Day 43 - Unwiring Day!

Hey everyone! Since today was my last day wired shut I thought I would tape myself talking so you guys can hear what I sound like with my jaws wired shut:

Like I said, I taped that video on the way to the doctor's office. I was so nervous! Dr. Fujimoto had warned that it would be a pretty weird feeling once my wires were cut so I wasn't really sure what to expect. As we all know, Jen does not do well with the unknown! So as Mom, Kevin and I were escorted into Dr. Lee's office (Dr. Fujimoto was on vacation) my anxiety was peaking. 

By the time he came in, I was just ready for this to happen! We chatted a bit, and then he decided to just get on with it. He laid my chair back and started snipping away. It took quite a bit to get those damn wires out of my mouth. At one point, he snipped a wire and it was digging into my lip. I think he thought that my lips were still numb because he was not in any rush to move it until I told him I was in pain. After he snipped the last wire, he lifted my chair up and said he'd give me some time alone to work on opening my mouth. 

I'm really struggling with words to describe how it felt when I first opened my mouth. It just felt so insanely foreign. I also felt like my mouth was so wide open, but when I looked in the mirror, my mouth was barely open. It was a weird flood of emotions too. I saw Kristin Bell once on Ellen and she said that emotionally, if she's not between a 3 and an 8 on a scale of 10, she's crying. That pretty much perfectly summed up how I was feeling. I immediately welled up and started crying. I was just so happy that this first leg of my recovery was over, but at the same time, so scared and frustrated at what was yet to come. After I calmed down, I was able to check my mouth out a bit more. Without the plastic splint in my mouth, my teeth felt so weird touching each other. Dr. Fujimoto had warned me that some of my back teeth would hit each other after the surgery, but that Dr. Kaprelian would work on fixing it once I could get back to working with him. 

After a bit, Dr. Lee came back in and checked my progress and bite. He said that everything looked really good. I asked him if I could brush my teeth, and he kinda chuckled and said I would't be able to fit my toothbrush in my mouth. But I was determined, dammit! So I tried…and he was right. But I did my best, and just being able to open my mouth and rinse it out felt phenomenal. After, Dr. Lee came back in and put my elastics on. I was very confused, because he never put my splint back in! So I asked him about it, and he said that my bite was doing so well that I didn't need it. You see, since I had an asymmetry in my jaw, the muscles have built up and are always going to try and open/close my jaw the same way it always has. The elastics are there to train my bite to open and close properly in its new alignment. And since Dr. Kaprelian did such a great job setting my teeth up before the surgery, I don't need the extra help that the splint provided. So huzzah! No more splint!

Dr. Lee handed me a baggy of elastics, explained that I need to wear them all the time except when I'm eating or brushing my teeth and sent me on my way. The whole car ride home I just couldn't believe how my teeth felt. For example, now my front bottom teeth fit snugly behind the backs of my front top teeth! I've never felt that sensation before, and I know it's just going to feel weirder once I start eating. 

I tried to stay relaxed the rest of the afternoon. I ended up having to take some tylenol, because I was just a bit sore. After a bit, I figured it was time to try my first meal unwired! I was really craving refried beans with cheese and taco bell mild sauce! So Mom, Dad and I went on an excursion to Taco Bell to grab some. After we came home, Dad got everything together, I pulled out the special gelato spoons that I had bought because I figured they'd be small enough for me to fit in my mouth and I sat down to enjoy my first meal. I took off my elastics and went to dig in…but no dice. The beans were too thick and big and wouldn't fit into my mouth! The other problem is that the beans kept getting caught on the inside of my lips, but I couldn't fit my tongue between my teeth to lick it off! Quite the frustration… So I ended up heating up a bowl of tomato soup and having that as my first meal. I guess I'll just have to try again tomorrow…

But before that, I decided to film myself talking without the wires! The doctor said I'm not supposed to do any unnecessary talking. I really need to baby my jaw for the next two weeks, so don't get too used to hearing me talk :P

Going forward, I'll probably start updating the blog on a weekly basis, since my life is starting to get back to some semblance of normality. But don't worry, I'll keep you all updated on the important stuff ;)

Thanks for reading!

6 WEEKS!!!!

Today's Craving: EVERYTHING

I thought that for my 6 weeks post, I would post some of my before and afters and some progress pictures:

Here you can see the change in my midline. I tried my best to draw a line from the center of my nose, through my cupid's bow (the dip in your top lip) and straight down. You can see how much more centered my jaw is now.

Here's a close up of my teeth, which is the real reason for me having the surgery. As you can see, the alignment on the left made my bite really inefficient. I could't really bite straight through anything (steak sandwich?? forget it) It's also what caused my jaw joints to be out of alignment, causing my TMJ problems. Now, my teeth line up almost perfectly. It's a little hard to see with the splint in my mouth (that clear piece between my teeth). After I am done recovering from surgery, my orthodontist will work on making sure my teeth are straight and fitting in my mouth as best as possible. 

Here are my progress pictures from every week:

Tomorrow, I am set to get my wires taken off! I'll be able to brush my teeth and eat soft foods. I honestly cannot believe that 6 weeks has gone by already. I feel good about my recovery so far, and I feel like I am in good spirits. I can only hope that it continues through the rest of my recovery!

Thanks for reading!

Day 41 - We're almost there!

Today's Craving: McDonald's French Fries

I was exhausted this morning. Even though I've transitioned to sleeping in a bed now, for some reason it doesn't feel like productive rest. I just keep waiting for my energy level to get back normal, and I mean it has definitely rebounded a bit since the surgery, but I'm not quite there yet. I'm hoping that once I'm unwired and can eat some actual food, that it will help. 

So I spent the morning laying low and resting. After a bit, Joanna texted me and we made plans to meet up at the pool. Dad came by and picked me up and we headed over to the apartment. It was such a hot day so Joanna and I spent most of our time in the pool. After soaking up as much sun as we could, Dad and I went back home. 

After a quick shower and some rest, I had some visitors: Anthony, Linda and Lucas! They're Kevin's cousins, but I know they like me better :P Linda was sweet enough to make me not one, but two big containers of homemade soup! I absolutely can't wait to dig into both of them as soon as I get my wires off (which is in two days, if you're counting). They smell delicious. They hung out for a bit while we all caught up on what is going on in our lives. It was so good to see them!

After the visit, Mom, Dad, Kevin and I headed up to Whole Foods so they could grab dinner. Meanwhile, I ran next store to CVS to get some more liquid Allegra and Ensure, although now that we're coming to the end I'm pretty sure I'll have some left over. 

Tomorrow is officially 6 weeks since my surgery. I can't believe it! It went so fast, but at the same time, drug on and on and on. 

Here's my progress picture for the day. Savor these last few people :P

Thanks for reading!

Day 39 & Day 40: Weekend Recap

Weekend Craving: Linguica…in any way, shape or form

Day 39 - Saturday

This morning, Kevin and I slept in while Mom and Dad walked to Starbucks. When they got home, we got ourselves together and headed out to run some errands. First, we headed over to Buffalo Wild Wings so everyone could get some lunch. I had figured that they had to serve milkshakes there, but once we were seated and I checked out the menu, I realized I was wrong. So we tried to sneak out before our waiter saw us. As we were sneaking out, the manager asked us how our experience was and Mom asked about the milkshakes. When we told him that I was wired shut, he was very accommodating and assured us that he would blend up whatever I needed. So I had a chocolate milkshake for lunch. The other great thing about Buffalo Wild Wings is that they have a restaurant wide trivia game, so I was able to play that rather than staring at everyone eating.

After lunch, we headed over to the Nike Store to check it out, since none of us had been there. They were having a good sale so I picked up a few things. Then we ran over to Old Navy because they were having their $1 flip flop sale. I mean c'mon, who can resist a $1 flip flop?!? I also picked up a birthday outfit for myself since we're less than a week away. We rounded out the errands by doing a Target run, where I only remembered half of the things that I originally planned on purchasing. Why does that always happen when you don't make a list?

Now, when I woke up that morning my nose was a little tickly. I took my allergy medicine (the children's liquid form, of course) and continued on with my day but the tickle never really went away. It wasn't until we got home from our errands that my nose went crazy. I had crossed over into full-blown allergy attack mode. My nose immediately blocked up, meaning that I could only breathe through my mouth. Which, in case you forgot, is wired shut. Also, I did something I've been dreading since my surgery: I sneezed. And…just as I expected, it was pretty uncomfortable. Luckily, I have some pretty good caretakers. Mom set me down in my recliner with a cold compress, while Kevin ran to the store to buy liquid Sudafed and some breath right strips. Luckily, the combo seemed to really help and I was eventually able to breathe again.

After my allergy attack had subsided a bit, we all decided to check out the festa that was happening in San Jose. This was Mom and Dad's first festa experience and, quite frankly, they didn't know what they were getting into. We quickly ran into Kevin's family as soon as we arrived. Everyone else enjoyed linguisa sandwiches and I sat and watched the band. It actually worked out really well allergy-wise, because I was able to hang out in the open air and it made me feel much better. After a bit, we all went back home and immediately passed out.

Festa time!

Day 40 - Sunday

After an exhausting Saturday, I slept in as much as I could on Sunday before getting up to take care of a few things before heading out to Dominic's birthday party. He was turning 7 and was having a pool party to celebrate. Kev and I packed up our suits, sunscreen and some banging gifts (if I do say so myself) and we were on our way.

We got to the pool a little early to help set up for the party. I was helping decorate and Kevin was on lifeguard duty. I brought an Ensure to enjoy while everyone was eating, but Kevin said that the food was awesome. Plus Dominic's grandpa had made this bangin pirate ship out of a watermelon!

I mean, c'mon. Too cool!

When it came time for cake, Amy's mom was even nice enough to get me a milkshake since she knew that I couldn't eat! It was so sweet! She even figured out what flavor is my favorite. It was such a thoughtful gesture on a day when there was already so much going on. We had such a good time celebrating and hanging out with everyone.

After the party, we hadn't had enough pool fun, so we had Mom and Dad meet us at our apartment pool. We all swam for a bit before making our way back home. We spent the rest of the night watching "Iron Man 3" and in my case, booking my hotel for Disney World. Huzzah! Overall, it was a great weekend. I was definitely pooped but it was way worth it :)

Thanks for reading!

Day 38 - live blog

I figured today I'd give you a play by play of my day :)

10:15am - woke up from a night of really weird dreams. Dreams about running into Christiano Ronaldo in an elevator while looking for Katlyn. Kevin said something on portuguese to him, and I tried to take a picture of the two of them and no matter how much I tried, the picture wouldn't come out! The second dream had me going to this really extreme theme park with my Apple coordinator friends. What???

11:00am - The boy meets world episode where Corey follows Topanga to Disney world is on. I'm not going anywhere for the next 30 minutes. 

12:20pm - FaceTime with my second family who are having a great time without me in Havasu! Had to include a picture of the Hearts game I'm missing. (Hey guys!)

2:30pm - Get Well card from my orthodontists office! Totally reflects my attempt at a laid back attitude during this recovery. Not sure how successful I've been at it, but I've tried. 

4:30pm - Mom and I finally got around to watching Jersey Boys.

6:45pm - Meh. The stage show is better. 

7:00pm - I blended myself up some chicken noodle soup. It's delish. 

8:00pm - Dad realized he still had grandma and grandpa's car keys in his pocket so we took a ride over there to return them and hang out for a bit. 

9:30pm - It's time to get home and watch some TV before bed. 

11:45pm - bedtime. Kevin gets to move upstairs with me. Here's hoping he doesn't roll over and punch me in the face in the middle of the night. 

Thanks for reading!!

Day 37 - Closer to getting my wires off

Today's Craving: Wet Burrito

This morning, Joanna and I unfurled our mini american flags and watched the US soccer game together. After the rousing game, we headed over to the pool to relax for a bit. After a while, Dad came and joined me.

Luckily, Jeffrey was cut off from too much pool time because I had an appointment at Dr. Fujimoto's office. After a bit of a wait, Dr Fujimoto came in and checked inside my mouth. Again, he was impressed with how clean I've been able to keep it. Clearly he does not realize how thorough/crazy I am… He also said that the incisions have healed, so I'm very happy about that. Then we started about talking about next week, when I am scheduled to get my wires taken off. The doctor explained that I'd need to make an appointment to come in next week and have the wires removed, and replaced with elastic bands. He warned me that it is going to be a very strange feeling once my wires are removed. My muscles and jaw will need to get used to being used again. It's essentially like sitting on the couch for 6 weeks, and then standing up. Your muscles are just not used to moving and I'm going to have to re-train my jaw to open and close in my new alignment. He said that sometime people can even pass out once their wires are taken off, so they will remove them while I am sitting down. He said that once the wires are cut off, I can open my mouth as much as feels comfortable. I'll also have my first opportunity to remove my plastic splint and to brush my teeth and tongue. That is honestly the part I am most excited about. After that appointment, I'll have my elastics on for the following two weeks. I'll have to wear the elastics all the time, except for when I am eating or brushing my teeth.

As excited as I am about getting my wires off and switching to elastics, I'm also really nervous. I guess a lot of that comes down to the unknown again. I felt the same way before being wired shut. I just wasn't sure what it would be like, or how I would be able to deal with it. But quite frankly, I think I've done pretty well so far; way better than I expected. So I hope that trend continues. Also, why do doctors always have to give you the worst case scenarios? Like telling me about people passing out when they get their wires off? In case I wasn't crazy enough and didn't already have the urge to spend all night googling "Is it painful to have your wires removed after jaw surgery?" (most posts on the message boards point to 'yea, a bit', by the way) now I'm just a bit more anxious. I'm trying to stay positive though. Everything has gone according to plan so far, so I'm optimistic that this too will go off without a hitch.

After my appointment, we headed home and cleaned the house a bit. When Kevin got home from work, he and Dad decided to go to Sam's BBQ for dinner. I tagged along, Ensure in hand. They ordered a bucket of beers, so in essence we were all drinking our dinner :P

Yep, these are the people entrusted with caring for me during my recovery...

We had just gotten back home when Mom arrived in her taxi from the airport. I'm happy to have her home :) We helped her unpack, then all watched some TV together before retiring for the night.

Here's my progress picture:

Thanks for reading!

Day 36 - Highs and Lows

Today's Craving: Bruschetta

So like I said yesterday, I feel like my days (and consequentially, my blog) is getting a little repetitive. So rather than telling you again about how I woke up, drank my Ensure, and watched some TV, I thought I'd try something a little different today. In college, my sorority did something every week called "Highs and Lows" where everyone could stand up and share their, you guessed it, highs and lows. I figured I'd share some of the great things, and some of the not so great things that happened to me today.

Low: I had to pull out all of the work I did on my crochet project yesterday because I realized that I forgot to count the stitches, and I was way off.

High: I got to watch "Parks and Recs"while I was pulling out all my work, and while I fixed my mistake.

Low: The stupid little bumps under my chin have still not gone away >:(

High: Dad and I got some more Vitamin D today and we had the whole pool to ourselves (minus the skinny lady swimming laps who is, oddly enough, more tan then dad.)

Low: I missed a part of my chest when I put my sunscreen on :/

High: Dad got a pedicure today. Yes, you read that right, Dad and I got pedicures. He giggled through the whole part where they scrub the bottom of your foot with pumice. I wish I would have videotaped it.

Low: I was so excited about the pedicure that I didn't remember to drink an Ensure before we left. We had to swing by Target after the pedicures, so we went shopping on an empty stomach. It made me grouchy.

Low: I bought some baked potato soup at Target and blended it up for dinner. When I tried to drink it through a straw, it still clogged up my mouth. I didn't even get to finish it. I had to drink yet another Ensure for dinner.

High: Big Brother started tonight! My ultimate guilty pleasure!

Ultimate Low: I forgot to take a progress picture today :( I'm sucking at that lately.

I hope your day was filled with more highs than lows! Thanks for reading mine :)

Day 35 - 5 weeks down.

Today's Craving: That new Taco Bell Quesarito. I mean it's hard to crave something you've never had but if they could stop showing those damn commercials every 5 minutes, I'd appreciate it.

I'm starting to feel like this blog is getting so repetitive. Wake up, get in the recliner, chug down a couple of Ensures, entertain myself until everyone comes home. But this is my life right now. I think I'm just getting caught up in the repetitiveness of everything. But I just keep chugging along with my eye to next week when the wires actually come out. When I really think about it, I cannot believe it has already been 5 weeks. 

Anyways, I woke up this morning and came downstairs and got myself a bit of breakfast. I spent the morning working on some of the paperwork associated with my surgery. I'm up to my eyeballs in claim forms right now but it's a necessary evil. After than fun-fest, I worked on my crochet project a bit and watched some TV. 

After lunch, I finished off my Jamba Juice from the day before for lunch, then Katlyn and I had a good, solid FaceTime session. We planned a bit more for our vacation to Disney World. It's been really good to have that as a distraction for me. Anytime I get a little down about my situation or being stuck inside, I just hop on my computer and start planning. 

Lucky for me I had another distraction for the afternoon: My friend Dan came over to visit! We hadn't seen each other in quite a while, so we had a lot to catch up on. Plus he brought me some awesome coloring pages and a crapton of crayons! It was so good seeing him and having a little mini-reunion, even if I barely understandable through my wires. ;)

My masterpiece :P

After Dan's adieu, Kevin came home from work and he and Dad figured out what they wanted for dinner. They decided on Sweet Mango and went to pick it up. They again came home with the most delicious food! But, they also ordered me some Won Ton Soup to try and eat. I sifted out the Won Tons and veggies, and put some of the broth into a cup. It helped ease the torture of smelling all that delicious food that I cannot eat. It also was a very nice change of pace from what I was eating before. 

After dinner, we watched some TV and the boys went to bed. I watched a few episode of Parks and Recs on Netflix while working on my crochet project. Eventually, it was bedtime so I headed upstairs and tucked myself in. 

Here's my progress picture:

Only 1 week left (well really 9 days)!

Thanks for reading!

Day 34 - The menu for the birthday feast just keeps growing...

Today's Craving: Animal Style Fries

Well, I think I've finally found a great configuration of pillows on my bed. I slept really well. The final count is 3 pillows under the head, one under the knees. It lets me lay far enough back to feel comfy while still supporting my jaw enough. Dr Fujimoto suggested that I slowly start taking pillows away so that eventually I'm back to sleeping flat. We'll see how that goes. 

Anyways, after sleeping in for a bit, I headed downstairs and started a movie (Just Like Heaven..a classic!). I relaxed a bit until dad got home. He suggested that we take my recovery poolside, since it was such a nice day. Since I have basically been a vampire hermit, and my skin is translucent, I took him up on the offer. I packed up an Ensure with a straw and we headed around the corner to my apartment pool. 

After a quick stop into my apartment for my suit, Dad and I set up shop by the pool. I really do not use our pool enough. There were only 2 other people there, but granted, it was mid-day Monday. It was pretty hot out there so I downed my Ensure before it baked in the sun. Dad and I spent our time alternating between tanning and floating in the pool. After an hour, I figured my porcelain skin had probably had enough, but George Hamilton had not yet reached his limit. I packed up my stuff and headed back into the apartment, while he continued to crisp. 

After I cleaned up my apartment a bit, Dad finally came to his senses and realized he had bit too much. Dad had to stop by his house, so we headed over there and then picked me up a Jamba Juice on the way home. Dad even got one (he ordered a "Razzatazza", in his words). Mom left for Oregon this morning, so Dad and I relaxed alone at home until Kevin came home. Then the guys decided that they would like to go to In N Out for dinner. I figured I would get a milkshake so I went along for the ride. You know, you would think after a month that I would have learned my lesson. Being locked in a small car carrying delicious food is TORTURE. 

Eventually, God smiled upon me and we arrived back at home. While the guys ate their in n out, I pureed myself some chicken noodle soup. After dinner, we settled in for some Housewives goodness and I tucked into that Neapolitan shake I had picked up. What a way to end the night…

and of course I was too engulfed in my milkshake to take a progress picture. sorry :/

Thanks for reading!

Day 32 & 33 - Weekend Recap

Day 32

Today's Craving: Philly Cheesesteak

This morning, Kevin and I rolled ourselves out of bed early so we could catch a movie. We threw on some clothes and headed off to see "X-Men: First Class". The movie came out only a few days after my surgery, and I was so disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to see it opening weekend. So I was happy we were finally getting to see it, even if I did have to sneak in an Ensure for breakfast. Plus, it was nice to have some alone time just the two of us. It didn't hurt that the movie was awesome either. I already want to see it again.

After the movie we ran a couple of errands, my favorite being picking up a Jamba Juice for me for lunch. I chose an old favorite: the chocolate moo'd with added bananas. It was delicious! After lunch, we headed back home and relaxed for a little bit. Then we got ready for the evening, meaning I actually did my hair and put on makeup! I know, shocking. It felt so weird and took longer than usual, just because I still feel like I have to be so gentle with my face. I know most of it is just my own paranoia, but I just don't want to screw anything up!

It happened to be Kevin's Mom's birthday so we had picked up a cake so we could go over and celebrate with her this afternoon. We headed over to Kevin's parent's house where they were Skyping with the family over in Portugal. We chimed in for a bit, then gathered around to sing Happy Birthday and cut into the Dick's Burnt Almond Cake we brought over. I, of course, looked on longingly. Afterwards, she opened her presents and we all hung out together. It was a great afternoon.

After Kevin's parents house, we headed to Dave and Buster's to celebrate our friend Amy's birthday. When we got there, Kevin explained to everyone that I am wired shut, therefore am not so great on the communication front. Coincidentally, one of the other gals there had just had dental surgery. She had just been given the okay to start eating soft foods, so we spent the night swapping frustrations and horror storied. I tried to have a bowl of soup, but it just didn't work, so I ended up with a vanilla milkshake instead.

After dinner, we played some video games and had a lot of fun together. I'm slowly but surely feeling more and more normal, but my energy level still hash;t fully recovered. It feels like these little bouts of being out of the house sure do take a toll on me. I can't wait until things are totally back to normal. After such a long and fun day, I was pooped. We headed back home and man oh man did I sleep well.

Here's today's progress picture:

Day 33

Todays craving: Pizza (specifically Pizza my heart)

We definitely slept in this morning. I was exhausted from yesterday. We finally rolled ourselves out of bed and just hung around the house a bit. Eventually I pulled myself together and got ready. After a bit, Kristin, Wendi and Noelle all came over to visit. I was so excited to see them! It perked up my morning :) I told Wendi that as soon as I am back in action, we need to go out and do something fun! Eventually, they had to leave, so they could go check out an event at the Girl Scout House around the corner.

After a bit though, I had another visitor: Joanna! She came over to watch the Portugal vs. US game and even brought some mini American flags for us (though we were a house divided). Man, it was a crazy but fun game! We decided that we're definitely gonna have to watch the next one on Thursday together too.

After the game, we didn't want the fun to stop, so we decided to head to the movies, yet again. I guess movies have been the theme this weekend. We decided to go see "22 Jump Street". We got to the theater and after a couple of snafus at the ticket booth, eventually made our way inside and started scouting seats. As Joanna and I grabbed some seats we noticed that Kristin and Gary were sitting in the row behind us!

The movie ended up being awesome! I was in the mood to laugh and it definitely delivered! After the movie, I went to Baskin Robbins and got myself a Birthday Cake Milkshake for the road. Talk about the best dinner ever (and a great way to end a weekend!)

Here's my progress picture for the day:

Thanks for reading!

Day 31 - On the downward slope!

Today's Craving: Chorizo and Eggs


I woke up early today, to go with Dad to visit Grandma and Grandpa. On the way there, we stopped by Dad's house to check on the fence he was having fixed, but eventually we made it to Gma and Gpa's house. We spent a couple of hours hanging out with them and eventually ended up heading out to lunch.

Grandma wanted to go to Erik's deli. I was really hungry, and a bit ambitious, so I decided to order some soup. I was going to try the vegetable soup because I guessed it would be more brothy, but when I ordered, the cashier suggested that tomato bisque might be better for me. I took his word and ordered that. When I got my soup, I had to let it cool down a bit before digging in. This has been one of those unforeseen issues that has come with this surgery. It's really difficult to gauge the temperature of the foods I eat. I mean I can't stick out my tongue to see if my soup is too hot. I kind of have to test it on my hand, and then pray that I don't burn the crap out of my mouth! So I tend to be a little overly cautious. Eventually, I was able to try it. I put a little on a spoon and dumped it into my mouth and was only able to get a little bit through the holes in my splint before it started getting blocked. Dad even got me a straw so I could try getting it in that way, but it was still no dice. It's just so frustrating. I really can't wait to just be able to sit in a restaurant and enjoy some food when I'm out with everyone.

After lunch, Dad and I dropped grandma and grandpa off and headed back home. We made home in time for me to relax for a bit, and then Mom and I left to pick up Yvonne from her house. We had plans to get our nails done. Mom and I got to Yvonne's house and went inside while she got her stuff ready to leave. All of a sudden, my throat went dry and felt like there was an itch in it. I went into this crazy choking fit, which is really uncomfortable and painful when you are wired shut. I just could not stop coughing and I have been so scared of that this whole time. Thankfully, Mom and Yvonne got me some water and I was able to recover. But whoa, it would be great if that never happened again!

We went off and got our nails done, a manicure for me and pedicures for Mom and Yvonne. Afterwards, we planned on meeting Kevin and Dad at Whole Foods for dinner. That has been the hardest test of my willpower. I always forget how great the food that the serve there is! And so much variety. It was like everything looked like the best food I had ever seen. I will definitely be going back once my recovery is over. Lucky for me though, they also have an amazing smoothie bar there. So I got myself a lovely mango, banana and pineapple smoothie for dinner. I enjoyed that while everyone else ate dinner.

After dinner, Mom, Dad, Kevin and I decided to go see "Maleficent".  I was so happy to finally see it, because I have been waiting for that movie sine the D23 expo last year! I had read online how much everyone hated it, but I enjoyed it! I mean it wasn't the greatest movie I'd ever seen, but I was definitely entertained and thought Angelina Jolie looked pretty badass. Another win was the fact that I don't think anyone else in the theater noticed that I had snuck in an Ensure as a mid-movie snack :P

Here's my progress picture for the day:

Also, 2 weeks until my birthday people! I'm starting to get together a menu of soft foods that I'll be able to eat. I can't wait!

Thanks for reading!

Day 30 - Yet another doctor's appointment.

Today's Craving: Scrambled Eggs

Well, last night in the bed was not so successful. I had tried a couple of different configurations before jumping into bed, so I thought I'd be fine when the time came. Well, there I was, PJs on, settling into bed, trying to fall asleep, and…I couldn't. I tossed and turned for 45 minutes, trying to get comfortable. Eventually I scrapped my whole pillow configuration and started from scratch. Then I woke up around 5am, and my neck and back were killing me! So, I shifted the pillows around again and hoped for the best. I'm still going to continue trying to get adjusted to sleeping back in a bed, so I'm just gonna keep tweaking things until it works for me. So after that evening, I slept in as much as I could and then rolled myself out of bed and headed downstairs. The lack of sleep really didn't help with that pesky rain cloud  hanging around. Eventually, I got sucked into a few episodes of Full House and had some Ensure. 

That afternoon, I had my weekly appointment with Dr. Fujimoto. Dad and I headed to Cupertino, and made it just in time for my appointment. We ran into Dr Fujimoto in the hall, so he followed us into the exam room. He checked inside my mouth and said everything is looking great! No sign of infection. He was amazed at how clean it was. I told him I'm a little psycho about it now, ever since the infection. Then he talked me through the next couple of weeks. I'm going to be getting my wires off on July 3rd. Before they take the wires off, they'll take an X-ray just to make sure everything is still in the proper place. After my wires come off, I'll be able to take my splint out, brush my teeth (THANK GOD!) and then I'll put the splint back in and be fitted with elastic bands to hold my mouth shut. I'll wear the bands at all times, except when I am eating or brushing my teeth. He said it will feel pretty weird at that point. After the splint comes off, my teeth will not fit perfectly, hence the reason I'll still be wearing my braces for a while. I'll have some difficulty chewing but eventually I'll get adjusted. He said it will be about 3 months before I am fully healed. At that point, you won't be able to see any break if you were to look at my X-rays. Dr. Fujimoto also said that I'll continue to see him periodically after I am fully healed. Eventually, I'll get down to seeing him only once a year for a check in. I also asked him about my nausea, and he suggested some more…ahem…fiber in my diet. Hopefully that takes care of it. 

After the appointment, I was feeling pretty good. I mean I only had 2 weeks yet before I could eat something! In the meantime, I was craving some real food. Some soup in fact. So Mom blended up a can of minestrone soup. I really wanted to just use a straw to drink it, so Mom put it in a cup for me. Well, that didn't last too long because all of the skins from the veggies kept blocking the holes in my splint. So I would try and take a big sip through the straw, get half a mouthful of soup and then all of the sudden I would't be able to suck anymore! It was so frustrating. So instead Mom blended up a can of chicken noodle, and that went down great!

After a while, Mom and Dad walked to Subway and picked up dinner for themselves and Kevin. Everyone arrived back home at the same time and they all enjoyed their dinner (ugh) while I started watching "Witness" starring Mr. Harrison Ford. After everyone was done eating, we rented "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" and relaxed. Until it was time for me to go back upstairs and get myself as comfortable as possible in bed. 

Here's my progress picture for the day:

Thanks for reading!

Day 29 - Raincloud, go away!

Today's craving: Chips and Guacamole

Well I woke up in time to catch part of the Australia vs Netherlands game this morning. I was hoping Australia would hold on to the lead but what can you do. I was still kind of in a little funk this morning so I just kind of hung out in my recliner. When mom got off of her call and came downstairs to see me, I had a little breakdown. I had a quick crying spell and mom was able to talk me through it. Honestly, I'm surprised it didn't happen earlier. I've always been a bit of a baby when I'm sick, and I've lasted this long so I guess it was inevitable. I hope this little rain cloud doesn't hang around too much longer though. 

After a bit, I got myself cleaned up and Joanna came over to watch the Spain game. It was so nice to have her here because it really cheered me up. It took my mind off everything. The game on the other hand…yikes. It just plain sucked! Uncle John came over to pick up some of the pictures that Mom brought home from Gramma's house, so we all went through a few of them together.

Eventually, everyone left so I settled myself into the recliner and decided to watch "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" on TV. Nothing like a little Madea to cheer a girl up! Then I continued on with "Think Like a Man", so I can see the sequel soon :P A productive afternoon of movie watching. It was nice to just zone out for a while and get lost in a couple of easy going movies.

After a bit, Kevin got home from soccer practice. We all changed quickly and went on a nice walk around the neighborhood. When we came home, we watched some TV and I had my evening milkshake. Dad made it a Reese's milkshake this time. After that, Mom drew me a relaxing bath. I soaked in the tub for close to an hour and was so relaxed when I got out. We had decided that tonight was the night I would try sleeping upstairs in the bed, instead of the recliner. Mom and I arranged the pillows and tried out a couple of different configurations until we found the one that worked best for me. I have to sleep with my head elevated and I have to make sure that I do not roll over on my side. As I brushed my teeth and put my PJs on, another bout of nausea hit me again. This time it was really bad. I felt like I was gonna be sick, but desperately hoped that I didn't. Luckily, that didn't happen. But I settled myself into bed, tried to make myself as comfy as possible and eventually drifted off to sleep.

Also, I forgot to take a progress picture for the day :(

Thanks for reading!

One month down!

Today's craving: A Country Inn linguica omelette with fries instead if hash browns and sourdough toast. Aka my usual.

I can't believe that we are already four weeks down. 2/3rds of the way there!

I woke up this morning and instead of being excited, I was in a little bit of a funk. I just didn't feel like myself. I have read on other blogs that sometimes after surgery, you can go through little bouts of depression. I don't think I'm depressed, per se, but I'm just feeling kind of "meh". I'm hoping it doesn't last too long. 

So there I was, in my recliner, feeling a bit sorry for myself when I remembered my free flight sitting in my southwest account and my promise to visit Katlyn in November! Quickly, I set into action. After searching the limited flights they offer for free travel online, I decided my best bet would be to call and talk to an agent. But how, you ask, can you possibly talk on the phone when you are wired shut and virtually unable to communicate? Why, you call on your handy Mom translator, duh! So around lunch time, after a phone call with a seemingly new agent, I was all set! And you know what visiting Katlyn also means: visiting Disney World! If getting back to Disney World after 14 years doesn't cheer me up, nothing will!

I spent the rest of the day researching  and chatting with Katlyn about Dianey World and trying to make reservations at the restaurants I want to eat at. I've already driven everyone in the house crazy with showing them stuff about it. Little do they know, we have 5 months to go!

In the early afternoon, Dad decided to cook Chile Verde for dinner. Graciously, he put the crockpot outside so I wouldn't have to smell it cooking all day. By the time Kevin got home, they dug in. I'm not the biggest Chile Verde fan in the world, but I'm telling you, I could have eaten that whole pot. No problem. 

As the evening rolled around, we settled into our nightly routine. We watched "Little Women" and dad made me my evening shake. I'm working toward sleeping upstairs, in a real bed sometime this week but for now, I was still in the recliner. As I settled down for sleep, I was incredibly nauseous. It must have been something in my evening shake. But it's strange because I have had that same shake for the last couple of nights and not had any problems. I really hope this nausea doesn't linger because it is no bueno. 

Here's my progress picture for the day:

Like I said, I can't believe it's been a month! I feel like my face is starting to look more normal now, more like me. For a while, every time I looked in the mirror, I didn't recognize my face. It was very weird. But now, I feel like I'm starting to look like my old self, just with a centered chin. Now let's power through these last 2 weeks so I can EAT!!!

Thanks for reading!

Day 27 - A day to re-charge

Today's Craving: Taco Bell Cheesy Potato Burrito

After the busy weekend, I was pooped! But I had to get myself up in time to watch the Portugal vs. Germany game. Though after watching it, I really would have rather slept. Although, at least it wasn't just Spain that choked a big one this week. After that disappointment, I drank my feelings away with a couple of bottles of Ensure and watched some mindless TV to relax. After that, Dad came home with the groceries and I helped him out them away in the kitchen (which was torture).

Soon it was time for the US vs. Ghana match, and man oh man did that perk me up. It was nerve-wracking! But I was very happy with the outcome. I hope we can continue to move through the group like that :) Soon after, Mom got home from work. I spent a bit of time "gambling"on my iPad. I lost all of my freaking money. Thank god it's just pretend money. Then I crocheted for a bit. As you can tell, it was a thrilling day. But I had very little energy, so it felt good to recharge a bit. The rest of the afternoon flew by with people coming and going. Eventually, Kevin got home from work, so we were back at a full house.

After a bit, we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. Last time we went on a walk, my jaw throbbed for most of the rest of the evening. But Dr. Fujimoto said it was normal, and encouraged me to keep walking in order to get adjusted to it. I'm happy to say that there was much less throbbing this time :) I have noticed though, lately, I have been getting these twinges in my chin. Like a quick flash of a pinprick. It's hard to explain. It almost feels like a little gnat lands on my chin, but in the same instance, flies away. I can only hope that its a positive step in my nerve regeneration.

We ended the evening with my nightly milkshake and by watching Real Housewives. Our guilty pleasure. Then mom told us about a new show she had heard about. I was instantly hooked. It's called "Little Women: LA" and it's about a group of women who are little people. It drew me in at the first episode and has quickly become my new obsession! If you have a chance, you should check it out.

Here's my progress picture for the day:

We're almost a month out! Man, that went fast (and torturously slow at the same time)!

Thanks for reading!

Day 25 and Day 26 - Weekend Recap!

Day 25

Today's Craving: Bacon Wrapped Hot Dog

This morning, Dad woke me up in just enough time to get ready for our 2nd Giants game. I went upstairs, threw myself together and we headed out. A couple of days before the game, dad had listed 2 of his tickets for sale because Mom was going up north to visit some family and Kevin had a graduation to go to. As we were driving over to drop Francis off at Grandma's, Dad and I checked to see if his tickets had sold. They hadn't, so we started to go into panic mode. We went back and forth texting with Kevin when he finally decided that he was going to be able to meet us up there. He would just take the train after the graduation. Woo hoo! We dropped Francis off at Grandma's, pulled one of the tickets off of StubHub and headed off to San Francisco. 

Dad and I wanted to get to the game early, since they were giving away free camp Giants hats, and luckily we got there in time. Since we had time before the game, I grabbed a seat in the field club while Dad went off and got some food. He came back with some pizza, and I drank my Ensure. In the meantime, we figured out how to electronically transfer the ticket to Kevin so we wouldn't have to leave our seats when he got there. Isn;t technology awesome?  We made our way to the seats, which felt like the surface of the sun, and settled in to enjoy another game. We lathered on sunscreen and wore our free hats, but there was no escaping the sun. It felt nice though, having been cooped up inside lately. Eventually the man who purchased Dad's other ticket showed up. He started talking to Dad and asked "Do you come to the games a lot?" to which Dad replied "Well, you bought my seat!".  He was from Australia and goes around to different US baseball parks anytime he has some time off. He was a nice guy, and gave Dad someone to talk to at the game. I'm still generally pretty quiet, because it is so difficult to talk, and I try to limit my talking to only the necessary stuff, so I was glad Dad had someone to chat with during the game. In the middle of the third inning, Kevin showed up (with a delicious corn beef sandwich) with gave Dad another vocal companion, and a translator for me because Kevin can understand me much better than Dad can. We watched the rest of the game, which was yet again disappointing, so we were glad to get out of there. 

 free hats!

After we got home, we ran a few errands and stopped by Jamba Juice for me. Ironically, it was the first Jamba Juice that I have had since the surgery. When I was preparing for the surgery, I really thought I would be living at Jamba Juice and sampling the whole menu, but with the infection and the trouble I've had eating through the syringe, I hadn't gotten there yet. After my disaster with the strawberry seeds, I knew I was going to avoid that ingredient, so I ordered a Peach Pleasure. It was so delicious and quite a nice change of pace for me. I can't wait to start trying some more now. 

No seeds here!

After that, we headed home and watched some TV where the recliner quickly seduced me into sleep. Overall, it was fun but I was so exhausted. The two games really wore me out and it's hard for me to be away from the house for so long. I just have my routine and all of my supplies I need here, so it's tough to adjust.  

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Day 26

Today's Craving: Pizza again

Sunday morning, we all woke up and got ready for the day. First up, we had lunch for Father's Day with my family. Kevin, Dad and I met Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle George, Lisa, Alyssa, Brandon and Liz at Harry's Haufbrau (fancy, huh?). We all had decided that we wanted a low key father's day, so Harry's it was! Before our meal, Kev and I gave Dad his gift (CSNY concert tickets). He was very surprised and didn't even know that they were coming! While everyone got in line to order food, I saved the table, drank my Ensure and watched World Cup on my phone. I asked Kevin to get me a cup of the turkey noodle soup, thinking it would be the most brothy soup. But when he got back, I realized, it wasn't as brothy as I had expected, but I didn't let that stop me.  I filled up my syringe, but was having some trouble. So I tried transferring the liquid I had already sucked into the syringe back into an extra bowl, then was planning on straining the soup a bit. Well, thats when the whole thing exploded. All over me, all over the table and worst of all, all over Liz! I was so embarrassed and felt so bad. I gave up after that and gave my soup to Grandma. 

After lunch, we headed to Yumi Yogurt to pick up some new flavors for my evening shakes. Luckily, they had my favorite flavor, Oreo Crunch. We got a quart and headed home because I was running pretty low on energy. Kevin left to attend a graduation party so Dad and I spent some quality time together hanging out and watching the Argentina vs. Bosnia game. We also played our slot machine game on our iPads. I introduced it to him and have created a monster :) Also, I'm obligated to mention that Sunday was also Francis' 7th birthday. So he was sufficiently spoiled throughout the day. A bit later, Mom got home. She had brought a whole bunch of old pictures home from Gramma's house, so  naturally we had to go through all of them and check them out! There were a LOT of pictures, so we were at it for a while. Eventually, Mom and Dad got hungry. After debating what they wanted, they decided to order pizza and salad. It arrived just as Kevin did. And…it was torturous! It smelled so good!

WHY?!??! this is how much was leftover too. Just calling to me….

After they all pigged out, we watched the Game of Thrones season finale. I had mixed feelings about it, but I am so disappointed that the season is over. Then we watched a couple of shows that we had taped throughout the week and Mom made me a milkshake! She used the Oreo Crunch yogurt, a banana and a vanilla Boost for some protein. And it was DAMN good! I'm pretty sure it will become my go-to smoothie for the time being. After that, I slipped into a smoothie-induced coma, and it was time to sink into my recliner for some well deserved sleep. 

Catfish and a smoothie. Hell yes. 

Thanks for reading!

Day 24 - Giants torture

Today's Craving: Quesadilla

As I was settling comfortably in the recliner last night, I heard a noise coming from the chimney. I sat straight up and strained to listen in case it happened again. I didn't hear anything else, but of course I woke dad up and asked him to put the barricade back up. So there we were in the wee hours of the morning re-constructing a barricade…

When we woke up in the morning, Dad went outside to clean up the backyard. When he got out there, he found a bunch of mom's plants had been dug up, by some critter (we're assuming). Now, we think that maybe that's what I heard, instead of something in the fireplace. I still won't let Dad take down the barricade though. After I threw myself together for the day, Amy and Dominic came over to visit. They brought me flowers and a bunch of goodies from the team at work. I swear, I've never been so spoiled and I am so grateful. I'm so lucky to be on such a supportive team. After catching up with Amy, Dominic and I played Wii, created his Mii and ended up starting a puzzle. It was a 1000 piece puzzle though, so he wasn't exactly thrilled. He was, however, thrilled that Mom had a balcony, and when Mom showed it to him on the "tour" he said "Oh, I have to show my Mom this!". I was actually really surprised that Dominic was able to understand me when I spoke. I hope hat's a good sign.

After we bid Dominic and Amy adieu, it was time to get ready for the evening. You see, long before we knew the timing of my surgery, we had decided to get tickets to 2 giants games in a row. The original plan was to try and spend the weekend up in SF, but with my recovery and some other obstacles, it wasn't going to happen. But since I've been feeling pretty good lately, we decided to still try and go to the game. Of course, we had the contingency that if I started feeling bad, we would head home early. 

We showed up at the game, and everyone decided what they wanted to eat. You see, as much as I love to go to Giants games to watch baseball, I love it even more because the food is awesome in our section. There's a huge assortment: a mexican food station with burritos, nachos and quesadillas, asian rice bowls, pizza, garlic fries, carver sliders and the ballpark classic: the hot dog. As soon as we stepped into the field club I was assaulted by all of the smells. It was torture! I waited in line with Kevin at the carvery, and lucky for him, the cook figured we were sharing the slider sandwiches Kevin ordered so she made them extra big. I vehemently also tried to talk him into getting the potato salad on the side (so I could enjoy it in my mind), but he didn't go for it. I was practically drooling by the time we got to the cashier. At least after that we made our way to the seats, where I wasn't engulfed in the smell of food I can't eat. ..that is until the hot dog vendor walked by! Not to worry though, dear readers. About half way through the game, I pulled out a trusty Ensure. I'm sure the people sitting around us were very confused. 

The game ended up being terrible, but after the game there was a fireworks display! Fireworks are my weakness; I love them! It may have something to do with my birthday, but if there's ever an opportunity to see fireworks, I'm all over it. So at least the display made up for the crappy game.

After the fireworks, we made our way back to the car. We packed ourselves in and headed for home, with the knowledge that Dad and I would be back in about…oh…12 hours. 

Here's my progress picture for the evening:

Thanks for reading :)