I go under the knife a week from today. I'm getting so many packages from my list of surgery resources that I feel like it's my birthday! (Well, sort of. If my birthday present were getting my skull sawed open. Um.) Thank you to winterredwood for the Preparing for Surgery CD, which I've been listening to every evening. I'm finding it quite helpful, although I had to laugh when, at one point in the initial relaxation exercise, the narrator beseeches the listener to "notice the intelligence in your feet." shoutingboy sent a DVD about lymphatic massage, which is supposed to reduce swelling after surgery. shaix ordered some books on tape and one of the special pillows for sleeping upright. karenbynight provided the other pillow. makellen added a mini white board, so that I can communicate right away after the surgery. My grandparents loaded up a Jamba Juice card with smoothie goodness. And, according to my Amazon list, I still have soy protein powder and the shower seat on their way. Again, I really appreciate the support, and I'm confident that the surgery will go smoothly.

I had the pre-op appointment with my surgeon last week, and it went really well. She showed us a practice surgery on my super-cool maxillofacial models, and answered most of my burning questions. She confirmed that I'll only have to stay in the hospital for two days, if all goes as planned. On the other hand, the procedure itself will take four hours, longer than we'd thought, meaning recovery will go a bit more slowly. The bone graft will actually be synthetic (made from coral). There'll be some physical therapy afterwards, both to lengthen my jaw muscles and to prevent any intra-oral scar tissue from getting in my way. My maxillofacial surgical team seems competent, which bodes well, since my head is, you know, where I keep all my stuff.