Re-Nash 2008!!

I purchased a plane ticket for next Friday to Nashville, TN! This is something I was afraid would never come through and I am so happy it is! My beloved housemates from last year and I were all going to reunite there for an extended weekend. We have been planning this since this summer and I had originally cancelled my ticket because of the surgery. I had been told I wouldn't be able to fly but because of my good report Dr. Ray thinks it will be fine. Once he figured out that I was determined to go even if I was going to drive there he said he would rather I fly and have an easier trip so I happily purchased a ticket and cannot wait to be reunited with the coolest/artsyiest/funnest/most interesting ladies around in Tennessee!

Check Up

I went to my first check up yesterday and it went really well. My doctor was very excited with how well everything went, so excited he clapped and jumped a little--more on him later. The only downside is that I don't get my stitches out for another week so I have to put up with the uncomfortable stuff in my mouth for that much longer. Oh and I still can't chew but in happier news I am now allowed to return to spicier and acidic food I wasn't allowed to eat the first week so I am currently enjoying a nice bowl of tomato soup.

Back to Dr. Ray. My surgeon is a very eccentric and interesting man, he really reminds me of the guy that plays the main character in the Italian movie Life is Beautiful. He is probably the best doctor I've ever had when it comes to patient relationships and also the most interesting. He is from Trinidad and has an incredibly beautiful soft accent. He is very attentive and comforting which was nice during my intense surgery. When I went in for my check up my dad and I walked in and I signed in at the counter where Dr. Ray happened to be walking by, he saw us and quickly hid behine the pillar. At first I thought he was trying to be funny and then I realized that he was wearing a costume and he didn't want me to see it yet. He waved and darted behind the next pillar quickly and got out of there. I then realized all of the nurses were wearing fuzzy halos and wings over their scrubs. So they are angels--what is he? Well it turns out he was Charlie. I came in a sat in the examination chair and Dr. Ray come excitedly in and yes, poses, wearing a suit with an unbuttoned flipped up collar, suspenders, a fedora with tiger stripes on it, and a massive cigar that says Big Daddy on it. Hilarious. Not your average specialized surgeon. He did the examination fairly quickly and was very excited about my progress. He then said "ok, now I must go show your dad my costume!" and darted away. My nurse said she liked my boots and walked me out.
Good day at the doctors office.

Help please!!

I am so hungry!! I cannot eat anything that is chewable so basically I am on liquids. I have been eating a lot of soup and pudding that I do enjoy. But I am so sick of all of it too. My nice mother has made me homemade applesauce and cream of wheat every morning which is nice, but it is getting old fast. I just ate refried beans out of a can, and enjoyed it, that's how desperate I am! I do not know how much longer this is going to go on but it stinks!

(keep in mind I am lactose intolerant, so milkshakes and ice cream are out--no fun for me)

The Results...

Well, the surgery is over, well actually it was over on Friday afternoon, I am just now up to writing about it a little. I am still lying in my pajamas on my couch 3 days later with liquids, drugs, and stitches, but the worst is over and I am relieved.

I appreciate everyone that prayed for me and has written me because I know it helped. The surgery itself was very long, 3 hours, and more intensive than originally planned (kind of the theme of this whole saga). The abscess was more spread out than they could see on x-rays and actually went all the way to the tip of my chin and spread out width length under other teeth that they were also unaware of. But they believe they removed it all and I feel like my surgeons did such a good job and I really appreciated their attentiveness, kindness, and humor throughout the ordeal.

I still am pretty shocked that they don't put people completely under for this sort of thing. I've had a lot of dental work done so I'm not a wimp but it was a pretty horrific experience to be awake for. Lots of blood, lots of cutting, and lots of just awfulness in general. And it is quite the strange experience to have your mouth stitched through the front (under the teeth) all the way through the back and out again--while you're awake!

Anyways, enough of that. I wanted to post a picture of all of my stitches but I realized it was just plain disgusting and nobody needed to see that. But I do have a swollen jaw and I talk funny around these stitches. Also, I'm so hungry! Liquids are fine but they are getting old fast, luckily I like soup and soup likes me. I am very thankful for good friends who have brought me flowers, gifts, cards, frozen hot chocolates, and lots of hugs. I'm also very thankful for my parents who have taken very diligent care of me fixing all of my liquids and keeping me straight on the ridiculous amount of bone vitamins, steroids, antibiotics, and painkillers I am on. I feel like our kitchen table is now a pharmacy, but I'm thankful for those painkillers let me tell you!

I will continue to update as time goes on. Hopefully I will get my stitches out on Thursday and a good report from my first checkup. Thanks again for everyone that prayed for me or contacted me in some way. It has meant a lot.

Surgery Day--Friday

Tomorrow at 1pm I am having my surgery. I am very happy to be getting this over with but I am also fairly nervous. Hopefully it won't take more than an hour and I will be left with stitches and new jaw material. The other concern I have is that I have to be awake for the procedure, I would rather be under, but it will probably be better this way.

Pray that I will be calm and tough. That everything will go smoothly and that I willl recover quickly!

Cousins galore!--last Florida installment

Probably the biggest draw to Florida and the best part of our trip was visiting my extended family there. My dad's youngest brother and his wife live in Brookesville, FL out in the country in the most beautiful part of FL in my opinion. I have 5 boy cousins there consisting of a youth pastor married with 2 children trying to head to the mission field in China, a state trooper--married, a college wrestler, and 2 high school footbal, wrestling, track studs. They have also been favorite playmates of my brothers and I growing up and I always took care of the younger boys--yes I changed Zack's (the youngest) diapers and it horrifies him to this day! Robbie (the oldest) has 2 little ones named Kenny (2 years) and Lydia Ann (almost 1). They are super special to us and we enjoyed them thoroughly. It's always a good time when Pritzs get together.

Ybor City--Cuban Paradise

Tampa is a surprising boiling pot of cultures and I very much enjoyed getting to experience a few of them. My parents lived in Germany for a number of years after they got married in the late 70s and my dad lived there as a child as well so I've grown up with a lot of German influence, particularly the food. We love German food and often have some type of sausage, bread, red cabbage, and sauerkraut for dinner. We ate a meal at Mr. Dunderbakt's--a great pub/restaurant near my Grandma's house and we definitely indulged ourselves and felt it in our stuffed tummies for the rest of the day.

Another super cool part of downtown Tampa is Ybor City. This is a Hispanic conglomerate. It is where lots and lots of cigar factories were once booming and now it's more of culture and food paradise as well as partyville at night. We enjoyed Cuban sandwiches and yellow rice at Hugo's and then walked around enjoying watching an old man hand roll cigars and seeing all of the beautiful architecture surrounded by palm trees. It is definitely a colorful part of town and I am sure if we would have stuck around til the sun went down we would have seen an even more colorful crowd--but I don't think my 86 year old grandma was up for that!