Day 33

Its Monday so naturally it was a struggle. I cannot emphasize enough that if you have the 6 weeks to take off from work or school to dedicate to recovery DO IT! Its really stressful having to balance a recovery from major surgery and a normal life. I came to the realization today that I have to stop pushing myself to get back to normal because that led to dehydration and kidney stones. I was supposed to pick up a drawing class on Monday and Wednesday afternoons but honestly that would mean going from 8:00 to 4:00 without a break on Mondays and 8:00 to 6:00 on Wednesdays and that is just not realistic right now or in the near future. I may feel normal in two weeks and I may not feel normal until 3 months post op. I just need to take it day by day. Thats my only advice. Also naps, naps are great.


I have been doing my best to stay hydrated, drinking huge amounts of water and juice. I am officially one of those people who carries around their gigantic water bottles all day long. Its kind of ridiculous. I also took initiative and talked to my painting teacher about how I can't stand for long periods of time. This a mostly new development with the kidney stones because my back starts to hurt if I don't sit down.

Good news, the extra strength Tylenol works and doesn't make my face or throat swell up! I have been taking it on a schedule like the urologist told me to and that has really been helping with both the jaw aches and the residual pain in my kidney from the swelling.

Speaking of swelling! My face looks pretty much normal, the swelling has gone way down in my cheeks. I have been able to smile pretty big and yawn pretty big too. My jaw doesn't feel as tight as it did even last week and I am going to try taking the bands off to brush my teeth again tomorrow because I think I might be able to open wide enough to get the baby toothbrush in there. The girl at my orthodontist's office who had a similar surgery said that even after 12 weeks I probably won't be able to open that much but I'm feeling a tad optimistic about it.

Also, just as a one month update, check out my chin before the surgery and today. Its kind of awesome. Someone asked me today if I would go back and still do the surgery if I could and at this point in the game I would say no. If I could go back, I would wait until after graduation and take the year off before grad school to recover fully (I would work obviously but it would just be so much easier without the added pressure of school). That being said, I think I would still get the surgery because I really do love that my chin and jaw is all aligned and straight. But it was really foolish of me to think that this recovery would be easy or at least just 6 weeks long. They tell you it will take a full year and its completely true. I keep saying it but you really don't fully understand how a broken jaw will impact your life and everything you do until its your reality.