The Road Back to "Normal"

The second half of Anna's surgery was rough, according to the surgeon.  The surgery itself lasted longer than he anticipated.  He came in to see Anna several times in her hospital room, and each time, he said, "That lower jaw was tough, Anna."  The first night in the hospital was not pretty or easy.  (The nurse called the Plastic Surgery residents down to Anna's room, because she wanted some advice and clarification on when we resort to cutting the bands off.  They prescribed anti-nausea meds into the IV, and that seemed to help.  The nurse had to call some of the other nurses to help with her other patients, because Anna needed her attention for awhile.)  But we've made it through.  Her surgeon also told her, "It only gets better from here."  And it has gotten better.  The swelling has been receding slowly.  Some bruising is beginning to appear, but we expected that. 

The independent Anna we know and love is beginning to emerge again.  We watched some YouTube videos this morning from a woman who had similar surgery in 2011 (look for Sasha Maggio on YouTube).  She has posted an entire series.  We didn't watch all of them yet.  Anna has also been researching recipes for liquid diets (Boost and Ensure are rather expensive, and those baby food pouches can be, as well!).  I am decent at researching the internet, but I think Anna is even better at it.  (that younger generation!).  She's already planning some of her meals for the next few days.  We're trying to get nutrients and calories into her. 

For the past few days, Anna has had a very short list of who is allowed to see her.  (If you are close to our family, call me or message me if you want to visit and want to see if you are on the short list!)  She's thinking that beginning tomorrow, she'll be ready to see more people, and is eagerly anticipating a visit from some beloved cousins.  School begins in ten days, and she already is making plans to start seeing some school people and her guidance counselor before the first day.

We  have been truly grateful for the wonderful support system we have.  With family, church family, and many, many friends who have shown us love and support and are praying for us continually.  We have seen the truth of James 5:16b (NLT), which says, "The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results."  We have seen these wonderful results during Anna's hospital stay and her healing process.  God never promised us that this life would be easy.  He promised, however, that He will walk with us each step of the way.  We are learning endurance and keeping our eyes on the goal, instead of the difficulty of the challenges.