Day 59...Happy 2010...10 Days Till Soft Food!
I hope you all have enjoyed my video. I am still quite amazed how every thing looks! I am very excited about going back to Santa Barbara in 10 days too get my OK for soft food and wearing my bands only at night! This week I started yoga, did light pilates, AND was able to go to physical therapy. It feels good to be active, even if it is light. For Christmas I got an indoor trainer to put my bike on, I am so excited!
This week's appointment with Dr. Chira went well. My ROM is now 18.5mm!! That's a gain of 2mm in a week! My goal is 20mm by the time I go to California, I am confident I can get it done! My jaw is SO ready to chew. Dr. Chira is really impressed with my bite. She took pictures and said (in reference to my braces) "I don't think these are going to be on very long," so exciting!! On Tuesday I had my 8 week post-op iCat scan (advanced x-ray) @ Dr. Hardy's office. My plates and screws still look awesome. I could see that my grafting looks like it is healing well. The holes in my cheek bone from where they took bone for grafting are also healing. All very positive things.
Now to think back to before the holiday's...On the 23rd Sam and I got in a car accident on our way down to Boston for Christmas. We were about 15 miles in on the interstate. It had been snowing during the day and the roads were a bit slick so we were driving cautiously. We were driving in the passing lane and a car cut us off and then put on their brakes. We were forced to brake because there was a car in the left lane. We then did about 5-6 full circles in both directions all while staying within the guardrails going down a hill then the guardrails stopped and we came to a near halt in the right shoulder where we were pulled down the embankment hitting a fence and saplings.
During this entire scare I was thinking my jaw was ruined and we were in so much danger from other cars hitting us or going over into the median and hitting the rocks, or flipping over the guardrail. But none of those things happened. We hit the saplings & the fence and the airbags didn't even go off. Sam was driving so he got out to check the car, I called 911 and the woman on the other end was instantly not interested in what I had to say after I said that we were physically OK. Apparently there were 5 or so other accidents within the same 2-3 mile area where people were actually hurt and police were needed there much more than they were needed with us. She did say they would send someone, so we waited and thanked God that we were OK. We were so lucky nothing happened. To make this long story shorter, a tow truck stopped by us on it's way to another accident helped us out of the ditch and we slowly (over an hour) made it off the interstate and made our way back home without power steering, terrible alignment, terribly banged up front right fender, and no right mirror. We did make it to Boston the next day after borrowing my parents much more snow savvy SUV. My jaw is totally okay from the accident, I just had tense shoulders and neck from trying to stabilize my head during the spinning.
We brought in New Years with a party at our apartment. The guys had moustaches and suits and the ladies had fancy dresses and "bump-its" (as seen on TV!). It was a blast, but very exhausting for me. I was ready for bed at 8 and stayed up till 1 or 2. PHEW! We've had many friends staying with us over the Holiday season. It is great to see everyone and spend time with them, although I do not have the stamina.
My jaw pain is still low at a 3-4; however, my hook is like hell. It makes me cry each time I have to put it on. Last night it was so bad I really thought it was going to pull through my bone and flesh. It was gut wrenching. I took Tylenol, used the lidocane ointment, and used heat. Nothing helped. Usually the pain subsides within a couple minutes but this lasted until I fell asleep on the futon for a couple of hours. I am also frustrated with my implant site because it looks so red and irritated. I do salt water/hydrogen peroxide rinses 3-4 times a day, but it doesn't seem to be helping.
My swelling is still slowly coming down. My left side is still more swollen than my right. Talking with my bands on is actually getting more difficult. My jaw just wants to be free! I have dreams of eating real food, and I cannot wait!
2010 is going to be a good year...smiling on! :)
This week's appointment with Dr. Chira went well. My ROM is now 18.5mm!! That's a gain of 2mm in a week! My goal is 20mm by the time I go to California, I am confident I can get it done! My jaw is SO ready to chew. Dr. Chira is really impressed with my bite. She took pictures and said (in reference to my braces) "I don't think these are going to be on very long," so exciting!! On Tuesday I had my 8 week post-op iCat scan (advanced x-ray) @ Dr. Hardy's office. My plates and screws still look awesome. I could see that my grafting looks like it is healing well. The holes in my cheek bone from where they took bone for grafting are also healing. All very positive things.
Now to think back to before the holiday's...On the 23rd Sam and I got in a car accident on our way down to Boston for Christmas. We were about 15 miles in on the interstate. It had been snowing during the day and the roads were a bit slick so we were driving cautiously. We were driving in the passing lane and a car cut us off and then put on their brakes. We were forced to brake because there was a car in the left lane. We then did about 5-6 full circles in both directions all while staying within the guardrails going down a hill then the guardrails stopped and we came to a near halt in the right shoulder where we were pulled down the embankment hitting a fence and saplings.
During this entire scare I was thinking my jaw was ruined and we were in so much danger from other cars hitting us or going over into the median and hitting the rocks, or flipping over the guardrail. But none of those things happened. We hit the saplings & the fence and the airbags didn't even go off. Sam was driving so he got out to check the car, I called 911 and the woman on the other end was instantly not interested in what I had to say after I said that we were physically OK. Apparently there were 5 or so other accidents within the same 2-3 mile area where people were actually hurt and police were needed there much more than they were needed with us. She did say they would send someone, so we waited and thanked God that we were OK. We were so lucky nothing happened. To make this long story shorter, a tow truck stopped by us on it's way to another accident helped us out of the ditch and we slowly (over an hour) made it off the interstate and made our way back home without power steering, terrible alignment, terribly banged up front right fender, and no right mirror. We did make it to Boston the next day after borrowing my parents much more snow savvy SUV. My jaw is totally okay from the accident, I just had tense shoulders and neck from trying to stabilize my head during the spinning.
We brought in New Years with a party at our apartment. The guys had moustaches and suits and the ladies had fancy dresses and "bump-its" (as seen on TV!). It was a blast, but very exhausting for me. I was ready for bed at 8 and stayed up till 1 or 2. PHEW! We've had many friends staying with us over the Holiday season. It is great to see everyone and spend time with them, although I do not have the stamina.
My jaw pain is still low at a 3-4; however, my hook is like hell. It makes me cry each time I have to put it on. Last night it was so bad I really thought it was going to pull through my bone and flesh. It was gut wrenching. I took Tylenol, used the lidocane ointment, and used heat. Nothing helped. Usually the pain subsides within a couple minutes but this lasted until I fell asleep on the futon for a couple of hours. I am also frustrated with my implant site because it looks so red and irritated. I do salt water/hydrogen peroxide rinses 3-4 times a day, but it doesn't seem to be helping.
My swelling is still slowly coming down. My left side is still more swollen than my right. Talking with my bands on is actually getting more difficult. My jaw just wants to be free! I have dreams of eating real food, and I cannot wait!
2010 is going to be a good year...smiling on! :)
It sounds like the improvements are now outweighing the left-over pains and bit of swelling. That is great news! I'm so glad you both made it out of the car accident safely! Continue your healing, you're going to be a new woman in 2010! hehe
ReplyDelete