Day 43: She Speaks!

After six weeks of waiting patiently, and silently...I can speak! I am officially band-free from now onward and it feels so good. It was initially a  bit strange to experience having the bands off for extended periods of time, but I feel like that was just do to a familiarity that I developed for them over the past months.So far the only speech difficulties I am having are that my S's are slightly snaky, but it is improving daily. What was even more otherworldly than speaking these past few days was eating.

Eating what you might ask? Real food! Real, solid, chewable food. Keep in mind that the food I can now eat is still required by my surgeon to be soft. "As soft or softer than fish." as he says, which, really doesn't sound appetizing when put that way. However, even on a soft chew diet, chewing after over a month is more marvelous than you could possible imagine. It's comparable to that feeling children have when waking to the "perfect" present lying under a Christmas tree, or finding a large sum of money in the pocket of a jacket you haven't worn in a few months. My first meal, in fact, was tacos, soft shell of course.

Aside from eating and speaking, even more good news came today at my orthodontic appointment. Such great news that I believe it deserves a drum-roll (in a way)...

....
....
....
....

My braces will come off in one to two months! I'm absolutely ecstatic. All that has to be fixed at the moment are minor details including small gaps that appeared in my upper teeth due to wearing the bands, and a slightly rotated lower incisor. Just from the time my wires were adjusted this morning until this evening I can see a significant reduction of the gaps that had formed, however; the rapid movement of my teeth resulted in my mouth hurting a bit. Although if a slightly annoying amount of pain means that I'll get my braces off this Fall, I can take it without a problem.

Unfortunately, Photobucket was down when I went to edit, so the fonts are rather lackluster.

Day 31: Freedom!... kind of...

For those of you that have been reading continuously, so probably 10 people, I apologize for the gap between this post and the last. However, due to the nature of my last appointment, I acquired a certain amount of freedom that I could just not pass up.

My last post-op appointment was just over a week ago and it was full of lovely surprises. To start it off, we checked out just how far I could open my mouth at that point in time. The goal was to get to 30mm by the six week mark, and guess what? I was already at 19mm and it was only three weeks in! This proved that I was progressing well, so I was able to get some other perks as well. The elastic bands that hold my teeth together were reduced to two instead of five, and I only have to wear said bands for 18-20 hours a day rather than 22. My progress also opened up a variety of new, mellow, activities. Golfing and kayaking, two things I love, are now within my reach and I cannot express just how fantastic it feels to get moving around more after three weeks of well...walking. My next activities mile mark will come around week ten, when I apparently can ride a waverunner again. That also happens to be when I will need my next post-op appointment.

It seems like that is a big jump, from a three week appointment to a ten week, but in reality there isn't much my surgeon can do until then because bone growth does not begin to register on all of their fancy machines until that time. So, he gave me a list of things to do and mile markers between now and then and said to just call if something is a little off.

•  Keep doing mouth stretches (open ten seconds, then close ten, repeat ten times) to get to 30mm by week six.

•  Stay on a no chew diet until week six, then on to soft chew (consistency of fish and softer)

• Meet up with my ortho for further treatment at week six. Until this point in time we have refrained from moving my teeth around and messing with wires and brackets so that my jaw could heal.

• -Bands are officially off at week six, that is, unless my orthodondist needs me to wear bands for repositioning.

As you can probably tell from this post's list, week six is the next interesting spot on my jaw surgery timeline, so posts will be weekly (if that) between now and then. Time is absolutely flying though, I cannot believe that it has already been a month since jaw surgery. Week six better come quickly as well though; this no chew diet deal is getting old and I really want a peanut butter and honey sandwich.

Also, settings that I was unaware of until now are officially changed and anyone is free to ask questions or comment regardless of whether or not they have a Google account.(:

Day 20: Tips and Tricks

Picture it, Bill Conti's "Gonna Fly Now" ( the Rocky theme) is blaring as I, ever so carefully as to not hurt my jaw, charge up a huge stairway. As I reach the tops of the steps I throw my fists in the air because... I made it to day twenty! Typing out the title of this post, I could hardly believe that day twenty had arrived. It seems like a huge number even though I still have a long way to go. However, in these first twenty days of recovery I have learned some things, and these tricks have helped a lot.

Sara's Tips and Tricks to Making Jaw Surgery Suck Less

Article I: Food Fixes:

The food struggle, it has been one of my major qualms with jaw surgery. It's not that you can't eat, you obviously have to for your jaw to repair itself, it's that your options are slim...or so I thought. Once I graduated to a no-chew diet, I was ecstatic. It really makes life much easier. Although, I didn't want to eat merely applesauce and yogurt. My stomach was set on more substantial food, so I bent the rules a little bit and found these more unconventional loopholes.

1. Cake - Cake is fantastic for a no chew diet because after a week of liquids, you will really want dessert. So mash up some cake with a fork and you instantly have a delicious, swallow-friendly, dessert. 

2. Angel Hair Pasta- You can't eat it in it's whole form, but if you cut it into very small bites (1cm or less) you can have virtually any pasta sauce you want from marinara to Kraft mac and cheese. 

3. Pie - Like cake, all you have to do is mash it up and you're set to go! Cream pie works the best, but fruit pies can be smashed as well.

4. Potatoes - Mashed potatoes are really versatile and easy to eat no-chew food. My favorite version is twice baked, yum!

5. Pork Ribs - I know what you're thinking, and no I didn't take too much medicine today. If you're a meat fan, shred up some ribs and add a little more sauce than you would regularly and you're set to go!

6. Chips - Once again, no I didn't overdo it on the meds. If you really want your favorite salty snack, you can crush any chip or cracker into a fine powder and then place it on your tongue. Also,this sounds silly, but sliced Cheetos melt in your mouth.

7. Chocolate - Chop a candy bar into tiny bits, add some peanut butter or caramel if you so choose, and then let it melt in your mouth. It's an easy way to cure a chocolate craving. 

Aside from these more unconventional options, you can always revert back to the blender to get some more healthy fruits and veggies or there are always the options of soups, applesauce, yogurt, baby food (there are some that aren't gross!), pudding, and basically anything else you can imagine. 

Article II: Calming the Cough:
My cough was due to congestion, but these tips may help with other coughs as well.

1. Cough Syrup - This is rather obvious, but when your bands are on it can be difficult to swallow thicker syrups, so water it down and put it in a shot glass.

2. Take a Shower - The steam is really helpful, and regardless if you've showered that day, standing there for 10 minutes can really help.

3.Humidifiers - My humidifier has saved my bum when it comes to sleeping. I leave it on all night and it's the only solution that keeps me from waking up coughing in the middle of the night. 

Please remember that I am not a doctor, and if you have a cough CALL YOUR DOCTOR for professional help first, I did. These are only tips, not a fool-proof cure all. 

Article III: Nasal Nuisances:

I left this tip for last because it honestly is a little gross. While recovering you aren't allowed to blow your nose because the pressure of blowing your nose can mess with the bone healing, and your sinuses have to heal as well. The prescribed decongestants don't always do the job. So, if you're all plugged up because of mucus, get a cotton swab and wet one end with a hydrogen peroxide/water mixture and gently swab out your nose without diving into your nasal cavity. Once again, not a doctor, talk to a professional first. 

That's it for my tips and tricks at the moment, new post-op appointment post this Thursday or Friday!