Day 21: Three weeks & counting

Nothing really new today, just the onset of cabin fever. I decided today I would look at the photos I have taken thus far of the progress.

Pre op / Pre braces vs 1week post op

On a daily basis I dont see difference in my appearance. I wish I would have planned these face photos a little more. The morning of surgery I only took one crappy photo and I wish I would have taken a few / better shots. I really didnt think about taking a photo of my face daily or how they should be shot. Oh well! Also, when you feel like crap you really dont care how you take a photo of yourself. So… here is a graph of less flattering photos:

First day of braces 2/2014, Morning of surgery(4am), Day after surgery
Week one, Week two, Week three

On August 20th I will be getting the splint on the roof of my mouth removed and I will be entering into the final phase of orthodontic work (not sure how long that process will take yet). Just 3 more weeks of basic recovery…

Day 20: Once Bitten

First day with new pain meds and its been a much better experience. Childrens advil and regular advil just didnt cut it, this is just a little extra without any of the codine side effects. Taking a pill is odd as it tends to feel like it is stuck to the roof of my mouth…which is currently a plastic shell. Have to use a mirror and a whole glass of water but it gets done.

I actually have crossed over from being tired and lazy to being a little antsy. Im starting to want to do more, get out more. My body doesnt 100% agree but its the first sign of returning to a normal day. Usually when I get sick (with a cold or flu) the day that I get bored with relaxing is the day before getting back to work. While I am still a ways off from getting work done, Im hoping this means Ill be getting out more. 

 My face is still swollen around the jawline, under the nose and under the right sinus but its coming along. It will take probably another month before all swelling is gone. Its more noticeable on profile.

I am totally happy with how my face is looking in photos even tho im still on a no make-up routine, it helps that my hair is still awesomely blue and purple thanks to the pre-surgery salon visit with my friend Trisha Star.

The last 24hrs has me eating like a baby… I have more food on my face than in my face. I need to practice chewing and using utensils thru the tiny gap in my teeth. I can only open a tiny bit and that means I can not use real forks and spoons. Getting food into my mouth is difficult, my lower lip still does not have feeling so, I also dont know when food falls out of my face. Tried scrambled eggs for dinner and chewing seems like an impossible task. I ended up having to use my hands and a mirror to get the eggs through my teeth…then I ended up mostly swallowing them whole (whole tiny bits). I do however, have feeling in my tongue and biting it seems to be what I currently excel at. Im glad I stocked up on tiny spoons but i have a looooong way to normal eating.

Chia pod Oats are easy to
eat without chewing…
Also, they come with the perfect spoon

Lemon sorbet + Tiny spoon =
food that fits in my mouth

Now a very important tale about lip care…My lips have been a nightmare to keep hydrated. They have formed a layer of flaky skin and they are generally super chapped. So, I had been making a sugar scrub for them using a recipe from http://everydayroots.com/homemade-lip-exfoliator and it has been lovely. The only issue is not being able to move things around my mouth, this was resulting in sugar sitting on my gum line…so today I upped my lip game.

 I took a walk to LUSH, pretty close to my house and picked up a lip scrub and an epic balm. Its a mild scrub but it really does the job, the balm is amazing. I used it twice today and it lasted quite a few hours. I was having to use a chap stick hourly before and then would forget and yadda yadda yadda, chapped lips.

I also upped my skin care game. As I have complained about before, post surgery skin is an oil fest. I had some empty packaging from LUSH and if you bring them back to recycle, you get a free face mask! I got cupcake, for oily skin and a mild exfoliate. It has to stay refrigerated because its all fresh ingredients but…
1. it smells like pudding!
2. it looks like pudding!
3. it was amazing and really helped my complexion.
4. instant home spa day

mmmm…face mask

Now to try to relax a bit with some video games before I pass out early again. My bed time has been around 8-10pm depending on the days events.

Post Op: The third week…almost

This morning I woke up with pain on my left side of my face. Last night I was having muscle spasms but it came to a head in the morning. My muscles were freaking out so much that it was pulling my jaw off center. So, even tho my three week check in appointment was set for Thursday I had to go early.

My muscles are still sorting themselves out and the bands needed to be adjusted to guide my bite a little more. From 4 bands to two guide bands I go. I also got an upgrade in pain / anti-inflammatory meds. I was solely on child's advil because it is a liquid formula and it wasnt helping.  With the new band configuration I can open my mouth enough to take a pill. I am supposed to start moving my face more and I have been cleared to eat very soft pasta, mashed potato and eggs

After visiting Dr. Olsson I was sent over to Dr. Huang, everyone seems super excited with how my teeth are lining up. My Mother-in-law2 was kind enough to take me home.

Taking it easy the rest of the day. A chai latte and pjs until the pain bot goes away.

On a nicer note, I know some lovely people who seem to know when to send goodies (on days I really need it). Books, toys and flowers with a note about skynet <3…

Day 17 & 18: Face/Off

Yesterday I got my first extended visitation. My good friends Max, Melissa & Doug came over to see / torture me for a few hours. The torture comes from the subjecting me to Nick Cage (whom I am not a fan) but I knew when I signed up for this surgery this was bound to happen.

Pre-surgery encouragement text "lovingly"
 sent from the "darling" Andrew Bell

The prerequisite for allowing this much cage into my home was the ability to drink. I was cleared last week to drink after antibiotics were finished. This was my first attempt to have a beer. With such low caloric intake I only needed the one and it wasnt even very enjoyable…oddly enough.

Melissa and Max proudly bring the torment

Doug sneers at the afternoon's "entertainment"

This movie is terrible… I knew this before but it was more than I remembered. The problem with watching this kind of movie when you cant really smile is the hysteric laughter pulling your face, off.
I had to put ice on my face because the laughing at the ridiculousness was pulling at my stitches. Laughter may not always be the best medicine when you have your face reassembled.

…thanks guys…

Thankfully they also decided to bring over their Wii U. Played some smash bros before my eyes could no longer follow the madness on the screen. Then ended the night with a few rounds of mario cart. Needless to say I fell asleep super quickly and am still worn out today.

The left side of my face is a little more swollen today but I have slightly more mobility. The only thing that is odd today is how hard it is to sit with my lips closed. It feels like I really have to strain to keep them together. I can only imagine it has to do with swelling and my muscles still trying to find their way around.

I am attempting to stretch my neck and move my head around more so that I may regain full range of motion. Since I am a little more home bound today I will take this opportunity to play some video games, the new batman for xbox to be specific.

Since I can still not focus long enough to sit and read, video games are helping me with the hand eye coordination focus. Slowly becoming more myself.

Day 16: The Feels

My face is a fighter. The nerves are punching their way around my face, demanding to be felt. It's awful. Everything "comes to life" when I move around, go for a walk and right before bed. Here is a graph of the feels…blue is what is still fairly void when touched, green is what faint and is threatening to return next (there is overlap):

At the start I had very little feeling anywhere below the sinuses, so this is a rapid return. What sucks is the area that has complete feeling that is still swollen. This is just a graph for my skin. I am not sure how much feeling exists inside my mouth. My teeth will suddenly regain feeling and feel like a cavity and then go back to normal. Im hoping things in there stay quiet until AFTER I get the splint thats wired through my gums removed.

Tiny tooth care

Brushing teeth is still a delicate operation. Baby toothbrush, Toms toothpaste, waterpik set to low (stun), and medicated mouthwash…as often as tolerated.

I havent attempted make-up yet as I dont really want to add anything else to my face. My skin has been super oily. I read on other surgery blogs that this is a common thing that eventually settles down but it is annoying. Since I can not scrub my face I have picked up some wipes to help not look like a disgusting ogre.

Recommended for gross post-surgery skin
(The sensitive skin option for  right after surgery)

I have been trying to drink from a cup a few times a day. I am surprisingly not as messy as I thought i would be. My lower lip just hangs out so I dont know if I dribble until the cold water goes right down my shirt. I have added some Italian soda to the mix, just to get a different carbonated texture (you cant drink it thru the tube as it only sucks up air and bubbles).

This morning I woke up with a headache and was so glad I had bought a light-weight eye mask. When I woke up again I had visitors, my Father-in-law and Mother-in-law(to the 2nd power). They brought me vanilla ice cream and bananas, and a quiche to blend up. Then got a care package from Cafe Grumpy and a Pegacorn from Tony & Nonie!

I love Cafe Grumpy!  Awesome coffee, amazing people.

Pegacorns that had jaw surgery

After that Jarrett and I took a trip to Home Depot to get some flowering plants. Did some light gardening…i love gardening. It was hot out so I could only be outside for a short time. The rest of the day was dedicated to Ghostbusters I & II.

Now to figure out what to have for dinner. hmmmm probably soup… and probably chicken noodle…

Six degrees of Souperation

Day 15: Up & Down

Today was a bit harder… I was exhausted all day for no real reason. All food options were not satisfying and I just wanted to bury my head in a pile of pillows.

Last night I did have a crazy adventure puzzle dream (a normal thing for me), I had not had any dreams since surgery. I was probably too busy waking up hungry or in pain to get into deeper sleep. Woke up a little confused and groggy.

Afterwards, I started getting random bouts of tooth pain on my lower left side. That side is the one that has some splintering of the bone. Had to reintroduce Advil into the mix as the pressure took pain into the 5 of 10 range. The tingling is sometimes beyond annoying and teetering on pain. I have had to use ice packs again to calm it all down. Still no feeling (other than the burn tingling) in the lower lip and chin.

Speaking of annoying, I feel like there has been a hair stuck to the back of my tongue / throat. No matter how much water I drink, how much I try to clear my throat, it remains. I am not sure if I am just feeling the stitches that are dissolving or what. I am trying to ignore it since I cant open my mouth to investigate. I do get to brush my teeth with toothpaste now so Ive been brushing and waterpik-in multiple times a day.

Swelling continues to go down, just a bit under my nose and around my jaw line / cheeks remain. I will eventually have a jawline

I spent most of the day in my nest in front of the TV. Did spend some time playing Zelda on the 3DS but had trouble focusing. Also, daytime television is terrible… I did find Skin Wars (body painting competition sow) on hulu and started the binge watching. I needed something that required VERY little brain power…and that show requires none.

Tanuki and I felt the same today

After Jarrett got home we walked to the store so I could get more Liquid Advil (in a disgusting flavor) and I picked up a chai latte. That made everything just a tad better. I also got another wave of well-timed gifting…If I could smile I would.

I will obey the box

Post Op: The second week

I have returned from my second week appointment! Even though I'm ahead of schedule, as far as healing,  I still have some way to go. Around my jaw line and up my cheeks still have areas of swelling and waves of pain (mild-moderate). I havent had any pain meds in a few days. I will take it as needed.

Everything is healing quick. Stitches will start removing themselves soon. 2 of the 6 bands were removed and the muscles have stopped fighting so much (they are getting used to their new homes). Feeling is coming back on the left side of my face but the right still feels puffy and odd. My bottom lip feels like a pair of wax lips. The tingling has not gotten any better. Patches and waves of heat, throbbing and tinging…like if you rubbed a hot pepper on your skin

No crazy cyborg head scan this time, only a photo from my mother-in-law of me getting some stitches removed. I wish I had slightly less feeling.

Sinuses are returning to normal but I still have some irritation. I never thought I would miss blowing my nose so much in my life.  Still can not move my face too much, Ill have to (create and then) start smile therapy. About 3 more weeks and I will be able to begin exercise again. I am only allowed to walk for now…Hope my non-face muscles arent being eaten by my body.  I was hoping I could return to swimming laps but I can not submerge my head either. womp womp.

My Mother-in-law then took me out for a little relaxation. I needed a pedicure….and I never wanted to leave the massage chair.

Successful reintroduction into human behavior 

Weird blended food of the day: Mac and Cheese blended with milk…tastes good but you have to eat it quick before it turns into wallpaper paste.

P.S. its taken me almost 3 days to organize my bathroom…haha sooooo cleaning takes a little more energy than I currently have.

Day 12: Becoming human

I am able to make it a full day without a nap…im almost like an adult again! Yesterday I was able to stay out for about 3 hours, got to sit in the car. Driving is still not an option for me but having my mom around has made everything much easier. Went to an antique store, my favorite kind of outing.

My face still feels alien, a little like a puppet still. My chin and nose do not feel real. Teeth, chin and nose all have moments of a burning sensation, tingling and a odd throbbing. I was told it could take up to a year to get full feeling back but I wasnt supposed to have much feelings for 2 more weeks. I have 50% of what was lost back already. I wont be surprised if I see this on my next head scan:

My swelling is still lingering, I dont know how long it will take to go back to normal. When I walk around my nose starts to sound odd (since i cant blow my nose). I have my own built in kazoo!

I am still sleeping in the living room. Have to stay semi upright, can not lay on my side because I can not apply pressure to my jaw. I dont want anything to shift and the bone has to get to work. Im a side sleeper so its been interesting, so glad I bought a upright contour pillow…lifesaver.

This morning I was craving an egg and cheese sandwich…soooo I made a blended version. Stay with me, it was actually really good. I took a little bit of milk, cut some cheddar, put both in a mug and microwaved for a min. Poured into the blender and added a hard boiled egg. Everything with this liquid diet is about smell and taste. You have to give in and accept everything will have a similar texture. Im totally on the experimental part of this food adventure.

Okay time to try and do some home organization. I am assuming i will get worn out quick but would like to take some of this down time to do a summer clean out of the house (no heavy lifting). In between cleaning attempts I have plenty to do…

Games and books for days (or months)

Day 10: First "Smile"

My face has started moving again! Both corners of my mouth have regained sensation! My right side is a little less so, still tingling but I can feel it. My whole bottom lip is still void / relatively motionless and while I have complete feeling in my upper lip it does not have much movement. All of this leads to a pretty creepy little dead eyed gnome smile…

I am a muppet 

 My chin, nose, cheeks, sinuses and "jowls" are still swollen but its all working its way out.

When I make this face you can still see the lopsided puffy parts…nose is only half swollen today. I have also discovered that since my muscles are damaged that can not rotate my head around very far. If I have to look up I basically have to bend at the waist. If I need to look at something over my shoulder I have to turn my whole body. When I try to just move my head there is pressure put on the jaw…I do not want any of that to shift so I am careful.

Yesterday was my first day free of meds (except antibiotics). It may seem stupid to ween off of pain meds this early but I prefer my body try to adjust to things on its own as soon as I can. My stomach doesnt appreciate harsh meds and it really affects my sleep. Last night was my first solid 8hrs. I didnt wake up to eat but felt okay…a bit hungry but not as woozy.

This morning I was able to walk to the grocery store, soup replenishment (in this time I got a bit too much sun, forgot antibiotics can sometimes have this affect). I am still only good for 30 - 60 mins out of the house at a time. I only consume about 600-800 calories a day so I get taxed easily. Last night my Mom and Jarrett ordered a pizza….I love pizza…so I blended a tiny square. It was a thin crust veggie pizza that I added a little bit of veggie stock to, it looked like pasta sauce, smelled like pizza, tasted like delicious pizza!

When I ate a blended 1/4 cupcake and then a square of pizza I was so full. I do not plan on going to crazy with this type of eating. I want my body to get used to fewer sugars, more fruit and veggies. I will, however, experiment a bit. Another strange thing, after my first iced latte I went back and got another the following day…It was totally gross to me. How is that possible???!! I got another today from a different cafe…still meh, it leaves an oily feeling in my mouth. Not cool, body.

Anyway, between the leftover cupcakes and the pizza I probably took in actual calories today!

Day 9: Operation: Cupcake

I am still puffy, my sinuses are settling down a bit but my face looks pretty much the same since Thursday. Kind of like this…

Last night was the first time I have slept through the night, about 7 hours! I still am sleeping on a mattress in the living room. It is way easier for me to be near the kitchen and tv for how much I need to get up. It also makes sleeping upright easier.

Today is also my Mom's Bday! I have been very lucky to have her come in for 2 weeks to help Jarrett and I. Only problem is I cant do anything fun like go out for a big meal or even leave the house for more than an hour. Jarrett went out early to get some bday surprise cupcakes from a local bakery, and SURPRISE, you can blend a cupcake and eat it thru a tube!!!!

My mom was stoked…I was stoked too

Let them eat CAKE! Liquid cake…

Went out with her for an hour to a couple shops. I think an hour is my max in the wild right now. I get really tired and can become woozy. Tonight my mom requested a pizza…lets see if that blends. The rest of the night is dedicated puzzle time. Its actually very hard to focus on this before getting calories. Im not on my usual puzzle-game but Tanuki is "helping"…

Day 8: The Scare

I woke up at 7am and noticed my two front teeth had started to part ways. Then I looked into a magnified mirror and saw the wire on my braces was severed and I had a chip on my front tooth. Yesterday my teeth were banded tight, with cris-crossing layers of bands. My surgical team told me to watch for changes. I freaked out. I called the surgeon, who wasnt in until 8. Then I called my orthodontist, who provided with his cell number.

The surgeons office called back and we rushed over. Turns out they severed the braces to split my palette and didnt mention it…the chip probably happened then. So, false alarm but I was able to get 2 extra loose bands put back on the front. My jaw kept rocking all night because it was pretty free to roam. So this is a little added stepping stone and I will see the surgeon again in a week.

After my mental melt-down I needed to try to walk around outside. I need to keep extending my time doing normal life type activities. My mom and I walked to Rotofugi and got to see Kirby, Whitney and Ed. Being kind of puffy its interesting to see how long it takes for people to notice me… Right now its a double take.

I was gifted a BMO

I was only good for a little bit and and had to get back home before I melted. Binge watched True Detective and got in a long nap (going outside is hard). I also got some surprise visitors, my first at the house since surgery…

Just look at this adorable little family! My OhNo!Doom Brother, Andrew, Jaime and Billy the kid. They came in from Texas (the flowers the day before didnt lie). Got to exercise the laughing muscles and moving my lips when I mumble.

Post Op: The first week

I have made it one week! My face is still super swollen and puffy in awkward places. I still can not emote.

I actually am happy?

I went to the surgeon for my 1st check-up. Dr. Olsson was surprised by how much feeling has come back. He said "I split your face in half, you shouldnt have feeling yet"! They removed the bands, it was painful…because I have had a rapid reassembly of my nerves. I was asked to open my mouth and close it a number of times…that actually didnt hurt at all. I am worried that if I continue getting feeling back at a quick rate I will have a very hard time when they remove the splint from the roof of my mouth.

Here is what I look like now…under the skin (jarrett said I look like im mostly made of bike chains):

They replaced some of the bands, much lighter so now my jaw can move around a bit….which they dont want actually happening, haha. So now I have fear spasms in my jaw. They release the jaw a bit so that it has a chance to relax after being bound tight for a week. I just have to retrain my muscles and start getting my lips to move. I was also given enough wax to make a candle…

 Anyway, everything is looking to be in a good place, my teeth do not look like they will have any root damage. I expressed the sadness at not being able to blow my nose and I was gifted a very expensive antibiotic. My right sinuses are swollen and I am at risk of getting a sinus infection which could turn worse / prevent the bone from filling back in. Another disgusting flavor med…It also made me super nauseous. So the latter part of the day was less pleasant but Im on an upswing.

After an outing to Wholefoods to get more liquid food supplies (two more weeks before operation: chew) I knocked out. Just too much partying for one day.

I also got a new delivery from my friends Andrew and Jaime!

hmmm…very mysterious given they live in Texas

Another highlight, my favorite food today is Maple yogurt by Wallaby…liquid pancakes! Okay, time to cuddle up with the littlest nurse and take a nap.

Day 6: Today's new face…

What feels like this, looks like this and sounds like this?

Answer:

Why the long face?

Today my nose and sinuses are swollen as well as some brand new jowls. I can sort of make my eyes look less undead. I still can not move the corners of my mouth but can sort of bare my teeth….which are TERRIFYING! There are so many new metal twist ties going everywhere (in and out of gums…. sooo gross). Hope you werent eating food.

I am getting feeling and its not a good feeling. I feel like I am wearing a gas mask or half medical mask. A mask filed with tiny demons with pitchforks, doing a tiny tap dance on my chin and cheeks. My nose is completely void of feeling, like a wax nose…but then it runs so it adds an extra dimension. Under my eyes near my sinuses feel like i got smacked in the face, like i could be getting a black eye.

My teeth feel like they are trying to squirm away. Everything in my face is mining for gold and setting up residence, I guess. It feels like I have gone free diving in the ocean and am almost getting the bends.

I slept from 10pm to 4am, stirred around for an hour as my inflatable mattress deflated and the slept again til 8. While this sounds all well and good, sleeping that long made me super weak. I woke up groggy and starving. I think I need to wake up to eat at some point in the night. I have already lost 10 lbs…you wouldn't know it with all the body swell. Im glad I did 2 months of HIIT and ate everything in sight.

So…After a puree of oatmeal I left the house for a bit. The air felt good but everything was so bright. Blood sugar problems i guess. I felt like everyone was staring at me. I went to my local coffee place and they were nice to me but totally looked shocked. I have to leave the house tomorrow to see the surgeon for an update and maybe a loosening of my bonds…im glad my hair is long and i have comically large sunglasses.

Speaking of bonds…My arms still look like I escaped a horror movie basement.

Day 5: Operation Latte

Today I am definitely on the upswing. My sinuses feel like a pressure pot and my wrists are still crazy bruised. Still hard to focus for long periods…hence why all my typing is probably a mess, sorry. The brain doesnt know what to do.

But…its been 6 days and I have finally been able to get an iced latte. Holy crap, so damn good…I am glad I got to detox from coffee for a bit but, damn. 

Eating is getting a little easier. My mom has been experimenting. This morning we tried instant oatmeal, banana and soy milk, blended to death, tasted like real food. Squeeze pouch apple sauce thinned with apple juice was fantastic too. What isnt fantastic is all the childrens meds…they tend to be the only thing that comes in liquid form. Who's idea was it to make all the fruit flavor chemical tasting things for kids? Trying to ween off of everything today. The codine makes me so foggy…also it tastes like crap. Id like to heal faster so managing my pain as much as possible on my own seems to be a good move. 

How I now eat food, aka: Kitchen nightmares

I cant blow my nose and cant cough so Ive had to get creative. Hot baths, microwave oatmeal wrap and Peppermint tea have been  awesome. They dont tell you how badly your sinuses will flare up. Breathing is something you have to keep an eye on, if my nostrils were more swollen then Id really be in a panic.  Brushing my teeth is still a comedy of errors tho…

I also got an awesome gift in the mail from friend Doktor A. Opening the box made me break into a sweat. Being weak sucks but it was totally worth the effort. 

Day 4: Did you catch the plate on that truck?

I woke up feeling like I was hit by a truck… maybe this truck:

Today has been the hardest thus far. Last night I had both the worst and best sleep. I went to bed at 9pm and at 11:30pm I woke up feeling like my teeth were trying to escape my face. I was shaky and had to move from the air mattress to the couch. I turned tv on to something boring and slept sitting straight up.  1am I took a round of all my meds and fell asleep again until 6am. It was a glorious.

5days without a real meal have made me super tired. I both really miss food and am not at all hungry.  I take a high protien shake as often as possible but it does take a lot of energy to just consume calories. Congestion comes and goes. blargh… I try to sleep as much as possible.

The "horns" on my forhead seem to be going down. These are the nubs on my forhead where they had spiked little nodes to moniter my vitals during surgery. My wrists still look like hell and I have one long bruise on the right side of my jaw.

I keep getting feeling back in my face at odd times in odd places. Every so often under my nose feels like it is expanding like a rubber balloon. Even tho the swelling has gone down. I still can not smile and can barely see my teeth but my muscles keep trying to activate. They are planning something…