Post Surgery X-rays!

Ok, these are pretty neat. First of all, the whole digital X-ray thing is awesome, they just emailed them too me! These are from the morning after surgery. Take a look at them, I'll tell you what I think is the best part about each one!

This is a general pan, they show the 4 L plates each with 4 screws holding my upper jaw on! See the three screws on each side for the lower jaw. Also, the outline you see on the upper teeth is from the splint, and the extra wires are from the ties holding it in place!

Ok, the coolest picture of any! Look at how LONG the screws are holding my lower jaw on!!! 12-14 mms!!!!!! They will be there forever!

Ok, the coolest part about this picture is that you can see how BIG my lips were the morning after my surgery!

The best thing about Winter!

So if you're reading this you have seen all the ugly from the last 8 weeks. I did take a hmmm.....Month off from posting I think, and I do apologize for that! I started a post a couple weeks ago but found other things to do besides sitting in front of the computer! I've been to movies, played soccer on the beach, started working out again, to Travis to visit the Orthodontist 4 times in 10 days, sick off my ass (I dont get sick so I was a wimp!), partied like I was 21 (If anybody remembers me after a night like that...I loose my voice for several days!), been out in the "city," to a tiki bar in Oakland and even to a Kings game in Sac! Basically, I'm back to me and enjoying everything there is about life in the Bay!

So on Friday, 23 JAN, I made my last trip to my Oral Surgeon! They took out the splint that had been holding my upper teeth in the proper alignment for the past 6 weeks, which meant many many great things! First of all, I could actually get to all my teeth to brush them! (Trust me, I got thanks...Alex would thank me I'm sure!) Next it meant that my upper jaw was healed well enough to be considered in one piece again!!! And 3rd, I was able to start running again....and as long as I didn't fall, I could even ski again! Basically I was told no trauma to the jaw area at all. For everything else I'm good!! I still have rubber bands in, but they are bearable, I have to take them out for each meal, but they are finishing up my alignment. Basically, as my orthodontist said today, you've never had this many teeth touching!! My entire right side of mouth is touching and all but about 3 teeth on the left!! In time the rest will come together also!

Here is my new ski look! Also, see the link, I've added lots of pictures of the two ski weekends in Tahoe in January!!http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16053&l=aac68&id=1261493975 (You dont have to be on Facebook to view these, just click the link and enjoy!)

One last thing to update....something you all know that is very important to me, I had a WHOLE Chick-Fil-A sandwich, waffle fries and sweat tee yesterday!! I was able to eat it all!! I cut nothing up, just ate it like a normal person!! (ok, not perfectly normal, I'm still learning how to chew haha but no knife, no fork no ripping it apart, just open, put in CHEW and swallow!!!) Hard, crispy and extra chewy things are still off limits, mainly because I cant chew that well, but slowly it will all be coming back!!

So I'm guessing this wont be my last post, I'll TRY to update this occasionally, but I am not good at these things, so no promises! Hope you have enjoyed the odyssey of my jaw...ski season is on so hope to see you out on the slopes!