Post op day 1

Good Morning!

Trent arrived back to the room last night late evening.  Even in the hallway he was trying to tell me, "They didn't get my bite right!!" He was in a lot of pain, and was very distraught that his jaws didn't seem to line up.  As for how he looks,well, let's just say we were shocked at how GOOD he looked!!! He was SO much better! Amazing how bones being a little off in your face can really change the appearance. Also, all his abrasions on his face that had been so disconcerting were healing so well, that when she was cleaning his face for surgery, she just took the scabs all off, and it is amazing how well they've already healed! Youth....

But back to his jaw. After he got settled in, he was showing us that when he bites naturally, the upper jaw was way off to the left. To get his lower jaw to fit into the splint, he had to jut his lower  jaw forward and over. Naturally, he felt like surgery had been a failure, and our euphoria went to worry.

This morning Dr. Kennedy came in at 6:45. When we explained to her about the jaw, she assured us that that upper jaw went together beautifully. She said it was rock solid and exactly where it should be, and that the reason the jaws aren't fitting together is because swelling is actually pushing the lower jaw out of place, so what seems like his "natural comfortable" bite is not really correct. She said absolutely no more surgery is needed on that palate, and that perhaps Dr. Griffeth will wire his teeth together (or use rubberbands, hopefully) to bring his jaws together. So that was great news!  She said his nose was really hard to put back together because it was so crushed, and that he'll likely need more surgery on that in the future.

His job today is to EAT. Since the accident Monday (which was before breakfast), he's had the sum total of one ice cream cup  (and you know how tiny those hospital ice creams are!) and one small pudding. Due to all the nausea, vomiting, and such, he's had no appetite.  So he is very slowly eating an ice cream. I told him I would not let him rest until he's eaten it! It would normally only take him about 3 swallows to get one of those cups down, and he's been working on it for about 1/2 hour.

As far as putting pictures on this blog, Trent is not ready for that yet. He's going to look just fine, probably no different than before, but as he gets closer to his usual appearance, he'll likely be ok with putting some photos up. But for now, we'll leave those off.

We continue to feel so grateful for all your love and support, for the excellent care we are receiving, and for the help from our Father. I am sorry I've not been able to answer you all individually, but we are ever so grateful!!