-wheelers. They too spotted me and one of them started to wander towards me. As I stood there, no means of defense and surrounded I awoke; yes, the entire experience was a dream. Very strange indeed. I'll be sure to update with more strange dreams and other experiences like that. Oh, and on the subject of the surgery: I am slowly gaining back feeling in my face, my lips' swelling have gone down and I'm more energetic. Keep me in your prayers.

-Joshua

Home Again!

We're home! Josh slept the whole way with no sickness or discomfort - thanks to fervent prayers from everyone involved. Right before we left the hospital Josh said, "I'm asking God to let me not throw up." We went a little overboard packing him in the car; with an egg crate foam, 7 pillows, and 2 blankets he looked like he was lost in a snow drift.

It's uncomfortable for him to talk but he's going to start looking at the blog so feel free to leave him messages.

Saturday Night

This is Joshua’s nemesis…and his fork, spoon, knife, and plate. For the next few days everything he eats goes through this tube.



This is one of the leg cuffs that Josh is supposed to wear whenever he is in bed. He loves them. Every 60 second or so they inflate like blood pressure cuffs. The purpose is to keep the blood flowing steadily even when he’s not moving.


Drumroll please…Josh’s first post-op picture. Isn’t he handsome?! Aren’t you amazed at the difference?! I am.
This is before he really started swelling, though his lips are a little puffy.

We are heading home tomorrow morning. Please pray that the road will be smooth and Josh can sleep the whole way.

Saturday

This is the look Josh wore in to surgery. Frankly, I was impressed they were able to contain all that hair.




Josh is doing great! He’s been up and walking…complete with a stylish set of pjs…and drinking juice. The nurse said he can drink any liquid that he’s interested in, even beer. Of course, he isn’t drinking beer just Coca-cola and juice.

He’s able to speak a lot more clearly today and he really isn’t in much pain, though I don’t understand how that’s possible. Today he’s hit the peak of his swelling and when he saw himself in the mirror for the first time he wasn’t happy. He asked if he looked like Jimminy Glick (Martin Short’s fat-suit character); the answer is “no.” We think he has been focused more on the end result and didn’t fully realize that his post-op look would be so different both from his previous face and the final version of his face…the nurse said it would be 6 weeks before he saw the full results.

He's puffy and drowsy but safe and sound.

We got to Highlands Clinic bright and early this morning...actually, it's dark at 5:15. There wasn't too much waiting around before Josh was taken to be suited up at 6ish. The surgery was over about 11:30 and he went to his private room at 1. They held him in the recovery room until he showed signs of rousing from the anesthesia. For anyone who's ever had the dubious honor of waking Josh, you know it is a feat in normal circumstances forget about it with heavy medication.

In the room he has a Morphine drip controlled by a hand-held clicker. We are not allowed to click it for him; he has to wake up enough to ask for it and click it himself. Once, he rolled over and moaned so I said, "Josh, do you need some more medicine?" He raised his hand and pumped his thumb in the motion of the Morphine controller as his only reply. He's been a real trooper - he's only had 5 doses in the last 8 hours and he's allowed up to 4 an hour.

He's pretty swollen and his face is wrapped in a special cold pack that circulates icy water. Still, it's amazing how much the shape of his face has already changed. He actually looks a lot more like Aaron...not that Aaron look swollen. His upper jaw moved foward, his lower jaw moved back, and his chin moved up. (They decided they needed to move his chin so they detached it, moved it up, and reattached it with titanium plates - seriously?!) His jaw isn't wired closed but it is held tight with rubber bands in his braces so that he speaks through clenched teeth. He hasn't been awake enough to say much - a "hi" to everyone in the room, requests for pain medication, temperature control comments, and a criticism of a Chili's commercial.

I have a few post-op pictures but I'm going to wait for Josh's consent to post them.

Mere Hours Away

For one last time, here's Joshua's face...

Joshua is loathe to give details on the surgery, not because he's embarrassed just because he doesn't like details. So, I'll be the one to give the nitty-gritty.

We are sitting in the Hampton Inn in delightful Pelham, AL getting ready for bed so we can be ready for the early morning. Josh has to be at the hospital at 5:30 am to get prepped for the 6 hour surgery. He will probably be in the hospital recovering until Sunday and then we will come home and continue to hover over his swollen face. For his "last meal" Josh chose a fantastic Italian place and spent the entire meal sighing contentedly. This will be the last time he chews for 6 weeks. During his recovery he will be on a full-liquid diet. Everything he eats has to be thin enough to fit through a straw. Because of the incisions, however, he won't actually be able to use a straw so we will squirt the food in his mouth using a syringe and a short piece of tube. Appetizing, right?

Please pray for Josh's continued calmness, speedy healing, peace for Mom, and stamina for the long days ahead.

Starting tomorrow, I will update with more pictures and progress reports than anyone will be interested in reading.

~ Jessica

FYI: The Spiny Lobster is Josh's favorite animal because "its deadly antennae move independently."

Introduction

Yes, I am the Spiny Lobster and my deadly antennae are about to be CUT OFF! But it's ok because it needs to happen; for you see, my deadly antennae are not allowing me to chew properly. Of course, when I say "antennae," I mean teeth. And they aren't actually being "cut off"; it's actually my jaw that is having wedges taken out of the bottom then the wedges are being placed in the top. For a very detailed explanation of the procedure go here. Anyways, please keep me in your prayers. Also, updates and pictures will be posted as the surgery - which is happening on Friday the 24th - gets closer.


-Joshua Stephens