Not feeling it.

Warning: Very unflattering images to follow.

Okay - not this one. This is pre-op with Mom

Post-op in my hospital room.

Literally. I'm not feeling it. I can feel the left side of my lower lip and part of the left side of my chin. I CAN'T feel right side of my lower lip or the right side of my chin. (The chin being directly below the outside corners of my mouth...this means I CAN feel my cheeks!) The idea was to have less pain and/or be pain free. So, numbness about covers that. Be careful what you wish for kiddos!!! The idea has now evolved to having feeling in my face with no pain. If you catch me with drool, or soup on my face, be a doll and let me know. You don't even have to say anything. Just hand me a napkin! *There's actually been no drooling, but the food on the chin thing happens every time I try to eat.

Here are some more unflattering post-op pics. The compression bandages kept the swelling down a bit so when they came off, my face got HUGE. It's going down little by little.

HUGE. I wouldn't lie to you.

Okay, you're right. This is a forced smile. Is it really that easy to tell?

This is still a couple of days ago. Heat is supposed to take the swelling down. It's working. Very slowly.

Below are the most recent pics - yesterday evening after my followup at the surgeon's office. I'm still pretty swollen and the appointment, while full of good news (things look excellent according to the doc), made me miserable. He took off the rubber bands that kept my teeth together, had me stretch my jaw a little and then put bands back on only in the back. I can stretch against them to strengthen and stretch my jaw. Supposedly I can eat more stuff now-soft foods that I don't have to chew. But, it's really difficult to consume anything that's not liquid.

And, you can see the lovely yellow discoloration of my chin and neck. This is caused by the swelling. It's supposed to go 1/2 way down my chest in the next few days, but according to the doc, the yellow looks great. Silly me. I always thought yellow wasn't my color.

Okay kids, that's it until next time. The words for the day are HEAT and PROTEIN. Learn them. Use them.

Catching up?

Well, I realized today that I came home from the hospital on Friday and now it's Sunday. I've been doing a LOT of sleeping. But, I want to keep my pics, etc... updated.

On Friday morning I was wheeled through the super-secret-spy tunnel to the surgeon's office. It's not really super-secret or spy like, but more like a graveyard for old beds that don't work anymore.
At the surgeon's office x-rays were taken to make sure everything is doing what it's supposed to be doing. Apparently so far so good.


The yellow arrows point to the screws that are holding my lower jaw in place. The red arrows point to the shadowy part where the jaw was split and moved forward. And the green arrows point to where they moved the chin backwards. My stepdad says it looks like they used a toy jack in there to hold my chin in place.

I am contemplating this. Or rather, it's bright and I'm on drugs.

The pain level hasn't been so bad yet. Yesterday and today were supposed to be the worst days and if that's the case I've gotten off easy. It has been worse today, but I've just been sleeping through it!

I watched the first 4 episodes of the Buffy Season 1. It's a good thing I've seen them all before! I keep falling asleep. I'm not up for reading yet. I'm consuming a lot of liquids. Soup for dinner it is. And hopefully I get more of it down than on my shirt this time!

Break my face

On Wednesday, June 29, I went to the orthodontist for my pre-op surgical hooks and then to the surgeon's office for pre-admitting. It takes a long time when I go to the orthodontist because as he put it, he has a hard time delegating me out to anyone else. It's apparently a pretty difficult case. So I wait for him to work on me first hand and that's just fine with me. His staff is great! They make me feel right at home. There's a running joke with all the girls that I'm always there through lunch and I should brown bag it when I've got an appointment! Below are only about 1/3 of the models they took in preparation for the surgery...

On Thursday, July 30 at what was supposed to be 1pm (they took me in early...), I had a Bilateral Sagittal Split Osteotomy and a Genioplasty. My lower jaw as moved forward to correct my bite, but then my chin was moved back so that I don't resemble Jay Leno! And, then the obligatory post op...

T minus 1

Tomorrow is the big day! I've got a million and one things to do today. I'm feeling much better about it than I did yesterday. I've got appointments today to get the surgical hooks and for my pre-op at the hospital. And, I've got last minute things to finish up for work. It'll be a busy day and I'm thinking that's a good thing!

Now that's what I'm talking about...

but not for long!

I got good news yesterday! I'm only having the lower jaw surgery. No upper!! AND the hospital called to say my insurance is paying 80% of the hospital charges! I'm so excited!!! This is significant for a few reasons. 1. I was originally told that my insurance wasn't covering anything. 2. Upper would have doubled the surgery cost. And 3. I'm told the recovery for lower is easier than for both. Same length of time for recovery, but I'll have an easier time.

I'm getting a little nervous. Okay. That's a lie. Today has been rough. I've done most of the grocery shopping for the first bit of recovery. The blender is set up. The ice is in the freezer. And the white board is ready for communication. I've got the Buffy series to re-watch, my Kindle loaded up and the DVR recording. Although I'm sure I'll sleep away the first couple of days.

Ready or not? We'll soon find out...

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I got a surgery date a while back. I'm T-minus 16 days today. I'm having...well...jaw surgery. This much I know for sure. I went to the surgeon's office today for models/molds/measurements, etc...and found out that even though we thought I was only having surgery on the lower jaw, I might need surgery on the upper jaw too. I'm praying that it's only the lower - a BSSO (Bilateral Sagittal Split Osteotomy).

However, it's looking like it might include the upper - a LeFort Osteotomy.


According to the surgeon, the recovery time is roughly the same, but the recovery itself is very different. I chose not to get all details on how much harder it will be if I get the upper too until I know for sure that's the case. Ignorance is bliss? I'm kidding myself to say that. I'll worry about it until I know. I'm hoping they don't keep me in the dark until surgery day. Nothing like changing it up at the last minute.

Put your money where your mouth is.

For several weeks now I've been in a battle with my insurance company over coverage of my upcoming jaw surgery. Well, I've been in battle. I doubt they've thought much about me. I've been thinking strategy and gathering my forces (fight them with the facts and lots of notes from lots of docs). I think they've got some automated stamping system that marks DISAPPROVED on the envelope before it's even been opened. But...I got a letter today saying that my 'grievance' had been received and they are reviewing my case. I'm slightly hopeful. So, keep your fingers crossed that they decide in my favor and that it's a covered procedure! I forgot to check out how long they have to reply. Hopefully I'll know before the actual surgery.

I also had an appointment with the orthodontist today. This might have been my last adjustment before surgery. I go back in 3 weeks for new x-rays and molds/models to make sure I'm ready. I'm on a time line here people. Let's get this moving. The goal is mid-late July...