Weeks 1-2 Post-OP

Okay, I have been a little MIA since getting home from the hospital, but I haven't been feeling too bad. My first couple of days home I was in some pain and utilized the hydrocodone I was prescribed when I left the hospital, but by day 3 or 4 the pain subsided and I have been maintaining on Ibuprofen since then. Week 1 was fairly boring. I slept a lot. I ate very little. I took my meds and cared for my incisions. I felt a little like a zombie, because I had so many cuts and my head felt so huge. However, by the 1 week mark I felt well enough to socialize with some family and eat some semi-real food!

The mac n cheese had to be majorly over-cooked so I could just let it melt in my mouth, but the calories got me feeling almost human again! Unfortunately, the next day I hit a complication. While my left neck incision seemed to be healing well my right incision began to swell and bleed. It was pretty gross and a little painful. Over the past weekend I took Ibuprofen, iced my incision, and used lots of polysporin. By yesterday the incision was still draining but the swelling had gone down and the discharge was mostly clear instead of bloody.

Today I had my 2 week post-op appointment with Dr. L. I talked to him about the issue with my right neck incision. He examined it and said it doesn't appear infected (WHEW!), and believes that my saliva gland is draining through the open incision for some reason. This is a pretty rare complication, but it isn't very serious. He prescribed some medication to dry up my saliva in hopes that will help my incision to fully heal. So far, it appears to be working because I haven't had any draining this afternoon.

Now that I am 2 weeks post-op I get to start using my Therabyte to exercise my jaw. I'm supposed to use it 6 times a day and do 10 reps each time. I didn't have this tool last time so I am really hoping that it helps. I am also continuing to experience numbness in my chin and lower lip and I can't raise my eyebrows. For now, we're just going to keep an eye on it and hope for improvement. I have another follow-up in about 5 weeks. If there isn't improvement at that point we'll have to look at options.

For now I have the green light to begin experimenting with real food. Dr. L said that my joints and stable and eating shouldn't hurt anything. So, here's hoping!

This is me at 2 weeks post-op:

Surgery Day!

SO, it's surgery day! I'm going to give you a brief play to play, because I'm posting after the fact.

I arrived at the hospital at roughly 5:00am to be admitted and do all the pre-surgery stuff.

All set with my ugly yellow hospital socks, tubes, and wires. Unlike last time, I was familiar with the routine and didn't need any anti-anxiety meds before surgery. They gave me the run down, and I tried my best to reiterate how sick I got last time. Surgery ended up lasting longer than expected (8 hours instead of the projected 6), because they had quite a bit of difficulty removing the hardware from my previous surgery.

So, after a day of surgery I woke up in recovery just wanting to die. I was in pain and extremely nauseated. Throwing up after jaw surgery is THE WORST. Apparently, I was in recovery for a few hours because I had difficulty waking up and I was so sick. When I finally got to my room I was joined my my mom and boyfriend, given more effective medication to help with pain and nausea, and I promptly passed out.

Day 1 post-op ended up not being nearly as bad as last time. They kept my pain and nausea under control and I was actually able to eat some in the hospital! Although I looked rough I didn't feel too bad.

As you can see, I was pretty swollen. They made incisions on either side of my neck and along my ears into my hairline just a bit. I was in the hospital for just a day. Since I did well with my pain and eating they went ahead and let me go home the next night after surgery. The worst part was definitely waking from surgery, but pain and nausea were kept at bay by medication and I felt much more aware and interactive than I had last time at this point. I am currently on a pureed food diet, but I do not have a splint or wire keeping my mouth closed. So, I feel relatively normal all things considered. I am hopeful for a smoother recovery than I had with my last jaw surgery!

Pre-op Appointment- 1 Month til Surgery

Hey everyone! I met with Dr. L this morning for my pre-op appointment to go over the final details of my surgery. Surgery is set for May 16th at 5:00 am, but there is a possibility it could be a little later. We'll get the official surgery time the day before surgery.

I am so thankful for Dr. L. He has had my back and worked with me so well for the past 7 years. I kind of can't believe it has been that long since I went through this last time. He has worked with me long enough to know I would come to the pre-op appointment with an exhaustive list of questions. So, he just pulled up a chair and we went through them together. I won't bore you guys with my whole list, but I'll go over what I consider the most important information.

1. I was most concerned with how long the joint would last. In previous conversations Dr. L had made it seem like there was some concern about this. However, he told me that it is unlikely that I would need another joint replacement after this one. So, with any luck this should actually be my LAST jaw surgery!

2. I also asked about appearance changes. Obviously, my last surgery resulted in a big change. I'm not hoping for a big change this time, though. I know my open bit has come back a little bit, which means that my jaw has moved. I can tell in the picture above that my chin looks further back than what I have grown used to. Dr. L said that changes will be smaller, but my jaw will be moved back into place to correct the open bit and my chin will be further forward again.

3. I'll be in the hospital for 2 nights, and surgery should take about 6 hours. They will be removing all the hardware from my previous surgery. Hopefully this will decrease the problems I have been having with severe sinus infections due to the screws in that area. 

4. Recovery will be similar to last time, 6-8 weeks. However, I won't have to deal with having a splint or being banded shut. Dr. L said I need to be on a very soft diet, pureed foods only, but I should be able to get back to normal sooner than last time. It will be based on my pain level, not my ability. My jaw will be secure after surgery.

So, all in all it was a very productive conversation. I went through pre-admittance, did my lab work, and made plans for the day of surgery. I think it will be my boyfriend and my mom with my in the hospital. There is only a little under a month to go, and I'm all nerves. For the next week I will be focused on finishing up this semester and getting things ready. I'll post another update closer to surgery or if any new information comes up.

& The Countdown Begins!

55 days until surgery!

I got the call today from the nurse at my surgeon's office. My jaw joints are good to go, and they're ready to schedule my surgery! Since I'm taking classes until the end of April, and I have some important events at the beginning of May I chose May 16th for my surgery date. That is only 55 days away!

Now, during those 55 days I have to complete my preliminary exams, get clients prepped for the transition, and complete my coursework for this semester. Not to mention all the plans I have to get in place for transitioning out of and then back into work. There is a lot to get done, but I'm trying to take it one thing at a time. For right now, I have to focus on finishing my preliminary exams before I can take care of anything else.

I go to see Dr. L on April 17th for my 1st pre-op appointment. We'll be finalizing the details of surgery and then I'll meet with the anesthesiologist. Given that this isn't my first rodeo, I don't have a ton of questions but I do plan to check my understanding of everything. My primary concern is recovery time. Despite having this surgery planned I still have an active summer ahead of me, and I want to make sure I don't have anything planned that will be impossible for me. For the most part I'll be taking it easy, but I do have some travel plans for the 4th of July and my birthday (also in July). So, I'm hoping for no complications and a relatively easy recovery time. Fingers crossed.

Next week I am going to see my ENT for the superinfection still living in my face. It is my hope that we can get it cleared up with antibiotics and nose rinses and such. I want to make sure it is cleared up prior to my surgery. I'm hoping that surgery will help with these sinus infections. My ENT told me last year that the hardware in my face is what has been causing the bacteria build up in my face. So, I'm hoping that will be better once the hardware is gone. I'll post another update following that appointment.

Wishing you all the best!

CT Scan

Hello again!

Since my last post I finally had my CT scan in preparation for surgery. They will use this scan to create my custom jaw joints. So, that is pretty exciting and means that things are moving forward as planned. Yay!

On the downside, my CT scan apparently showed a pretty severe sinus infection. The radiology report literally used the words "super infection". So, that is no fun. My surgeon contacted my ENT and set me up for an appointment at the end of March. I'm concerned because I had sinus surgery last May, and I'm worried that I'm headed down the same road. I don't know how this infection might affect the timeline of my jaw surgery. I have things set pretty tightly. There is never a good time to take weeks off to recover from surgery, but I've only been able to arrange a small window of time that it won't screw things up too badly. So, I'm really hoping this doesn't get things off track. I meet with the ENT later this month. So, hopefully that appointment will answer some questions. After that I'll meet with the surgeon at the beginning of April. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll get my surgery date then.

Tomorrow I have another check in with my orthodontist. I'm thinking everything is on track there, but it'll be nice to get confirmation. I'll post another update in a couple of days when I know more.

Orthodontist Check-in #1

Hey guys!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday and new year!

I definitely loved my break from work and classes, but I've been back to the grind for a few weeks now. I had my first check-in with Dr. K following having my braces put back on in December yesterday. Everything was pretty routine. He did some tightening and everything seems to be on track there. He did seem a little concerned about my surgery coming up so quickly. May feels like no time at all. So, he gave my the green light to get the scans that are needed to have my custom joints made.

I'll be calling on Monday to get that appointment set up. To my knowledge its just a CT scan and they'll use that to make the joint prosthetic specifically for my jaw :)

I'm actually doing some planning for the summer already. That is partially because of having surgery coming up, and I'm partially just dreaming about the summer because I have a MOUNTAIN of things to get done before then and I am already ready to be done. I'm being optimistic about what recovery will look like. For example, I'm planning a b-day party with a friend that will be occurring only 2 weeks after my surgery. I know I won't be able to eat anything, but I'm hoping to be functional enough to be present. I know recovery will take a while, but I don't want to lose my entire summer either. Especially, because this will be the last time I get this much time off all at once.

I'm trying to stay focused on this Spring semester. From now until the end of August I have 3 classes of my own, 2 that I'm co-teaching, research, presentations, and grants to apply for. Also, I'm attempting a new business venture by preparing to open a group counseling practice in the Fall. LIFE. IS. CRAZY. It is all pretty exciting, though. In all the craziness I'm trying to enjoy the now as much as possible.

All in all I think 2019 will be a good year. Surgery will happen, but hopefully it will only be a small chapter of the bigger story. As always, I will update again when there is something to update!

Brace Face!

Well, the process officially started today! I had an appointment with my orthodontist, Dr. K, that I begged for after meeting with Dr. L last week and learning about the need to speed up my timeline. I wasn't totally sure what to expect from this appointment, but Dr. K decided to go ahead and put my new round of braces on. So, here I am all geared up for round 2 of this crazy journey.

Luckily, I was able to get clear brackets again. I think that helps with the overall appearance, but the consensus among my friends/family is still that I look like a teenager. Since I'm turning 30 in 2019 I'm not feeling too broken-hearted about that. It is interesting going through this process as a professional and business owner this time around. Last time I got my braces put on I was 21 and in the process of finishing up my undergraduate degree. It was actually kind of cool to reflect on this whole process with Dr. K today. He has known me and been helping me for almost a decade now. I have been really blessed with a great team through this process. It was difficult for me to decide to go ahead with this surgery, and it has really helped my anxiety knowing that I have a couple of absolutely excellent doctors who have my back.

Now that the braces are on it is a waiting game again. I'll be going back to Dr. K at the end of January for adjustments. He originally said correcting the current misalignment in my teeth would only take a couple of month to correct. So, I'm guessing it will be straightened out (see what I did there? ;)) by the end of February/beginning of March. At that point I'll go get a fancy CT scan done so that my custom joint can start being made. Theoretically, that will also take a couple of months to be completed. So, we're currently on schedule for surgery somewhere around the beginning of May. Here is hoping everything stays according to schedule!

Until my next appointment I'll be readjusting to a mouth full of braces, enjoying the holidays, and then getting back to the grind of graduate school and work.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!