Before and After Pictures of My Jaw Surgery

I can see why the maxillo facial surgeon called this major surgery, because this was a little harder to recover from than I had previously thought. I went to the doctor on Monday morning (March 9th) which was 1 week post op. I was so sick and could hardly walk straight. I was in tears when I called the doctors office and they got me right in. Its a good thing they did because 3 pokes for an iv line and 2 bags of iv fluid later I started to feel a little better. It turns out I became dehydrated over the weekend and had made myself pretty darn sick. The doctor put in the iv in himself and the first two tries my veins collapsed. I have two huge bruises on the inside of my arms by my elbows from where the blood went into the tissue. They look like 2 hickies and are both about the size of a quarter!

These pictures were taken the morning of my surgery. When I came out of surgery, Jake said I look liked I had just gone through brain surgery. My head was completely wrapped and plugs where in my nose to keep them open for oxygen.





These pictures were taken 1 week post op. The swelling had actually started to decrease a little at that point. The bruising wasn't as bad as I expected, but the surgeon told me I was one of his most swollen patients that he has had.




I can't wait to get back to eating normal foods! 2 weeks down and at least 4 weeks to go before I can start on solids (I feel like a 4 month old baby). I have been reading cookbooks in an effort to find some soups I could puree that wouldn't be too bad, but as I read the other items things like crab salad even sound heavenly though I normally wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole!

I went to see Dr. Lunceford, an internist, today for my regular checkup and a pap smear. I had bumps and welts all over my arms and on the inside of my legs. I guess that Mom and Elisabeth aren't the only ones who are allergic to penicillin. I got those genes too! I have been on an antibiotic for these last two weeks to prevent any infection from entering my mouth since I can't brush my teeth. Thank goodness I won't be taking that anymore!

Everyday things get a little bit better for me and I plan on going back to work in 1 week. I owe a big thanks to everyone for helping so much with the kids!