Day 165 - Home

Hello everyone. Thank you all so so much for your good luck wishes and kind words.

I'm home now which is great. Surgery lasted 6 hours. Before anyone worries about this if they need scar revision I'll let you know that that portion of the surgery took only about an hour.

The reason it took so long is that I also got a rhinoplasty. Yep, the secret is out. It was nothing extreme, but anyone who has had jaw surgery knows that it changes your nose, too. For me my nose had significantly widened, and it widened even more whenever I smiled. The movement also exposed a bump on my nose. So my surgeon put in an extra couple of alar cinches and shaved down the bump on my nose. The tip was also refined to bring it back to a delicate point. I know that this will be worth it in the end, but I'll be honest when I say that I'm quite uncomfortable right now. My nose is packed and I have a "cast" over the bridge. Totally not comfy.

Also, I'm not sure if anyone remembers, but back when I had a fifth screw in my mouth with a rubberband it had cut the gum above my left tooth. It did heal one I got rid of that band, but it healed in a weird right angle shape higher than the gum on my right side. Therefore another aspect of todays procedure included a recontouring of that potion of my gums.

The scar on my right has been successfully freed from the muscle beneath it. One bit of good news was the fact that the scar tissue in my mouth seems to have sorted itself out because once Dr A got in there he didn't feel the need to remove anything. The last bit of surgery involved the burning off of a couple birthmarks with a cool radio wave machine.

So there you have it! That was today's surfgery. I'll add more to the update tomorrow, but for now I need to get some sleep. Thanks again everyone, your kindness means so much to me. Be well!

Day 164 - Surgery Part II

Hello everyone. Tonight's is a very quick update.

I'm doing well and my jaw feels great. The muscle on my right is rather stiff again, but my exercises should help out with that.

In 7 hours I will be going in for more surgery. This time it will be to removed the bands of scar tissue from inside my mouth and revise the scar that has adhered to my muscle. I'm neither nervous nor excited. It's something that needs to be done and so I accept it for what it is.

Surgery won't last too long, I think only three hours. Even better is the fact that I won't be staying over night in the hospital. Thank goodness! My best friend went in for surgery herself today, though of a totally different kind, so we'll be hospital buddies. Best friends for years and now this - life is funny sometimes, but I'm glad for it in this case. Friends work wonders for healing :)

I hope you are all well and I promise to update you all as soon as I feel up to it.

Day 160 - Christmas Cheer

decorating the tree

Presents!!!

Sweet new earmuffs

The "kids" table. When did we become the "young adult" table?

More gifts!

Hello bloggers. And for those of you who celebrate it - Merry Christmas!
This was my first Christmas with the "new face" and the first in in more than 7 years without pain, cracks and clicks. A Christmas miracle if ever there was. It was a lovely day with friends and family. For the very first time we included people other than the immediate family in our Christmas eve and morning traditions. Two of Zoe's friends joined us, and for one it was his very first Christmas. We woke up to gifts and then my aunt, uncle and two cousins joined us for family time and Christmas dinner. Toasts and laughter were abundant and fun was had by all. :)
My jaw was great today and I was thrilled to be able to enjoy the day sans pain and distraction. Equally thrilling was the ability to chow down just like I used to without worrying about whether or not I could handle the texture of the food. It's such a blessing to be back to normal again.
I do of course have pictures that I will post a.s.a.p. for all of you. To those of you who celebrated the holiday I hope it was blessed and filled with good times. For those who do not, I hope today was lovely just the same!

Day 158 - Making Christmas

Hi bloggers! Day 158 has been busy busy busy. Christmas is almost upon us and that means getting ready. I've spent the entire day unpacking the last of my college stuff and cleaning up my room. After that I've been a right little kitchen mouse. So far I've made two varieties of cookies, linzer bars and cupcakes. That list will certainly grow by Sunday, but for now I'm all baked out.

Today my jaw cause no problems at all. I confess that these days I hardly notice it at all. The only times that I'm reminded of the fact that I'm still healing are when I remember the things I can't do yet (like snowboarding), when I make sure I don't knock myself or get knocked in the face, or when I remember I don't feel quite safe sleeping on my stomach yet. Other than those things and a slight bit of swelling life is totally back to normal. My gums are still rather numb, but the surface has regained most of its feeling back. The deep tissue is what is still it's difficult to believe that just five months ago I was swollen like an easter island head and still in the hospital. A lot has changed, to say the least!

Be well everyone. And to those of you who just recently had surgery (Tara and the others) you guys are doing great! I promise it gets better :)

Day 157 - Good Memories & Graduations

Hello there bloggers! It's day 157 and I am tuckered out to say the least. Today was a long day, but it was definitely a good one.

My big sister (my best friend) graduated from college today! It's hard to believe the girl that used to struggle through school graduated from a university ranked in the top 2% in the world. Not only that but she graduated with honors (cum laude) and a semester early to boot! Congratulations Zoe Gabrielle. I love you so very much and I'm more proud of you than I can say.

Since it's Zoe's graduation the day was dedicated to her. We woke up early and headed off to the school for the ceremony and then off to a super fancy dinner with one of her friends (also a graduate - congratulations Steve!) and his family and then headed back home. This long wonderful day has come to a close and I'm one tired girl!

My jaw feels great. To emphasize the point I chowed down on 16oz of fillet mignon and enjoyed every steak-y bite! Healing is such a cool thing  :)

I hope you are all well and enjoying the holiday season!

Tara - I saw you got through surgery safe and sound. Congratulations on making it to the other side. I'm sorry I didn't get to comment sooner, but I have been keeping track of your blog. You're already almost through the first week. Keep it up girl, you're such a strong person!  :)

I do have pictures from today but I will post them later as I desperately need to get to sleep.

Day 153 - Home for the Holidays

Hi there bloggers! Day 153 is drawing to a close. At long last I'm home for the winter break. It really hasn't set in that I have no class for more than a month and that Christmas is just a week away. I need to find something to get me in the holiday spirit.

My jaw treated me just fine today. Not a pain, crunch, creak or crack to speak of. Yippee!

Sorry for the short post but moving has worn me out. Be well everyone!  :)

Day 152 - Goodbye Fall Semester, Hello Winter Break!

Hi everyone! It's day 152 and it is my last night at college until next semester. It's so strange to me that it feels like just yesterday I came back to school with a puffy face and a mouth that I could hardly open wide enough for a pancake. However it happened, time has flown and semester has come to a close. When I look back the the beginning of September I see such a huge difference in my healing progress.

My jaw felt great today as I enjoyed a super relaxed and lazy last day. My muscles are a bit stiff today and I'm curious to see how bad they do or do not get over break. I really don't want all of that physical therapy to go to waste so I will definitely keep up with my exercises.

Tomorrow I go home, and I only hope that break is just as interesting and note-worthy as the past couple months have been. I also look forward to what it will bring in terms of healing and final revisions. I can't wait until I have a break from school where I don't have to think about surgery, but for now I'll take what I can get!

I hope you are all well, wherever you may be.

Tara - I wish you the very best during your surgery. I will be keeping you in my thoughts and sending positive vibes to you and your surgical team. Pretty soon you'll be posting your "on the other side" update and I can't wait to read it. Good luck!!!