Still Alive!

Well, it's been almost two weeks since my jaw surgery. 

Since my surgery day, I've been exhausted which is normal. Been sleeping a lot, trying to drink as much juice, smoothies, veggie juices etc as possible. Here's a little update on what my recovery has been so far!

My surgery took 2 1/2 hours under general anesthetic. I was in the hospital for two nights. The first 24 hours were pretty rough. My face was so swollen and numb, but I ended up having a lot of nausea and vomited a few times. THAT was rough!! It's bad enough when you can open your mouth normally, but when you can't move your jaw, well, it's just not fun. Once that was over, the second day in the hospital was a lot better. The staff there was so nice, I always appreciate that.

Here's my first picture out of surgery:

Once I got home, I figured out how to drink through a straw. It's a little tiring since I can only get so much through a thin straw. But it works. This is how I was taking my medicine - through a saringe. Since I can't open my mouth, my wonderful Dad crushed all my medications for me and mixed them with my orange slurpee. It's a bit annoying having to crush and mix but you do what you have to do! I'm still crushing but am using a straw now, a bit quicker!

 

The pain I've had since surgery hasn't been fun. The first week I was basically drugged up on Tylenol 3's and Ibuprofen. I had ice packs on 24/7 for the first five days. Thank you to my parents and sister for switching them out for me. And thanks to my husband! He didn't get much sleep those first five days after. He slept on a mattress on the floor beside the couch so he could be right ready to get my medication and icepacks when needed. I felt bad for him but felt worse for myself lol. He was amazing in the wee hours of the morning as I tapped him with my foot to wake him up. Thank you Hun!!

Once the first five days passed, I started feeling intense muscle pain. All my neck and facial muscles have been traumatized from the surgery. Because my lower jaw was moved so much forward, my neck muscles are also tight and sore. It's amazing how tight everything is. I am completely numb from just below my eyes to my chin. This will slowly disappear in the next 6 to 12 months but some of it may be permanent. The good thing is the numbess will not affect how I look or my mobility. The muscle pain is one of the worst because it doesn't really go away easily. I'd love to be able to go for some accupuncture to take it away but that isn't a good idea right now. I've been applying moist heat regularly and that has helped to relax the muscles a little.

I'm at the two week mark this Wednesday! I go to see my surgeon tomorrow for my two week post-op. We'll see what he has to say. I will have the elastics on for 6 weeks from my surgery. Thankfully I did not have to be wired but I feel like I have been. I can't move my teeth or jaw at all.

Here's a few more pictures of the past few days. I'll update with my x-rays soon, it's interesting to see how my upper and lower jaw have been aligned. I'll do that another day.

Thanks again to everyone for praying for me and all your support!! I know things have been going well because of all the prayer for me. I appreciate it so much!