Afternoon of Day 2

I've realized that having to eat a liquid meal before every single dose of medication (I'm taking 3, anti-biotic, anti-inflamatory and morphine) is a huge pain in the butt.

Everything continues to swell, the bruising increases. Tomorrow, I might not be able to open my eyes. The swelling is starting to move down my neck towards my chest area.

Did I mention that when they did the surgery, that they have to cut the nerve that is attached to the lower lip and my chin. 5-10% chance I will never get the feeling back. If I do, it takes 6 months to get the feeling back. Please pray for that too because I would really like to be able to feel if there's water or food falling down my chin.

I'm not allowed to talk for a while. Boo.


The bruising is still spreading, and the sores on my lip are getting more painful.


Swelling is increasing and will continue to until Sunday or Monday.

What these pictures don't show is the yellow-ish bruising that is also covering my lower half of my face.

First Night and Day 2

Last night was pretty rough. The swelling and pain kept waking me up. I had to wake up twice during the night to stay on schedule for my antibiotics and morphine (which I have to eat a meal with every dose).
The swelling has increased DRASTICALLY overnight. I can no longer have liquid with a thickness more than water. Eg. I can't even have something like Campbell's Tomato soup. According to my surgeon's office, tomorrow I won't be able to see my eyes whatsoever.
Yesterday I could talk but due to the increase in swelling, I can no longer talk.
We also discovered that the latex tape the used on my arm to keep my IV in has caused an allergic reaction. The area of my arm where the tape was is now red, irritated and rashy but Polysporin is helping with that.


Guess who gets to look like an obese woman until the swelling goes down?!?!! Me!!


Day 2. Bruising is growing along with swelling.




Day 2 . Swelling is increasing. I can no longer talk due to it.



My neighbor was nice enough to bring some beautiful flowers over that have a small teddybear attached. =)




My orthodontist also dropped off a nice pot of flowers and beautiful greens. =)

Corrections From Day 1

I now know the stuff with disorientation/thrashing doesn't happen to most people only to a few but it is not uncommon.

Also to let you know I was not administered morphine at first - I was given 3 types of anaesthetics for my general then when the surgery was completed they administered a freezing into the surgery sites to minimize pain and a morphine injection; then another morphine injection once more just before my mom got there. It is hard for me to remember some of this stuff because I was quite drugged, my mom just informed me of these corrections - also, one of the 3 anaesthetics was the one that Michael Jackson's doctor was giving him (wrongly) - it starts with a p something like propanol. (I don't know exactly.).

Day 1

7:45 AM. I meet my Anesthesiologist. He briefs me as they put an IV into me, pumping my blood with NaCl, along with giving me shots of some chemical meant to relax me. They then give me a shot to put me to sleep and I am adminstered high doses of Morphine. They also put a breathing tube up my nose and way down my throat which has now caused me to have quite a sore throat.

Sometime around 10:00 AM. The surgery is complete. I remember NONE of this as I had just been awoken from the General Anesthetic but THIS is what I was told by the nurses. I had blood covering my face (this I figured out for myself because when I woke up, fully conscious the second time, there was blood on my face, covering my hospital gown and on the sheets and pillow case. Wonderful.) The nurse told me she cleaned my face quite a few times. Apparently when I woke, I was thrashing about extremely hard. I was disoriented and in a panic. I thrashed and hit, kicked, etc, in a panic for a few minutes before I dropped back into a near-unconscious state. This apparently happens to most people as they come out of the anesthetic.

Sometime around 1:00 PM. I wake up for the first time fully conscious. I remember everything that has happened from this point on. My mouth is tied together but surprisingly I CAN talk. I just have to move my lips and tongue but not my teeth and I can mumble enough that people understand what I'm saying. I joke with the nurses and they help me get dressed, stand up without collapsing, etc. They take my IV out and give me a HUGE shot of morphine. They then wheel me out to the roof of the building where my mom is waiting. I have blood stuck in a big clump in my hair.

I've slept off and on since then and I've managed to eat a cup of soup as well. Eating is difficult as I cannot open my teeth so the liquid has to, somehow remarkably, go through the teeth. I am quite awake and have taken my antibiotics and morphine again since coming home. I feel relatively good. My orthodontist personally sent me a huge thing of beautiful flowers. I have four stitches on the outside of my mouth and up to, my guess, a hundred inside of my mouth but we are waiting to hear that from the surgeon when he calls. I'm icing my mouth constantly and I am quite bruised. I also have quite a few sores over and around my lips which remind me of when my grandma was in the hospital and had them. I am able to take pictures and will post some daily on here for everyone (or close to daily). Please remember though. This blog is not for social purposes. It is for those who care about me to see my progress. That does not mean that these pictures and meant for been laughed at and spread about the web and Facebook. This is a very painful difficult time and respect in that would be appreciated.

Thank you so much for your prayers.


7 am. morning of. lower jaw in "natural" position almost an inch back from the front teeth.




smiling with my jaw back in its natural position




jaw back. thank God that's gone forever.




6 hours after surgery. pretty drugged. swelling not too bad.




the bruising has started. the dots you see on my cheek are sets of 2 stitches. of course there are WAY more stitches than this that are on this inside of my mouth.




pretty good shot of the bruising but it's grown since then.




self portrait. 10 hours after surgery. swelling continues to increase.




when all else fails, Smile =))

My Surgery - Corrective Lower Jaw, or Orthognathic, Surgery

Corrective jaw, or orthognathic, surgery is performed by Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons to correct a wide range of minor and major skeletal and dental irregularities, including the misalignment of jaws and teeth, which, in turn, can improve chewing, speaking and breathing. While the patient's appearance may be dramatically enhanced as a result of their surgery, orthognathic surgery is performed to correct functional problems.

Following are some of the conditions that may indicate the need for corrective jaw surgery:

difficulty chewing, or biting food
difficulty swallowing
chronic jaw or jaw joint (TMJ) pain and headache
excessive wear of the teeth
open bite (space between the upper and lower teeth when the mouth is closed)
unbalanced facial appearance from the front, or side
facial injury or birth defects
receding chin
protruding jaw
inability to make the lips meet without straining
chronic mouth breathing and dry mouth
sleep apnea (breathing problems when sleeping, including snoring)

Your Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon will reposition the jawbones in accordance with your specific needs. In some cases, bone may be added, taken away or reshaped. Surgical plates, screws, wires and rubber bands may be used to hold your jaws in their new positions. Incisions are usually made inside the mouth to reduce visible scarring; however, some cases do require small incisions outside of the mouth. When this is necessary, care is taken to minimize their appearance.