August 9, 23 Days Post Surgery

 This is actually from yesterday (the 8th). Everything looks normal from outward appearances. I will soon post some side by side before and after shots. I am still a bit swollen on my right side, but nothing anyone can really see. My right side is still numb and so are my top lip, top teeth, and palette. I have pulled a few of my stitches out; the doc said they should all come out by the 3rd week. However, my lip still has more dealing to do, and that stitch is not quite ready to depart. The orthodontist said everything looked really good, my bite has now closed-apparently it was a bit open last week, but he was pleased with how it looked yesterday. I was also permitted to go from 24/7 rubber bands, to after dinner through next morning. This has reduced my pain level quite a bit. Now, the worst pain is at least after work.

The surgeon says to continue no chewing through Aug 28, and a "more normal" diet as of Sept. 16. After Aug 28 I can have things such as pasta, eggs, ?? Being on a liquid diet is very challenging and makes it really hard to work. It is quite a task to keep up the energy level I need to function at work; therefore, this first week back has largely consisted of half-3/4 days. I worked all day yesterday, and was thoroughly exhausted today. But, I do feel much stronger each and every day! Yay!!

It was suggested to me that I try chia seeds, as they expand in your stomach to make you feel full, and are full of omega-3 fatty acids. As soon as I make it to the health food store, I plan to snatch up some of these little goodies and give them a try.

Only 7 days until Edisto, South Carolina!! Cannot wait. Sunshine, heat, humidity-here I come!

August 4, 18 Days Post Surgery

Eighteen days away and I am doing well. As you can see the right side is still a bit swollen; however, I am feeling pretty good. The rubber bands I have to wear are not pleasant at all, and I am usually in a lot of pain first thing in the morning from wearing them all night, and also sleeping (accidentally) on my side. I am still taking ibuprofen pretty regularly; I just cannot bear the pain without it yet. 

At least I have felt like working outside this past week. I am redoing a hutch my friend Kelly gave me! I am painting the inside red and the outside white, and will also distress it a bit afterwards to give it that antique look. I usually can only paint 2-3 hours a day, and then I am pooped, but I have accomplished a lot! Here is a BEFORE photo of the hutch:

 

Sorry for the poor quality of my iphone pics. It is not the latest and greatest! 

I go back to work Monday. Not too thrilled about it, but I must do it! I am concerned about having the stamina and energy I will need to keep up and not make mistakes! We'll see what happens! 

I go back to the orthodontist on Monday and I really hope he tells me I do not have to wear the bands, but I know that is just not going to happen. My teeth are not in correct alignment yet, so the bands will probably be an extension of me for quite some time unfortunately. 

On a brighter note, our trip to Edisto is coming right up and I am really excited! I cannot wait to be in the hot humidity and bake in the glory of the beaming rays of the sun. Not to mention I will get to see my family for the first time in a year! I really think it is time we headed back down south for good!

 

Saturday, July 28th, 11 Days Post Surgery

Looking a little more like my old self but not quite. I'm still a little puffy. A couple of things have happened. First, one of my rubber bands (I had two that were essentially holding my jaws in place) broke this morning, so I took the other one off, which was a process, given my stitches and sore lip. As a result I probably opened my mouth a little farther today than normal, and mouth opened wider equals PAIN. I have so much pressure right now in my face! I didn't call the surgeon because I will see the orthodontist on Monday, and he can figure it out. The surgeon said the bands would come off after about a week anyway.

Second, I tried to venture out of the house today. Mario said I really needed to get out. So, I kept it local, and went into town to the local bookstore, and then to the grocery store to pick up things I can actually eat. Which by the way, I purchased some Annie's macaroni and cheese and then pureed it with a piece of chicken....wow. It looked gross, but tasted fantastic!!! I added lots of milk, and some ricotta cheese (tricks I read about making food palatable and more calorie filled after jaw surgery). Needless to say, when I got home, I was pooped and in a lot of pain. So, I ate, and went to bed for three hours. I feel a little better now, but I have some killer pain in my right jaw joint, along with the pressure feeling. I may have to retire back to bed sooner rather than later with my nightly oxycontin!

Of course before I head back to bed, I will probably have an ensure with a pureed banana. I know I am not getting the surgeon's recommended 70-75 grams of protein, and I am fairly certain I am getting no where near the 2000 calorie intake I was instructed to obtain. Oh well. A girl can only do so much!

Thursday, July 26, 9 Days Post Surgery

Here is a little shot I took after my shower last evening:

And here is how I am holding up today:

 I tried to perch myself in front of my flowers sent by my girls and orthodontists' office. Once again, I look possessed or something. But, the big news of the day is that I called the doc b/c I am running low on oxycodone. He seemed a little shocked that I had been taking them every 4 hours since I left the hospital. Well, that is what I was instructed to do, and I didn't dare take a risk with the pain. Now, he tells me not to take any oxycodone today, just ibuprofen, and to maybe take oxy before bed. This might prove for an interesting day, but I am hoping that I will be pleasantly surprised and not in too much pain!


I think the swelling is going away quite nicely, but I definitely look different. I look pretty good from the outside, but the area under my lip where the stitches reside still looks pretty gross. And, I always had this habit of popping my ears before my surgery to be able to hear better-maybe from where things weren't lined up properly or something. Now, I cannot pop my ears, so I am a bit hearing challenged, and I have a lot of pressure in my ears. 


On to the day without major pain meds.

Wednesday, July 25, 8 Days Post Surgery

 The iphone pics are a little distorted once I enlarge them, but it will have to do! This is my first attempt at smiling. I also decided to try some mascara today, because I still am not really looking like myself. I think it's time I start really adjusting to the new "look."


Too tired to do much today. Yesterday in the flower garden wore me out. My legs are a little like jello today.

My profile....very very different. You can see a little of the bruising at the bottom. Still pretty swollen, and I have read that even when the external swelling goes away, my inner tissue will still be quite swollen for even 6 mos-1 yr later. 

As you can see, the swelling is going down, slowly but surely.

Tuesday, July 24, 7 Days Post Surgery

Please excuse the frightened or stoned look in most of my photos. I cannot smile so I look possessed or something. Tuesday I was a little ambitious. It was a gorgeous day, I ate oatmeal for breakfast, which was very fulfilling, and Doby (the dog) needed some significant outdoors time. So, I ventured in to my flower garden and began cutting down what I didn't like along with the weeds. This was actually pretty wonderful in that made my nose cleanse itself (I will spare you the details). You just don't know how good it feels to breathe through your nose until you cannot. I probably over did it in the flower garden, and I was super super tired last evening, but the physical activity felt wonderful.

This is a pretty good shot of the bruising-on both sides at the bottom.

Monday, July 23

Monday was pretty tiring. It's difficult to see in my iphone pic but I do have bruising on the lower part of my jowls. It was pretty hot on Monday, too. Still plugging along with my ensure, soups (of which I received a few different ones from my wonderful and thoughtful friends Val and Bonnie and my Mom sent me the best gourmet clam chowder which has been wonderful), smoothies, and mashed potatoes. I actually ate mashed potatoes yesterday with ketchup. That is how much I miss french fries!

Sunday, July 22

Once home and reacquainted with my house, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Mario has been great, even waking up with me every few hours at night to take my meds, just to tell me "good job." I am much more independent than I thought I would be. I have to be careful with bending over, and getting over tired, but I can do things for myself. Mario still prepared my meals for me over the weekend, and made runs to Shaws for things like bananas for a smoothie! He has been wonderful! 

I do still have to sleep with my head propped up and only on my back. Not the most comfortable or restful situation, but not as bad as I had imagined!

Leaving Hospital, Friday, July 20

At 5 a.m. Friday morning, I had not been awakened to take my pain meds through the night, and I knew I would be going home later that day. The pain was pretty bad. I was trying so hard not to take any more IV pain meds (Dilaudid, which is of the morphine family), but I was so nervous as to what the pain would be like if I didn't take it. So, at 5 a.m., I rang for the nurse and got my IV pain meds. I was a happy camper and was able to finally go back to sleep. It is hard to describe the intense pressure a surgery like this creates. I mean the idea that I have stitches in my sinuses, my jaw was broken and reattached with titanium plates, my lip was stretched so much that it looked like it might bleed from underneath...ouch. 

That morning, however, I was ready to come home. I had enough of the hospital and the sterile environment. I worried though how my body would react to the outside world, how would I breathe around all the dust and dog hair in my house? Would the heat bother me? And, who would take care of me at home like the nurses had done? I didn't have a button to push at home to request any little thing my heart would desire or worse yet...need. My honey is busy with his burgeoning law practice, and I was worried he would be too busy to really care for me the way I thought I would need it.

Day 2 Post Surgery

I was feeling quite a bit better at this point. I am only allowed liquids for 6 weeks. I was served things like soup, yogurt, milk, juice, and tea, oh and of course Ensure!!!!

This is how far I can open my mouth, even now, on Day 8.

Another shot of my swelling. I am unable to smile at this point.

Post Surgery and First Day After

This is right after surgery. I had to memorialize the tube in my nose, which goes down my throat.

I am not feeling too well here, but I am actually thrilled that my nose and throat tube has been removed. The previous night had been very rough, as I had the tube down my throat, and dry heaved every hour on the hour all night long. They were giving me nausea medication, but it was not working. Dry heaving caused my nose to bleed terribly so it was a horrendous night and I really wanted to be put out of my misery. Not to mention I had a challenged Nurse's Aide, who really should probably consider a new profession. If I had not been so challenged in my own way that evening, I would have had a few more choice things to say to her. Luckily I couldn't talk very well and spent the time with my head inside my pink basin instead of spewing at her! Said Nurse's Aid in the pic below.

I also had a 98 year old roomie whose name was Gertrude. I learned a lot about her while in the hospital with her. She was the cutest lady and I learned to love how she laughed. But, those first couple of nights, I did not feel so warmly towards her, as everything really got on my nerves. It's rough when you're dry heaving, can't speak, face feels like it is exploding, can't sleep, nurses waking you up every hour, and the best part is that Gertrude's nurse treated her like she could not hear, but she could. So, Anita (the nurse) would speak in this very high pitched tone of voice and sort of draw out everything she said as if she were talking to a baby. But, see I was privy to conversations between Gertrude and her niece who took care of her, and the woman could hear a whisper. Interesting. I had nothing better to do people, except listen to the entertainment around me!

Oh and in case you were wondering why the 98 yr old was in the hospital, she has diverticulitis. But, she could haul her own IV pole to the bathroom herself. She had this habit of going to the bathroom in the middle of the night and would never turn on the light, and she would leave the door open. So, I, in my oxy stupor, would stumble to the bathroom with my own IV pole, and well, it's just too cute to get mad at a 98 yr old taking that much care of herself. I patiently waited in line for the bathroom in my hospital room.

This is the very first picture I took of myself (my photographer had fled). My nose is quite crusty with dried blood. I also had a procedure whereby the doc scraped my nasal passages because mine were 1) too narrow and 2) quite damaged-I believe by allergies, constant blowing?? So, I had very clogged sinuses and still do to some degree. I also have stitches in my sinuses in addition to the stitches on the tops of my gums.  I am not allowed to blow my nose, and instead have to breathe the stuff inward to dispose of it.

Jaw Surgery, Tuesday, July 23-All You Ever Wanted to Know

This is right before I was hauled back to the operating room. I had my own professional photographer (Mario) who thoroughly documented the event, and he was blown away by the beautiful hat from Cheshire Medical's Wardrobe Unit. 

For those of you who are curious, and I really don't have anything better to do at the moment than write all about my experiences of late, I had surgery for TMJ ( Temporomandibular Joint Disorder). 

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) occur as a result of problems with the jaw, jaw joint and surrounding facial muscles that control chewing and moving the jaw. These disorders are often incorrectly called TMJ, which stands for  temporomandibular joint. (http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/temporomandibular-disorders).

Symptoms include (and I will only include those that apply to me): 

• Pain or tenderness in the face, jaw joint area, neck and shoulders, and in or around the ear when you chew, speak, or open your mouth wide
• Limited ability to open the mouth very wide
• Clicking, popping, or grating sounds in the jaw joint when opening or closing the mouth (which may or may not be accompanied by pain) or chewing
• A tired feeling in the face
• Difficulty chewing or a sudden uncomfortable bite – as if the upper and lower teeth are not fitting together properly
• Other common symptoms of TMD include headaches, neck aches, earaches, hearing problems, upper shoulder pain, and ringing in the ears (tinnitis).  (http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/temporomandibular-disorders).

The above is why I had to have surgery. As the surgeon explained to me, it is a quality of life issue. Yes, I probably could have lived with it, but I would have been living with a LOT of pain for the rest of my life.

The procedure involved cutting both my cheek bones to pull the top jaw forward. The cuts were made at the top of my upper gum line so there is no outward evidence of such an invasive procedure. He also stretched my upper lip otherwise it would have been too tightly attached to my gums?? My face is still numb-8 days removed--and parts of it will be numb for months. He also cut a nerve on the right side of my face that will regenerate, but in the interim, it causes twitching in my face which is annoying and itches. My palette and upper teeth are still numb-8 days removed.