Recovery Week 8: December 21-27, 2015

I am now eight weeks out from surgery. Crazy when I say that out loud. Looking back now it feels like it has gone by really fast. My life has pretty much returned to normal at this point.

I am back to work, chewing as normally as I can, my hip area feels fine where the bone graft was taken, and overall I feel really good.

I still have some residual numbness in my chin, lips, teeth, and gums, but the surgeon said it can take three to six months for all those nerves to wake up and be back to normal.

I had an orthodontist appoint on Monday, December 28. They said everything was looking great as far as my bite is concerned. I now only have to wear a couple of rubber bands during the day, and a couple more at night. The best news is I don't have to wear that reverse pull mask anymore. I am convinced that is a tool of Satan.

This will be my last weekly post about the surgery as there is not much to tell at this point. I thought it would be fun to give you some interesting facts or things I learned about my surgery and recovery.

1. People tend to cringe when you tell them the gory details of double jaw surgery with a hip bone graft.

2. In some cases (like mine), they will attach wires (called skeletal wires) into your jaw during the the surgery for the rubber bands to be on. This will help pull on your jaw as the scar tissue develops and prevent the jaw muscles from messing up your jaw alignment.

3. If you have a bone graft near your sinuses, you cannot blow your nose for about four weeks.

4. In come cases (like mine), having your jaw, "wired shut"will actually be rubber bands that you can remove once a day for an hour to brush your teeth after eating...I mean drinking a meal.

5. When your lips, gums, and teeth are numb, you will drool and spit...a lot.

6. A kid tooth brush is not as effective as an adult tooth brush.

7. I lost a little over thirty pounds while on the liquid diet for the first six weeks. Doing my best to keep it off and lose more.

8. Being paid short term disability to stay home for six weeks and recover from surgery is awesome.

9. When you are told you are allowed to start chewing again, it is glorious news!

10. When you have chewed wrong for over thirty years of your life, it will be very strange to chew with a correct bite. I'm still learning and getting used to it.

Here are a few shots of my bite progression:

Before Surgery: March 2013 right after I got braces on and started the journey. 

Before Surgery: March 2014

Before Surgery: March 2015 

Before Surgery: October 2015 

After Surgery: November 2015

After Surgery: December 2015

Finally, here are some before pictures on the left from November 1, 2015,

and after pictures on the right from December 30, 2015. 

If you took the time to follow along on this journey with me, thank you! I appreciate all the the love and support I have received through this process. I am not all the way healed and will continue to wear braces for a while, but the hard part is over! I am looking forward to my new jaw, bite, and smile! As always, if you took the time to read my blog, I pray that God blesses you and your family.  

Recovery Week 7: December 14-20, 2015

This was a really big week for me. My life started going back to pre-surgery normal. I went back to work starting Monday (December 14). It was good to get back to work and get to see my co-workers that I missed. I was worried I would forget a lot of stuff after being out for six weeks, but it all came back pretty fast. I was pretty tired at the end of each day, but I am sure that my energy will be back to one-hundred percent soon. 

After work on Monday, I had an Orthodontist appointment to remove all the extra surgery stuff added to my braces. I still have to wear some rubber bands, and that darn reverse pull mask for a little while longer though. Not really excited about that, but means to an end, and after about a year I should be able to get my braces off.

Here are some before and after pictures of all the stuff they removed (the top before, and the bottom after).

 

 

Now, on to the the biggest news of the week, as of Monday, December 14, I was able to begin chewing again! NO MORE LIQUID DIET!!!

It was kind of strange learning to chew all over again with a correct bite. Another interesting fact is, that my teeth are still mostly numb. So, when I chew, I can't always feel it. Imagine you went to the dentist, they numbed your whole mouth, and then you had to eat a meal. It's kind of like that. Good times indeed!  

My recovery is not over yet, but I took some really big steps this week. Other than a little bit of swelling on my right side of my face, the numbness in my chin, bottom lip and teeth, I am feeling really good. Here are some pictures of my face. 

 

 

As always thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I pray that you and your family are doing well and that God blesses you greatly!