Minniea,

Isn't it interesting how rough surgery sounds and how benign radiation sounds. I did not have any surgery, and I was very brave, almost cocky going into radiation treatment. Of course it did not take long for the radiation to put me in my place, and, as I have written here before, it was when the radiation ended that I hit my lowest, most depressed point.

I can remember getting up, doing a tube feeding in the morning, and thinking...."what do I have to look forward to... besides another tube feeding at noon?" My most comforting thought was that I had enough vicodin tablets that if things became unbearable, I could dissolve them in water, inject them into my feeding tube, and put an end to my misery.

At that point I called the social worker at MD Anderson and learned about free counseling,I started taking a long walk every morning, made sure that friends dropped by to visit, and that I had at least one errand to run a day to get myself out of the house. It all worked and within days I was no longer depressed and feeling pretty darn good.
I feel good enough now that I took 3 teenagers last night to a big outdoor rap music concert!

I have no experience with jaw surgery, but it sounds like you are doing really well!

Take care,
Danny G.