The splint is out pictures!

So, as I said in my post yesterday, the splint is out and everything looks good!



Everything is where it should be, and there is only a little bit of ortho work to finish up :) so I should be out out of braces in 8 months!

Things are still a bit loose in my mouth (especially the front ones), and I'm still a bit puffy, but it's getting there...



<3 Stefane

Happy Birthday to me!!!!

THE SPLINT IS OUT!!!!!!!! It is perhaps the best 20th birthday present I could have ever asked for :-) It feels weird, but it also feels wonderful!

I flew home to Denver yesterday (and thankfully it was an uneventful trip) and had an appointment with Dr. N this morning and then I went straight to the orthodontist. Dr. N is very happy with my bite, but he isn't so happy with how swollen I am. I'm more swollen than I was a couple days ago, but the same thing happened after my flight a few weeks ago. Other not-so-good news, the two stitches holding my nose in place are slightly infected. It's not a big deal, but I'm back on antibiotics for another 10 days, just to make sure that it doesn't get worse...

It didn't hurt when he took the splint out, it was a little uncomfortable when he was pulling out the wires, but nothing terrible. My teeth were disgusting. I can't tell you if they were fuzzy or not because I refused to feel them with my tongue :p I brushed them for about 10 minutes...then they kind of felt clean!

The orthodontist is very happy with the way everything looks, and she thinks that I will be able to be debraced before I go back to school in August! Yay!!!!

I'm going to run errands and do some shopping with my mom, so I'll have to post some pictures later!

<3 Stefane

4 1/2 weeks, wow!

Getting back to normal life has been a little more difficult then I thought it would be, but for entirely different reasons. I thought that my swelling was still so bad and that it was really noticeable and that people would have trouble understanding me...there is still noticeable swelling, but it's not too bad. A few of my friends have said that it gets better every time they see me :) I have a lisp, because of the splint, but I only have to repeat things occasionally, so my speech obviously isn't too bad!

My energy level is one thing that has made this last week difficult for me. I start the day off with lots of energy, but it drains quickly and then I need to rest. I had meetings that ran late two nights last week, and all I could do was sit there and try not to fall asleep...I was just exhausted! My OS told me (a million times, lol) that I need to listen to my body and rest when it tells me to rest, and I'm trying, but sometimes it's difficult with class schedules, meetings, etc!

The other thing that has made the transition difficult are the limits on activities I can do right now. I'm still in the initial "no heavy physical activity" phase, plus I can't do anything where I could get hit in the face... I want to go have fun with my friends, but I can't go sledding or skiing or snowshoeing, I can't go play volleyball, and that's what they're doing. My friends are wonderful and supportive, but they want to be outside enjoying the weather (it's "warm" and sunny), not inside watching movies or whatever...

So, enough depressing stuff, on to the good parts!

The bruising is completely gone, there's not even a tinge of yellow left! My skin is clearing up...I'm still broken out, but it's getting better. I'm only taking pain meds at night and occasionally during the day (only when I need them), so the pain has been pretty manageable.

My bite is wonderful, I'm biting into the splint perfectly! I can't wait to get the splint out and feel my actual bite!! Just 11 days left!

A tip for anyone with a splint: try that new kind of toohpaste: Isoactive toothgel. I bought some last week, and am amazed by how clean my splint feels after brushing! It gets food bits out of my splint even before I use my waterpick! Just make sure that you only use a little bit of the gel, because when it starts to foam it will fill your mouth if you use too much :)

Ok, I need to do homework and work on my online classes, but I'll leave you with some pictures!




Much love and best wishes,

<3 Stefane

25 days down...back to normal life

Hello all! Well, I'm back at school..actually I'm staying in a hotel with my mom for a few days so I get good sleep (which wouldn't be easy in the dorms!!).

On Thursday I had my 3-week (since I won't be in Colorado 4 weeks after) post op appointment with Dr. N. He was impressed with my color- apparently I look healthy. I only have to wear my bands at night now (YAY!) because I'm biting into my splint perfectly (double YAY!!), so my mobility and opening should improve significantly!!

On the way home from that appointment I stopped by my orthodontist's office just to say hi. Everyone was so happy to see me and they all said that I looked wonderful, that my bite was perfect, etc.

Yesterday I flew from Denver to Chicago...I was in a little bit of pain during the flight, I think it was the pressure changes. However, it was nothing a few Motrin didn't relieve! I did notice that I was more swollen after the flight, and that seemed to go away overnight.

We had an 8 hour drive up to Marquette today, so my mom was worried about where we could stop to eat (where I could have some type of soup...) I found a Panera right on our route, so we ended up stopping there for lunch :) I had Macaroni and Cheese and Baked Potato soup. It was very yummy...despite the strange looks I got from a few people because I was eating it with a baby spoon!

So, that's a rundown of the last few days, and here are some other updates:

Skin- I expected to be broken out after the surgery, and was pleasantly surprised when my skin stayed clear. The clear skin lasted for almost 3-weeks after surgery...at the beginning of this week I began to break out along my top lip, then my chin, and now my cheek too! I'm washing my face with my normal stuff (that has always worked well for me), but it hasn't seemed to help.

Sleeping- I'd been sleeping well from 1 week until just before the 3 week mark...now I'm having trouble sleeping again. It's probably just anxiety about starting the semester, but I've also woken up in pain a few times...

Bruising- It's mostly gone! Just a little tinge of yellow on one side!



Alright, that's all for now...no pictures tonight, my camera is at my dorm room!

Much love and best wishes,

<3 Stefane

New Year, New Face. (Day 18)

Hey All! Happy New Year! I can't believe December is over...I still look at my countdown clock and am a little shaken when I see the phrase "since my jaw surgery" and it's been 2 1/2 weeks!

I'm starting to get ready to go back to school...though I'm not sure if I'm ready yet. On one hand I can't wait to get back there and see my friends, but I don't know if I'm ready to be back to "normal life" I still get tired really easily, after a trip to the mall (lasting less then 2 hours) this afternoon I came home and took a nap! So, I'm just going to have to take it easy and listen to my body.

Updates:

Sleeping- I'm sleeping much better than I was even a few days ago. I haven't taken the Ambien in 5 nights, and I usually sleep for about 7 1/2 hours then I wake up and take some Motrin, then I go back to sleep for 3 hours! I'm still sleeping slightly propped up, but I am sleeping on my side!

Bruising- The bruising is almost gone, there's just some yellowing left along my jaw line and on my neck. It's hardly noticeable, unless you're me or my mom! Today I was getting some new mineral powder at the MAC store and the lady put two different shades on my face, one on each side, but then we couldn't decide which one because of the yellowness :)

Pain- I'm still taking Motrin about every 5-7 hours and that seems to control the pain for the most part. Sometimes my face starts throbbing or there's just a general soreness.

Sneezing- OW OW OW!!! I've sneezed twice in the past 24 hours, and it hurts!!

Numbness- The feeling in my lower lip is definitely returning, it tingles and I can feel cold! However, my chin is still completely numb. More of my face feels normal, but a good portion (pretty much from my eyes right down the middle of my face) is still tingly...

Eating- It can still get pretty messy! Sometimes I do really well and just get a little bit of food on the washcloth, but other times 25-50% of the food ends up there...but it's getting better. Also, I'm drinking out of a cup all of the time now (which usually has the result of water dripping down my front, so I still use a washcloth), so no more syringes!

Swelling- I still feel (and think that I look) very puffy...here are my Day 18 pictures:





Other than that, I'm doing pretty well! I'm getting out of the house more and no longer scare small children :p Things are getting better and I'm looking forward to the (still far off) day when I'll get this splint out of my mouth!

Best Wishes to everyone!

<3 Stefane