p-bot

Day 3 is the start of the swelling period. Definitely feel much more pressure in my face today, they say to expect the swelling to appear from 3-5 days post op.

Apart from that, generally not feeling too bad. A fair bit of blood clotting on the nose, trying to use a swag of nasal sprays to keep it as clean as possible, but there are a couple of rock hard blood nuggets up there.

Been using a syringe to eat clear soup and drink juice and water, always best to drink as much as possible.

The good news is that I’ll be going home today, will be nice to get back to familiar surrounds.

Breathing is so much better now, it really made a huge difference, no snoring has been reported which is a huge relief for all involved. I really wish I had stuck to my guns and had this operation 15 years ago when I was first thinking of it. Oh well, better late than never!

So it’s the day after surgery, and I’m so suprised at how well I’m doing. I can immediatly notice the difference with my airway. I saw the before and after xrays and it’s almost double the size it was.

The surgery took 4-5 hours, and all involved are calling this a big success. They moved my jaw toward about 14mm and am held in place by strong elastic bands.

Spent the night in ICU so they could keep an eye on my breathing. They had me hooked up to a breathing machine feed thru my nose down to my lungs, this was the thing that was most uncomfortable and Im glad they removed it quickly after I woke up. I did vomit up a bunch of blood which they had to suction out via my nose, again not a very comfortable experience.

None the less, my recovery seems good, not too much swelling today, and I’m up and about without to much discomfort.

Will add some more after shots soon.

Going to start tracking my weight daily pre and post operation, just to see how a forced liquid diet affects me.

As far as I know, I’ll be on liquids for a good 4-6 weeks, but hopefully will be able to start on super mushy food at the tail end of week 4.

Been gourging myself recently, full rack of ribs on Sunday, tacos for lunch and pasta for dinner today. Hamburgers and other fun stuff for my last supper tomorrow, the night before the op.

Today’s weigh in:

Date: 08/Mar/10
Weight: 190lbs (86kg)
BMI: 16.5

On Wednesday 10th March, I’ll be going into hospital for orthognathic surgery for an maxillomandibular advancement (both upper and lower jaw being moved forward).

Have been meaning to have this surgery for well over 10 years, but for many reasons I had put it off. Now that I have a fairly good medical plan and orthodontist, it was the right time to get this going.

The goal of the surgery is to alleviate my accute sleep apnea that I’ve been dealing with for close to 20 years. I’ve become so used to being forever tired, it’s become the norm and am curious to experience what it’ll be like post op. It might be a cop out, but I attribute many of my shortcomings in life to sleep apnea. Ie: Bombing out at school, both high school and first year university study, past relationships and my general demeanor/attitude.

I’ll be using this blog to chronicle my progress after the operation. Will be posting before and after photos, weight loss (due to all liquid diet), and various other observations.

I used to fly Air New Zealand alot for work between Sydney and Los Angeles, this was back when they had direct flights. Two things ended that for me though – introduction of the required stop in Auckland, and the deteriorating quality of their planes.

After reading about their latest overhaul of their Boeing 777, maybe that extra stop in Auckland won’t be so bad. Apart from outfitting their planes with power sockets at every seat, they have also introduced USB connectors and iPod connectors for those who need to jack in. It doesn’t stop there though.

The most outstanding upgrade is the new 3 seat Skycouch economy seats built by Recaro which will fold down at create a mini bed that will fit two people sideways. You’ll have to buy the 3rd seat, at a discount apparently, to enjoy this additional slice of comfort. Still cheaper than buying business class tickets!

From the pictures I’ve seen, Air New Zealand really seemed to have decked out their planes, the interiors looks amazing, futuristic even. Might have to dust off that old Star Alliance card again.

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Now playing: TYRELL CORP. – Together Alone | | | | | Before: SYNAPSE – Freak Of Force | West Coast Non-Stop | 11.02.2010 | -1.1 outside the IFMX
via FoxyTunes

I’m having some great luck with flight upgrades recently.

On my last trip back to SF from Sydney on Qantas, I got bumped up to business class due to a full flight, a really nice suprise, makes the long journey bearable.

When checking into my flight tonight, was told I was being bumped up (again!) to business class due to a full flight I wasn’t going to argue with them. Not too bad for a $650us round trip price tag, I think being a Qantas Club member helped me out a bit here, well worth the yearly price tag.

Funny post on the Boing Boing site about human poop on the moon.

When Neil Armstrong first took that one small step onto the moon, he left behind more than just a footprint. Among the many items still sitting in the Bay of Tranquility are;

Neil Armstrong’s boots, a gold replica of an olive branch, tongs, four armrests, urine collection assemblies, a hammer, an insulating blanket, and… four defecation collection devices. Yes, Neil Armstrong’s poop is moldering on the moon.

Now is that a crappy story or what! Boom boom.

Nothing like some chicken and waffles to get the heart started in the morning.

The SF hipsters have a new hip accessory to add to their ironic colored Oakley Frogskins, checked flannel shirts and tight jeans. They have moved on from fixies (so cliched now!) to  70’s Puch mopeds.

It’s ok tho… they still have pedals!

Found this great article over at A List Apart… it’s like they violated my brain and dumped everything into an article.

A few points in the article really summed me up:

• You are no longer emotionally invested in your job or the work you’re doing.
• There is a clear disconnect between your personal values and what is expected of you.
• A significant amount of your day is focused on tasks that are not fulfilling on a personal or emotional level.

Now I just need to work on rectifying the situation i’ve sailed into. That’s going to be the hardest part due to my working situation in the USA, but it’s not unachievable. I just need to “change my situation”.