Orthodontist

I saw my orthodontist today and got the best news yet! The braces are coming off!!!!!!!!! My orthognathic surgery was done on May 15th and on September 5th the braces will start to come off by September 12th they will be completely off. I am just so happy. We are way ahead of plan since originally the braces were due to be on till December. It's nice to have something work in the positive sense!

Cardiologist

I had a heart monitor put on today for 24 hours. Ever since the surgery my heart rate has not come down under 100. They put me on a beta blocker but it doesn't seem to have helped. I'm hoping that this gets under control quickly as it is awful to lie in bed at night and feel nothing but your heart racing!

Orthodontist Visit

I saw the orthodontist for the first time since the two surgeries. Great news! She thinks everything looks terrific and she couldn't be happier. Usually the braces would be on for 6 months after the surgery but due to how great things came out she said that the braces would be off in about 3 months. Ya hoo!

Boston

I have been in and out of Boston to the surgeon about every week. Now 10 weeks post op I have graduated to waiting a whole month to see him. The swelling is going down but the dr. said that it would take a full year before it was down all the way. I am eating anything that I want, able to blow my nose and able to drink out of a straw (although I need to retrain my muscles for that one).

Surgery #2

I headed in for a angioplasty to cauterize the bleeder in my cheek. I was in surgery for 9 hours. It was a horrible experience for me as I could not open my jaw due to the 1st surgery so I had to intubated awake. The anesthiologist told me that I would be in a twilight state and wouldn't remember anything. Trust me when I say I remember EVERYTHING. It was awful. I woke up in ICU where I spent about 24 hours. I had so many IV's in me and they were trying to get blood and couldn't. Finally one of the nurses was successful in getting blood from an IV (something they are only allowed to do in ICU). I spent three more nights in the hospital and was finally allowed to go home and finally able to have solid foods (ice cream that is).

Problem

Two weeks out of work I decided to take one more week. Then the Wednesday before I was scheduled to return to work I started having a ton of pressure in my mouth and cheek. The pressure would get so intolerable and then it would release. I would have a ton of bleeding from the nose and mouth. I called the dr. and they told me to come right in. I was re-admitted and a catscan was performed that showed an aneurysm in the cheek from a blood vessel that was not closed after surgery. So, a second surgery for me.

Swelling

My swelling is unbelievable and I don't notice it going down at all. However, people who do not see me everyday say that they do notice a difference. My nose however, is another story. The breathing tube from the surgery that was placed down my nostril has distorted the nostril by pushing the cartilage over to the other side. So one nostril is wide and one is very small. Breathing is okay though.

Sleep

I didn't sleep at all at night during the first three weeks that I was home. My doctor finally put me on ambien to help me sleep and I came off of it a few weeks later.

Recovery

Thank god for all of the help I had from friends and family after coming home. I really couldn't do much for myself especially make my meals as I was just so weak. I started drinking from a plastic edged cup right away and was able to swallow pills too :-) The drooling was horrible for quite awhile but I just kept a towel on my chest at all times. I ate a lot of ice cream and a lot of italian food as it's easy to puree and doesn't look or taste too bad!

The Big Day

May 15, 2007 I had upper jaw surgery at Mass General Hospital in Boston. My surgery was 6 hours long and successful. I spent one night in the hospital and was discharged because I syringed some shake into me :-) My surgery wasn't suppose to be covered by insurance and then 3 months prior to surgery the insurance company changed a clause and I received 80% coverage.