Lindsey’s surgery finished 44 hours ago. They say that the pain and swelling are the worst on the third day, so we aren’t quite over the hump yet. She’s had a lot of congestion and the pain has increased, so she’s still not feeling great. She is an absolute champ at drinking water, just syringe after syringe nonstop, and she has also had some nutrition shake and chicken broth. Thankfully, she has not felt too nauseous.

In spite of the humidifier we set up, her congestion and the dryness in the air gave Lindsey some issues breathing through her mouth last night, so she woke up often to drink water and lay a hot, damp washcloth on her face. Still, last night was better quality sleep for both of us with less interruptions.

Dr. Moore came in this morning to remove the jaw bra and gauze around her chin and ears. Her scars look normal, and she can shower as soon as she feels like it. There is a ton of swelling, so they like to keep saying “Don’t worry about how you look yet, your face is going to change a lot this week.” Because of her high pain, it looks like we will probably be in the hospital for one more night, which Lindsey is happy about. She’s starting to use the special ice machine wrap now that she doesn’t have so many other things wrapped around her face, and it is helping (thanks Caitlin)!

Yesterday, she was starting to relearn how to swallow with all the changes in her jaw structure and muscles. Taking off the jaw bra changed that even more, so today she says she is trying to get a feel for it. She says her tongue feels way too small now because her mouth and throat are so much bigger (which is one of the big benefits of the surgery, a larger airway, so this is good news). Even sitting at reclined angles, she is able to breathe better than she could before surgery, and that’s with the rubber bands and congestion!

Once again, nothing so far has been beyond what the doctors expected, and her recovery is on track. We are most focused right now on managing her pain before leaving the hospital tomorrow. Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, sweet messages, flowers, gifts, and whatever else you have sent her way. She is feeling very loved.