My "Bad" side

No, I don't mean the little devil who sits on my shoulder occasionally, or even an evil twin. When I took the "date" pic with my hubby last week, I got into position on his right side. I'm ALWAYS on his right side for pictures, because that's my "good" side. That's the side I've learned to disguise my bite. He looked at me and said "now you don't have a 'bad' side". Oh how I wish that were the case! Now, it is true that in the next 6-8 months as my face settles into it's final shape, things could change - and it's also true that my swollen cheeks show up much more on my "bad" side - but I think I will forever stay on Jared's right side in pics. Here are some examples from the past. I had to search high and low for the "bad side" pictures because it is so rare that I am "caught" on that side! The difference with my "bad" side is that my face looks concave. My chin is reeeeally pointy and there is kind of an empty gap where my teeth are supposed to be, but my pallet is too narrow for them to be seen on that side.

Good side.

Bad side.

Bad side.


Good side.


Good side.


Good side. Notice a pattern here. Always on Jared's right!


Bad side.


This is straight on (which almost NEVER happens) and you can clearly see my crossbite.


Bad side.


Good side. Oh, to be young again!


Bad side.


I think I may forever have to live with a bad side/good side to my face, but at least I've practiced my whole life on how to have a good side!

Moving on....
This is what I eat every day for protein. It has the consistency of snot. It is delicious! THANK YOU to my friend Chandie for bringing soft taco's for dinner one night. I looked at all the food and decided that I could eat the refried beans - but they were still a little chuncky. So, I purree'd them and melted cheese into it and stirred a little sour cream around...and they were AMAZING! Easy to eat and delicious! I asked her how she made them and she told me the secret was Rotel's diced tomatoes (original spicy) which gave the flavor. So I promptly went out and bought a TON of refried beans and Rotels. And now I eat it. Three times a day.


Pics from Saturday. I don't know that I'll EVER get rid of my "head tilt".


Instead of a profile pic, I wanted to see from an angle. These cheeks make me look like I have jowls. sigh.


My BAD SIDE! Do you all see the difference!? I'm not crazy! How many of you have a "bad" side, and you are aware of it and try to disguise it in pics? It's not just me, right?


Physical therapy. Last week I worked on getting my pinky fingers all the way in between my back teeth without feeling like I was actually biting them. I mostly accomplished this. At my 3 week post-op today, he told me it was time to try my index fingers. It hurts. In this pic I am opening my mouth as wide as I possibly can.


And today. The swelling is still going down sllooowlly. The best news I got at today's appointment is that for the next 2 weeks, I get to have my bands off 4 times a day for TWO HOURS each time! 8 hours a day! Last week was a total of 4.5 hours a day so it's almost doubled. Bliss! Also, he confirmed that I'm getting my splint off in ONE week! Yeessss!

To finish this post - after 21 days of antibiotics (1 day in the hospital, then filling two 10 day each prescriptions) I am OFF of them! Last night was the first night in 3 weeks that I did not use a decongestant and/or nasal spray. I survived. The only meds I'm currently on is 800 mg of Ibuprofin twice a day. Not too bad! I'm speaking more clearly with my splint - when my bands are off. I've even taken to answering the phone! It's a good thing because I have a presentation for work on Thursday, and I'm hoping that everyone will understand me!
Lastly - Jared took us to dinner tonight at IHOP. I got the stuffed french toast and scrambled eggs. After an hour, I got through almost half of it and only bit my tongue twice. Practice, practice!

To all you jaw surgery patients out there (or those considering it) - do it. I guess it's a little like labor where you forget pretty quick just how much pain or discomfort you were in - only that the end result is great. I'm still waiting for the full end result, but I'm past most of the pain and am excited to finish the journey. Please don't hesitate to ask me any questions!

That's all.