Pre-Op Appointments

waiting room selfies

Yesterday, I completed another step in the surgery process: pre-op appointments. (Hours of sitting in waiting rooms and filling out forms and many other exciting adventures.)

I met with my jaw surgeon first, who explained the surgery again. Then I asked him some questions, such as "how long until I can be in the sun?" (a few weeks; anything that increases your body temperature can also increase swelling) and "how long until I can do colorguard again?" (a whopping six weeks.) But I did discover that I can, in fact, drink through a straw. Patient tip: do NOT be afraid to ask your doctors questions! Don't be shy when it comes to your own health. After asking questions, my mother had to sign forms, which included a consent form that stated that my mother was aware that sharp instruments would be used in surgery. (I'm not kidding.) Then a nurse stuck metal trays filled with an awful putty-like substance in my mouth --impressions, for those of you who haven't yet experienced this joyful event. The surgeon uses this model of my teeth to know where to move my jaw.

wicked wound covering 

After that, it was off to the hospital for more paperwork and to get blood work done. They also made me pee in a cup because I'm of "child-bearing age," which apparently is a newer rule (thanks Teen Mom.) Then they drew my blood and I was free to go.






So now, it's one week until the surgery, and all my pre-op stuff is complete. All I have to do now is show up at 10 AM next Thursday without make up or jewelry on, and I'll be admitted to my room. As customary with surgeries, I can't eat or drink anything after midnight the night before. My mom said we'll have my "last supper" of sorts and she'll make me my favorite meal. I'll be sure to document this event.

Thanks for reading!

Jaws, you so silly

Now that I've had my braces on for like four and a half years, (it's actually been four and a half years) my teeth are pretty straight. However, because my jaws are misaligned, my teeth don't actually line up where they're supposed to.  This affects my bite, which the surgery will also fix.

In the picture, if you look at my teeth, you can see that my lower jaw is actually crooked, which is strange because you can't tell my jaw is crooked when you just look at my face. The orange lines I drew are actually supposed to match up, but they don't because of the misalignment. You might also notice the tiny little hooks poking out from the brackets. These will help secure the splint they use in my mouth during surgery. Super cute.

Sorry for this oh-so-attractive up close and personal shot here, but a picture helps explain the problem better.

A friend's guide to not acting weird around your friend who is having/has just had corrective surgery

Over the past few months, I've let more people in my life know about my surgery. I haven't been trying to keep it private really, (obviously because, you know, I'm blogging about it and all) but I would feel weird shouting it from the rooftops because it's not like it's open heart surgery or something big like that.  Regardless, I can tell it has been strange for some to find out. I think this is because some people don't know how to react when you tell them your face is going to look different. Not that I blame them, though. This leads to pretty much two reactions:  "Yay, your face will be different than it is now! ...Not that it isn't a good face now! Erm. Uh," or "Nooo, I like your face now! ...Not that you won't look fine after. Uh. Erm." Both responses are adorabley puzzled and understandable. I myself didn't really know how to react at first. However, once you hear multiple doctors tell you about the problems that will (keyword: will) occur later in life if the surgery is not performed, it puts things into perspective. Not gonna lie, a healthy amount of natural concern from loved ones is always nice. (Every human likes changes in their life to be acknowledged and shown care from family and friends.) Just keep in mind that there's a happy medium between ignoring the fact that your friend is having surgery and pushing them into the spotlight for it. So here's my view, just incase you were wondering: I feel blessed that my family is able to give me this surgery and since it needs to be done, I might as well be stoked about it. It's not a huge deal to me. Like I said, it's not open heart surgery. I like my face now; it's been with me for seventeen years! And it's because of this comfortableness with the way I am now that I am also comfortable with the changes the surgery will bring, which won't even be astronomical changes. So it is what it is!

As far as after my surgery goes, I pretty much have to chill in a recliner for two weeks. Seeing as I'm an active person who likes to be up and about, this may be a bit difficult for me. I'd be quite lonely just sitting there staring at the TV (which I will not be staring at through my contacts, but through my glasses, which will be stylishly taped to my face. I'll discuss this later.) Thank goodness I have lovely friends who have volunteered to come see me and watch movies with me and laugh at my inability to speak properly. That is, I hope they feel comfortable enough to laugh. The doctors say that I will look worse than I feel (yay medicine) due to bruising and such. So I hope this won't make others act like I just got hit by a car or something. If you're my friend and you're reading this, just act like you always do around me. Don't be afraid to hug me and joke around! And it's okay to stare at my bandaged face. If you're someone who is about to have surgery, realize that people may not know how to react, and that's perfectly okay. It'll get better as people get used to your lovely bandaged recovery face, I'm sure.

This turned into quite a lengthy post. Thanks for reading! More pictures and videos and such to come!