jaw surgery; 4 days on

Monday night was restless. The heat didn't help, but it was what was playing on my mind that was keeping me awake: the fact that this time in 24 hours, I would have a new face, and probably be in a lot of pain. Because Tuesday was the day of my Jaw Surgery.

I was admitted to hospital at 7am. My mum and dad were asked to leave not long after, and I waited to be called in to see the nurse, who went through my paperwork and took blood from me. I met the anaesthetist, and 2 maxillofacial surgeons who would be assisting the operation. I was then sent to the pre-op lounge to wait to be called up to theatre. Needless to say that was probably the longest hour and a half of my life.

I was shaking as I walked down to the anaesthetic room, and as I lay on the bed I couldn't control my body. The anaesthetist gave me 2 shots of tranquilliser  before putting me to sleep without telling me. Next thing I remember is coming round in recovery and really needing the loo! I must have been a stroppy cow to the nurses whilst coming round; I was moaning about needing my glasses, and wanting to walk to the toilet (something which they refused).

Eventually I was moved to the ward and reunited with my bag and glasses. I was still in relatively little pain at this point, but really wanted to see what I looked like. Out popped my phone and I took a selfie:

Regardless of the swelling and blood on my face, I was already made up with the results. My chin was in the centre, and for the first time in a long time, all my teeth touched when I bit together.

My surgeon and the anaesthetist visited me on Tuesday evening, and were impressed with both my alertness and level of swelling. I felt quite "with it", and was in relatively little pain. My mum and dad visited me, and I managed to eat some jelly and ice cream, despite it taking an hour and a half to finish!

I was given strong pain killers and morphine on Tuesday night to help with the pain and to help me sleep. However I couldn't get comfortable and the noises on the ward kept me awake. Annoyingly, just as I was drifting off at 2am, a nurse came along to take my blood pressure, which woke me up again.

On Wednesday morning, I was taken down to the clinic to see the surgeon and orthodontist. Both were impressed with my progress, and the surgeon also told me that all 4 of my wisdom teeth (that I didn't know I had!) had also been taken out. The swelling had gone up again but that was to be expected. I had elastic bands fitted between my braces to move my bite into its final position and to hold my jaw in a fixed position, and was told I was going to be discharged later that day.

swelling on Wednesday morning

I was so relieved to be going home. I was tired and just wanted to be looked after by my mum. Hospitals are relatively lonely places, especially when everyone else on the ward is old enough to be your gran, and you are having relative difficulty in speaking. More than anything though, I wanted a shower! I visited Hollie on Wednesday evening, and it was lovely to see her. The rest of the evening was spent sleeping and taking pain killers. I certainly had no trouble sleeping that night!

swelling on Thursday morning | swelling on Friday afternoon

Since coming home, I haven't really been up to much, as the anaesthetic is still taking its toll, and as I'm not able to eat much, I have relatively little energy. The swelling had continued to go up until today, and now I think it is on the way down. I have developed a funky looking bruise under my chin and on my neck which looks as if I've gone overboard colouring in in yellow highlighter. Despite the pain, discomfort, cravings for normal food and fatigue, I'm in pretty high spirits about everything, and am well on the road to regaining my confidence!