A Dose of Reality

Since I'm now able to enjoy soft foods (mashed potatoes, fish, tofu, et cetera), I've been feeling somewhat normal and the whole surgery thing has weighed less and less on my mind. For instance, when I wake up in the morning, I no longer feel overwhelming tightness in my lower face, and the first thing that comes to mind is no longer "I'm soooooo hungry! What can I eat, er, drink?"


But last night, I had a dose of reality. Doug and I spent the whole day walking around the city, strolling through the farmers' market, having lunch (here I was, at my favorite hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurant, opening wiiiiide), checking out charming local shops, and enjoying a cup of mocha. By the time we got home at 8 pm, I sat in bed and powered up my laptop, then promptly fell asleep. I could not keep my eyes peeled! Slept all the way till this morning. This almost never happens. I usually operate on 6 to 7 hours of sleep every night, and I'm usually very high energy. Now I realize that my body is still in recovery, and it just hasn't come back 100%. Oh well. At least, I don't stand up for 15 minutes and immediately feel dizzy (2nd and 3rd day at the hospital), or walk around in the house for an hour and already need a nap (first 10 days at home). It's definitely improving. I just need to take it easy.

What to Venture into

Can you tell that I've got food on my brain? Blended anything, even milkshakes, quickly become boring. Through relentless experiments, I've discovered a few things that may help add variety AND nutrition to your diet during recovery.

• Cottage cheese. Really high in protein!
• Savory egg custard. See my recipe here. Add less chicken broth if you want it to be a little more dense. It'll still be soft and never requires chewing.
• Mashed potatoes. Add sour cream, extra butter, and/or guacamole to make it even fluffier.

A real meal!

Well, kinda. I felt ambitious enough to attack an omelette. Didn't happen. My back teeth don't even touch yet, so chewing is impossible. On the bright side, mashed potatoes with sour cream and guacamole were a real treat. Fluffy, velvety, simply amazing. :) I removed the rubber bands mid-meal (and put them back on after) as they were causing extra stress on my jaws. Without them, I can open wide enough now to accommodate a fork without hurting. Hooray!

Not sure if you can see in the photo, but the monkey on my t-shirt wears braces, too. ;)