Saturday 6 August 2011

3 months have finally past, and 2 knuckles are in with ease! - Day 90 (August 6)

The crazy 3 month mark has been hit. For such a huge process like a jaw surgery, getting here is quite bittersweet.  Why? Because I found it difficult to believe I would get here during my first week of recovery, but now that I'm here it's really hard to take it all in and enjoy it like I had envisioned.

I apologize for posting less and less during these times. If anything, many readers should realize that by this point, life is back to normal! As therapeutic as blogging has been for me, I found that it's easier to do when you have the time. Now that I'm fully functional, blogging has sadly taken the backseat. Life. Is. Back. To. Normal.

Eating - You name it, I've eaten it. Except steak(Saving it for some glorious occasion in the future, tbd). We went to the Keg for my mom's surprise dinner and I had a prime rib, tiger shrimp, and double baked bacon potato; it was effortless to chow down. Eating for the past few weeks has not been an obstacle. And guess what? The food stays in my mouth, sans drooling, and goes down perfectly chewed. The art of eating is now thought free. Huzzah.

Here's a few quick pictures of where I am, the webcam I use is terrible and makes my skin look like I'm sunburned but you can see where my bite is at.




So what does this mean now?

In terms of recovery there are 3 things left:

Range of motion - I can fit 2 knuckles into my mouth with ease, there's no more need to slice bananas into my mouth anymore. My range still needs to improve because I can't fit a subway sub into my mouth, so that's my next landmark for motion.

Swelling - my nose is going down, not as pig like and popped up as it used to be.

Bite - My right side of my top teeth is directly on top of my bottom and it's very uncomfortable at times. I went to my ortho yesterday and he said that through using a stronger archwire, the arch of my top teeth should open up and then go over the bottom teeth better. That means I just have to wait for the newer stronger wires to push that row of teeth out. Once that's done, and the roots set,  I can get my braces off :)

Haven't been this ready to shed the braces for some time, what a feeling.

I'll keep on posting whenever I get the chance.

Cheers.

9 comments:

annafaith said...

A subway has got to be the ultimate sign of complete recovery for any jaw surgery patient. I don't even eat there, but think I'm gonna make it my new long term goal... this seems a long way off for me, but it looks like you are nearly there, and it's only been three months - awesome. x

Samantha said...

looks great! That's awesome that you can eat without drooling or thinking about it!! I remember reading earlier in your blog posts that you didn't check to see what your range of motion was before you got your surgery and I remember I checked at that point and it was 4 fingers snugly if that helps.

Gordon said...

@anna Yes I cannot wait until I can get a sub in my mouth without trying to squish my food. I just watched a video of a guy on youtube fitting 800 straws in his mouth. Motivation?

@samantha thanks for the reference! I'm still 2 knuckles in and my range is starting to plateau.
Great results already samantha, swelling is going down, can't wait to see the final product!

Dojo said...

Wow, this looks amazing. If you look at the difference, it's been worth all the pain and the hassle. You have a great profile now.

Gordon said...

Thanks dojo!

You won't believe how many people don't recognize me eyes - down! Lol

Anonymous said...

Gordon - your blog is great! I'm getting lefort anf bsso on 18 OCT. Your blog has been really informative. Thank you for sharing. Two quick questions - what was your pre-surgery weight and how is running? I'm a thin person all ready (5'7' 125-130lbs). Thanks.

Gordon said...

Hi anonymous,

Best of luck on the lefort and BSSO.

1. Pre-surgery I was about 155 lbs and lost 20 lbs after about 10 days. Not everyone loses weight as drastically as I do. If you're thin already the weight loss shouldn't be too much.

2. Running? I can't remember exactly when I started running again, I know I posted it though. I've been running and playing soccer for a long time now!

Gordon said...

Oh and I'm about the same height 5'7. Most of the weight lost was muscle + water weight.

Anonymous said...

hi gordon! its mich and crystal!! we love your blog - you are awesome :D keep it up & see you soon!!! what a handsome fellow ;)