It feels like just yesterday
I was fretting over the surgery and its implications on my life. Was this the correct decision or not? I just didn’t know.
That anxiety subsided as soon
as I awoke from surgery. It was
done. Now I must heal.
All of the cards and gifts are a constant reminder that I will get through this :)
In the month since the TJR, there
are minimal changes to my face.
My face is still frozen
except for a slight grin. I sometimes
show teeth when I smile naturally, but if I attempt to smile on purpose, well,
it looks like a snarl. On the positive
side, people pay good money to have a forehead such as mine. It looks as though I spent quite a bit on Botox,
so I can’t complain about that!
My right eye still doesn’t
close the same as the left. It does
close, just not as tight and bothers me when I am trying to focus. Driving at
night or in the rain is a challenge. I’m
sure it looks a bit goofy, but I don’t care.
I still go about my normal day-to-day routine.
I do still have some numbness on my
cheeks. At times I get random pains on
different parts of my face as nerves are regenerating.
In addition, my chin looks
better because my teeth are aligned.
At the moment, my pain level
is wonderful. I haven’t taken a pain
pill in three weeks and I have not taken Excedrin. I've noticed that the weather causes headaches.
I do have random aches and
pains on occasion. When I am out with
friends or family, I tend to get achy. I
also have first bite syndrome when I drink/eat something either cold or
hot. It’s annoying, but not the end of
the world.
I go to physical therapy once
a week. The physical therapist is
trained in jaw issues. He spends quite a
bit of time with his hands in my mouth.
I’m not sure what he’s doing, but it excruciatingly painful. If it gets to be too much, I’m supposed to
raise my hand. I don’t. I want to heal as quickly as possible.
This week I could open to a
30 on my own. When I left, I opened to a
36!
I have to do my main PT
exercises 4X a day and my other PT exercises 7X a day. It’s a lot, but my goal is to open to a 33 on
my own by next week.
He is pleased with my opening
and says that I am progressing faster than most people who had my surgery. He is not as happy with my face, so I need to
continue to work on that. I am still on a soft/mushy food diet.
At this point in the healing
process, I do not regret my decision. I
recognize that I have a long road ahead of me, but am optimistic of the future.
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