7 weeks and a few days post-op

I don't have a calendar in front of me, but I'm pretty sure I'm seven weeks and four days post-op today. I had an orthodontist appointment this past Tuesday, and it went really well. Dr. Smith is very happy with my progress so far and told me that the rest of my time in braces will mainly be for my jaw to heal.....and making minor tweaks to my alignment. Actually, he said that if I hadn't had surgery a few weeks ago that I could get my braces off soon....but since I DID have surgery, I have to have them on for a minimum of six months. I was told six months should be about it, though....so I have a target date for my de-bracing- JUNE 09! Yay! At the appointment on Tuesday, Dr. Smith put a 'chain' on my top teeth....this is a thing (TIGHT) band-like material that hooks around all of the braces on the top and slowly and consistently pulls your teeth all together. This is to close any spaces that have developed, although I don't see any spaces. I can tell you one thing- this thing does NOT feel good! It's a constant pressure and is slightly more annoying than when I get my wires changed out. My next ortho appt is in March, and I was told that I'd have my wires changed out then and would be doing some different things with my rubber bands. How exciting (insert sarcasm here).

I have a follow-up appt with my surgeon on Tuesday (if the ice storm that is suppose to hit doesn't ice me in). I don't expect anything to come out of this meeting, really. I'm already eating most things, and the things that I can't eat won't be on the menu line-up anytime soon (things like salad, tacos, cheeseburgers, etc). I do want to inquire about my remaining swelling- I'm so ready for it to go down! Most of it is gone, yes, but I still have pockets of swelling on my cheeks. I also want to find out how much longer he things I will have to wait until I get all of my feeling in my mouth/lips/chin/etc back. My upper lip/nose is mostly back, but my lower lip and chin are still totally numb. It doesn't hurt or anything...just annoying. I know I should just have patience, and I'm trying, but I'm just so excited about being 100% someday.

I apologize that I've been neglecting this blog- I've been traveling every single week since I started my new job. It's going great, but it sure has been busy and crazy. I can't wait to update you all on the new job and the direction that my career is starting to take, but I'll save that for my personal blog that I am planning on setting up in the near future. =) In the meantime, just know that things are good.

Ok, two quick personal notes-

1. Most of you know that I am pretty OCD with certain things...especially anything to do with organization and tidiness. A week or so ago, I was out of town all week and came home to a not-so-clean house. Chris is usually good about cleaning up after himself, but this one week in particular just wasn't his week I guess. I drove for 6.5 hours and when I got home and started to unpack I started noticing things that needed done...like all of Chris's laundry (and now my travel laundry)....the dishes....the grocery shopping....taking the recycling...dusting...mopping...vacumming....changing the sheets...etc etc etc. When I went into the bathroom to put my travel bathroom pack away, I noticed that Chris had trimmed his beard and left the trimmer out, left bits of hair in different locations and had stuff all over the counter top. I teared up....I know, it's stupid. I guess I was just so tired and so overwhelmed at that moment with everything that I needed to do (because I can't just 'let it go' and go to sleep, etc as some of you may suggest) that I couldn't focus on anything else. I didn't get mad...I didn't say anything to Chris...I just unpacked and then started cleaning. I think Chris got the point of my frustration when I didn't go to bed until after 2 because I was doing everything that needed done. ANYWAY....I got home this Friday and Chris had vacuumed, gone to the store, done his own laundry, etc. Did he do everything that I would have done? No....but he did enough that it was manageable. Plus, he had flowers waiting on me (below pic). He made my day.
2. We went to see Mix Master Mike last night at George's...it was a great show and we are both worn out from the good times. Stayed the night with Apes and Ira and hung out most of the day- good weekend!

Here are pics from this week:

6 Weeks Post-Op

Good evening! I'm writing from my hotel room in Henderson, TX, where I just finished watching Grey's Anatomy and am about to watch Private Practice. I'm hooked, what can I say?

This is my second week on the new job, and I am completely loving it. It's amazing to feel like you can make a real contribution to a team and actually have it appreciated 100%. It's so exciting and it's so scary. My head is spinning, but I can't wait to really get my hands into everything. I'm going to be doing what I do best, along with a few things that I've never done before- should be great.

So...surgery follow-up. Yesterday was my 6 week mark...SIX WEEKS! In some ways it seems like so much more time has passed since the surgery...and in other ways it's like the surgery was last week. It's weird. So here is what is going on now:

• I can chew. I'm not biting into hamburgers or taking large bites of chicken breasts or anything, but I AM cutting up proteins into small bites and slowly chewing them....and it doesn't hurt! It's still weird, but I'm working on it. I'm adding more and more foods into my diet as I go along...just trying whatever I think I can. I wouldn't try a taco or chips or anything hard or anything, but most things are pretty fair game. I'm traveling a lot now, so it's sooo good that I have several options.
• I have most of the feeling back from my top jaw surgery-meaning I can feel my nose, have some feeling in my upper lip, etc. For example, when I put chapstick on my upper lip can actually feel where the stick is connecting to the lip! Yay!
• I still haven't gotten most of the feeling back in my chin and lower lip, but I can tell that some feeling is coming back. My chin itches and tingles some (which drives me crazy cause scratching does NOTHING to alleviate the itchy feeling), but I think that means it's healing. =) The surgeon told me that the lower jaw always takes longer to come back....so I'm not concerned at all. It's just annoying...I could put on chapstick without a mirror and end up halfway across my face without knowing it! LOL
• I can get about 2 1/2 fingers into my mouth now (refer to the gun analogy from previous post)...which is a big improvement. I see Dr. Lewis again in a couple of weeks, so I'm hoping to be up to three fingers by then....
• My smile is somewhat normal now. It's getting less crooked and more 'real' looking.
• I'm only wearing my bands when I sleep. I do, however, go to see Dr. Smith next Tuesday and expect that he's going to want me to switch some things up.
• I can go out into public and no one has any idea that I had major surgery just a little over a month ago. People who know me just look at me and know that something is different, but they don't necessarily know what it is
• I still find myself waking myself up in the middle of the night pushing my teeth together really hard. It hurts and wakes me up. I'm not sure why I do it...I think I'm trying to make the pressure from the bands go away or something? I tried wearing the bands during the day instead so that I would be aware of what I am doing, but with work and meals and stuff it was just too difficult.
• I'm gaining weight. =( I had lost about 10 lbs during my recovery, and the other day I got on a scale and realized that 4 of those lbs are already back on due to my increased diet. I'm going to try to keep the rest off....cause I needed to lose the weight anyway. I lost around 35 total lbs last year (including the 10 post-surgery) from working on it...and this year I want to take off about 15 more so that I'll be at my goal weight. Wish me luck- it's a constant battle!

Well, that's about all the updates I have! I have a lot of personal updates as well, but I think I am going to develop a separate blog for that so that individuals who read this blog for surgery information don't get bored to death with my silly life updates. =) I'll let you know once I get it set-up..it might be a while with my crazy work schedule.

Here is my 6 week profile pic. I was going to post a smile and a front photo, but I just got done working out and look like a wet rat. Enjoy!

One Month Post Surgery

Hello, friends! I apologize that it has taken me so long to update this...the past couple of weeks have been a little crazy! I'll first update you on the "how's your face?" question I've been getting, then I'll give you a brief update on Christmas/New Years/new job/etc.

Tomorrow is monumental to me- it's my one month post surgery anniversary! That's right kids, one month ago tomorrow I was laying in a chair having my jaw sawed apart from my skull. Crazy. I had my third follow-up appointment with Dr. Lewis this past Tuesday, and I'm happy to report that he believes me to be one of his poster children for orthognathic surgery. What does that mean? I'm doing great! I can now easily get two fingers into my mouth without cheating, I can talk without mumbling, I don't drool when I drink from a cup, I don't have any stitches hanging off of my sutures, my nose is back to normal, I'm allowed to softly blow my nose, I have very little pain and I have much more energy. As far as eating is concerned, I've eating MUCH more now...anything that I can chop up really small so that I don't bite to tear apart. This means that cut up pancakes, taco salad without the shell, pasta, rice, scrambled eggs, french toast, etc are all fair game! It's a whole new world. Dr. Lewis gave me permission this past week to begin chewing very soft things now, with a rule of "If it hurts, spit it out and don't eat anymore." To get use to this I've pretty much just been eating the same foods I had been, but am trying to chew some of the pieces up. It doesn't hurt really, but it feels really weird since I don't have feeling in my mouth. For example, I can take a bite of pancake and chew...but I can't really tell if it's between my back teeth or not. If that sounds weird, it's because it is. Really weird.

One thing that I haven't mentioned before is that with my lips and cheeks so swollen, my braces actually rub and touch my lips/cheeks at all times. If I take my bottom lip and try to make the top of my bottom lip touch the bottom of my chin (go ahead, try it), I have groove marks all over the inside of my mouth from my braces. A few days ago, a few of these grooves were really inflamed and gross looking...and I never even knew they were there since I have no feeling in my lip at all! I've started wearing a lot of wax on my braces now so that those indentions don't get really bad or leave permanent marks. I don't mind the wax that much, except that it makes me look like I have something in my teeth at all times. Whenever I see someone I know I just open my mouth really wide and say "it's wax, don't worry" so that they don't stare the whole time. =)

So yes, my mouth is doing great. For now I am working on stretching my jaw (hoping to get to three fingers within the next few weeks) and getting use to chewing again. I have no complains. Below are pics from today:
I told you about my Christmas with the Hottinger clan, but I believe that's my last update. Chris and I (and the pups, of course) went to my parents' house on Christmas Eve to spend the night and day with my family. I made dinner on Christmas Eve, then made four pies and some cookies for Christmas Day. After dinner we did gifts- and all I can say is that we were very, very spoiled this year. We are very blessed in all ways...we are so thankful for our families and friends! My parents got us several things, but our favorite was definitely the Wii and the Wii Fit- we have both been sore for days from playing! You think I'm kidding? ;) My biggest surprise of all (probably the biggest X-Mas surprise EVER) is that my Aunt C had sent a gift for me and Chris from TX to my parents' house. She got us......drum roll, please.....A DYSON VACUUM! I've been wanting one forever, mainly to help with the dog hair and perhaps keep me from having to vacuum every single day, so I had asked for giftcards for gifts for a while since I could never let myself spend so much money on a vacuum. I had no idea that she would get us the vacuum...we were both shocked.

Christmas day we did a nice breakfast and then we had cooked and cooked. We had about 12 family members and friends join us for Christmas lunch, and it was very nice. I was worried about having both of our huskies there with everyone, but they did great and were well behaved. The weekend following Christmas, Chris and I went with my parents and some of their friends to some cabins at Keystone State Park in Oklahoma. The weather was very nice and we had a great time. It sure was nice to get home, though!

This week has been awesome- my hubby and I have had our first whole week off together to just hang out since our honeymoon! We've cleaned and organized and re-arranged...and now we're just hanging out and being lazy- it's great.

New Years Eve was amazing...one of my favorite parties ever, in fact. The group was perfect...the weather was perfect...and everyone looked great and truly seemed happy. My night was REALLY made when several people told me that I was looking good....it was really nice to feel somewhat normal and not be self-conscious anymore. Thank you, girls....here are a few pics:

I start my new job on Monday, and I'm excited. I'm finally done with my old company and I couldn't be happier to not have to deal with some of the lying, sneaky and arrogant posers anymore. It's crazy...I wasn't really happy with the way that things went down there, but in the end it couldn't be better because I got a much better job....with a better company...for more money...in a nice office...with better people! Yay for karma! I am now the Project Manager for the Wal-Mart/Sam's accounts for XXXXXX company. Anyone who wants to know all the details about my new job just comment or email me and I'll email you back...I don't want to tell all the details on a public forum. =) I will be getting my new BlackBerry and laptop this coming up week, so I should be able to post more often after next weekend. Wish me luck and enjoy your week!