i made it! i made it!!!

oh my gosh, it's over. and it wasn't anywhere near as bad as i thought it would be. before i go into the post-op details, i wanted to post the pre-op pics i promised. if you want to see a cute picture of how i usually look, just look at my profile picture, because these are after i got out of the shower and are not flattering!

my grimace

totally awful unflattering retrognathic jaw i've had all my life. it always reminds me of henrietta, the chicken who was in love with foghorn leghorn :)

surgical hooks: probably the worst thing ever

and they go allllllll the way back, and tear up the inside of your mouth :(

The Surgery:

i showed up at Grant at 10am. they pretty much took me right back, took my weight, some blood samples, an EKG, and put an IV in. then i got to wait for about a half hour and started falling asleep. my mom left work and got there just in time so that i could give both my parents a hug and a kiss before the procedure. then, they wheeled me off to the operating room.

literally all i remember was them hooking up my IV and then i woke up in another room. that day was spent drifting in and out of sleep, periodically getting antibiotics and diloted put into my IV. speaking of diloted, that stuff WORKS. holy crap. i mean, within seconds my body turned to jello and i was heading toward naptown again. so i slept most of yesterday. i woke up almost every hour during the night, but luckily i had awesome nurses who would always come in to check on me, bring me water, help me use the restroom and wipe my bleeding nose for me, all the while joking around with me to keep my spirits up.

this morning, my dad showed up at about 8:30 to visit and watched tv with me as i dozed in and out of sleep. i ate a lunch consisting of chicken broth, italian ice, red jello (good thing it was green, that stuff is gross), apple juice, hot tea, and tons of water. i felt so much better after i ate!

dr. jackrit came in and checked on me and was super pleased to see me wide awake and in good spirits (the diloted, i swear!). he gave me today to breathe and be semi-comfortable, and tomorrow i get to have my jaws wired shut, which i have a feeling will not be comfortable at all. the inside of my mouth is torn up and i'm really really bruised, but honestly, i don't feel like i have two broken jaws and a broken chin. so, here are the post-op pictures i have so far:

I HAVE A CHIN!!! yay! well, i will have a chin once the swelling goes down. man i am stoked for that. i'm so happy with my doctor and his staff.

well, i'm going to go drink a smoothie and eat some chicken broth, so thank you everyone for all your kind words and wishes. i'll try to keep this updated with daily pics so i and anyone else who wants to can keep track of the progress. 

best!

p.s. just for me, cuz i want to see them side by side: