Updates...
And lots of them! :)
I finally had my surgery about a month ago. Still rehabilitating, nerves are slow like normal, but I'm not drooling all over the place anymore. It has changed how I look, now I look completely like a mix of my parents. Not so much a pointy face as much as it's more round like my mom's. Granted, still have swelling because the plates run up under my nose and cheeks up to my cheekbones. Lots of pins, so traveling will be fun when I can do it again. Can't really lay flat or go upside down yet.
But lots of positives. The very first thing I noticed after coming out of surgery was that I could breathe much, much better. Sinuses drain more regularly instead of stopping up. A bunch of my neck issues are gone, too. I don't feel the neck pain that I used to feel after waking up and my x-rays show better alignment, too. According to Pastry my snoring has decreased, too. I can't verify how the sleeping quality is because I'm still on painkillers, and that will continue for a few more months.
Which leads to my thankfuls. As much as I would have liked to have had this surgery the first go-round, I'm glad it had to wait till I had a better support network in place. I don't think I would have come out so well without Pastry and my parents. Any time I needed to change something Pastry took care of me - even brought me flowers beforehand and didn't freak out when the bandages came off and I looked like I had an allergic reaction to something. Instead, he hopped in on my selfie and then snuggled up with me.
I'm also thankful for my co-workers who have helped me out by assisting in technique corrections or spotting and just letting me have the time off over Thanksgiving. My girls for being willing to "translate" when I had my splint in and couldn't speak very clearly. Their patience with me was awesome (if only they'd be as patient with themselves).
And my friends. I'm sorry I missed Thanksgiving, and every other social gathering that I had to cancel because I was having a bad day. I was not expecting this level of pain (especially since I can't really feel anything), but it gets worse as the nerves start activating. Still can't talk a lot, either. I've been doing all my TMJ exercises and strengthening exercises and they've been helping, but they're also a slow process. The muscles I'm working had to be detached and reattached.
Now if only we could get the condo finished and sold (our contractors dallied around instead of finishing, so we had to fire them).
I finally had my surgery about a month ago. Still rehabilitating, nerves are slow like normal, but I'm not drooling all over the place anymore. It has changed how I look, now I look completely like a mix of my parents. Not so much a pointy face as much as it's more round like my mom's. Granted, still have swelling because the plates run up under my nose and cheeks up to my cheekbones. Lots of pins, so traveling will be fun when I can do it again. Can't really lay flat or go upside down yet.
But lots of positives. The very first thing I noticed after coming out of surgery was that I could breathe much, much better. Sinuses drain more regularly instead of stopping up. A bunch of my neck issues are gone, too. I don't feel the neck pain that I used to feel after waking up and my x-rays show better alignment, too. According to Pastry my snoring has decreased, too. I can't verify how the sleeping quality is because I'm still on painkillers, and that will continue for a few more months.
Which leads to my thankfuls. As much as I would have liked to have had this surgery the first go-round, I'm glad it had to wait till I had a better support network in place. I don't think I would have come out so well without Pastry and my parents. Any time I needed to change something Pastry took care of me - even brought me flowers beforehand and didn't freak out when the bandages came off and I looked like I had an allergic reaction to something. Instead, he hopped in on my selfie and then snuggled up with me.
I'm also thankful for my co-workers who have helped me out by assisting in technique corrections or spotting and just letting me have the time off over Thanksgiving. My girls for being willing to "translate" when I had my splint in and couldn't speak very clearly. Their patience with me was awesome (if only they'd be as patient with themselves).
And my friends. I'm sorry I missed Thanksgiving, and every other social gathering that I had to cancel because I was having a bad day. I was not expecting this level of pain (especially since I can't really feel anything), but it gets worse as the nerves start activating. Still can't talk a lot, either. I've been doing all my TMJ exercises and strengthening exercises and they've been helping, but they're also a slow process. The muscles I'm working had to be detached and reattached.
Now if only we could get the condo finished and sold (our contractors dallied around instead of finishing, so we had to fire them).