Goodbye Arch Bars!

Last view of Nathan's arch bars

these babies are GONE!

We are happy to announce that as of 4:00 today Nathan is arch bar free! No more pokey wires jabbing his gums, no more getting his lips snagged when he tries to talk. He had to go under anesthesia to get them taken out (they were embedded in his gums somehow, I prefer not to think about it too hard). The whole procedure was pretty quick and when he came out he was super chipper and chatty, I think a mix between recovering from being "under" and excitement about being able to talk pain free for the first time in weeks. He's still pretty happy, in fact, he just walked by and showed my his gums again (you know... as you do).

The nurse informed me that his first words when he came out of surgery were "I can smile!!" Which was nearly on par with his first words when he came out of surgery last time which were "I can run across the parp!" (albiet in written form since he couldn't talk last time). Click here for context.

Get well soon!

Elizabeth and Nathan

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

Well we are in week 3 now. Nathan's starting to feel a bit more peppy, but it's still a slow recovery. When they did the surgery they had to move one of his main facial nerves which resulted in his face being mostly numb on his left side. Recently his nerve has begun to recover (yay!) but that also means that he's getting random bursts of pain now that he can feel that part of his face again (boo!).

Today Nathan rode his bike again for the first time since the accident. I think we need to take it into the shop to get it aligned, but it worked ok for the short distance we went today. It's important to show the bike who's boss, wouldn't want it to get any crazy ideas. 

While Nathan did get some of his rubber bands taken off last week he still has enough on that he can't open his mouth to get a straw or a spoon in so we're still doing the super pureed soups so that he can drink it through his teeth. Here's the recipe for a butternut squash soup we just made. :)

Ingredients:

1 - largish butternut squash

1 - onion

32 oz. - chicken stock

1/2 cup - cream

1 tsp - marjoram

dash - cayenne pepper

salt to taste

Start by chopping the onion and softening it in a soup pot with the butter.

Next start peeling and dicing the butternut squash. This is kind of a pain, and actually I read later online that instead of doing this you can just cut the squash in half and roast it in the oven for a while (here's a link to some instructions I found). Then when you take it out you can just scoop the soft insides out. I think I'll do it that way next time.

But, since I did do it the hard way, I though I'd show off this nice bowl of butternut squash cubes. The squash I picked filled two bowls of this size.

Ok, and also a close up, cause that was hard and I'm not doing it again. :)

Once the onions are soft toss in your cubes (or your mushy roasted squash if you used the roasted method)

Next add you spices, mush everything around for a minute, and then add your stock.

simmer until everything is tender

and SURPRISE! next put it in the blender!

Will it Blend?

Yes!

Take a picture of it on your balcony but zoom in really far so that people can't tell that the view from your balcony is really a parking lot. Enjoy!

Get well soon!

Elizabeth and Nathan

Why we're here

Bicycles are useful but dangerous beasts, and even bikes which you believe to be tame and docile can occasionally surprise you with a wild streak. Just such an occurrence happened to our family last week when my husband Nathan's bike decided that instead of moving forward in an orderly manner, it would get it's wheel stuck in a pothole and chuck Nathan over the handlebars (not a nice idea bike, we're watching you...)

Fortunately Nathan had the presence of mind to catch himself with his face, and even more fortunately to find our housemate who helped him locate bits of his tooth and who also miraculously convinced him to go to the ER. Several hours later we got the news that his jaw was broken and he'd need surgery. Thus began our new life in the world of liquid dinners (and breakfast, and lunches, and snacks). Prognosis is that chewing is out for the next 6 to 8 weeks which means it's time to whip out the blender! (ok, actually we are borrowing a blender, cause we're grad students and don't actually own one... luckily we've got a good friend who has entrusted us with hers).

In our copious amounts of hospital time I started searching for ideas for what we could make at home and came away realizing that there actually aren't that many resources for people on liquid diets and those that do exist are strange... like blended spagetti... and pizza... not that I'm saying that those wouldn't be good... but I might not be emotionally ready for that yet. So in response to the lack of resources I'm using this blog as a place to compile the recipes we make, with the goal that they will be things that you would actually want to eat even if your jaw weren't wired (or rubber banded) shut.  :)

And for your viewing enjoyment, here we are hanging out in the emergency room (post-break, pre-surgery). Poor Nathan has his eyes closed because it is the law of the universe that we can never both have our eyes open in the same photo. :)

Get well soon!
Elizabeth and Nathan