Introduction
Before I get started on my complaint, I want to update you on how I am feeling from my surgery. No good sleep for 15 years; add major surgery to your jaw which is like trying to stop a speeding truck with your face; and no sleep at all for the past 36 hours; I have to say: I am very… very… very tired, but I am excited about my future. The big news is I have feeling and little to no numbness in my upper and lower lips; my chin; my nose; my upper and lower jaws; and the roof of my mouth.
After reading many blogs where patients state that at weeks four and five they still have numbness, I find this outcome of mine to be a miracle. Even Dr. Li during our pre-surgery consultation told me I could even have permanent numbness. In showing my wife that I could feel, I kept pinching my face all over and she got the message.
The professionals at Stanford really know their job, especially when it comes to pain control and patient comfort. So I can honestly say that as soon as the pain reached 3 or 4 on a scale of 10 (0-no pain; 4-pain becoming intolerable; 10-the worst pain) they took care of me. From leaving the OR and up to this point, I never had pain worst than 4, maybe 5. The worst part of the pain control was being woken up at 2 am 4 am etc. to check my pain level and to administer oral pain meds.
After this surgery you immediately start to have deep sleep where you are really out. I wish I could have been given IV pain meds and left to sleep for about two weeks.
Day Two at Stanford Hospital Regular Room
Well they moved me out of the ICU, my pre-med and surgery training apparently over. I remember they kept me in the same bed and it was motorized. The nurse just drove it along the hallways like he had done it 100’s of times. I want to say stop by the nearest Dunkin Donuts but my mouth was wired shut with rubber bands. The only other thing I was interested in was sleep.
We arrived at the regular hospital room and the first thing I noticed was I’m going to have to share a room, but I’m getting the window bed. The patient in the room was a very loud, boisterous gentleman in his late 50’s or 60’s. He did not seem to realize he was in a hospital as he swore and complained vigorously to his daughter and wife. They realized they were in a hospital and now had a patient roommate but he did not seem concerned, no matter how much they tried to settle him down. I have to say this was the first time in over 30 years that I heard someone use the N-word. He apparently was upset with one of his nurses.
However, this is not what really bothered me. His daughter was coughing and sneezing non-stop and touching everything in the room. The father/patient was coughing also, but he’s a patient so I have to respect that. The daughter did wear a mask; however it did not fit over her nose and mouth (she had a very large face). Most of the time she had it over her mouth only and regularly removed it to talk or cough.
Coming out of surgery, having not slept yet, I decided I could not afford to catch something from this visitor, who obviously had little concern (she did wear a mask) for the other patients or even her father. Maybe they had the same thing. They certainly harmonized in their coughing and sneezing. I asked my wife to bring the sick visitors’ actions and sickness to the nurses’ station with the message I would like to move. She returned with a message that they would be working on it.
I waited 10-15 minutes and I thought the best way to bring this situation to the attention it needed was to get out of bed with my IV stand in hand and go out into the hallway. I did so and sat down on a non-descript desk chair at the end of the hallway far away from my roommate and his guests.
This seemed to do the trick. And I am so glad because I was contemplating lying down on the hallway floor and start shaking uncontrollably (just kidding). The head nurse showed up and I was moved two rooms down with a new sleep apnea patient as a roommate.
Day Three at Stanford Hospital Regular Room
I slept on and off throughout the night, again sleeping pretty good except to have to wake up to get pain meds and hear the patient next to me pleading for more meds. He seemed to know the names of all of them and which ones you could take together. He did not have jaw surgery. He had a GA (Genioglossus Advancement) and some soft tissue surgeries.
The big decision for us (my wife and me) was to decide whether to stay one more night or leave for our hotel for a week or so of recovery. Dr. Li said it was my call. My wife was leaning toward staying one more night and I was not sure. My only fear throughout this whole surgery and recovery was that with my mouth wired shut, I might choke and not be able to breathe. This is where I think about what my family and church friends would say and that would be “trust in the Lord.” So with a few prayers said, we left the hospital after one day in ICU and one day in a regular room. That decision probably saved my insurance company and me $15,000 to $20,000.
Everyone at Stanford Hospital was great.
John
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