Hi all!! I brushed my teeth today!!!!!!! So excited about that. Well, excited that I could actually open my lips, mostly. I have to brush twice a day, and when I mean brush, I mean opening my lips, taking a Sesame Street baby toothbrush and ONLY going over the top of the braces that are visible. Pretty intense. I also have to rinse with some kind of muddy-brown-water-looking stuff. I used this before when I first got braces to help with inflammation. Let's just say, if they are going to clear up this "inflammation" on my face with this little bottle of rinse, we are going to have to call in for backup!!!
Mammaw was a darling and sent a huge assortment of juices, yogurts, and children's smoothies--which are DELISH. Mike made me an "orange julius" (vanilla ice cream & orange juice) this morning. Have I mentioned how fabulous he's been?! While I was in the hospital I tried to force down chicken broth so I'm getting ready to down some tomato soup. Keep in mind that I normally like my Campbell's loaded with pepper and a big ol' grilled cheese. If Mike can make it taste that good in a syringe, I'll marry him all over again.
After eating all this good stuff, I wanted to walk around outside earlier. In case you didn't know, we live by the ONLY cow pasture within South Hill town limits. And yes, since we both love animals, I've named all the cows I can recognize (there are about 7 that are all brown so I just go with the flow when I talk to them). It's like living beside the petting zoo when you walk over to the fence. They are really funny, actually. Don't think I'm just high from meds--I've been talking to our cows like pets since I moved in over here. You don't have to be insane only when you're on painkillers :) Mike escorted me to the fence and apparently I didn't look appealing enough for the cows because they just laid in their usual spots fighting off flies. I'm sure it's just because they didn't recognize me--not because I'm the annoying girl who talks to cows.
Anyway, after a long visit with Mama and Daddy, I took a nap and now I'm about to eat again. Thus the story of my life. I've been googling "jaw surgery recovery" pictures and am glad to see that in comparison to hundreds of others who've had this exact surgery, I seem to be doing remarkably well with the recovery. My face now seems like what most people look like on day 8 or 9. So even though I just about come to tears when I look at myself, I am extremely thankful for being healthy and having awesome "healing" genes. Cross your fingers I'll be able to open and talk by Thursday! Charades are getting pretty fun around here, though. I'm hopeful for a tournament to open possibly after Bingo on Wednesday nights. We could win some serious money with all this practice!!
Thanks for reading...I'll keep you posted!!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
My Lovely SWOLLEN Face!
Dear readers,
It's post-op day 3!!
I can't begin to tell you how happy I am to be home in my own bed!! Let's just say, catheders and other various tubes are NOT my friends. I was highly disappointed at my check in Wednesday morning. Surgery was scheduled for noon, however, I got taken back almost immediately at 10:30 without seeing Mama, Daddy, and Mammaw. I did get the chance to smooch the greatest nurse alive (Mike ;)...with lips that actually WORKED! After heading to the AM holding at St. Mary's, I had to do a "meet and greet" with the bathroom and a little white cup. The first news Doctor Miller told me before he rolled me away was, "Congratulations, Kristin. You're not pregnant". Bless my heart. In all seriousness, the most scary part of this entire adventure was inserting the IV. My veins are extremely thin, so it took 4 times and a hightened blood pressure to get it right. Once that horrific scene was over, I woke up and it was after 7pm. 2 things I recognized when I woke up: I have a balloon in my blatter. I can't breathe. Forget the fact that my face had been sawed into, I was having serious complications with getting air. I read about this before the surgery and how patients create mantras to repeat while trying to breathe. I didn't think I'd have that problem, but I was resorting to my inner "Dory" by chanting, "just keep breathing. just keep breathing.". It seemed to work for awhile, but not before the morphine they were pumping into me began to make me sick. Broken jaw=killer strain when trying to vomit. Just FYI :)
When my fabulous nurses woke me up the next morning, it was like heaven when they told me I could get the cath and nose tube out. Once this happened, I was 90% better. Because of the fear of nauseous, I had no pain killers for 24 hours. It wasn't too bad...just anxiousness when I couldn't catch my breath. At this point, Dr. Miller stopped by to let me know that I was in Pediactric ICU. Considering that I'm 24, this is cracking me up. All my nurses thought I was the greatest patient ever, but they weren't wiping my rear so I understood their happiness. To keep the swelling down, I have to wear this contraption that look like basset hound ears filled with ice. It is highly annoying, but seems to be doing the trick as Dr. Miller said I was doing "exceptional". I try!
Keep in mind that my teeth are bound shut with 6 rubberbands. I can't speak or chew, but my profile is pretty much on target. I left the hospital this morning at 9 and had an 80 year old volunteer roll me out to the car. Down 6 stories, I swear he hit every bump, crack, and pothole on the way down. I couldn't fault him though. I'm pretty sure he didn't know my mouth was banded shut and he thought I was a hoity-toity snob. I couldn't manage a "thank you" and that was pretty upsetting to me. I've been in the bed for the majority of the day, with the exception of Mama coming to help wash my hair. No matter how hard you try, you just can't seem to get the "hospital" off of you. I have so many things I want to tell you, but I can't keep my eyes open long enough to write in paragraph form. Please see below for brief thoughts :) Will check in tomorrow!
1. Pretty sure if Jim Henson calls, I'll be able to do a stand-in for Miss Piggy's face.
2. Ensure is probably the most disgusting drink EVER CREATED.
3. My lips are numb. Pretty much my entire face is numb. Drooling seems to be all the rage with me.
4. I want to talk. I've thought of about 100 jokes today and I'm the only one who seems to think they're funny.
5. Never had a bloody nose before. Can positively tell you that if I never have one for the rest of my days, I'll be a happy camper.
6. Even Long John Silver's commercials are beginning to appeal to me.
7. If I could just SMELL a McDonald's french fry, it will make my year!
8. I have a balloon in my room. Watching it float around reminds me of what my head must look like at this point. :)
It's post-op day 3!!
I can't begin to tell you how happy I am to be home in my own bed!! Let's just say, catheders and other various tubes are NOT my friends. I was highly disappointed at my check in Wednesday morning. Surgery was scheduled for noon, however, I got taken back almost immediately at 10:30 without seeing Mama, Daddy, and Mammaw. I did get the chance to smooch the greatest nurse alive (Mike ;)...with lips that actually WORKED! After heading to the AM holding at St. Mary's, I had to do a "meet and greet" with the bathroom and a little white cup. The first news Doctor Miller told me before he rolled me away was, "Congratulations, Kristin. You're not pregnant". Bless my heart. In all seriousness, the most scary part of this entire adventure was inserting the IV. My veins are extremely thin, so it took 4 times and a hightened blood pressure to get it right. Once that horrific scene was over, I woke up and it was after 7pm. 2 things I recognized when I woke up: I have a balloon in my blatter. I can't breathe. Forget the fact that my face had been sawed into, I was having serious complications with getting air. I read about this before the surgery and how patients create mantras to repeat while trying to breathe. I didn't think I'd have that problem, but I was resorting to my inner "Dory" by chanting, "just keep breathing. just keep breathing.". It seemed to work for awhile, but not before the morphine they were pumping into me began to make me sick. Broken jaw=killer strain when trying to vomit. Just FYI :)
When my fabulous nurses woke me up the next morning, it was like heaven when they told me I could get the cath and nose tube out. Once this happened, I was 90% better. Because of the fear of nauseous, I had no pain killers for 24 hours. It wasn't too bad...just anxiousness when I couldn't catch my breath. At this point, Dr. Miller stopped by to let me know that I was in Pediactric ICU. Considering that I'm 24, this is cracking me up. All my nurses thought I was the greatest patient ever, but they weren't wiping my rear so I understood their happiness. To keep the swelling down, I have to wear this contraption that look like basset hound ears filled with ice. It is highly annoying, but seems to be doing the trick as Dr. Miller said I was doing "exceptional". I try!
Keep in mind that my teeth are bound shut with 6 rubberbands. I can't speak or chew, but my profile is pretty much on target. I left the hospital this morning at 9 and had an 80 year old volunteer roll me out to the car. Down 6 stories, I swear he hit every bump, crack, and pothole on the way down. I couldn't fault him though. I'm pretty sure he didn't know my mouth was banded shut and he thought I was a hoity-toity snob. I couldn't manage a "thank you" and that was pretty upsetting to me. I've been in the bed for the majority of the day, with the exception of Mama coming to help wash my hair. No matter how hard you try, you just can't seem to get the "hospital" off of you. I have so many things I want to tell you, but I can't keep my eyes open long enough to write in paragraph form. Please see below for brief thoughts :) Will check in tomorrow!
1. Pretty sure if Jim Henson calls, I'll be able to do a stand-in for Miss Piggy's face.
2. Ensure is probably the most disgusting drink EVER CREATED.
3. My lips are numb. Pretty much my entire face is numb. Drooling seems to be all the rage with me.
4. I want to talk. I've thought of about 100 jokes today and I'm the only one who seems to think they're funny.
5. Never had a bloody nose before. Can positively tell you that if I never have one for the rest of my days, I'll be a happy camper.
6. Even Long John Silver's commercials are beginning to appeal to me.
7. If I could just SMELL a McDonald's french fry, it will make my year!
8. I have a balloon in my room. Watching it float around reminds me of what my head must look like at this point. :)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Day (Negative) One
Today is Tuesday, July 27, 2010. I feel like I need to accept the fact that I am having Orthognathic (jaw, lower jaw, to be specific) Surgery tomorrow. TOMORROW! This is something that I have been anxiously awaiting since 8th grade when a fellow classmate jokingly called me "Jay Leno". While he has his funny moments, I'm totally cuter than Leno. I've been planning this for more than a year, but I still haven't come to terms with reality that it's less than 24 hours from now. I've been reading (and reading, and reading) others' blogs and while I wanted to keep this experience strictly private, I've been thinking it will do me 'good' to post daily "yacking" since I can't well, "yack", after tomorrow. Oh boy. What have I signed myself up for.
I know you are excited and would probablyPAY to see my face looking like it took a bad 12 rounds with Rocky Balboa, I'm pretty positive I won't be posting pics of this experience. I'm a pretty good BS'er, so I think I can color you a decent picture of what I look like without actually showing you. If I recover smoothly, I may change my mind. But I doubt it. Truly :)
I won't get all "medical" on you and try to explain exactly what this surgery entails, so I will give you the Kristin version. I wore braces for 2 years (age 12-14). At the time, my orthodontist, Dr. A. Wright Pond, suggested jaw surgery to correct my underbite and asymmetrical bottom jaw. This was in 1998 and this particular surgery was "unheard of". At the time, the surgery involved cutting my skin which would leave a significant amount of scarring, etc. My parents opted out of this option. So I wore braces for 2 years with the result of shiny, perfect teeth, with the exception of a crooked bite! Around 2007, I began to notice my upper teeth shifting. I consulted Dr. Pond again because I became really self-aware of the over-lapping teeth and he highly reccommended doing the surgery...again. I read and researched to the point where I thought I could perform the surgery on somebody :) I weighed the risks and decided it was definitely worth it. We began doing molds, impressions, pics, etc. and I had braces put on for the 2nd time (WAY TOO MANY TIMES IN ONE LIFETIME) in August of 2009. I met with my surgeon, Dr. Michael Miller, Commonwealth Oral and Facial Surgery, and we developed a game plan for surgery the summer of 2010...
Which brings me to this day! For now, I must be on a liquid diet for approximately 6 weeks, thus the reason why I OD'd on Krispy Kremes and Ukrop's Chocolate Chess Pie a little while ago...No wiring of the mouth, just rubber bands on my teeth for about 2 weeks. No scarring--everything is done on the inside of my mouth. I haven't had the chance to let myself get nervous quite yet. I try NOT to be a worrier, because I know whatever happens is supposed to happen. So if you're worried from the sound of this surgery, please don't be. Don't pray for me (I'll know I'll be a decent patient), pray for Dr. Miller, my surgeon. I'd hate to see what happens to my lovely broken face if he accidentally sneezes about an hour into the surgery :x I'll keep you posted...
I know you are excited and would probablyPAY to see my face looking like it took a bad 12 rounds with Rocky Balboa, I'm pretty positive I won't be posting pics of this experience. I'm a pretty good BS'er, so I think I can color you a decent picture of what I look like without actually showing you. If I recover smoothly, I may change my mind. But I doubt it. Truly :)
I won't get all "medical" on you and try to explain exactly what this surgery entails, so I will give you the Kristin version. I wore braces for 2 years (age 12-14). At the time, my orthodontist, Dr. A. Wright Pond, suggested jaw surgery to correct my underbite and asymmetrical bottom jaw. This was in 1998 and this particular surgery was "unheard of". At the time, the surgery involved cutting my skin which would leave a significant amount of scarring, etc. My parents opted out of this option. So I wore braces for 2 years with the result of shiny, perfect teeth, with the exception of a crooked bite! Around 2007, I began to notice my upper teeth shifting. I consulted Dr. Pond again because I became really self-aware of the over-lapping teeth and he highly reccommended doing the surgery...again. I read and researched to the point where I thought I could perform the surgery on somebody :) I weighed the risks and decided it was definitely worth it. We began doing molds, impressions, pics, etc. and I had braces put on for the 2nd time (WAY TOO MANY TIMES IN ONE LIFETIME) in August of 2009. I met with my surgeon, Dr. Michael Miller, Commonwealth Oral and Facial Surgery, and we developed a game plan for surgery the summer of 2010...
Which brings me to this day! For now, I must be on a liquid diet for approximately 6 weeks, thus the reason why I OD'd on Krispy Kremes and Ukrop's Chocolate Chess Pie a little while ago...No wiring of the mouth, just rubber bands on my teeth for about 2 weeks. No scarring--everything is done on the inside of my mouth. I haven't had the chance to let myself get nervous quite yet. I try NOT to be a worrier, because I know whatever happens is supposed to happen. So if you're worried from the sound of this surgery, please don't be. Don't pray for me (I'll know I'll be a decent patient), pray for Dr. Miller, my surgeon. I'd hate to see what happens to my lovely broken face if he accidentally sneezes about an hour into the surgery :x I'll keep you posted...
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