Days 2-3: Raging Roids

Yes, I am including day 2 into this post. Apparently, while I thought day two of recovery was over when I posted last time, day two played right into day 3. I can honestly say that this has been the scariest 24 hours of my life so far. There's no sugar coating this one. If my little brother hadn't been home today, I don't know what would have happened.

Day 2 (Part 2): 

• Inconvenience level 10/10
• Pain level: 8/10

As I signed off for the day yesterday, my face continued to swell. All of the oral surgeons and residents on my team warned me that swelling would continue and likely peak at 72 hours post-surgery. I suppose I thought by signing off early yesterday (closer to the 48 hour mark), I was being a bit optimistic. Here's what actually happened as the night wore on:

Day 3: 

• Inconvenience level 11/10
• Pain level: 9/10

There's no sugar coating day 3. I woke up at 6:00AM (which, apparently is now my new wake up time) and my face continued to swell throughout the day. By 10:00, the swelling had gotten so extreme that it was pressing against my temples and, before I knew it, was putting my airways at risk. And, the day just kept getting more difficult from there. In the next few pictures, pay attention as you can literally see the huge bumps on my temples where the swelling reached up past my eyes, into my forehead, and began to diminish my ability to hear.

By mid-day, my face had become more swollen than I had even thought possible. Then, the real issues started. Around 2:30, I started struggling to swallow. At first, I thought it was just that my body was having a hard time recovering. Then, things took a turn. My little brother was in his room when, all of the sudden, I realized I could hardly breathe. I got his attention. I was beginning to experience what felt like suffocation and, within a few short minutes, he had called my dad who got my grandpa to come bring me to the hospital. I nearly passed out on the front steps of the house. By the time I got to the hospital, my airways had become much more constricted and I passed out as I was put into the wheelchair. Somehow, the team got me into my bed, got an IV in, drew some blood, and started me on drip steroids again. As the Emergency Department doctor spoke to the oral surgeons' office, they came to the conclusion that two things were happening at the same time: my airways were being constricted by the worsened swelling and my muscles in my face were spasming and attempting to go back to their original places. Both of which were constricting my airways. 

After a couple of hours on drip steroids, a muscle relaxer to get my jaw to go back to its new position, and some anti-nausea meds, I got to head home again. The good news is, my body, being superheroic, has already begun repairing and all of my blood tests came back normal--my hemoglobin was even normal even after losing about 16 ounces of blood a short few days before. 

Now, I'm sure I could keep spinning this story with the Bionic Man/Superman theme since I was pumped up with a lot more steroids. While I know they're not the same kind that lead to bulging muscles, they were steroids, after all. But, today, I know and am grateful that these steroids were even more powerful than building muscles. These steroids and the people who used them are the real superheroes. 

Today, a team of providers across two hospital systems worked together to get me breathing again. While some steroids may build superheroic muscle, today, they helped me breathe again. Now, that's superheroic... And, this guy is taking the evening to be thankful for the prayers, messages, and support from everyone who has seen me through this. The real superheroes in life are the ones who know they can't do everything themselves. The real superheroes in life are the ones who pitch in their own part to be a piece of something bigger. The real superheroes stop in the middle of the day to check in to see how you are. The real superheroes might be your brother, grandpa, or another family member. The real superhero might be the friend who told you he was overcome with a feeling that he needed to pray for you at exactly the same time I was struggling to breathe. So, thank you to everyone reading this, to the teams of medical providers, and to all my friends. You are the real superheroes. 

Signing off for the night

Signed,

The Grateful LIVE Bionic Man