Day 32: Returning To Normal Life?

Splint-filled life is slowly beginning to resemble regular life: I'm feeling less like a patient and more like a person.  Today consisted of hanging out at the beach with a friend, watching Breaking Bad on Netflix and eating mac and cheese, pumpkin bread, and various other normal foods!  Though I can chew a little now, I still spit and stumble when I speak.  I am still reluctant to completely rejoin society as I am obviously self-conscious about the splint, but feel a strong obligation to return to work.  My boss has been more than accommodating: because I have to be able to talk for the job I haven't been in the office for this entire month!  I've decided to go back Thursday.  It will be strange to go out in public like this, but I keep telling myself that I need to be eased back in.  Life doesn't stop with jaw surgery, as nice as it would be to go to some island and chill there for another month until all of this is over.

My friend's dog helping the healing process.

Day 22: Post-Surgery Food List!

Opened my fridge today and saw this:

I've taken over the refrigerator!

And I realized that although I addressed it briefly in this post, I wanted to make a definitive list of all the liquid-type foods I have been eating while in fixation!  If you're getting surgery in the future and need some suggestions on what to stock up on, I recommend:

GoGo Squeezes: All the little green pouches of applesauce in the picture!  I absolutely love these because they are delicious and easy to eat.  Apple-cinnamon is my favorite!  The only problem is they don't fill you up all that much, not that any of these foods really do. 

Ensure Plus: For getting in those calories!  Lots of protein and vitamins and minerals and all that good stuff.  I like the taste too: a lot of protein shakes have a grainy, medicinal texture, but this just tastes like chocolate milk.  Also good for mixing with ice cream!

Naked Juice: Yummy in the mornings, and fills you up more than you would think!

Bolthouse Farms Protein Plus Shakes: I'm big on chocolate, and this shake is chocolate-packed and contains lots of protein and other nutrients!

V8 Fusion Juice: To get in those servings of fruits and veggies!

Graduates Grabbers: Applesauce similar to GoGo squeeze.  There are a lot more flavor options, but not all of them are fantastic.

I did not like the taste of: Muscle Milk (ew), or Myoplex original (more ew).  

In addition to these foods, I mostly eat blended soups, melted ice cream, and smoothies.  I also take an iron supplement which can be mixed with fruit juice.  I can only eat what fits through the syringe, which means I can't have any little chunks that easily get stuck.

If your surgery is coming up in the near future, make sure to determine what you like and get a lot of it! Liquids hold me for a little while, but I get hungry very quickly and frequently.  It's been a challenge to keep my weight up (I'm still at about five or six pounds less than where I started), but the protein shakes help!  It's crazy that I've survived like this for so long.