Monday, July 6

So, we had a reasonably uneventful Independence Day weekend. I had a flash of inspiration on the 4th that allowed a little barbecue fix. I figured out that Jake could probably handle some barbecue beef, based on how he'd handled some other stuff. I loaded up a crock pot with a bunch of beef and barbecue sauce and let it cook all day. Nick, Denise and I had BBQ beef sandwiches and grilled corn on the cob, while Jake had the BBQ beef (minus the bread) and mashed potatoes. I also made Jake some creamed corn soup with some of the fresh corn. He ate quite a bit of everything, so I guess he was pleased.

On Sunday we spent the afternoon at my sister Jackie's in San Diego. It was a pleasant afternoon, good food, and excellent Margaritas courtesy of Jackie's hubby, Mike.


Today, we had follow-ups with both the orthopedic and facial surgeons.


The visit with the ortho MD was pretty much uneventful, except that we showed up about 8:30AM for our 9:05 appointment and finally saw the doctor at about 10:15.


Jake had x-rays of his neck in both flexion and extension, which the doctors said would give a better picture than what they got with the MRI. The verdict was that everything looks good, "two thumbs up" per the orthopedic resident. They attributed his ongoing neck pain to soft tissue damage to the muscles of his neck. They speculated that Jake could continue to have neck pain for about 3 months and estimated about 6 months for a full recovery. They said he is clear for physical activity and suggested swimming as his best bet for staying in shape. (Unfortunately we forgot to confirm that with the facial surgeon.)


Since they were running so late at the orthopedic office we had to hustle over to the Loma Linda School of Dentistry for Jake's follow-up with the facial surgeon. We figured that was the more important appointment and were told that if we were over 15 minutes late we'd have to reschedule. (You have to love medical offices; when the doctor's an hour an a half late for your appointment it's all "Oh, please be patient, the doctors are very busy" and then you're 15 minutes late and "You inconsiderate SOB, you'll have to reschedule!" But I digress.)


As it turned out, we were just about right on time, due to my superior driving ability and my failure to yield for any pedestrians foolish enough to stray into my path.


The follow-up went well. The doctor's were all pleased with Jake's progress and he got some surprising good news; he now only has to wear the bands on his surgical braces at night and he can start eating some regular foods. He's cleared to chew as long as the foods are not too hard, so things like burgers, dogs and fries (all the major food groups) are OK, although he may need to cut them up quite a bit before he can consume them.


The doctor also wants Jake to start working on stretching out his mouth so that he can start eating normally again and gave him a sort of make shift gauge to use to measure his progress. (A big stack of tongue depressors taped together.) The doctor suggested that Jacob should work toward the target of an In-n-Out Double-Double; when he can get a Double-Double in his mouth he'll have adequately recovered his range of motion. That's cool, because it's a target that Jake can easily visualize, he's had plenty of experience.

One problem that Jake has had is that he has yet to recover his sense of smell. The one doctor was explaining that with all the facial fractures it is not uncommon to damage the fine nerves around the nose that connect to the main olfactory nerve. The doctors said that those usually recover over time. For now, that makes it hard for Jake to fully taste the flavors of his food. On the plus side, he has nothing to fear when his brother says "Pull my finger."

There was bad news from the doctors, although it was not unexpected, that Jake will need a follow-up surgery on the bones supporting his left eye. His left eye socket is larger than the right, as a result of all the fractures, and consequently the eye sits lower and is more deeply set in his face. The doctor recommended that sooner was probably better, so he has been scheduled for another visit on July 20 and then surgery on the 23rd. Unfortunately, we had originally thought that the surgery would be on an outpatient basis, but it turns out that they will want to keep him in the hospital overnight.

At least theoretically, he should be recovered from that surgery in time to head to Humboldt in August, but we'll need to keep our fingers crossed.

To celebrate the relaxation of his dietary restrictions Jake requested chili fries for lunch. Nick joined us at the Red Robin in Temecula. It was very nice to be able to sit down to lunch with Jake for a reasonably normal (at least normal for him) meal.