Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas tree! Day: who knows!

I am the worst blogger of all time! Yes, it has been just about two months since I've last written. I have been so incredibly busy with school but now I am on winter break so I finally have time to catch up on sleep/eating/blogging. What also drew me to blogging today in particular was the fact that my jaw kept locking and popping today so I am coming to you my fellow jaw bloggers for advice! I have been doing great with eating for the past 2 months and all of a sudden I can only open my mouth half the time I try. And my swelling has gone up again! I think its because if the screw coming through my nose :/ I found that out during my last ortho appointment! It actually really scares me. Anyways, pictures now!

Weird swelling that came back

SUPER swollen on one side. ergggg

HAI

My favorite little girl!

Ima be ima be ima be a Husky. 

Cookie monsterrr

Day 75!

Finally time for a real update :) I finally have TIME for it! So I guess I have to start from last month! I have been eating since 5.5 weeks, I was VERY impatient. The only things I have'nt eaten are raw vegetables and hard fruits, and burgers are difficult but I figure out my ways :) Eating at school has become soooo much easier. It was weird at first to eat in front of people but I brought "clean" food for the first couple days of chewing so I didn't make a fool of myself!

In terms of swelling, its like 80% gone, just some left right next to my nose. I had gotten all feeling back in my face/jaw, but after I started chewing I have slowly started to not be able to feel my bottom lip and cheek anymore :( This happen to anyone else? Also, if I chew too much, my top jaw screws start to hurt!

I went on my first trip 7 weeks after surgery, and everything went well, except eating the cheese from my crepe! I think I even had a burger that week, but maybe it was the week after that.

If anyone has any questions please let me know! Too much time has passed since I last wrote a real post, so  I'm probably missing a ton of stuff, but feel free to ask :)

Atenas

P.S I got my senior pictures taken over the weekend, I loved being able to show off my new jaws!

Lunch after senior pictures

REALLY fat sandwich, had to take out some turkey!

Cheesin in San Fran

Day 71

Sorry! Still super busy, barely even have time to think I had surgery 71 days ago! What prompted me to even post on here again was a question I have. Did anyone lose feeling in their bottom lip after getting feeling back? I have been able to feel my lip since 2 weeks post surgery, but since I started chewing I have been slowly losing feeling. It's gotten to the point where I was eating a Twix and didn't feel the caramel down my chin! This happen to anyone?

Jamba somewhere between California and Washington

New Shades!

Bracket fell off :( So painful to get it sanded and re bonded!

Mismatched day with my partner in crime

Hi!

2 months!

Sorry I havnt posted in so long! I promise to upload pictures and give an update soon! It's been crazy since school started and I don't even have time to breathe! I have been chewing for almost 3 weeks now, and all is going well! More update later :)

Day 36: New pictures, old pictures

36 days?!!?! It's weird that its been this long. I was washing my hands the other day and when I looked in the mirror I was actually surprised by how I looked! I feel really great, not too much pain or anything, so its weird to see that I am still so swollen. The biggest issue I have had so far is that I got hit in the face twice at my back to school assembly and my face hurt A LOT! But it was an accident so I didn't get too mad. I have a very small spot on my chin left that is still partially numb, but I can tell its coming back! If I turn on my side while i'm sleeping my face feels kind of tight in the morning. Otherwise, all is well!

My six weeks is on Friday, so I am looking forward to being able to chew again. Soon I will be compiling all my best tips/food ideas into one post so it will be easy to read! Good luck to Max, who is just starting his jaw surgery adventure!

I was going through old pictures today and I feel the need to post them!

My very first impressions, 7 years old,  and 15 years old, before I got my top braces put back on :( These aren't actually how my jaws fit together, they are just like that because they were flat on the table. 

Right after waking up from getting my wisdom teeth taken out in January! The black thing is a stuffed doggy :)

Always working! I had just started an internship that week and I  had a lot of work to do, no rest for the weary!

The dreaded side shot! This is how my jaw was when I was at rest, its weird to think that everyone saw me like this!

 Now these are new pictures!

Looking normal! I didn't get any strange looks for my puffy cheeks!

My mom thinks I look like this little girl, her name is Grecia (Greece in spanish) and mine is Atenas (Athens in spanish!) 

Anyone see the resemblance? :)

Oh hey there perfect bite, nice to see you again!

ONE MONTH!! Parallels in my life

Reflecting back on my one month since surgery, I am constantly stopped by the thoughts that I have to add 1000 words to my essay within the next couple of hours. Why you ask? Because in being my overachieving self, I am doing the International Baccalaureate diploma along with my regular one. While 98% of high school seniors are finishing up their 1 hour of homework, I am sitting here scratching my head about why I am doing this in the first place. And now to draw some parallels between IB and DJS (double jaw surgery).
Since freshman year I have been waiting for jaw surgery, I have known about it since before then, but we'll just start there. Freshman year was when I found out about IB, I knew I wanted to do it.

In the weeks before starting junior year, I was nervous/anxious, but just wanted to get it over with and started.  Same thing happened right before jaw surgery.

Once I started IB, I realized it wasn't as hard as people said it was. After I got jaw surgery, I was able to move around and stuff and I thought people were joking when they said they couldn't go back to work for 3 weeks.
Half way through IB I realize it's a lot tougher than its cut out to be and I may be in over my head. Half way through my 6 week recovery, my swelling is at a standstill, I'm always frustrated about what I can or cannot eat, and I just want it to be over with. The End. IB and Jaw surgery in a nutshell.

Pictures!

Wednesday: I won a basketball signed by Ashley Robinson

Saturday: Soccer game with the girls

Saturday night: Mariners game with my mom! 

Sunday: Taking a break from homework!

Wednesday again: my mother is always cleaning my face :)

Day 23: Isn't my swelling supposed to be going down?

Hey all! Not much new to say from today. I'm going back to school tuesday so I have been going shopping a lot! I went to an outdoor mall today and it was HOT, so now i'm all swollen again :( My mother made me a mummy style ice pack, but it got warm so fast I only used it for about 10 minutes.

Grossness, today I was feeling my swelling around my nose and I felt the flat ends of the screws in my face! nashty shtuff.

OH GUESS WHAT?? I got a AP Scholar with Honors award. Booyah.

Peetures now: