days 4-7.

Hey everyone,

Sorry about the lack of update last few days!  I have to admit that these have been the worst so far, so staying in bed and sleeping as much as possible was really all I wanted to do.

day 3- I mistakenly labelled day 2 as day three in my last entry, so I corrected that now.  With that being said, the third day was BRUTAL!  I woke up numerous times during the night because my face would not stop twitching.  Again, it wasn't really painful, it was more of an inconvenience.  Day 3 I also infamously hit a wall... hard.  Not physically, but mentally.  My body was really weak since I was only allowed to drink broth and juice still.  So I felt sick, numb, hungry and extremely hungry.  Not to mention, I was too weak to really do anything that would constitute 'fun'.  The only thing that really kept me going was constant attention from my family, affection from friends and my boyfriend being really patient and supportive.  Poor thing has to wake up instantaneously if I so much as grumble or tap him throughout the night.

day 4- Really this felt like a continuation of day 3.  My face still twitched but I was beginning to get used to the feeling.  I should be thankful that there WAS feeling.  Day 4 I was allowed to start eating pureed foods and drinks that weren't clear.  First choice was to quell my sweet tooth, so I went for a chocolate Boost that the hospital gave me bags full of.  Then I heated up a few ice cubes of my home made soup; roasted red pepper soup and romano cheese melted throughout, blended with lentils for some added protein.  SO GOOD.  Day 4 didn't suck that bad. Swelling continued to go down, and pain was still pretty much nonexistant.  At this point, I had yet to take more than two tylenol 3's in 24 hours.  Unfortunately, as the night progressed my neck started to hurt so much... Here's a pic of day 4.

day 5- I finally felt pain day 5, and it wasn't from the swelling.  My left hand and my right wrist were seriously bruised and hurting from where they put the IV/medicine and drew blood from.  So much that I stopped texting and tweeting throughout the day.  Pain also stemmed from my neck.  Unfortunately, since the front of my throat also swelled up from the surgery, I've been walking around with the back of my neck stiff.  It hurt so much, that I no longer wanted to eat anymore.  Bad news for me, since by day 5, I checked my weight and I had already lost a shocking 10-15 pounds... That is BAD and seriously unhealthy.  I'm sure a portion of it could be due to water loss, and the conversion of muscle to fat (muscle weighs more than fat), but either way I'm not a happy camper.  During the night, we tried something different, I no longer sleep on that purple chair pillow that I showed in my miscellaneous entry, and instead opted for just a regular pillow.  I figured that the pillow chair has gotten too stiff for my neck.  

day 6- I woke up day 6 with a lot less pain in the neck.  It worked.  Unfortunately, I now had a sore throat. A legitimate sore throat; the kind when you get the flu.  Sore throats are expected though during recovery, so it doesn't worry me all too much.  I stepped outside of my house property day 6 hahaa... first time since the surgery.  Only went to my cousin's house, but it's a step.  They ordered pizza from my all time favourite local pizza place. *cries*.  Just something I'm going to have to get used to! 

day 7- That brings me to today.  Sorry guys, I tried to remember everything I could about what I wanted to write.  Here's a pic of what I look exactly one week after surgery! 

Swelling as you can see, has gone down a considerable amount.  Swelling is still a little bigger on the right side of my face for some odd reason, but still, I look less froglike now.  Still numb!  Not as much as before, but definitely still numb.  I'm hoping I miraculously heal faster than expected and get these wires cut!  I've already made a long list of places and things I want to eat. hahaha. Pretty much the only thing keeping me sane right now is company.  I have yet to try the ukulele or bike yet.  Bike for obvious reasons, but my wrist still hurts so I'll lay off the ukulele until it feels better.  I have, however, already read through all the wedding magazines (go figure).  My food master cousin (yes, I'm going to refer to her as that from now on), was kind enough to buy me too DIY wedding books.  I love DIY weddings; I'm everything but typical when it comes to planning my wedding, so DIY's are really perfect.  That's pretty much all for today!  I have my first appointment with my surgeon since the surgery tomorrow, so I'm excited about how he thinks I've progressed so far.  I'll keep you posted!  Thanks again guys for all the support and well wishes!  They keep me sane <3 

post-surgery: day 1, 2, & 3 (they say the third is the worst?)

Hey guys!

Finally get to update everyone.  It's now May 26th, which is two days after the surgery.  Just wanted to give you guys a quick update on what went down.

day 0- i got to the hospital at 945.  My surgery wasn't until 11:15, and you'd think that the minutes would go by very slowly, but in fact time went by relatively fast, unfortunately though, things were running behind, so I didn't get into surgery until around 1.  Anyway, I was comforted by the presence of my boyfriend and my father, who patiently waited there for me.  NOT TO MENTION, all the staff were extremely kind to me.  Got prepared to go to the operating room, which is completely overwhelming holding your IV bag in one hand, fully dressed down in the hospital garments.  It was overwhelming to walk into the OR, with all the bright lights and different people there.  By the time I woke up, I was in another room.  All I could remember was crying because I couldn't find my boyfriend, unfortunately he wasn't allowed inside.  Either way, I kept falling asleep.  I briefly remember visits from my mom, sister, and niece, and of course my bf and dad.  But I kept passing out.  I ended up being fully awake around 11.  And kept waking up every hour after that.

BUT! no pain guys.  I was so numb, couldn't feel any pain.  Just uncomfortable and numb.  LOL.  The doc wired me shut with metal wires (boo no elastic ones for me).  And they're on for 6 weeks (another boo).  Either way I wasn't feel a lot of pain, but inconvenienced by my massive face.

day 1-  I was supposed to get discharged at 9 am the next day, but they wanted to keep me for a few more hours.  I ended up leaving the hospital that day at around 5.  Again, no pain, just numb.  Swelling is getting bigger now though.  Excuse the pic if it grosses you out, but I hope you guys don't mind. 

Lips are huge! But no scars on the outside of my face though!  Can't feel my face at this point, so I'm not doing too bad.

day 2- that takes me to today.  I'm still pretty numb, so technically I haven't really felt any real pain at all yet, can't complain.  But I'm starting to get sensation back on my face randomly, so I'm sure I'll start to feel something.  Whiteboard in hand though, and blog at my fingertips, I'm not doing too bad.  As of right now, I\m still on a clear fluid liquid diet (apple juice, broths etc).  THAT'S IT. UGH, at least for 2 more days.  I can't even try my yummy soups yet until this weekend, so hungry.  Here's another pic of my day 2, don't think much has changed yet.

swelling looks like it might've went down.  (Don't mind the shinyness, I put this cream that the hospital gave me, I think it's just vaseline, but it helps with the dry skin).  That's all for now guys! Keep posting comments! <3

day before surgery.

So, it is the last day before my surgery tomorrow morning, and I have to say, I am terrified. I'm excited, yes, because I've been waiting 6 years to get this done, but at the same time… terrified.  The closest thing to surgery I've ever done was wisdom teeth surgery, and the only reason I got those out was to make room for braces and to prep for this surgery! LOL.  Ahhh, can't believe it's finally here.  

I'll be keeping track of my weight/measurements and recovery progress during the 6 weeks and periodically post pics.  Let's hope all my months of planning have not gone to waste!  

Anyway, that is all for today guys, time for me to clean.  Depending on how I am when I get home, I might not be able to post until I feel okay.  So that's all for now though, LOVE YOU ALL! 

feast before my surgery (aka my last supper)

I am SO excited about this entry.  Soooo, on Friday, May 20th (4 days before surgery).  My cousin (aka food master) planned a HUGE 7 course feast for me, my bf and a few other family members who wanted in.  It was amazing to say the least!  I got to pick whatever I wanted her to cook so I chose a few of the things I have been craving: sweet potato fries (the only way I truly enjoy fries), candied bacon (DON'T HATE IT IF YOU HAVEN'T TRIED IT! haha) chicken wings (YUP), spanakopita (greek spinach and cheese pie! Sooo random, but sooo good), massive platter of nachos, hearty meat lasagna (one of my favourite foods), and finished with the best part; a nutella walnut blonde fresh out of the oven with two heaping scoops of ice cream!  AHHHHHHH, *dies*.  So good.  Here's some pictures to feed your eyes:

preparing for the feast; started cooking at 3:30 pm

first up; first batch of sweet potato fries... and a chipotle dipping sauce. YUM. 

fresh pico de gallo and sour cream on top of a bed of meat and homemade cheese sauce; whole wheat tortilla chips (of course)

asian bbq chicken wings! (SO GOOD) my cousin made 80 of them... guess she really was trying to fatten me up 

best invention ever! look it up; t-fal actifry! this is where we cooked both the sweet potato fries and the wings (separate times of course).  Basically it's a deep fryer that ONLY uses one tablespoon of oil! CRAZINESS! 

spanakopitas! (greek spinach and cheese pie) these are freaking amaaazing. we made like 40 of them.

candied bacon! honestly, i know what you're probably thinking... that's disgusting. which is what i used to think too... until i tried it. it reminds me of maple smoked ham... YES.

lasagna! one of my all time favourite foods.  normal lasagnas i can put back like 4 pieces... this one... two. hearty and amazing!

it looked thicker in real life

FINALLY! dessert. nutella blondie fresh from the oven, with one of my favourite ice creams, chocolate peanut butter. mmmmmmmmm...... 

THE END. so good.

Seriously though, I don't think you guys understand how much I eat on a regular basis LOL.  I <3 FOOD!  

pre-surgery: self confidence/support

This is a personal necessity for preparing for surgery.  I was always teased about my jaw/teeth positioning by my friends and family (no one else noticed unless I showed them, which I didn't hahaha).  Although I know it was in good fun, I couldn't help but become a little sensitive about it.  Especially since it affected the way I talked.  Even my youtube subscribers and viewers would at times comment on my light lisp… it really bothered me since I had to work so hard not to talk, let alone SING with any problems.  Self confidence is really an important part to the process, because people going through jaw surgery should not only be concerned with their physical appearance and how it'll affect them.  I had to mentally prepare myself for surgery, because I knew it would be a long process, and I knew braces would make my lisp a little bit worse.  Having a good group of friends and family to support your decision to go through with the surgery is so important!  All my close friends are being very supportive which I appreciate so much, and obviously my family is being so helpful.  My boyfriend is also going through hell and back with me!  Poor guy has to suffer with me and take care of me :P.  All of them really helped calm my anxiety… (still anxious though! LOL).

pre-surgery: miscellaneous

I bought a few other randoms items that I think will help me during the process.  These include, a pillow chair, travel listerine, small whiteboard, and ice packs. 

I plan on using the pillow chair for sleeping the first week.  It'll help keep me in a reclined position to help reduce swelling and to keep me from rolling on my face. LOL (I do that all the time)!  Small whiteboard is sooo necessary for the first few days until I feel strong enough to speak haha.  UGH, I just remembered I need to fully clean my room today. BOO. 

pre-surgery: exercise and trying to stay fit

This may not be such a crucial component to other people's recovery process, but it is to mine.  I exercise very regularly, so maintaining as much of the same routine as possible (considering healthy surgery restrictions) was a priority.  Regularly, I work out 4-6 times a week.  3 days a week I combine cardio (running for 45-60 mins) with weights for a specific body area.  The other days I work out, I just do cardio, classes, or core.  So as you can see, 6 weeks off of this regular routine would not be easy to get back to later.  

Exercising while recovering: I talked with my surgeon and he told me that I will be able to still exercise during the recovery period as long as my body feels up to it.  I definitely won't push myself until I feel ready, but it's good to know I can.  The only restrictions he gave me are that I can't run; I can do other forms of cardio like the bikes, and that I don't play any contact sports.  That's perfectly fine by me, since I know I'll most likely lose weight on the liquid diet, and I don't really want to lose more weight, and I don't play contact sports, LOL.  Other than that, I'm good to go!  Can't wait to get back into the groove of exercising though.  #gymratlife.  

pre-surgery: finding hobbies to keep me busy

Oh my gosh, I can't stress how important it is to keep yourself busy during the 6 weeks of recovery.  At least for me, it's important that I find things that keep me busy at home or bf's since I'm pretty sure I won't want to go outside if my face is too swollen.  So to prep myself for the insanity of staying at home for long periods of time, I've decided to pick up a few hobbies.  

ONE- The first hobby has actually been a hobby of mine since I started dating my boyfriend 7 years ago; PLANNING MY WEDDING. LOL. I'm not even the typical girl who dreams about their wedding etc., I've already planned in full details every part of the wedding.  I absolutely love weddings.  So we stocked up on a few magazines to keep me and my scrapbooking, idea jotting mind busy! 

TWO- Second hobby is biking!  I just bought a bike pretty cheap actually.  Biking is pretty much the only summer outdoor thing I can do (can't rollerblade, skateboard, or even swim properly hahaha).  I'll save biking until I feel good enough to do it, and until I feel like the swelling of my face isn't ginormous.  

THREE- Third hobby is probably my favourite.  I've decided to learn how to play the ukulele.  I've never been too good at playing the piano, but I sang for half my life.  And the ukulele is so freaking cute! LOL.  Don't laugh at my ukulele though, it was very inexpensive since I don't know how well I'd play. 

FOUR- Final hobby is this blog!  I'm going to try to update this blog as much as I possibly can.  So please, comment and ask questions and keep me occupied! hahaha :)  I think finding hobbies are extremely important during this process since talking is seriously limited… 

pre-surgery: creating a meal plan

I think the most important part of planning for having your jaw wired shut for 6 weeks is to consider what you're going to be eating those six weeks… actually, more like drinking, since the diet is unfortunately all liquid for the entire 6 weeks.  I really tried to stay as healthy as possible with everything I planned.  The most important thing to remember is that you don't have to just drink ensure, Boost, and standard broth the whole time.... that would get boring too quickly!  Incorporating different fruits and vegetables and looking at other things that could be added to your diet to help provide as much nutrients is the best idea!  Here's a breakdown of what's included, no recipes in this entry though; post that in later entries.  

Soup: Personally, I know that it's inevitable that I'm probably going to lose a lot of weight (which I'm dreading btw).  However, I really tried to incorporate different foods that would help me stay as healthy as possible.  Liquid diets suck for most people because no one is really sure what else they can eat.  For the past 4 months I've been meeting up with my cousin at least once a week to cook different soups.  These soups are usually always made entirely from scratch; sometimes even the chicken stock.  They're not your standard soups, but any means.  A lot of them are lower sodium, pretty low in fat and packed with vegetables that are blended with the skins (skins of vegetables contain dietary fibre).  All the recipes include an added source of COMPLETE protein.  I have to stress 'COMPLETE' because vegetable proteins are incomplete unless there is a right combination.  For complete proteins, you need to combine grains (rice etc) with legumes (beans, lentils etc.), or grains and nuts/seeds, or legumes and nuts/seeds.  My favourite combination is brown rice and lentils.  It took a LOT of time and effort on the part of my awesome food master chef of a cousin (I love you<3) to come up with everything I need in pureed soup form!  I'll be happy to share a few of my favourite recipes with you guys later on if you're interested.  HELL NO TO BORING CANNED SOUPS FOR ME!  :) 

Quick tip! If you're worried you're going to be stuck eating the same type of soup for days at a time, don't worry.  My cousin taught me that you can make big batches of your favourite homemade soups ahead of time and then freeze them on ice cube trays.  When they're frozen, you can just pop them out and put them in a ziploc bag.  That way you have a few options to choose from and can portion how many you want! 

Smoothies and Shakes: Now obviously, soup can't be my only food.  I've also compiled a recipe book of different shakes and smoothies that I love to help me.  I love all things berries.  So I made sure to stock up on frozen berries.  Best part of frozen berries is that they're usually freezed immediately after being picked, so they maintain a lot of their nutrients and possibly have less pesticides since they are frozen.  Also, I LOVE bananas, so I bought a few bunches of bananas and cut them in half and froze them.  I recommend having enough of a quantity to last only two weeks though, since frozen bananas can only last so long.  I also stocked up on yogurt (normally just plain yogurt or no added sugar yogurt) as well as soy milk, almond milk, and regular milk just to have different variations.  These are things I can have readily on hand that won't go bad.  Other fruits, like avocados and mangoes will be bought whenever needed since they don't keep for very long.  

Green Smoothies:  I'm SO excited to add this to my diet.  For those of you who don't know what green smoothies are, they're just regular fruit smoothies with added green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, or other greens.  Now I wouldn't suggest this for a lot of people since the idea of adding leaves and such into fruit smoothies sounds… well, gross. LOL. However, the benefits of greens is RIIIIIDICULOUS though that I couldn't pass it up; vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients etc.  I'm planning (depending on how well I grow accustom to the taste) to have a green smoothie every morning.  Also, I buy the greens frozen, since it keeps longer as well.  

Protein Shakes and Meal Replacement Shakes: I already have a favourite protein shake mix that I love, so I keep it handy just in case my stomach needs some filling.  Same goes for my meal replacement shake; one of my girlfriends gave me a can of meal replacement powder (I love her<3) so that I always get as much nutrients and good stuff as possible.  I plan on drinking my meal replacement shake everyday, and my protein shake especially on workout days.  

(hahahahahaaa, don't kill me! <3)

Miscellaneous food/drinks: LOTS OF WATER. Can't stress that enough.  I will always have water or green tea if I'm drinking anything.  I bought matcha green tea from the local Whole Foods (absolutely love this place btw; it's heaven).  Matcha has so many more benefits than just plain green tea, but it's so freaking expensive!  So I plan on using it for my matcha green tea shake!  I'll post all recipes later on whenever I make something new.  Another item I keep handy is fibre.  Although, I'm sure I won't have too many digestive problems on this 6 week liquid diet because it's pretty much like I'm going on a 6 week detox! (Scary thought).  Also, I picked up Agave nectar, which is supposed to be a healthier alternative to regular sugar when used in regular portions.  I'm thinking I'll add some if I even need to sweeten anything.  

But there you have it… My meal plan thus far.  I'm sure I'll modify it as time goes on though.  I did my best to include as many different coloured vegetables and fruits, leafy greens, fruits rich in antioxidants, complete protein, vegetable fibre and other varieties.  I have tons of recipes, which seems ridiculous… but I'm sure on a 6 week diet, drinking the same thing will get so boring.  Variety is the key! LOL.  

my story.

6 years ago I was told by a few doctors that I should look into jaw surgery.  It had just begun to cause me problems; lock jaw, sore joints, clicking, trouble chewing, a slight lisp etc.  At that time I was only in my second year of highschool, so the thought of surgery wasn't too appealing; especially since getting braces is a necessary part of the surgery process.  After a few consultations and a few months to think about it, I decided I didn't want it.  My thinking at the time was that the pain would eventually go away when I got older and that my specific face shape camouflaged my overly excessive underbite.  It was true that you couldn't see the large gap between my teeth until I outright pointed it out; and I was too scared to do the braces/surgery thing.  

Years later, I realized the problems never really went away.  So I went for another consultation, and they noticed in my X-rays that where my jaw bones met were beginning to narrow because of excess grinding movements when chewing/talking and for constantly having to overcompensate for my recessive lower jaw.  After a lot of contemplation I sucked it up and opted for surgery. TOO BAD I waited too long and was no longer covered by my parents for braces…boo. Money's tight these days.  I have to wear the braces for a total of two years, one year to prepare my teeth for surgery, then surgery with the braces to wire my mouth shut, and then another year of braces to make sure the bite is perfect.  

As you can see from a lot of the pre-braces/surgery pics below, I was a master of disguising my jaw problem on film:

This is how I look with braces (notice I'm only posting two picture? that's because I hated taking teeth pictures with braces on, even though I got the clear bracket ones)

(sooo tan... our cuba trip woot!)

(clearly a halloween costume)

However, if you were to actually look at my teeth upclose, you'd notice that not only do I have a small lower jaw that causes a severe overbite, but I also have an open bite, and a slight cross bite.  Basically means that my teeth don't touch in every direction LOL.  

weird right?

To fix my jaw alignment and bite, my surgeon has to break my upper jaw, break my lower jaw, and split my palate (roof of my mouth) to be able to fix my jaw.  YIKES. 

Things you might want to know: 

-I live in Canada so my surgery is mostly covered by OHIP; however even if you're Canadian, if you have no health problems caused by your mismatched alignment, then it's considered cosmetic surgery; BIG BUCKS. 

-the surgery is done inside the mouth, so there isn't going to be any scars on the outside of your face

-after the surgery, my jaw is going to be wired shut for 6 weeks! this means liquid diet the entire time 

-full recovery takes a few months though 

about me.

I am 22 years old, and generally a healthy person.  I don't have any other health issues, I don't smoke, I don't drink often, I LOVE to eat, and LOVE to exercise.  This is why several months of preparation was necessary for me.  The restrictions that jaw surgery creates really would hinder me from not maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  However, all this prep has allowed me to create a plan for how to stay as healthy as possible; mentally and physically.  Read on to see how I prepped myself.  

The next few entries I'll explain:

-my story: why I needed jaw surgery, what's the process like etc.

-pre-surgery: how I prepared myself for the 6 weeks of immediate recovery

-creating a meal plan

-hobbies

-exercise

-miscellaneous

-self confidence/support

Any future entries will be related to these different topics (food, hobbies, exercise, miscellaneous, self-confidence, support), so I'll include different labels to make finding specific entries easier.  

welcome!

Hey everyone, welcome to my blog!  

You might've stumbled across this on your own search, or maybe you watched my update video on my youtube channel… either way, enjoy the tips and ideas I'll share that I've picked up over the year regarding jaw surgery.  My ultimate blog goal is to share with you how I attempt to stay healthy during the entire process; both inside and out.  As well as to share my experience of the long process of preparation and recovery.