Second post-op

Disclaimer: these pictures of me (on this blog) are the worst ever taken. I've never posted a "bad" picture of myself until this blog - mostly because I didn't like my smile/bite/face/whatever. So I am trying to be humble and allow everyone to see the nitty - gritty - so that it may help some poor soul who is about to embark upon a similar journey. Happy reading!

So - today was my second post op. My doctor comes breezing in the room saying "are you ready to eat macaroni and cheese - KFC mashed and gravy - omelette's and other things?" So, he takes off my rubber bands, checks my bite (to which he remarks "PERFECT! Now THAT is what you what your doctor to say, right?") I nodded emphatically! Then he showed me different configuration for my rubber bands (all FOUR of them - ug) and told me that I can take them off for 1 hour 3 times a day and that when he sees me on Thursday, he may move it up to 1 1/2 hours 3 times a day!!! So, that's the good news. The bad news is that he thinks my splint will be on for another 5 - 6 weeks, instead of the original 3 - to allow for bone growth in that new open centimeter in the roof of my mouth. Ug. I hate this splint. Life would be so much easier without it. I could handle being wired shut so much better and I could EAT so much better (and breathe and swallow)...but more on that in a minute...So on the way home I stopped at KFC to get my first soft meal. It went a little like this:

This is such a funny picture. This is to show how far I can open my mouth, but I look frightened too. I kind of was - and in pain. So it looks like a decent sized opening right? WRONG (I'll show you in a second why). My muscles have tightened up and I literally can NOT open my mouth wider then that right now. I need to excersize the muscles, which is why I get to take them off periodically now during the day.

This is my lovely meal. KFC mashed and gravy and baked beans. I was soooo excited!



Realizing that even a baby spoon may be too big to fit in my mouth because....



OF THIS DANG SPLINT!!! Sorry it's not a great close up - but you wouldn't want one anyway. Do you see how THICK it is!? So I have to get the baby spoon over my bottom teeth but also past that top splint in order to deposit anything into my mouth! It was such a challenge at first that I cried. The fact that I have no feeling in the lower half of my face doesn't help either. I had to eat with a mirror so I would get something in my mouth, and not on my face/chest/lap!



But - I DID it! It took me the whole hour to eat that tiny bit of mashed and gravy and baked beans in the bowls. I've discovered that I can NOT chew. At all. So I swallowed those 10 beans whole! But the mashed and gravy were fantastic!



Then I got to brush my teeth - the INSIDE for the first time! I got my baby toothbrush out and tried to stick it in my mouth only to discover that it does NOT fit between my bottom teeth and my splint. So...I gave it a haircut. After I cut the bristles about 2/3 of the way down - it slid past the splint and I brushed like crazy!



So - you can't see the rubber bands like I thought you could - but there are 4 rubber bands each making a double triangle of each side of my mouth. I. Can. Not. Open. My. Teeth. At. All.
Oh - you can see that my neck is getting a little less colorful now.



My questions for my surgeon today (and his answers) went a little like this:

Tamara: Will ice still help with swelling at this point?
Dr. Egbert: No. If it's a really hot day, you may swell a little MORE that day, so ice at the end of the day can help with discomfort from the swelling from the day - but not the overall swelling that is left.
Tamara: There is a piece of my right cheek caught in my braces/splint.
Dr. Egbert: That's normal due to swelling. Just open your mouth a tiny bit, use your finger or toothbrush to open your cheek waaaay out and then clench your teeth back down and release your cheek. (I've already been doing that. It's painful).
Tamara: When I touch my top left eyelashes, if feels like I'm touching the bottom of my eyelashes, and not the top.
Dr. Egbert: Big, long explanation about nerves. Summary: he hopes I get the feeling back correctly, eventually.
Tamara: Do I get to keep my new nose and chin? I love them!
Dr. Egbert: Yes. They will stay that way. Most jaw surgery patients don't notice that their nose becomes a little upturned after surgery - they just notice they look better.
Tamara: How will you know when my splint is ready to come out? Guestimate? (He originally told me 3 weeks).
Dr. Egbert: Hmmm...how much did I widen your upper jaw again?
Tamara: 9 mm.
Dr. Egbert: Probably another 5-6 weeks.
Tamara: (Thinking of creative new cuss words in her mind). Ok.
Tamara: How long til all of the swelling is gone?
Dr. Egbert: You'll notice a huge difference by next week's appt.
Tamara: YAY!!

That's all for today. One of my visiting teachers brought homemade mashed potatoes/gravy and chocolate pudding and I think it's time to start my next FREE hour and EAT! :)