Friday, October 17, 2014

Day 79

It's been 79 days. Or 11.2857 weeks. Or 2.5944 months.
That's just really crazy to me! I remember looking at blogs who were 2 months post op and having them say stuff like "Man time is just flying!" and I remember thinking how nice it would be to be at that point in recovery... and now I am! I no longer think about surgery everyday, which is something I never thought I'd be able to say!
It's been a while since my last update. I apologize profusely. I never thought I would be one of those bloggers to leave people hanging for weeks at a time, but life just got really busy!
Anywho. Having my splint out has just been the best thing ever. Seriously, such a confidence booster. I no longer feel like a lisping fool whenever I talk.
Learning to chew again hasn't been so fun though.
I can't actually remember my first meal without my splint, which is kinda sad. I wish I would've written it down somewhere... but alas. When I first got my splint out, Dr. Jenkins told me to continue eating soft solid foods til six weeks, and then I could move onto harder things, but to hold off on super hard things like apples and carrots and such til 8 weeks. To be honest, I still haven't tried apples or carrots. The hardest thing I've eaten is probably... toffee? But crushed up, so I didn't bite any off with my front teeth, I just chewed with my back teeth!
Speaking of front teeth... having them properly aligned is pretty much the best thing ever! Sandwiches and pizza are significantly easier to eat now! I still struggle a little, but I think it's just cause my whole life I've gotten used to not biting through things all the way, and now I'll just need to teach myself to bite all the way through food. But seriously, SUCH A BIG DIFFERENCE. I've noticed I'm actually able to leave teeth marks in bread now, and I wasn't really able to do that before.

At my latest orthodontist appointment, I got to take a good look at a panoramic x-ray of my face! So much metal. But it doesn't freak me out... maybe it's just because I've accepted it? Maybe because I haven't really taken the time to internalize it yet? I don't know. But it doesn't phase me. Mostly I just avoid touching my face where the plates are supposed to be, but I'm pretty sure I've felt them a few times.
And Dr. Christiansen was telling me there wasn't a whole lot more they could do to fix my teeth with braces! That's saying a lot, because he's a real perfectionist. So maybe I'm getting my braces off soon? I've learned not to get my hopes up though. I have trust issues with orthodontists.

I also had a dentist appointment last week, and the hygienists were so funny! I told them I'd gotten surgery and immediately my hygienists took me to get an x-ray. I wasn't supposed to get one that day, but she told me she just really liked looking at stuff like that and that I wouldn't be charged for it so I just went along with it! And I got to look at it all through my appointment.

In the world of numbness, pretty much all of my gums are completely numb. And the right half of my lower lip and chin are still partially numb. I can't tell if the feeling will ever completely come back, because they've been partially numb for probably about a month? But it's whatever.
As of late, a lot my teeth have been super sensitive, which I know is probably just nerves and stuff waking back up so I'm just dealing with it.

My lips don't meet when I'm completely relaxed. It's kind of been bothering me, since it was the same way before surgery. It was a lot worse before the surgery, but still. I hoping this will change over time, because I remember reading someone's blog with the same problem and they said it eventually resolved itself.

I've still had people not recognize me... or not realize I was me. I've gotten better at explaining though, so that's good.

Also, I got another look alike! I was at dinner with a bunch of my cousins, aunts, my grandma, and my mom and my Aunt was complimenting me on my cute nose and cute cheeks and stuff and she said I look like a Campbell's Soup kid!


That's exactly what I was aspiring to look like when I went into this surgery! I'm so glad people are finally seeing what my vision was!
(Just kidding.)

I don't have pictures of my actual face at this very second, but as soon as I get them, they'll be up here!

Well folks. That's all for who knows how long.