FREEDOM!

Hello lovelies,

Yesterday I am proud to say was the day of my unwiring!  I know it's been a while with my updates, but I've been really trying to keep myself busy these last couple of weeks.  Anyway, I have three sets of pictures for you all.  The first was taken June 25th before a baby shower I attended, the second was June 30th for a Katy Perry concert (hence the makeup haha), and the last set was taken just today (the day after unwiring).

As for my progress post wires, I still have to wear elastics around the hooks on my braces.  Which essentially feels like I'm wired shut again, but at least I can take them off to eat.  Unfortunately, I can BARELY open my mouth more than a centimetre for now.  Retraining my jaw is going to be a long process :(.  When I don't have the wires, I talk with my teeth shut still!  I guess I'm just so used to it, and when I try to talk with my mouth open, I have a bad lisp haha, I'm currently working on that.  There's no pain whatsoever, just when attempting to open my mouth either too wide, or after the elastics have been on my braces for a long period of time.  As for my smile, I can FINALLY laugh and smile without it hurting!  On the downside, my smile is still super awkward since I'm not used to smiling and my jaw muscles need to adapt haha.  You'll see in the pictures, but I'm sure it will get back to normal soon.  I keep smiling just to practice!

As for what I eat, pretty much I'm sticking to my planned diet for the next month or two.  I still start with a green smoothie every morning just because I love it!  For snack I'll eat something like a banana sliced up with some home made peanut butter, yuuuum!  I'll still drink my protein and nutritional shakes with added fibre, and for lunch or dinner I'll have something like a tuna salad sandwich not toasted with the crust cut off and SUPER smushed haha.  Pretty much, my goal for the next couple of weeks until I get better is to mimic the foods I've been eating during the liquid diet.  This is so that my body isn't shocked by the sudden solid intake.  Oh, and I've also increased my fibre to help digestion!

As far as working out, I'm happy to say I've gotten back into my regular full routine.  Well, not quite, I'm only running 20-30 mins instead of my original hour, and the weights are still lighter than before, but at least I can do the full routine.  I'm excited to get back into it!

I've also joined livestrong.com from the recommendation of another jaw surgery victim haha (thanks Elana)!  Check it out even if you're not going through surgery.  It's a great place to learn new healthy workouts and meals, plus it keeps track of your meals and exercises!  Great tool!

That's all I can think of for now, I'll be sure to keep taking pictures to show you guys my smiling progress!  As you can see, I'm STILL swollen on one side of my face more than the other, *sigh* something that's surely going to take a while to recover haha.

Saturday, June 25th- BABY SHOWER TIME! :)

Thursday, June 30th- Katy Perry concert! :) 

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 AND FINALLY FOR THE FIRST PICTURES OF MY UNWIRING!!!!....

What an absolutely TERRIBLE awkward smile hahaha, sorry guys!

Those things that look like fangs are the white elastics holding my jaw together haha.

 

Side profile with no smile

And with a smile!

MIA!

Hey guys, 

I'm soo sorry it's been long since I've updated, unfortunately I haven't had internet at my house for about a week, so it's frustrating considering I'm here all the time lol. Anyway as far as updates have gone, I am 10 days away from removing my wires! Ahhh time has literally flew by these last couple weeks.  

As far as swelling, numbness, pain etc., goes, I'm almost fully recovered.  Enough so that people can't tell I've ever had surgery.  Obviously, I personally can tell that I'm still swollen, it's definitely less noticeable now. I've also regained sensation back to my entire face except for a small part of my chin and right side of my bottom lip.  Those two areas I still feel nothing at all, which I'm not too shocked about since I'm aware that those two areas are the most likely to lose feeling.  As far as pain goes, generally I wake up in the morning with slight pain at my jaws but I think that's because I put pressure on it sleeping.  My jaw muscles also get easily tired and sore because I've actually been talking through my teeth quite a lot.  Plus smiling gets really tiresome.  Speaking of which, I've discovered why I can't smile still; I used to think it was because of the stitches healing in my mouth, but it's also because the wires that are wired to my braces are actually attached to my cheeks and gums.  Weird, right? 

As far as physical recovery, I've been very good the last two weeks about trying to stick to my healthy diet plan and not rely on pudding and ice cream! hahaa.  I've also progressed very smoothly back into a steady exercise routine.  Right now I'm working on a ton of different healthy recipes that mimic the nutrition I've been getting right now.  For example, for breakfast right now, I usually drink my green smoothie with an added protein boost.  So I'm coming up with recipes for breakfast that has a lot of leafy greens, protein, and fruits and vegetables that are rich in fibre.  I think this way my body is already accustomed to taking in the same amount of nutrients and processing the same things.  It might be an easier transition into solid food.  

Anyway, here's a couple of pics I've been holding hostage during the long break I've been MIA!  

I took these pics a few days ago!  Right side shows up so much more on camera :( Also threw in a side profile pic!

day 19; week long update

Hey everyone!  Finally back to update.  This week has been pretty hectic for me, but I've managed to take note of my progress since my last update.  

Swelling: Only a few new things this week, as far as swelling goes, it's continuing to decrease veeery slowly, but nevertheless it's going down.  I've stopped taking pictures everyday because the difference on a daily basis is so minimal that I just take a new picture maybe every other day or a little longer.  

Smiling: I am FIGHTING to smile properly again hahaa, I think that's my new goal.  I guess I just need to wait for the incisions to heal more.  Can't wait until I can smile properly with teeth, have yet to see what I look like smiling so I'm getting anxious.  

Numbness: I'm still numb!!!  It's a little worrisome that even now I can't feel certain parts of my face still.  I know sensation takes a while to regain from this kind of surgery, but I'll be sure to ask my surgeon during my next appointment next week.  

Food:  This week I hit a wall pretty hard.  I managed to blend spaghetti one night and the next night I blended up lasagna (actually the same recipe that my cousin made for me for my feast).  Pretty much my diet for the past week was ensure, boost, and the like, then mashed potatoes and pasta. LOL. So random.  Unfortunately I'm a little disappointed that I strayed pretty hard from what I planned for myself.  I think I was just that upset.  Not to mention, the past thursday was my birthday and I felt like crap.  I'm pretty sure it was the crappy diet, but it didn't help make this lack lustre 22nd birthday any better.  With that being said, today I woke up this morning with a fresh perspective.  I made myself an AMAZING smoothie (which I planned the recipe for pre-surgery).  VOILA!  This is my berry pomegranate matcha smoothie with yogurt.  

I had a big ol' glass of that for breakfast.  Pretty much, a heaping of the frozen berries, with pomegranate juice, a big helping of matcha, and finished with fat free, no sugar added yogurt.  All I did was strain and pour it in a big glass.  Breakfast is served.  Also I'm proud to say today was my first day back exercising! 

Exercise:  Seeing as how I haven't worked out in almost three weeks, coupled with the fact that I'm still weak from recovering, I knew I had to take it easy.  Pretty much I just circuit trained using considerably less weight than where I left off just to ease my body back into it.  I finished with very light card just to get my heart rate up, but not enough to burn any chunk of calories that I already lack.  I can't say how excited I was today to start working out again.  I'm a freak like that!  It really helped me stay positive and get me out of my slump.  

Food: Immediately after, I made my VERY favourite shake, since I am a chocolate FIEND!  It's a chocolate peanut butter and banana protein shake.  YUM. Chocolate protein powder, half a banana, a spoonful of peanut butter and half chocolate milk and half unsweetened chocolate almond milk.  

Anyway, last night was my bf's sister's Jack and Jill.  Both him and I are in the wedding party, so I had to be there to show my support.  Plus, it's fun :).  Anyway, that's my novel for the week hahaha.  Here are pics of my progress!

Take care guys!  

day 12; it's all downhill from here

Back at this again!  Have been feeling more productive now that I'm able to be a little more physically active.  Friday morning was my boyfriend's convocation (graduating with his bachelor of health science; specialist in kinesiology) so proud!  I made my first public appearance on Friday.  I'm feeling more willing to be in public now that swelling has gone down a lot (not completely yet though).  

Updates in terms of my progress, no pain anymore, even my wrists and hands don't really bother me all that much anymore, so I'm planning on starting my ukulele learning this week.  Can't start biking yet though, face is still sensitive to bobbing movements.  I also managed to eat mashed potatoes the other day, hahaha.  Let me tell you, it's possible!  However, I felt slightly lightheaded from having to suck the mash potatoes through my teeth/braces; oh well it was worth it :P.  My advice is to make sure the potatoes are extremely well blended.  I had a second attempt at mash potatoes yesterday that didn't go well because it came with the skin in it.  Normally I like when potato skins are in the mash, but obviously, didn't go so well with being wired shut.  

Today is a bright and sunny day that I'm going to take full advantage of by going to my cousin's house for some swimming.  By swimming, I mean, standing since I don't know how well I'd do swimming like this...  Also, starting tomorrow, I'm going to start light exercising again.  I really miss exercising, and I've been withering away since surgery.  The last time I was under 110 lbs was when I was in elementary school.  At least 8 years since, I'm now 109.  Before surgery I was 122-125.  Last week I was a meager 105, but since I've been making sure to drink more I'm slowly gaining again.  GOOD!  Can't wait to get back into healthy shape!  That's all for today guys, here's a couple of pics to show you my face progress. 

This and the next pic is from bf's convocation, day 10, right side of my face is still more swollen then the left, but definitely considerably smaller than previously.  

In certain angles, it's hard to notice the swelling.  

This is from day 11, went to movies to watch Kung Fu Panda 2 with the bf (in the back), my sister and her daughter, my beautiful almost 5 year old niece.  As you can see in this picture better, right side is still more swollen.  However, you can start to see my cheekbones again.  Also, this is as much of a normal looking smile as I can muster yet.  I've tried smiling with teeth but I can barely open my mouth still with all the stitches yet.  I'm getting there though! 

day 9; doc said whaaat?

I'm back!  Trying to stay a little more active in posting since I'm feeling better everyday.  The worst is all behind me now, and I'm glad to say it really only gets better from here :).  Thanks everyone for all the support!  Anyway, yesterday was my one week check up with my surgeon.  He said that I'm doing fine and healing just nicely; so relieved.  However, I asked if there was any chance of cutting the wires earlier than the 6 week mark and he said no.  Since my surgery was so extensive (top jaw, bottom jaw, and maxilla split), his first priority is making sure everything heals properly and not rushed.  After the 6 week mark, I have to go in again and go through another procedure (sedated....again unfortunately), where they remove all the wires holding my jaw shut.  Initially, he was debating between using metal plates which don't need to be removed or wires which do, but chose wires since it leaves room for my orthodontist to fix anything if necessary.  Also!  Forgot to mention, the surgeon didn't need to shave my chin bone down.  A lot of the times when surgery requires pushing the lower jaw forward, shaving the chin bone down is necessary to maintain proper side profiles, but he said it looks great the way it is and I completely agree.  Plus I'm sure it would've made healing a little more annoying if he did hahaha.  

All technical things aside, I'm doing great.  I feel better as the days go by and I'm really trying to consume a lot of healthy drinks like originally planned.  That PLUS I'm now a pro at slurping ice cream hahaha.  Tomorrow is my boyfriend's university graduation!  It'll be my first real public appearance despite still being swollen (wouldn't miss it for the world).  I'll be sure to take and post a picture tomorrow of my face progress.  That's all for today!  :) 

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).