Thursday 25 April 2013

Day 28: 4 weeks!

Pain in Jaw: 1/10

So i've decided i'm going to do pictures every other day, then hopefully I will see more of a change compared to everyday. (Decided just to put side ones on today as i'm still swollen around the front and can't really smile properly yet, you can't notice the changes as much!)

 I apologise that this is abit of a long post, but I tried to write things 'from the heart' and I probably waffled abit too much!

So this time 4 weeks ago, I'd just got on the table. I was probably about an hour into my operation now, and this 4 week recovery mark seemed like a very distant dream! 4 weeks ago, I was a long long way from recovery and the dreaded 'week of hell' (as I like to refer to it as, as the first week was definitely brutally awful) was going to approach me in another 5 hours time, as I was challenged physically and mentally.

One thing i've been wanting to talk about for a while was my car journey home from the hospital, a couple of days after my operation. I think i've only spoke about this with Dani and James but it was a very surreal moment; excuse me if this is incredibly soppy and cliché and you don't see the resemblance at all, but to me it was a moment that has stuck with me, and probably will for quite a while.

I don't know if you've heard of the Bastille song 'pompeii' (it's below if you haven't) - anyway, this song came on as I got in the car. Imagine it now, James drove around from where my theatres were, i'd finally had my operation, away from my ward where I had been nursed after my operation, up the hospital estate before passing the outpatients department where most of my visits had been for the past couple of years - where my orthodontist lives, and then on we went to home. As this happened, these lyrics played...

"But if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothings changed at all,
And if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like you've been here before,
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?"

I did exactly that. I closed my eyes and finally embraced the fact that after years and years of waiting, I'd finally had my operation, that I was passing the place where it all started, or where 'i'd been before' and I was going home. I opened my eyes and then reality hit me, I was in alot of pain, restricted, uncomfortable, I was physically drained, weak, tired, I could hardly move and I thought this is gonna be a tough 6 weeks - I couldn't be an optimist about it, and I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Do you see the resemblance to the song? Surreal moment, will stay with me forever. But now i'm recovering well. I'm finally the 'optimist' I'm talking and it's getting clearer by the day, the pain is reducing, the swelling is slowly going down, and the feeling in my face is slowly returning. I'm smiling more and more everyday, and everybody is incredibly pleased with my results. I'm still not allowed to chew, but atleast it's not strict liquid diet, I can eat soft foods finally, including chocolate buttons and cookie dough. Life is starting to get back to normal, I'm half way to recovery, and that's blissful.


6 comments:

  1. What a difference! How is your breathing as this operation gave you so much more airway in your throat?

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    1. Breathing is surprisingly good, I get congested in my nose when it gets bunged up which is a bummer because I still can't blow it, which then usually gathers around my throat, but once it's cleared I can breathe quite well. Sometimes i'll have episodes where i'm abit breathless, like in the bathroom when it's steamy etc... but again, I think this is congestion related!

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  2. Ok - I'm getting a bit freaked out now! I listened to that Bastille song yesterday and it seemed to have the same resonance with me - your recovery and mindset seemed to be pretty similar to how mine is now! Nice to see someone that had the same problems and thought processes as me and seems to be coming out the other end.

    You look lovely- I can't wait to see my own result once all this stupid swelling goes down!

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    1. I'm glad i'm not the only one who has got the same mindset with this song! I enjoy listening to it now though as I remember this day and how much I've improved since then!

      Thank you! I'm still very swollen; I'm adamant my swelling as come to a hault and isn't going down at all! A great deal of it does go down in a few weeks but the last little bits can take forever! I guess you just get so fed up of waiting to see your finished results!

      Hope recovery is treating you nicely!

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  3. Hi Emma, you commented on my blog a while ago, and sorry I've only just managed to reply! But I just had a look at your blog, and I can honestly say your transformation is one of the best I've ever seen! No offence to how you used to look, but it is such an amazing improvement! I had an overbite and gummy smile, and am not 7 months post op. If you have any questions feel free to email me at SarahF1407@aol.com. Congratulations, you look great!

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    1. Thank you! I appreciate it! Congrats on making it to 7 months! xx

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