Pre & Post Surgery Pictures

Andy and I saw the plastic surgeon on Monday afternoon. While he was telling us about what he would be doing during the surgery, I was sick and nervous! Making 4 incisions (one on the hair line, one above the eyebrow, one underneath the eye and one inside his mouth) and using titanium plates and screws to hold the shattered bones in place and also having to repair the bone under his eye which was broken. Of coarse they wouldn't know the full extent of the damage until they got in there. The 3 hour surgery was scheduled for the next day, Tuesday.

Lucky for us (and such a huge blessing) Andy's brother Sean and his wife Katie came into town Tuesday morning. They stayed with ALL the kids pretty much ALL day so that I could be with Andy at the hospital. It was really so helpful especially since the surgery was suppose to start at 2:30 and didn't actually get underway until after 4:30.

Checked in!

Tired & hungry, waiting for the surgeon.

Well, the 3 hour surgery ended up being about a 4.5 hour surgery. Once they got a look at the damage it was more "shattered" than they had anticipated so putting the puzzle pieces back together was more extensive than they had thought. Also, the bone under his eye wasn't just broken but also shattered so they had to put in a dissolving implant to help support the bone while it heals. It was about 9 pm before the Dr. came to talk to me but he said that everything had gone very well. I was so happy to hear that but really bummed to hear that since the bones were so shattered and fragile Andy could only eat soft food for at least 6 weeks. I knew that this would probably the worst part for the whole thing for Andy!

So it was about 10:30 before I was allowed to go be with him because he had struggled a bit with nausea while he was waking up after surgery.

It was hard to see him that way and he was still in quite a bit of pain so I became the bossy demanding wife and told the nurse that he needed pain medicine NOW and shouldn't be in any pain during his hospital stay. It was hard to leave him that night to go home but I eventually left him in a morphine induced coma to go home around 1 am.

When I came back to be with him the next day, he was awake and had eaten some pudding and cream-of-wheat. That was a good sign. After the shift change in the middle of the night, Andy got the best nurse. She took REALLY good care of him and went above and beyond to make him comfortable! (yes, we put a comment card in the suggestion box at the hospital on her behalf!) She was fabulous!

The Dr.'s came in to talk to Andy and see how he was doing. After all our questions were answered and directions given (did I mention ONLY soft foods for 6 weeks!), it was about 4:30 pm and we got ready to head home. But not before I could get a few pictures...

Andy getting a good look at his face for the first time since surgery...

Mostly Andy just wanted to get home and spend time with his brother. Now we start the healing process and hope for NO MORE ER VISITS for a VERY long time!!!