2 weeks!

Holy Crap!

Well, its time for my infamous 2 week update! I can't believe that only 2 weeks ago I was just getting released from the hospital. It hasn't flown, and it hasn't been easy, but I am in awe of the progress I've made. Most people don't even notice anything wrong with my face anymore, well except for the fact that I can't talk. :)

I went back to the doc again today, and unfortunately I still have to leave my bands in almost all the time. That really frustrates me, because he doesn't want to see me before I leave to see Cameron, which means that I'm going to have my bands in basically all the time for our first week together. Lameee! I see him again on the 24th, and I think he'll let me take them out then- or at least thats what he alluded to. Absolutely nothing new to report- he just gave me new cinnamon mouthwash which is epic- i love it. Its supposed to help "deflate" the tissue on the sides of my face inside my mouth, so I think that if i use it like a mad-woman over the next few days my swelling will go down even more! Hooray!

My new task on my mind is how the hell am I going to take a giant liter of salt water, this big thing of mouth wash, and all of my other "mouth care" stuff with me to Mississippi? I was planning on traveling only with carry-ons again, but I just don't know if thats possible with all of my mouth washes. I know I can just make salt water there, but I have no idea how i'm going to finagle my way into getting my new stuff onto a plane. Oh well, its just something else to occupy my mind with, i suppose!! Maybe it will make time go by faster.

I leave MONDAY. Eek! I am so excited. I got a letter from Cameron today, saying that he's officially an Infantryman. I'm so proud of him :) This time next week he will be graduated and by my side! Woo! Its been such a long journey, but its been worth it.

Now I just have to find a way to pack for school and everything in the next 72 hours! And my best friend is back in town so I'm spending all day tomorrow with her... yikes! Its a good thing i'll be busy i guess- i'm going crazy counting down the days!!

Here's some photos I took last night. As promised, a smile one too!! :)

Have a great weekend!!

:)

Day 11

Well, I went back to the doctor's today, no good news to report. He actually added a third rubber band to my mouth, going across my front teeth- it hurts like a bitch. He wants to try to straighten out my bite a little bit more, since my midline is still a little off on the bottom. Ugh! Haha, I was really hoping to get un-banded today. But maybe, just maybe, friday will be the day. I just really don't want to go down to get Cameron and not be able to talk. Although, maybe thats a good thing because I won't be able to shut up once he's home :)

Doc did take out most of my stitches inside my mouth though!!

What a relief that was! I can smile and laugh now without a lot of pain :) its awesome! So, i guess there is good news there.

I went out for milkshakes tonight with some of my friends, its so great to be able to get out and about again- i basically look normal! I got to take off my bands and show off my new teeth to everyone, and i could sing in the car!! I forgot how much I love singing.

Not much new to report... Although, one of my friends, Shawn- his brother had jaw surgery last year, and he looked at me and said "now, I don't know when you had your surgery, but based off of how my brother looked when he had it, I'm going to say you're almost 4 weeks out". That made my night! Haha, he was really surprised when I said that it was only day 11 :)

One thing that I swear by is Arnica root. I don't know if you've heard of it or not, but it is an extract from the daisy flower, and it is used to relieve both bruising and swelling. It comes in (as far as i know) both a topical cream and little tablets that you dissolve under your tongue, and it works wonders! I started taking it the day after surgery, and I am convinced its helped a lot with my recovery. You can buy it at most vitamin stores, as far as i know. If you're about to have surgery, I'd really recommend it. Start taking it maybe a week or so before surgery, and keep using it afterwards :)

Here's some update pictures :) not much new to report, just the swelling is going down slowly and surely. Maybe i'll post a smile picture in a few days. I hope my smile looks more normal soon- one of my best friends is coming home from Utah in a few days and I haven't seen her since school, so I'll be smiling plenty!! She comes home on thursday, and then I'm leaving a week from today (monday) to go to see Cameron's family, so i'm going to try really hard to make my face function normally by then!

I'll write again soon!

Day 8

wow. i suck at this. but honestly, the every other day (or few days) updates really show the progress i've been making :)

Today was honestly the first day i've been in a bad mood from my surgery. I was just in a bad mood in general because Cameron has been gone for so long (thats honestly the real reason i was grumpy), but just the general discomfort i've been in from the surgery put me over the edge. I've calmed down now, but i was pretty pissy for most of the evening. Sorry parents :(

I've made a LOT of progress in my swelling and bruising- I am so excited for it to go all the way down! I know it will be a while before that happens, but a girl can dream, right? I'm expecting the swelling to slow down and start to take longer to go away soon though. Also the stitches in my mouth have been driving me nuts! I really hope this means that they're healing. They're starting to pop out of the skin and they make talking and smiling really extra-uncomfortable. I can't wait until they're gone. Both sides of my mouth have become raw from having my braces dig into them too. My mouth is just a really sad place right now- maybe its a good thing its kept shut most of the day.

I went to Dr L's on thursday, and unfortunately wasn't given the good news i've been wa

iting for. Oh well- maybe that will come next week, since i'm seeing him again monday and friday. However, i did get the stitches in my face out, and they didn't hurt at all. That was nice. Also he told me i could sleep in my own bed!! So, last night i slept on my stomach and loved every minute of it :)

Overall he said everything looks great. I can eat anything i can mash up with a spoon, too! The problem area around the stitches in the right side of my mouth cleared up and looks fine now, but i have developed a yeast infection in my mouth. That sounds so disgusting, doesn't it?! He said it happens sometimes, because of the antibiotics i've been taking. I'm glad he caught it though, because I sure wouldn't have! Basically the only sign that you have it (or the only sign i showed) was my tongue had a lot of white stuff on it. I thought it was normal because i'm not brushing my teeth as well as i used to (because i have to be careful), can't brush my tongue, and my mouth doesn't get a lot of air anymore, but really it's yeast on my tongue. Yuck! He gave me yet another prescription, which consists of 5 tablets a day that dissolve on my tongue, for 2 weeks. I can't wait until its over, because that 2 weeks ends exactly on the day that I get to see cameron Turn Blue :)

Overall its been a good past few days. I've been getting out of the house a lot, going for walks, and seeing my friends- i feel human again!! Now i just need the bands to come off :) Haha

Here's some update pictures for you. They were taken this morning, and i think the swelling has even gone down since the day's gone on. I'm convinced being on your feet helps a lot.

Profile:

Front :)

On a completely un-related note, I just wanted to tell the world that currently my incredible soldier is making his way to the top of Honor Hill to become an official Infantryman. I could't be prouder of him. :)

Au demain,

Fayth

Day 6...oops.

Hello world. I promise i didn't die in the OR. I've just been a space cadet lately.

I got my surgery last Thursday the 29th, at 2 PM. It went great. I went to the hospital with my entourage (hah) about an hour before, met with all of the doctors, nurses, and murses, and went on with the procedure! I don't know if i've specified, but I just got surgery on my lower jaw- a mandibular osteotomy to be exact. Now that i'm thinking about it, i don't know the measurements that they moved my jaw- i'll have to ask next time i see Dr. L. All i know is that they moved it back and straightene

d it out.

They ran my IV (through my hand! nobody told me that- i almost passed out, haha), and walked me into the OR- to which i promptly made a dumb comment about how it felt like I walked onto Grey's Anatomy. I climbed onto the table, and was OUT like a light. I woke up to them removing a tube from my nose- NOT PLEASENT at all. It was so weird to feel my bottom teeth behind my front- I had never felt that before, and honestly wasn't expecting it for some reason. It still weirds me out sometimes, actually!

We wanted to get out of the hospital early the next morning, but I unfortunately kept getting sick all night. I was really hoping I would be one of the lucky ones who goes through the entire process without getting sick, but alas- I forgot I'm not lucky this summer. We ended up leaving the hospital right around 1, so a good 24 hours after I got there- and went straight to Dr. L's. Everyone there is so incredibly nice- they even gave me flowers! Gerber dasies- one of my favorites :)

He literally looked in my mouth for 3 minutes, haha. I was expecting a very thurough check-up, but oh well! He told me that I could take my bands out for up to 5 hours a day, which I wasn't expecting but was so happy to hear!! He gave me all of my perscriptions and rinses and toothpastes and sent us home!

I'll just break down my days so far for y'all, since i've been horrible and not updated.

Day 1 (friday)- felt alright after I stopped getting sick. Swelling was pretty bad, but not awful. No bruising, and no nausea after I got home. Minimal pain as well- just stuck to liquid iubprophin and was alright. I think I stuck to ensures that day for food.

Day 2 (saturday)- blew up like a balooooon (i'll post pictures below) and was in a little more pain. I think I took my liquid vicadin once that day. Graduated to eating applesauce and pudding with a baby spoon, and I started to bruise.

Day 3 (sunday)- swelling started to go back down and I had mashed potatoes for dinner!! Hardly any pain except for achiness when I woke up, and no more nausea. Kept taking the liquid iubprophin though just in case. More bruising started to show though :(

Day 4 (monday)- had an appointment with Dr. L. The stitches on my right side were bleeding a little when he poked around, and are a little more sore than the left, so he was a little worried about the hygeine there (i've upped my saltwater rinses from 4 to 8 a day, i don't want an infection!), but otherwise he said everything looked fine. They took x-rays and I got to see my screws- woah! I was hoping for good news on my bands (it hurts to have my mouth closed for so long!) but no such luck. So, i went shopping with my mom. Not going to lie- i never thought i'd be ballsy enough to go to the mall 4 days after major jaw surgery- but honestly people can stare all they want, it doesn't bother me. I just look awkwardly yellow on my face, and quite puffy :) no big. My bruising reached its peak that day I think- its all down the sides of my neck and chin- really attractive, let me tell ya! Swelling went down a lot though!

Day 5 (tuesday)- swelling went a little more down, but the burising is sticking around. nothing really big happened, although i did eat scrambled eggs! woooo!

Day 6 (today)- swelling is exactly the same- i think i've hit a plateau. I'm a little down about it, not going to lie. Bruising is exactly the same too- nothing's changed really.

I've started to take tylenol pm at night because i just can't sleep in this crazy recliner! ahhh! I can't wait until i can sleep on my stomach with my face buried in my pillow.

Alright, here's a few pictures from the past week. I go back to Dr. L tomorrow for another appointment. Keep your fingers crossed for good news on food or bands!

...And then life happened.

Well... no update from me in eons, but- i'm getting my surgery tomorrow.

Unfortunately its a week delayed (i was supposed to get it on the 22nd), because all within 10 days, the insurance company delayed my surgery, denied it, and re-approved it. So, it went like this- surgery in a week, (3 days later) no surgery at all, (3 more days later) schedule it as soon as you can, its approved! holy hell, my emotions are screaming from exhaustion.

i really want to be an excellent blogger and update with all of my before pictures and silly photos of my fridge which is stocked with the necessities- ensure, boost, and applesauce. but right now i am so exhausted that all i want to do is write Cameron a letter and then go to bed.

i really wish he were going to be here for all of this. he has this really special way about him that calms me down even when i'm at my worst (i don't know how he does it), and i could really benefit from that right now. i just miss him- 12 weeks is long enough, i'm ready for him to come home. i feel awful too, i've been so busy with traveling and all of the insurance shit that i haven't been sending him letters as much as possible, and they go out into the field for 7 days straight on sunday night. So, last letters i sent him were on tuesday, and i left him hanging with- "i may be getting my surgery, i may not be". I don't want to call the red cross and have them tell him because i don't want him to be worried the entire time he's in the field- i want him to focus on his training and getting through it safely. I just don't know- i feel awful about the entire situation. I hope i'm going about it wright. Maybe I'll have someone call on friday and have them tell him that everything went fine... ugh- i just don't know. I've never been in this type of situation before.

Anyways- surgery's at 2 PM tomorrow, got my surgical hooks put on today- they're a lot smaller than i imagined (thank goodness!). I've only got 8 all together, which I feel is a really good thing. I was about to take before pictures and photos of my hooks, and of course my memory card breaks. Thats the second 4 gigabyte card i've managed to mess up this summer. So, tomorrow, en route home from the post office, i'm picking up two- one for each camera, because thats what is breaking them (i think). And then i'll take all sorts of pictures of my gross mouth.

Sorry- i'm just anxious and sad right now.

Its funny how a smell can bring back so many emotions, by the way.

I'm off to enjoy sleeping on my stomach one last time.

I'll post from the other side!

-Fayth.

Dates Dates Dates!

So I had an appointment (finally!) with my surgeon, Dr. L, on friday. Turns out I hadn't seen him in a year! I thought I had gone in when I had my braces, but I guess not. So a visit was long overdue. I went in and got x-ray after x-ray taken, and then briefed (again) on whats going to happen before, during, and after the surgery. Then Dr. L came in, took one look in my mouth, and said lets call up the hospital and get her scheduled for mid-july! So- because I have to get it done at the hospital (insurance is a bitch), they have to call and block out a room for me- but I'm either going under the...knife... July 20th or 22nd!

Its about time! I've been going crazy trying to plan vacations and visits and work knowing sometime I would be out of commission for at least a month, but not knowing exactly when. So, 2 months from now I will be recovering from surgery, eating nothing but applesauce and baby food and happily looking like a chipmunk.

So now, I'm tryin to get in the best shape possible before the surgery. At first I was trying to gain wait so I don't look sickly afterwards, but new logic says that it is better (long term) to take this time I have alone to focus on me and my health, and get in shape so not only will I heal faster afterwards, but I will look and feel better too. I've been doing yoga every day, and I feel great! I couldn't do too much today though- i'm starting to feel it. My legs and lower back are KILLING me! And it feels great! Is that crazy? I Love the feeling that you get from being sore after a good workout.

I don't know how my sore legs and gimp will work with working tonight and standing for 6 hours straight, but we'll see. I'm glad its finally warming up- I'm sitting on the back porch drinking the perfect cup of coffee and taking in the humid 80 degree weather, wishing I had time to lay out. Oh well, pool is open now and the kiddies are still in school, so i'm taking over the pool tomorrow. After my orhtodontist appointment! I used to dread seeing Dr. K, but now that i'm in there at least once a week, it means just that much closer to surgery!

I just heard the best song- it completely hit home for me. New favorite song :)

Its called One Day You Will by Lady Antebellum. If i knew how to post videos up here- i'd do it, but if you have time and are into country music you should check it out.

I've got to go start getting ready for work though. Happy Tuesday!

No time like the present!

Well, its a great night to start up this blog. I've been wanting to start one for a while, to follow myself through what will be the toughest summer of my life, I just haven't had the motivation until now.

Let me start with introductions- I'm Fayth. I'm an 18 year old college student, whose been in braces for the past 10 months. Why braces in college, you might ask. Well, when I started braces for the first time in 8th grade, my orthodontist explained to me that I had an over-growing lower jaw. My uncle had the same problem, so it didn't come out of the blue, but it was bad enough that it would cause problems down the road. My options were either wear a monstrosity of a piece of metal on my face to hold my jaw back all through high school (yeah right) or jaw surgery. I opted for the second, and I don't regret it- yet. So, we did cosmetic braces on the top teeth so I wouldn't look funny through school.

I got my second set of braces on July 16th, 2009- my one-way ticket to a new face and smile. I met with the surgeon in the fall of 2009 for some preliminary analysis, and I'm heading back tomorrow for my first consult. I'm just excited to get the ball rolling on this- i'm tired of jaw popping, headaches, and being embarassed of my smile and my face.

Thats not the only reason that my summer is going to suck, however. Jaw surgery alone, I can handle. However, my wonderful boyfriend of almost 3 and a half years left 2 and a half weeks ago for basic training for the army- and won't be home until August.

So, not only am I having my face broken and re-arranged this summer, I will also be trying to keep my sanity while my other half and support system is learning how to fight for his country, without being able to help me through this.

So, I'm sorry for anyone who is reading this for the soul purpose of getting information on lower jaw surgery. I will try to give out as much information on my experience as I can, I just need a place to let out my joy, sadness, and frustration of the whole experience.

I'm planning on this being the longest summer of my life. I'm planning on sharing Cameron and I's story soon so you can understand why I am 18 years old and hell-bent on marrying him. I also promise to have more information about my upcoming surgery and adventures in orthodontics tomorrow, when I actually understand what is going on.

Things, I feel, are just finally starting to fall in place for the summer. After a week of not hearing from Cameron at all, he calls me out of the blue. He's only a week into red phase, and he got to call me- I feel like thats kind of a big deal. We didn't talk long, but hearing him just say hello was enough to make me cry from sheer happiness. He did the confidence course and the rappel tower today- and rocked both of them. I am so proud of him. He called just to let me know that he is surprisingly enjoying himself and that he loves me- he is so good to me! The call was cut short by a yelling drill sergeant, but he can't be too mean if he let my man call me tonight!

The worst part of his training is almost over, and I am confident that we will both get through it, and it will make us stronger in the end. Also, my surgeon's visit tomorrow means I get a date to get my face broken! Hoorah!

You see- here's the plan. I'm not ready (as far as I know) for surgery yet, but fingers crossed I can get it in mid July. This will enable me to not only go down for Cameron's mid-cycle pass off base, but to have a new face for him to look at in time for his August 20th graduation!

So, fingers crossed and prayers whispered- I'm going to bed.

Au demain,

Fayth.