8 Week (and 1 day) Update

Hi everyone! I know it's been awhile since I've updated my blog, so I thought that the 8 week mark would be a good check point. I've made a video showing my progress up through six weeks, but I've been having some trouble getting it to upload in good quality. I think it might have something to do with my bad internet connection at school.

As of right now, I've been eating pretty much everything I want, except crunchy foods and things that are hard to chew like steaks and other tough meats. Eating is still a type of "exercise" for my jaw and facial muscles, and they just aren't quite strong enough to deal with those foods yet. In addition, I still have to cut up some foods because my mouth doesn't open as wide as I would like it too which makes it difficult to bite into some things.

While I feel like pretty much all of my swelling has gone down, when I compare weekly pictures to each other, I'm amazed at how different I look each time. For example, these are my pictures from 6, 7, and 8 weeks.

6 Weeks

 7 Weeks

8 Weeks

In addition, here are before and after pictures for today (for a larger version, click on the picture):

I honestly couldn't be happier with the way things turned out. However, sometimes when I see myself in the mirror and smile, it's hard to think that it's actually me and my smile. It's a difficult concept to explain,  but I think it's worth mentioning. So many changes have taken place in regards to my bite, smile, and overall face that I'm still trying to comprehend them all. 

Hopefully I will get the video I made up in a couple weeks when I go home and have a better internet connection. I will also try to do an update every two-ish weeks just to show you how things are coming along. :)

Day 40: Eating Again!!!!

Sorry for the delay in posting, but I've been very busy over the past few days.

Friday I went to see the orthodontist in the morning so they could fix my broken bracket. It was slightly entertaining because I saw another orthodontist in the practice who I don't normally see. He asked me to open my mouth wider, and when I told him I couldn't he asked why. I told him that I had just had surgery about five weeks ago. He asked what kind of surgery, and I explained. Upon hearing the explanation, he said "Oh that surgery! Well you look fantastic!" They decided to clip off the back bracket since it really isn't doing much at the moment. When I go back in October they'll probably put it back on before they adjust my wires since I should be able to open my mouth wider at that point.

Later Friday afternoon, I went to go see the oral surgeon. He said that everything is looking good. I can now chew soft foods and gradually work up to a normal diet over the next few weeks. I also only have to wear my rubberbands at night which also makes things easier. The surgeon also said that if I was at home and could go to the orthodontist every month, I would probably be able to get my braces off after 3 or 4 months. However, since I'm away at school and can only go every 6 weeks to 2 months, the process will almost definitely be prolonged. Even though this is disappointing because it would be wonderful to have my braces off as soon as possible, at this point I'm willing to wait patiently so that everything comes out the way it should. I've gone through so much that a couple extra months can't be that big of a problem.

Since I could eat, my family took me out to eat at Olive Garden. The food was delicious, but I had to consciously think about chewing because my initial instinct now is to just mush the food with my tongue. In addition, eating is really like exercise. All of the 'chewing muscles' in my face haven't been used for almost 6 weeks. Therefore, eating still isn't enjoyable and takes a lot of work.

Later that evening, we went to my brother's first football game of the year. Towards the end of the game, my jaw was very sore from all of the chewing, and I had to take some ibuprofen when I came home.

I'll continue to keep you updated as things move along, and here are today's pictures.

Day 35: Five Weeks Post-Op

Wow! I'm almost done with my first week of school! Everything has been so crazy, and a lot has happened. First of all, after comparing the pictures I took tonight with the pictures from a week ago, I can actually see some improvement. I'm so glad things are continuing to progress and get better.

That being said, it has been a little bit difficult being in a dorm without air conditioning as well as being so active all the time. Especially when it is hot and humid, my jaw seems more sore than usual and my face tends to feel more swollen.

I'm still working hard at eating. Every time I walk into the dining hall I feel like it's a gamble. Sometimes they have a decent soup I can eat, a good pasta, or rice, but other times I'm stuck eating a PB&J with apple sauce. I do cook and eat in my dorm every now and then, especially when I'm feeling really hungry. I love scrambled eggs (although doing the dishes is a pain), Stouffer's macaroni and cheese, and chicken noodle soup at hand. Hopefully I'll be able to start chewing soft foods this weekend which would make things a little bit easier.

Tomorrow after my classes, I'm going home so that I can go to the orthodontist and oral surgeon. The only reason I have to go to the orthodontist is because the bracket on my very last molar came loose the other day and I have to get that taken care of. The visit to the oral surgeon will simply be another check-up where he looks at my bite and rubberbands. I'll have a special update on Friday to tell you how everything goes.

Here are today's pictures. I decided that from now on I'll post a before and after picture of my smile just for fun. :)

Day 28: One Month Post-Op

Wow! Has it already been a month since my surgery? I can hardly believe it! It seems like just yesterday I was taking pain killers and eating through a syringe. To say the least, I think I've come a long way.

Every time I look at the pictures I take of myself on a daily basis compared to my "before" pictures, I can't believe what an incredible change there has been in the way I look. Going into the surgery, I knew that I would end up looking different, but I never expected this much change. To be completely honest, I couldn't have been happier with the way things are coming along. Here's a look at how different my smile is:

Click the picture for a larger view.

For the past few days I have been extremely busy with training for Welcome Week, and every now and then I'm tired and my mouth gets a little bit sore. Therefore, I try to utilize the small amount of free time I have by laying down and relaxing.

I still am a little bit swollen in my cheeks and upper lip, but as I've said before, that will take a few months to disappear. Since a lot of the changes from day to day are no longer substantial, I will only be updating my blog on a weekly basis from now on unless something earth shattering happens.

Here are the rest of today's pictures:

Day 24-25: Back at School!!!

Yesterday I moved back into my dorm at school. I love the way my room is set up and I'm working on getting everything in place.

I've had a few things to do for my training so far, and everyone in the Welcome Week Leader group is wonderful. Last night when we had a meeting to introduce ourselves and they had ordered Jimmy John's for us. I could tell that everyone was kind of wondering why I wasn't eating so I explained that I had jaw surgery 3 1/2 weeks ago and still can't chew.

When I went to Target yesterday with my mom and sisters we made sure that I loaded up on a lot of soft food and I think that I'm going to be alright as far as eating.

Overall, I'm so happy to be back at school, and I can't wait to until all of my friends come back so I can show them my new smile! I think the change of scenery and being busy helped make me feel better even though I'm very tired now. I'm looking forward to a great year and will keep you updated on how things are going.

Here are today's pictures:

Day 23: Another Visit to the Oral Surgeon

This afternoon I went back to the oral surgeon for another check-up and everything went really well. He said that everything is looking fantastic. I now have two sets of two rubberbands in my mouth. The first set of two stretches from the front of my top teeth to the middle of my lower jaw. They are used to keep my lower jaw forward as it heals. Here is a picture:

The second set of two rubber bands is in the back of my mouth and they are in the shape of boxes. They are used to bring my bite together in the back because right now my back top molars don't touch my back bottom molars. In addition, he also said that when my braces are eventually off, he can do a simple in-office procedure that would remove some of the gum that makes my smile "gummy." Finally, he almost told me that I could start chewing at my own discretion, but then realized that it hasn't even been a month yet. He said that I should try cutting "normal food" up in to super tiny pieces and then mush them around in my mouth. 

A few weeks ago my aunt brought me over a baby food grinder to try out. I've been reluctant to use it, but today I sucked it up and put some macaroni and cheese through it. It actually didn't taste too bad. Maybe I'll try putting some other stuff through it in the upcoming days. Tonight, I was able to eat some of Red Robin's chicken tortilla soup by cutting up the chicken pieces. It was delicious.

Overall, today was a much better day and I've had a lot more energy. I'm looking forward to moving into my dorm tomorrow and meeting all of the other Welcome Week leaders! :)

Here are today's pictures:

Days 20-22: Getting Ready to Go Back to School

The past few days have had a lot of ups and downs. First of  all, I've had a lot of trouble eating dairy for the past few days. On Tuesday, I threw up after eating yogurt, and felt sick for about an hour after I ate ice cream. This has made it hard to eat enough during the day because dairy has made up a huge part of my diet.

Yesterday, I went with my mom and sisters to Greenfield Village. It was nice to spend some time with them before I go back to school. However, all of the walking around made me tired and I had to take a nap when I go home.

Today, I spent a lot of time packing for school since I go back tomorrow. As of right now almost everything is packed up. Once again, all of the activity mixed with not really eating enough has left me feeling exhausted. I can only hope that at school I'll have enough energy to be involved with all of the activities that I have to participate in for Welcome Week for incoming freshman.

I go back to the oral surgeon tomorrow before I leave for school, and hopefully there is only good news! :)

Here are pictures from today: