Sneaky Surgery

I feel like I have been waiting forever, but somehow surgery snuck up on me! This month has been go, go, go, so it feels strange that it's all coming to a screeching halt. But that isn't until tomorrow. Today was no exception from the busyness. I went to work for a few hours, before I hit the ground running with pre-surgery errands.

I had an orthodontist appointment to get on my surgical hooks and wire lacing up my wires for some extra support. They gave me a sweet surgery survival bag again!

I told my brother and sister-in-law that I feel like the furnace
from Home Alone with all these bars and hooks Haha! 

After I left the orthodontist, I continued my wild goose chase...  When I dropped off my five prescriptions at the pharmacy last week, I was told that they didn't carry the pain medicine elixir (liquid), so I continued to search at numerous pharmacies, called special pharmacies, and asked pharmacists I know where I could find it. Nowhere to be found! I started to worry because, uh, I think I'll want that one through the recovery! So in desperate, last-minute measures, I called my surgeon's office to let them know what was going on.  They called me back a little later to tell me know that Dr. M will give my parents a different prescription tomorrow at the hospital.

Lunch was my last meal with crunchy items for quite a while, then my mom and I went around to collect some things I'll need after coming home from the hospital. We went to Sam's Club and stocked up Ensure protein drinks and fruit for smoothies. 

Once home, I went to work on some teaching applications that I wanted to have mostly completed before surgery. I worked on that up until the last supper.  Haha! A lot of people have asked what my last meal would be, but I never really thought about it.  I'm supposed to eat light the night before anyway, so I just opted for having family over and ordering some pizza.  My niece must have know something was going on because she was being especially affectionate to me tonight. It was a very casual evening, but I wouldn't want it any different.  

It wasn't until after dinner when I realized I actually had quite a bit to think about.  I needed to shower, still wanted to update the blog, and completely forgot that I might need to bring a few things to the hospital since I will be staying overnight this time. I've been so casual about this surgery that I keep forgetting tomorrow isn't just a simple doctor's visit. 

We are supposed to be at the hospital at 7:30 in the morning, and our wake up call be be much earlier than that since we have to combat with rush hour.

Just a recap: I am having double (upper and lower) jaw surgery tomorrow.  They will be bringing my upper jaw forward, and slightly shifting my lower jaw.  Here are two short videos of general examples of what my surgeon will be doing.**This is not specific to me!

Upper

Lower

I am doing pretty well with all of this. It doesn't seem like it is happening tomorrow, so most of my concerns haven't reminded me of their presence recently. I will be very matter of fact about surgery then randomly worry about the pain I'll have, or worry that I won't like how my face or smile changes, or how there is a very, very small chance I will wake up with my jaws wired together. But I need to stop! Why worry about things that may not even be an issue?  Although, I will admit that it is very strange to think about how I will wake up after surgery, and my face will actually feel different.  My teeth will touch more than they have in years, and it is just odd that it can be done in one day instead of gradual movements.

Well, I'm sure there is more for me to say, or something that I am leaving out, but I can't think of anything right now. I'll leave you with some final before pictures.

Smiling

Relaxed jaw

  

      

                   

Sorry if this update is a mess. I didn't get to organize it as much as I'd like to.

Anyhoo... Think happy thoughts for me tomorrow! See ya on the other side.

Oh boy...

This post is a doozy, but first a quick update on the orthodontics from the past month or so.

At the orthodontist appointment in October, Dr. S put some brackets on my very back upper molars.  I knew when I left that they would be a pain because they are wayyyy back there! Since then, these brackets have buried themselves into my cheeks.  It is not just an irritation; you can physically see a hole in my cheek.  It's probably more difficult to eat now than it has been through the whole journey.  The brackets will catch on my cheek, and I will have to do a weird maneuver with my lips to unhook it.  I got a pitiful laugh out of my mom when I told her I felt like a snake because I have to unhook my cheeks before eating anything. I have gotten used to it, and complaining about it won’t do any good. I know they need to be there, and the lack of space is the whole issue of why I’m having surgery. So, for now, I've learned to suck it up and toughen up.

It is a little embarrassing how excited I get for meetings with the surgeon.  I genuinely cannot wait to get there, hear how things are progressing, and what the next step will be.  This was especially true for this appointment because it was the records and Q&A appointment. 

Once I got there, I was taken back for a few different things to update my records.

1. A panoramic dental x-ray was taken.  It is the crazy machine that complete circles your head, so the doctor can see the entire mouth (teeth, jaws, surrounding tissues) in one image.

   

   Just an example!

2. Dr. M took a series of pictures of my face from different angles, both relaxed and biting.
3. One of the wonderful assistants took me to a consult room to make some impressions of my upper and lower jaws. I’ve become a pro at these over the past decade.

   

   The purple impression is needed to make the model (on the left). Again, example!

4. I had to help Dr. M and the assistant use the face-bow. They needed me to guide the earpieces into my ears, while they both screwed certain things in place.  It looks like something that would have been used in medieval torture, but according to The Medical Dictionary website, a face-bow is defined as “a device used in dentistry to record the positional relations of the maxillary arch (upper jaw) of to the temporomandibular joints (the joints that connect the mandibal/lower jaw to the rest of the skull) and to orient dental casts in this same relationship to the opening axis of the articulator (make a representation of my exact bite with the models of my jaws).”
   

After all the records were done, Dr. M examined my face and bite. And by that, I mean he looked and looked and looked at my face... all the while he has his hand gently on the side of my head, and I am trying to figure it out where to direct my eyes, because it just seems a bit too intimate when eye contact is made. Haha!

Mom joins the room while he is continuing to evaluate my jaw's progression. He then takes a step back and says that the upper jaw looks perfect.  He is very pleased with how that has been prepared for surgery. You can almost hear the big ol' "but" (Hahaha!) that is about to happen.

... he then says, "After looking at her jaw right now, I would not feel right going forward with the surgery as we had originally planned.  Because of how great the top jaw is now, it is magnifying the fact that the lower jaw is not correct." 

Great.

He continues to explain that none of us have noticed that my lower jaw is off center.  It is shifted slightly to my left, and if we continued as planned, moving the top jaw to fit with the lower jaw, my mouth would be askew. Mom immediately sees what he is talking about.

And there is my self-consciousness rising...

We have a few options as to what to do from here.

1. Lower Jaw Surgery - He would move my lower just in position with my upper jaw.  Unfortunately, this would not correct the lack of space in the back of my mouth with the upper jaw.  Plus, there was also a chance it would weaken my chin, and genioplasty would need to be considered. There are too many negatives with this, and I'd like to stay as natural as I can.  
2. Double Jaw Surgery - He would end up cutting and re-positioning both my upper and lower jaws before bolting them into place. This would fix both problems, and genioplasty would be less likely. 

So, okay. Double jaw surgery. Okay, fine. Alright. No biggie. 

Will surgery still be the same day?  

 - Yes, but about two hours longer. 

Can we get it covered by insurance in two weeks?

 - The amazing ladies at the office were already on getting it approved before we left. PLEASE, everyone, cross your fingers!! 

How does it affect recovery?

 - It will now be a little longer. 

My biggest concerns:

 - Pain.  For some reason, I have it in my head that lower jaw surgery will be more painful. Plus, it is double the surgery, which means double the swelling and recovery.

- There is a very, very small chance of this happening, but a genuine concern nevertheless. Where Dr. M will cut the lower jaw is very near a large nerve, and IF that nerve were cut, I would lose feeling in my lower lip and chin area.  Again, possibilities of that are slim, but he has to warn me of it for liabilities sake.  Not like I needed anything else to worry about. 

- Two more hours of surgery means two more hours where I could wake up in the middle of a horrific surgery!  Again, the odds of this happening are incredibly slim to none! But that's a terrifying thought! I reached out to a friend who is studying anesthesia who reassured me that everything will be totally fine.  It will not happen, but on the off chance that I do wake up, I'll just hear the sound of chainsaws.... so funny, Becky! 

- What am I going to look like afterwards?  I know this surgery is a good thing. I do! But it's really scary to know that I will look different when I wake up. Luckily, it should only be minor changes because my open bite was not super extreme.  I've never been uphappy with how my face looked, and surgery is going to change it.  I only hope that it will be an improvement!  I've seen a few before and after pictures on the internet where I like the person's before smile better, and it terrifies me to think I might be one of those.  It doesn't help that everyone has always told me how beautiful my smile is and how it is my best feature.  My jaws are changing. I just hope my smile doesn't.  But hey, if I was smiling with a sideways smile, it can only improve, right?

- Insurance not covering the second surgery. I constantly worry about being a financial burden to my parents, and I just hope and pray that insurance approves this surgery. My biggest worry when we found about about needing both surgeries was, "how much stress is this going to add on mom and dad?"

While I am talking about my parents, I just want to give them a HUGE shout out for being so amazing. They have never second guessed this whole ordeal, never hesitated to do something that will improve my life, and insisted on taking care of me while they still can.  Their answer to all of my worries have been, "We can handle it. We are here with you through this. Don't you worry."  Thank you, both! I love you!


On a different note, THIRTY-THREE different countries from all over the world have read this blog!! That's so cool! Thank you so much to those of you who take time out of your day to read this silly thing.  It meas a lot! 

Houston, we have progress!

I cannot believe how sparse the posts have been, but there truly hasn't been much news for the months I didn't post.

Today, I finally have some news worth sharing, but first just some updates....

I went to the orthodontist last week.  I have been fairly often, but more often than not, it was just a small adjustment on the braces, and I was sent on my way until the next month.   Dr. S was happy with how things looked, and his opinion was that I was pretty much ready for the next surgery.   He told me to ask Dr. M about a date for the next surgery.

At this appointment, Dr. S went ahead and put on brackets on the last two "naked" teeth. There are now brackets on my very back upper molars. Unfortunately, they have been a huge pain! Literally. I have been told by at least one doctor through this experience that I have a small mouth, so that means there isn't much room for those back brackets.  That means a lot of irritation and rubbing on the inside of my cheek.  I do have wax to put on, but even that can be hard to get back there. It doesn't feel good, but it has to be done! C'est la vie!

I was genuinely excited for my appointment with Dr. M (the surgeon) yesterday.  I'm sure it was from what Dr. S said and the fact that I was hoping for some sort of news.

Thank goodness, that's exactly what I got!  He looked at my bite (He said my arcs looked beautiful... *hair flip* Hah!) and examined my profile while tapping on my nose, lips, and chin. After a nice "You're going to look marvelous!" we got the okay to start setting up appointments for surgery. I'm really thankful for a flexible schedule this year because we really just had to work with the dates given. 

So, here's what we have so far...

October 28 - Regular orthodontist appointment 

December 10 - Surgeon's appointment... This appointment will consist of a lot of xrays and models being made. Dr. Maron will use all of this information to construct a virtual model of my jaw and go through the exact surgery before physically doing it on me. This is also an appointment for me to bring any questions or concerns I have.

December 18 - Pre Op day: 11:30 at Dr. M's office. 1:30 at the hospital.

December 30 - Surgery! Unlike the last surgery, this is in-patient, meaning that I will be staying overnight at the hospital.  So, I will be coming home from the hospital on New Year's Eve... Gonna get rowdy! Hah!  At least I've got a reason to live it up next year!

***

It has been a while since I've uploaded any pictures, so here are a few 
to see how things have changed over the last few months.

Regular smile... Gap gone!

Closed mouth

My mouth stays open when I have a relaxed jaw. 
Cute, I know...

Profile

Relaxed Profile

Bite on 9/25/2014
Teeth touch on both sides of my mouth. However, it seems that after the expansion of the upper jaw,
I now have somewhat of an under-bite (bottom jaw is  further out than the top) along with the original open-bite.
Eating has not been super easy recently. 

The Good, The Bad, and the Impatient

I cannot believe it has been so long since I last updated.

It is both good and bad that I haven't had news to write about. Good in the sense that everything has healed and progressed correctly.  Bad in the sense that I haven't had much to update you on, including a new surgery date.

Good News
The gap is nearly gone! It closed up pretty quickly once Dr. S started putting power chains (connected rubber band chain) on the braces.

My expander is out! After a couple of back-and-forths between the doctors, it was taken out last Tuesday. I'm not quite such a metal mouth anymore. :)

Both doctors are happy with how things are progressing.  They haven't always been on the same page, but never to a point of concern. They have worked together many times before and communicate often.  I have complete faith in both of them.

My jaw is definitely wide enough.  The next steps of the process is for the orthodontist to continue to round out the shape of the upper jaw.

My teeth are touching on both sides.  The bite is still off, but I have more than just two molars touching! It is still a strange sensation for me.  I am not comfortable or used to chewing on the left side of my mouth yet, but I think that will just take a little getting used to.

Not As Good News
The next surgery date is still up in the air.  We are certainly getting closer, but neither doctor is wanting to give us a time frame.  I understand that this whole process depends on how I progress, so they can't give me a precise date.  So, everybody cross your fingers that we can get it done in 2014! That means the deductible would already be met for insurance, and I would be able recover and move on sooner rather than later.  That being said, I do not want to rush them or the process because I want this done right!

Hopefully, there will be a reason to update this blog more often in the next few months!  :)

All good things, All good things.

Just a few brief updates!

I survived the six weeks between surgeon and ortho appointments without anything going awry.

The surgeon's appointment was just another check up.  It was informational, but as quick as it could possibly be.  Dr. M asked how things were going, and I said all was well except the gums above my molars feel hot when I brush my teeth.   He said this is just the tight scar tissue still healing. It was normal, but I should try not to hit the gums as much.   After looking at my bite, Dr. M said my jaw was definitely wide enough now! He will be taking a step back now, and Dr. S brings my teeth back together and in position for the second surgery.

Yesterday was my first appointment after getting the braces on.

The braces haven't been a huge burden since I've had them twice before, but that doesn't mean I'm loving them. I've had to trade in all my gum for mints, and be really careful about what I eat because everything seems to get stuck in my metal mouth. Plus, being completely honest, I think the soreness from the braces have caused me more pain than recovering from SARPE. That's not even including the "pain" of trying to keep my teeth and braces clean all the time.

I was a little nervous about being sore at this appointment because my teeth were extremely sore this weekend. But that is totally my own fault! After going out for a friend's amazing bachelorette party this weekend, I snacked on some Synder's pretzel pieces.  Lesson! Learned! Those are way too hard for my jaw at the moment! I woke up the next day feeling like I had been chewing rocks the entire night!

Luckily, all is well! Even after Dr. S put on some new wires and a rubberband chain, which tightens the braces, I am not hurting too much.

I'm very happy that both doctors seem to be happy with how things are progressing! I will see the orthodontist in June and surgeon in July.

Until then - think happy thoughts!


P.S. I had totally wanted to post this on my first braces post, but it still applies with all the braces and expander.  : )   Here's a throwback for any 90s kids!

Surprise Braces

I am going to try to be quick with these updates!

Last Thursday, I had a follow up with the surgeon.  He walked into the room, saw my gap a little wider than before, and yelled, "Stop!!" Haha, the gap was big enough! Well, to his standards, but it still had to be checked by the orthodontist.

*fast forward*

The wonderful orthodontist got me in on Monday. Dr.S said the gap looked good, that my upper jaw is wide enough now!  I thought that'd be it for this visit, but then Dr. S asked me if I wanted to get my braces on.

Now?  

Yes, now...

I call them my Surprise Braces!  What's nice about them is that I didn't have to get any more bands on (yet). What's not so nice is soreness, the hooks on the brackets are irritating my cheeks/gums, and even more of a lisp.

*fast forward again*

We saw the surgeon again on Wednesday. He was surprised to see the braces, but he and Dr. S have worked so closely together for so long, it was no problem. Sadly though, this means I won't need to see him or the orthodontist for about six weeks.  I've really enjoyed getting to see all the nurses and doctors as much as I have been.


That's really all I've got for now. I guess I won't need to update for a while, so I'll let you know how things have changed next time.

On a different note, I have noticed a subtle change in my face. It is very subtle, but I feel like my face has some sharper angles? I don't know, maybe I'm just seeing things... but I don't hate it!

Down & Up Again

Alrighty! Time for some updates...

I am doing pretty well right now! But I've got to say, this was not always the case in the last week. I wasn't going to write about this, but I am here to document the whole journey.

One day after my previous (Post Op 1) entry, I hit a wall. HIT. A. WALL.  Now, I had not cried about any part of this process so far. I've always been very matter of fact about getting this done, and the recovery has not been that bad. But Tuesday, exactly one week since the surgery, I lost it! I woke up feeling off, started crying that morning and couldn't stop. I did everything I could to pull myself together and stay distracted, but nothing seemed to help.  I would be fine one minute, then start bawling for no known reason the next. Nothing felt right, and nothing made me happy.  It felt like nothing was going to be okay again. This went on all of Tuesday, most of Wednesday, and some of Thursday.  My parents and I started to get really worried because this is so, so out of character for me! Friday I seemed to be better, but I still needed to ask about what happened at my second post op appointment that afternoon. 

Post Op 2

Everyone at the office was very sweet and said that I was looking great! Dr. M was extremely happy with how things were healing and moving. I had only been turning the expander twice a day for three days, but everything had moved so nicely that I should just turn it once a day until I saw Dr. S four days later. 

When I asked him about how I seemed to have lost control of my emotions the past week, he answered immediately, saying that the emotional tailspin was because of the steroids leaving my system. My first thought was "Thank God there is an explanation!!"  Which was quickly followed by "When did I have steroids??"  I wasn't taking any, so it must have been something during surgery. I guess I should know that, but now I know to ask more about what will be happening next time. 

Emotionally, I am doing a lot better! For a while, I would have small 2-second panics that it would happen again, but I'm my goofy-self again!

1st post-op Orthodontic (a week later than I originally thought)

This appointment came at a perfect time.  Everything had been great with my expander until this past Sunday. I am not sure what happened, but it stopped turning! I had the key in the hole and as I tried to turn, it would pop out, essentially stabbing myself in the process! I was getting very frustrated and had to stop because I didn't want to break anything.  Usually, I am pretty flexible and try not to sweat the small stuff, but I just want everything to go perfectly with these surgeries.  I called the orthodontist Monday morning to ask if I should just wait one more day until the appointment.  After being told not to turn it until my appointment, we decided I could wait.

At the appointment, I explained to Dr. S that I couldn't turn it.  He took a look at it, and even he was having difficulty with it. I could see how much force he was putting on the key trying to turn it.  He got it, but he had to put 10-15 pounds of pressure on it.  It should not be that hard!  He spent some time turning the expander back and forth seeing if that would loosen it up. I hope it works because I would hate to have to get a new one put in.

The Gap
My gap has grown! As it should with 13 turns of the key.  I've definitely had practice smiling with closed lips. I did more at first, but the gap is a part of me right now. It feels weird to conceal a real smile. Haha, let's see if I am still saying that if it continues to grow though!

There are a few ways I can tell my jaw is expanding.
1. The gap. Obviously...
2. I can feel a small groove in the middle of my palate. My guess is that it's where new bone has not grown yet. Gross! Cool!
3. My smile feels stretched. It feels like my upper lip is stretched more than it used to be.

The gap has been a struggle... It has given me a nice little lisp, which makes answering phones at work a little more difficult. I have to really focus when saying "s"s and "th"s.  It's all fun and games until I have to say "$333" to a patient... then it's hilarious!

**If you need a laugh, just ask me to read  "s" and "th" tongue twisters to you! I'll do it!

Post Op 1

I feel a little more human today!

Even though  my cheeks are still puffy and smile is still frozen, I feel like I turned a corner.  Thank goodness! Because I hit a little wall yesterday.  While I still haven't cried through this whole process, I came close yesterday.  It was the silliest thing that got to me though. I guess it was the straw that broke the camel's back, but, honestly, I was just tired of drinking my food. Enough with the jello and puddings and protein shakes... I wanted to actually chew my food! After a feeble attempt at trying to eat half a PBJ, I welcomed back my protein shake.

Today was my first post op appointment with the surgeon.  I was happy to have a reason to leave the house. I've lived in my pajamas this past week and getting dressed made me feel refreshed.

Pictures from today: You can tell my swelling has gone down some. 

The follow up appointment was pretty quick.  They took an x-ray and Dr. M came right in to see how things are healing. He examined my bite and gums to check the healing.  All good news! Everything is healing nicely, and the stitches in my gums should dissolve over the next couple of days.

Now that I've recovered enough, it is time to actually start turning my expander.  Dr. M did it in the office for today, and I will continue to turn it twice a day.  A lot of people ask if it hurts turning the appliance.  Thank goodness it does not! It just feels like a lot of pressure in my upper jaw. Obviously, this is what is expanding my upper jaw and will result in a growing gap between my front teeth.

We will see how Dr. S likes how things are going tomorrow at my first orthodontist appointment since the surgery.  Annnnnd then again with Dr. M on Friday.  

I was surprised at how much my appointment and a few errands wore me out!  It wasn't long after we got home that I was asleep.

Mom snuck a picture...such a baby face! 

Looking Like A Chipmunk

This should be a pretty short post, but I just wanted to update ya'll. A lot of these days have run together, but that's probably because there hasn't been much diversity in my schedule. :P

Day 2
Like Day 1, I wasn't feeling too bad.  I could tell there was a little more swelling.  My biggest complaint in the morning is the nasal congestion with the inability to blow my nose. If I tried to blow my nose too soon after surgery, the pressure would cause a lot of bleeding and mess up the stitches in my mouth. Unfortunately, the only other option trying to sniff/swallow it all. (Gross, I know. Sorry!)  That hasn't been to much of a problem since because I realized the Mucinex D can be taken every 12 hours instead of 24. My day/evening consisted of visits with family and friends, smoothies, pudding, applesauce, soup, movies, word puzzles, and sudoku.

Pictures from Day 2

(Hah! Numbness makes a very crooked smile.)       

   

Haha! My uncle kept saying he wanted to see me with a big cone around my head. 

I thought it was funny, so I obliged. 

Day 3
Very similar day to yesterday! This seems to be the worse swelling day so far. Apparently some yellow/green bruises are visible.  My mom and friend say it is there, but I haven't been able to see it yet. Made camp in my chair in the living room and watched movies, napped, ate soft foods, and had a friend visit :)

Pictures from Day 3

Looking like Francine

     

Sweet Sophie napping with me... Tess would be up here, too, if she could!

Day 4/today

Congestion has improved a lot!  But my face is still pretty swollen. Not painful, but feels heavy!  It's a strange feeling when I bend down or anything because all the blood rushes to my cheeks, and it feels like my face is weighing me down.  I'm still not in a ton of pain, but I am experiencing an intense pressure when I try to say certain sounds.  "-P"s, "-B"s, "-M"s, and a few more send almost a shooting sensation behind my front teeth. Again, it isn't excruciating but definitely concerning.  I've had to tell a few of my best friends that they can't visit today, which I hate, but think is necessary.  I seem to be having a little more difficulty talking today, so a break will probably help the healing process.  

Pictures from Day 3

I will update when something new happens! In the meantime, I am going to go try to find some sort of soft food I'm not sick of yet.

SARPE Day & Morning One

SARPE Day

Even with leaving a few minutes late and traffic, we made it to the hospital at exactly 8:00.  Once checked in, we had a seat in the waiting room for a few minutes, and the nice, funny guy we met on Wednesday came up and said "Well, you still look like a girl!"

It wasn't too, too long before a nurse came to take me to the Pre-Op room. Sharon, my nurse was very kind and made me feel comfortable.  She left me in my curtain room to change into the smock.  I laughed imaging me flashing someone during the day. I even had a "Hey, it IS mardi gras!" ready to comeback with :P  As I was waiting in the room, after Sharon had gone over my health history with me, two family friends came to say hello. That was really nice :) Mom and dad came just a few minute after that. They kept me company while we waited for Dr. M and Chippy.  Once he touched base with us, he taped this towel wrap on my head and let us know we were waiting for the OR to turn over from the last surgery. 

Here he is taping the towel. 

Dad had us all laughing because it looks like a smurf hat in this picture!

The final result

When it was time to move, a doctor came in and did some final prepping with me before I moved to the OR. A nasal spray to constrict blood vessels, some antibiotic in my IV, and some liquid pain killers in my IV that the doctor introduced as "a little margarita".  Haha, and man, I wish all margaritas worked that fast. :P

The OR was a big cold room with a bunch of huge lights over the operation table.  Once I moved to the new table there were a lot of people working on me in unison. Someone replaced the blanket I had with two heated blankets. (Heaven!) The anesthesiologist was propping my head up under some pillow to make it better for her to intubate me. Some nurses were wrapping my legs up in these velcro wraps that would alternate constricting in order to prevent clotting. The last thing I remember was Chippy rubbing my head and arm as the anesthesia took affect.  

I don't remember moving from the OR table or room to the recovery room, but I have vague memories of coming out of the anesthesia. The anesthesiologist said I was feisty coming out of it. I believe it! I remember having my hands up on my face a little frantically saying I couldn't breathe through my nose. Little did I know I wasn't supposed to at the time because of a cotton ball taped under it. 

During this time, mom and dad said that Dr.M came to let them know that everything went beautifully, and it exactly what he had hoped for!  Woohoo!! 

Real cute picture of me in the recovery room

When I finally woke up, I vaguely remember whining and moaning a lot until my nurse came over.  He asked where my pain was on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (the worst).  I went with 7, so he put in some more painkillers in my IV. Thank god for that! It made me feel a lot better. Once he gave me an okay to get dressed and go to the bathroom, I stood up and was completely surprised at how tight my calf muscles were. Soon we were on the way home!

A few hours after surgery 

Yesterday consisted of a lot of sleeping! I slept on the way home from the hospital, fell asleep as soon as the TV was on, and completely slept through a family friend bringing dinner to us. (Thank you, Laurie!)

Sleeping Beauty

Sophie, protecting me with her laser eyes

Sophie snuggling

When I woke up, I tried to eat a tiny bit of the chicken and noodles in very small bites, so I didn't even have to chew. It works nicely though, since I have been using a baby spoon because it is easier to gt in my mouth right now. After I had a little of that, my dad made me a smoothie for me that I help create.  It had a ice, chocolate ensure shake, a scoop of vanilla whey protein, half a banana, and two PB oreos. It was delicious!!

Not too long after that Michelle, Sharon (who brought beautiful flowers!), Grant, and Jessie all stopped by for a brief visit. :) Seriously, I have the best friends!!

Friends! 

After what could only be a few minutes after they left, I fell back into another hard sleep until it was time to move to my bed.

Day 1

I woke up a few times this morning, but not due to pain. Luckily I got back to sleep for a while longer. When I actually got up, I could tell I was more swollen and really tender in the few places where numbness has worn off.  It is strange being partially numb still.  My lip will tingle when I slightly touch the bone right below my eye.

A little swollen

I look like the joker when I try to smile!

 The next thing I noticed was that I was hungry! Lol, I tried to make an oatmeal smoothie, and I think it was a success! It had about 1/2 of dry quick oats, a dash of vanilla, some cinnamon, about a 3rd of a banana, some vanilla whey protein, a little flax seed, some milk, and some ice.

Ever since, I've just set up camp in the living room with the essentials... laptop, blankets, pillows, soft snacks, water, all my medicine, etc.

The Living Room camp

I think that's about it for the moment. Mom and I just started a movie called Austenland, and I want to focus on that.  I will keep you updated through the recovery! 

Thank you all so, so much for the overwhelming love and support! I feel very blessed!  

Love you all! 

T-minus 12 Hours

Eek! Tomorrow is SARPE day!

We are supposed to check in at the hospital at 8:00 in the morning.  That means we need to be up a few hours before then, but I have a feeling that waiting is going to be the worst part! Down time is when the "what if"s get creative.

I've been meaning to post a video for a while, but I never got around to it. Until now!!

 Earlier today I got my Hyrax expander put in at the orthodontist office. I did not miss having appliances in my mouth. If I sound funny in the video, it is because I am not used to talking with something on the roof of my mouth yet. Talking and eating will take some getting used to!  There is a little space between the expander and my palate, and a lot of food like to hang out in that space when I'm eating.

This is a picture of my expander.  It looks a little like some sort of sci-fi drone right now though. If you look in the middle of the expander, you can see a small little hole.  I will use my "key" to turn that as my doctors instruct,, and that is what will widen my jaw over these next few months. 

Just want to brag for a second on my orthodontist office.  They are so sweet! As I was leaving today, they gave me a "surgery bag". It was a bag (lunch cooler) filled with some soft jello, pudding, applesauce, toothbrush, Sudoku book, Vaseline lip care, little scrubbies for hard to reach places, and more!  :) 

I will keep you updated over the next couple of days! Wish me luck! :)  I'll finish this post with some of the last pre-op pictures I have from this weekend. (Congrats Jacqui & Drew!) I think it is a little easier to tell that my bite is off in these pictures.