Where We Are

We are here in Colorado Springs for the second week. We will need to be here for week three. Kirsten, our youngest daughter, had surgery on her jaw and had it broken in four places so that her joints would work as they should. She has been in constant pain with them and the spacers the orthodontist had her wearing for the last four years did not work. The surgery was extremely painful and I am certain that it would have killed me. (Especially since I cannot take most pain relievers.) She had the surgery on Wednesday, and then came home to pain and drugs. That was when the trouble started. She had two ambulance rides in two days. Monday, either the oxycodone, hydrocodone, or Keflex caused her to have a severe allergic reaction. She swelled, got hives and had great difficulty breathing. At the ER, they were unable to determine what caused the problem for certain. Although the Dr. there thought that it was most likely that it was both the narcotics. They took her off of everything at the hospital, except for Tylenol. (I do not have time to look any of this spelling up.) They kept her overnight and, in the morning, they put her on a morphine-type drug and sent her home at noon. We got back about 1 p.m. but had to go to Walgreens and get the new drugs. Guess what? She took the first dose and started to swell again. She was not as bad the second time and did not need to stay the night even though her breathing was labored. It is difficult when your tongue and your breathing passage swells shut and your jaw is wired closed. The medics were afraid that they would have to do a tracheostomy but they were able to get her to respond with oxygen and epinephrine.

The next day, on a Wednesday, one week after the surgery, we were headed to the surgeon, who is located in Denver, also where the surgery was done, when she started to swell again. We ended up back at the ER at Memorial in the Colorado Springs area where they treated her and sent us on to the surgeon. It took the three times before they finally figured out which medication was making her stop breathing. Apparently she cannot take any narcotics. It is a good thing that she never took up drugs. ;) They also had to take away the steriods which were supposed to keep her from swelling because they gave her panic attacks. They did not restart the antibiotics either. At any rate, she is weak and worn-out and cannot drive. We are needed for one more week to assist her and take care of her five children under the age of 12 (one is 16-months).

I am certainly happy that I never had the same surgery. At one point, one orthodontist said it might be a good thing to do to cure my TMJ but I found a different specalist who just made all my teeth fit together. The orthodontist who took over Dr. Kitchen's practice, who was practicing in Provo, after he died in the airplane accident was the one who told us that Kirsten did not need braces and that her mouth looked just great. HAH! Can I sue at this late date. I know, I know, he did the best he could at the time. She was just 12 at the time but he continued to say that her teeth were lining up well. Her jaw hinges were so deteriorated from the constant misalignment that they had to be replaced with artificial ones. I am too old for all of this fear of dying. Just be healthy, strong and do NOT have surgery or accidents. :)

My tooth was removed, the bone graft done, and, next October, I will get an implant. I have a new cap on the tooth that was decaying under the old cap. I am in good shape. Leonard also has a new cap and the same molar that I had removed had to be extracted on him. We are twins in that we are both missing the rear lower molar. He will also need an implant but that will not be until Fall for either of us. I hope Kirsten soon will be. I think she is very brave and has had so much pain, in addition to the allergies. Hopefully we can schedule that for our break from the temple.