I survived the first week :D

Starting to look like my old self!

Numbers I haven't seen in a long time, lol.  Losing 1 lb/day

AHHHH, just created this whole Day 7 post only to have my iPad refresh and LOSE IT ALL. So I'll probably keep this brief since I just typed it out... Hola family and friends, Day 7 is almost at an end and I'm so glad the worst part is (hopefully) behind me. I kept waiting for days 4 and 5 to be the worst and done with but the past two days have offered challenges of their own as I'm faced with new and annoying pain each day. Lately I've had a lot of pain in my right ear, left cheek and jaw line in general. But thanks to all the loving people in my life that bring their dogs to play with my puppies (Hi Randy and Leina!), cook for my hubs (thanks, mom!) and to all of those who call and stop by with food and endless hours of their lives to waste with me watching Hoarders, Cops, Castle, etc. Yesterday was my first post-op appointment so I figured I'd share what went down there. I was super excited about the appointment going in as I knew I was going to have the dozens of bands in my mouth cut out but I guess I shouldn't have skipped breakfast first... I was led into the X-ray room to get shots of my new and amazingly perfect bite! That was quick and painless except the doc had me place my chin on something to keep it stable and it kinda took me a minute to find it since half my face is still super numb. After that I was led back to the office where my 50 bands were so gratefully CUT OFF! Whooo hoo! These, by the way, ended up EVERYwhere from up my gums and nose to down my shirt and I was still finding them hours later at home. I was then given a regular size toothbrush and told to brush my teeth gently. Um, yeah, there was no way that whole toothbrush was fitting in my little mouth but I somehow got like 7 of my teeth clean and the last thing I remember was saying, "I don't feel so goooooo" Next thing I know, the nurse is shoving an ammonia soaked towel in my face and putting wet towels on my forehead and neck and the doctor is yelling, "Stay calm, Lara! I'm going to get you my super expensive orange juice!!! It's like $3.99 a bottle but you can have it!!!" I guess the whole trip was too much for my low blood sugared self and I almost passed out. On a side note, that damn Odwalla orange IS super good and it made me feel 100% better. I was then given a bag of rubber bands and the surgeon put one on and left the room with instructions that he'd return in a few minutes and he expected at least 2 more on. Yeah, that SO did not happen. Haha... those were SUPER tough. Two utensils and 15 minutes later though, I was walking out with one more elastic on and the instructions to wear around 4 at all times and an appointment to come back next week. The good thing is that the swelling is all symmetrical and going down and the bruising isn't any worse. it's just so. much. more. yellow. Kinda gross but I'm looking slightly more normal every day. With the comment that I "don't look even a little bit like Jay Leno," the surgeon was pleased with the results and upgraded me to a slightly thicker diet. Although I haven't been able to eat anything thicker than soups as even with the bands off I can't get my jaw a tiny bit open. I've spent the past two days sleeping on and off in 20 min bursts and last night I actually SLEPT IN MY OWN BED! whoo hooo!! My right arm/hand has been very weak lately and the surgeon thinks it's from me sleeping weirdly on the recliner so I got the okay to sleep in bed with a couple pillows propped up behind my back. Needless to say, my puppy couldn't handle this drastic change from downstairs to upstairs and I woke up to her gagging over my face then proceeding to vomit all over our stairs (thanks for waking up and catching that, Steve!) I'm going to take another nap cause writing this twice has totally wiped me out, lol. Then hopefully do some homework as I'm already a week behind :( Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-... That's all, folks

Day 6? Losing track of time...

Bruising is starting to show...

I'm pretty sure the days are all melding into one another and I woke up this morning not really know what day of the week it was, lol. I thought I was really ready to wash my hair and get up and see some amigos yesterday but alas, I was sorely mistaken :( I basically just rotted in the recliner all day sleeping in 20 minute bursts while my amazing mom cleaned and scrubbed every inch of my house (it looks AWESOME)! Mrs. Clean managed to force some carrot soup down my throat for breakfast and some milk blended up with strawberries and honey for lunch but I was not in the mood for anything else after that. I realized that it's so very important to 1. take your meds on time even if your pain level is not extreme. It's much easier to get yourself down to a 1/2 pain level when you only allow yourself to get up to 6/7. 2. Eating will make you feel infinitely better when you feel like crap, EVERY time. Most of the time when I felt like crap it was because my blood sugar was so low. And lastly, 3. KEEP YOUR MOUTH CLEAN. Nothing is more disgusting than waking up to that nasty surgery breath when you haven't properly brushed/rinsed. I can't even explain how effin gross this taste is. My little bro went to our ortho yesterday and asked about this disgusting taste that I have to which he confidently responded, 'Oh, that's because of the fungus in her mouth, it's normal." WHAAA??? SO SICK. I've been using my syringe to do salt water rinses religiously but I can't wait to get my bands changed tomorrow. I want to brush my tongue so so badly! Doc appt tomorrow at 11.30 so I'll update then! Thanks for following!

Day 2: Home Sweet Home

 Bloody nose, swollen face, this was pretty...

Hola friends and family! Today has been immensely better than yesterday already. Thanks to everyone who came and visited me in the hospital and putting up with my sleeping in the middle of talking to them! I can't thank my Mom enough for absolutely everything thus far and my husband, Steve, for staying the night. Even though he probably got a horrible night's rest, it was so comforting seeing someone familiar every half hour when one nurse or the other woke me up to check my oxygen, give me more meds, hook up some new ice packs, check my blood pressure, etc... haha, they were killer! Surgery details follow just in case you get grossed out!!! I figured I'd share some more details about the surgery cause those were the best things to read about when I was getting ready for this adventure in my life. After prepping me in check in (weight, blood pressure, IV hooked up, gown on, etc) the surgical nurse came for me and I basically hopped into my own surgical bed and was wheeled off to the surgical ward. I was then parked on the side while I waited for another patient to have an emergency appendectomy who was sharing my anesthesiologist so I kinda just reached over and read the 'Infectious Diseases' pamphlet that I could reach on the wall. When the anesthesiologist finally showed up, he sprayed 5 pumps of nasal spray up each nostril to help constrict my nasal passages to get my breathing tube in easier. I was then rolled into the surgical suite FULLY AWAKE where I saw all the lights, surgeons, tools... I totally freaked out. The doc and I started talking and turns out his daughter and I knew each other in high school so that instantly put me at ease. The last thing I remember is the anesthesia really hurting going in but then the awesome male nurse saw me do the sign of the cross before I fell asleep so he just held my hand and prayed with me and next thing I remember was waking up in my room! SUCCESS ;) I was given a wet oxygen mask to help me breathe along with a jaw bra to keep ice on my face and a suction tool to make sure I didn't have to swallow all my saliva since my throat was so so sore from the breathing tube. After switching my pain/nausea meds 3x, I finally got a couple hours of sleep and was so so ready to go home in the morning. I've been using sippee cups instead of the syringe which is way more normal for eating and I even got to brush my teeth with my cool baby brush today! Time for more relaxing and enjoying the lovely flowers/books/etch a sketch from awesome people in my life.

6 hours and counting...

BEFORE: My gross overbite-I will not miss you!

BEFORE: Profile shot! receding chin

BEFORE: teeth completely overlap and do not touch in the back

BEFORE: my big ol' before smile

BEFORE: I forced my lower jaw up for this shot to see all the hooks, 10 in alll

Hi. My name is Lara and I'm about 6 hours away from being admitted for in patient jaw surgery and it's finally starting to feel real. My stomach is currently in knots so I'll be short in my background leading up to this crazy journey but promise to update more along the way. Other people's blogs throughout their jaw surgeries have been immensely helpful to me so I figured what better way to have a forum to say all the things I will physically not be able to say but still want to share with my friends? Thus, this blog was created. I first sought an orthodontist consult in early 2010 for major spacing and an overbite and ended up getting a full metal mouth in early June 2010. A year an a half later, I've been diagnosed with Congential Mandibular Hypoplasia and a Maxillofacial Occulsion (which is a fancy way of say I have a recessive jaw and chin). Thankfully, I found an amazing surgeon who can fix this and in a few short hours, I'll be having my lower jaw broken and moved forward 7 mm and my chin broken and moved forward 4 mm. Hospital stay is about 2 days so I'll keep you posted... WISH ME LUCK!
*Thanks to all the amazing friends, family and co workers who have been extremely supportive in the process leading up to this. I wouldn't be able to do this without you.