April 9 - Week 6, Day 5

Tuesday, April 9

Tuesday was the big day!!!! Finally got my splint taken off!!! Originally my splint was supposed to come off on Thursday of last week (April 4), but because my orthodontist had to make my palate expander for my upper jaw, it got thrown off by 5 days, making me wait until today. That Thursday was probably the worst I've felt in quite awhile. I cried once I got in the car, cried when describing it to others, and even when I went to my boyfriend's over the weekend, his mom noticed that my mood was off.

So fast forward to the 9th! I go in for an appointment with Daub around 3:20 (that day needed to go by so fast because earlier in the day, time just seemed so slow). At my appointment, Amy (one of the assistants) takes out my splint, I brush my teeth, and then Daub looks at my bite. He installs the expander, or palatal arch device (as seen in picture below). I get new wires put on, finally having a continuous wire for my top teeth, and a single wire on the bottom as well :)
Now its just a waiting game to see how long these gaps will take to close up. I'm hoping that by the end of summer, the braces will come off. Keep your fingers crossed

 

Coming out of my ortho appointment :)

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Alright, so after I visited Daub, my parents and I went out to eat for my very first meal where I could chew. Guess where we go? Olive Garden.... oh boy do I love that place. Mom decided she wanted to be the paparazzi during that trip, and took pictures of my "experience" It was a little funny, but I know that she is just so happy for me.

No Splint!!!!..... just kidding - day 43

Hey guys, long time no update. Today marks day 43 of my double jaw surgery recovery! Woohoo! Its been 6 weeks and 1 day.

I was supposed to get my splint taken off yesterday (kind of did for about 20 minutes total), but ended up having to get it put back on and being told to wait until Tuesday. So this is what happened:

I go to my appointment with my surgeon first thing. He takes off the splint, I brush my teeth, and then he checks my bite. He asks me what the high points were (better sinuses, new profile, hoping to chew much better), and then installs the splint temporarily again until I go to see Dr. Daub.

Fast forward to Dr.Daub (orthodontist). I go to the appointment, bringing my camera with to show him and his staff my progress. He takes off my splint, I take several X-Rays of my side profile, and an impression. The wires of my top teeth are changed, and he takes some pictures of my teeth.

Then he asks Erin (his assistant) to change my bands, put back on the wires, and install the splint...... again.

All that I could think of in my head  was "I THOUGHT IT WAS COMING OFF?!"

Unfortunately, I have to wait... I guess its not a big deal (just 5 more days)...
Reason why I have to have the splint on still is to maintain my arch while they make my palate expander...
Oh well.

Week 4, day 4

Hey guys!

So today is week 4, day 4 into my jaw surgery recovery, and I have some real exciting news!
On Friday, I spoke with Dr. Schmidt about how I'm recovering. So far, things are looking great, and in 2 weeks (probably Friday), I am getting my splint off!!!!

I am so frickin happy for this, and I hope that these next 2 weeks fly by fast for me.

Sorry :-\ - Day 18

I know, I know... I haven't been updating like I thought I would have. Last update I believe was on day 7, and today is now day 18. Allow me to recap some of the greater things from this surgery.

Day 7 - I was able to walk and get out of the house! Best part was, I was free from the house, and out in civilization! I also can breathe so much better today than I have in the past 3-4 years!

Day 9 - I went to a job fair for MPS. It was a little difficult trying to talk to people, and all I could really do was hand in my resume to different schools and say "I just had double jaw surgery, so I apologize if you aren't able to understand me" That day, I also brought a full bag full of goodies to go to my boyfriend's house, and I spent the night there :)

Swelling has gone down noticeably

This day I also ran into someone at Blockbuster who asked if I had jaw surgery, and we had a 10 minute conversation just talking about what each of our experiences was like.

Day 10 - No more Amoxicillan !

Day 14 - I can drink out of a cup! You have absolutely no idea how much I've been waiting for this day to come! I had Mac n Cheese from Noodles!!!! Best meal ever.

Day 17 - Eating has gotten pretty easy for me now.
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From this surgery, I have lost about 17 lbs, and I am not complaining at all about the

Things that bug me from this:
My bottom jaw likes to move when I'm trying to sleep, and the muscles push it forward so that the teeth are touching, instead of the normal bite where my teeth fit in the splint.

Anyhoozles. Here's my progress so far :)

Finally Free! - Day 7

Today was probably the best day for me, health wise! I'm getting to the point where I am so tired of being at home, and need to find some way of using all this energy I have. So today, I was able to leave the house! It was the best feeling ever!

To show that I was feeling better, we went to Pick' n Save. Walking inside, I got a few funny looks, especially from the employees, but it was nothing that bugged me at all. If anything, I'll embrace those looks because I know that my jaw and smile is going to turn out great, so these 4 weeks left with the splint will be nothing.

Shopping there was really nice, because I was able to get things that I knew I could eat. We got some jello, soups with noodles, apple juice pouches, mini pancakes, eggs, and a few other things.

Once shopping was done, I went to my gram's to show her how I was doing. She was surprised to see what I looked like, but happy that I was feeling well. Afterwards, my parents and I went home, and spent the rest of the evening playing Ticket to Ride.

Today was the best I've felt in a really long time, and hopefully it will go up from here :)

Kind of Blah - Day 5 and 6

Two of the most uneventful days ever: day 5 and 6.
These two days, I pretty much felt the same. Appetite was really great, especially on Day 6.

Day 5

- swelling went down a little compared to when i first got surgery
- ate about 600 calories today
           - apple juice ( 2 glasses)   
            - 2 chocolate boosts
            - 3 jellos                                
            -  bowl of spaghettios
            - 1 carnation breakfast            
            - bowl of cream of chicken
- pain at a 4.5
- still dealing with bloody nose when I walk around the house
- sleeping tonight was a little easier for me to do (back pains with being on the recliner)
- arms very achy when I move them

Today I spent part of the day watching Say Yes to the Dress, Face Off, The Walking Dead, and the other part napping. I'm hoping that napping won't be so frequent later on because I feel like I am wasting away the day.

Day 6

- starting to breathe a little easier out of my nose.
- pain at a 3 today (my jaw is a tiny bit achy, and don't really feel like talking much)
- made a new youtube video today talking about how I feel
- ate around 1200 calories today. Today was the day where I probably had the most energy

 Dave came over to visit again today. Said I look really good so far for how the swelling is. I dunno if its the medications or just me feeling like I'm homebound, but before he left, I just started crying because I felt lonely being at home all the time. He always finds a way to make me feel better from this though, and I'm so glad he's so patient with this.  

Day 4

Day 4

Today for the most part was a really easy-going day. Appetite wise, I didn't have much of one, and only ate about 500 calories worth of food

• apple juice
• chocolate boost
• carnation breakfast
• fruit smoothie

Moving around was a bit difficult for me because whenever I got up, I would get a little light headed, and would have to walk around as slow as possible. Most of the day, I slept and the only time I would be awake was when I took my medications, to go to the bathroom, or to eat.

 Lynda, my neighbor, came over to visit and check up on me. She was really surprised to see what I looked like, and like my parents, had some difficulty understanding me.


My sister Nikki, who lives in Black River Falls, WI, sent over an order of flowers to help me feel better :)
Yay for orange flowers!
She knows me too well :)









Aside from sleeping most of the day, Dave came over to visit me around 8 at night :) Its always so nice to see him, and he has been giving nothing but compliments on my progress. We watched the newest episode of The Walking Dead and he let me use him as a pillow (as always) to help me feel comfortable.

When it came to going to sleep at night, it was a little difficult for me to get comfortable in the recliner. I'm so happy to have the support from my parents through all this. My mom and I are having a bit of a slumber party to make sure that I'm feeling well and can be helped whenever needed.

Here's what today looks like with swelling.

  Pain for today was at a 4.
I'm feeling like this is what I'm going to expect with my pain every day. Or at least around this range.