    Hello people of the internet! Thanks for stopping by. I think San Francisco is one dirty city, but I love it here. I'm a 9-5er with a mission to eat, drink, and travel as often as my resources allow. Documenting it is part of the fun. |
With an entire post with my [outside] face, I thought I would post up some from the inside. I had posted these x-ray photos in the past, but when I switched domains, they must have gotten lost in the mix. I think they’re pretty awesome, so here they are – x-rays of my face post-surgery:
I love that you can see the brackets of the braces, as well as how crooked my nose is. It’s also interesting to see that the screws aren’t in the exact spot on each side.
For those who are just joining the story now, I had a severe Class III maloclussion [underbite] for most of my life, which was finally corrected the day before New Year’s Eve last year. Talk about a rough way to end 2009 or to start 2010. Luckily, I have very supportive family and friends, and I made it through all of that. It was considered medically necessary because of just how far apart my teeth were. I had an open bite, and really none of my teeth touched when I ate. I don’t know HOW I survived the 28 years prior to surgery.
The surgeon widened the upper jaw and cut out a piece of the lower jaw and moved it back. Not a pretty surgery to imagine. I was banded shut with a splint for about six weeks before I was allowed to get off the liquid diet and start feeling “normal” again.
I have waited long enough to put the side-by-side comparison of the side view on the internet, so here it is:
Please excuse the extremely frazzled look due to lack of sleep. I schedule my orthodontist appointments for the morning, so I don’t have to take off too much time from work.
I’ve said goodbye to the old and am getting accustomed to the new. After eating solid foods since mid-February and exercising for the last three weeks, I have to come to terms that this is probably what my face will look like for the long haul [plus a few extra wrinkles and gray/white hair when I'm older]. I have the same prominent jaw line and tiny titanium screws in my face!
It’s interesting how the surgery changed the face shape completely simply by moving the jaw back. Very little will change from this point forward other than regaining feeling in parts that are still numb. I’ll be able to open my mouth wider and wider as time goes on.
I think I will cross this off the 101 in 1001 when I’m finally done with the braces too. It’s all just a part of the process, just like dealing with the hospital’s red tape – scheduling drama, billing, etc.
020 – Document jaw surgery. Before and after.
The splint is out! What a relief. That piece of plastic was getting pretty gnarly from seven weeks of just sitting in my mouth. Yuck and definitely TMI! So now I’m splint-free, but sadly still on the liquid diet. I’m in a much better mood though now that the surgeon has had the chance to see me. It was just not knowing how everything was healing up that was bothering me and adding to my overall impatience.
PLUS, I can talk again!
On Friday night, we went to the Chabot Space Center to see Festizio [@festizioband] perform in the planetarium. YES, IN the planetarium. How cool is that? The sound was fine from where I was standing, but I think the dome didn’t help carry the sound properly to the rest of the space. No matter – it was still a great time! AND for the first time in a long time, I could actually introduce myself to people and roam around without keeping RV or Keane or the sister by my side. Those three were my interpreters for the longest time – poor things!
It was a good show overall. They played some new songs, one of which I am a huge fan of. I found myself humming along to the recording Keane did for me the next morning. Listen to it here!