Ready for the fight

At 7:30 a.m. tomorrow I'll be going through my first surgery. To fix my bite, my lower and upper jaw will get sliced, shifted and banded together. I'll likely look like I fought Pacquiao afterward. In the months that follow, I'll have to say goodbye to steaks and burgers, and hello to protein shakes and smoothies.

It won't be fun, I know that. But even after reading for months about the procedure and recovery, I'm not sure how I'll manage.

I've come to terms with the actual surgery, I think. I'm in the hands of Dr. Rob Relle, who has been doing these types of surgeries for decades. I'm told I won't feel anything, not the breathing tube or the ... gulp ... catheter. Plus I'm getting some strong drugs to cope. But what if something goes wrong?

Mostly, it's the recovery that's worrisome. No blowing my nose for six weeks. No opening my mouth more than a few centimeters for a while. What if I need to throw up? Or yawn? What happens when I sneeze?

There are things to be hopeful about. The surgery could possibly cure my chronic migraines. I breath out of my mouth when I sleep, and this could possibly fix that. Plus there's a chance I'll wake up and look like George Clooney ... maybe.

Well, I'll let y'all know. I've decided to write about my experience starting with this post, if anything to possibly help others who might have this surgery in the future, but also to keep me busy. I'll be out of work (newspaper reporting, hence the name of this blog) for about three weeks, and I'll try to update this at the end of each day. Feel free to ask questions.

Time for bed. Up and at 'em at 4 a.m. Wish me luck.