I was concerned today, though. I worried about having to speak for nearly 4 hours. You see, I teach 3 classes on Mondays and Wednesdays that are each 75 minutes long. I haven't had to speak for this long since before my surgery. Of course, I told my students I had jaw surgery this summer and explained to them that I have random muscle spasms and shooting pains, which I affectionally call "face aches". They were shocked to hear this, but also sympathetic. So that was helpful because the other worry I had was with my voice. The pitch is no longer so high, but my old voice...well, that may be a thing of the past. Some of my former students commented on how I sound different. Not bad, but different. Oh well, there's nothing I can do about this.
But other than my voice, I have to say that I don't look much different than before the surgery. The swelling has gone down considerably. It's not 100% gone (I can feel it especially when I do my facial exercises), but it's certainly not as bad as it used to be.
For posterity, I took a couple photos:
After I took that photo, it occurred to me that every single photo I've posted on the blog has been of me with my hair pulled up. I just couldn't be asked to deal with it over the summer. And plus, it's been since May since I've had a haircut!! So before I changed my mind, I took another photo, but this time with my hair down: 
Argh! I need a haircut before people start mistaking me for Cousin It!
12 comments:
Congratulations for your first day of class! I am happy to read that you were able to teach classes for that long. BTW you look amazing!and with your hair down: wow!
Michele, you are looking great! And so happy to hear that your first day back teaching class went well.
Michelle:
Have been following your blog since you started sharing your surgical journey. Your thoughtful posts are much appreciated. Did you have some choice in the amount of advancement (on each jaw) that your surgeon proposed? Were you shown photos of what your face and profile would look like after surgery? I am at the very beginning phase of this bimaxillary jaw advancement surgery, and concerned about how radically different I might look like after surgery. Am trying to get a sense of the magnitude of advancement (per jaw....e.g 5mm vs 10mm vs 15 mms etc), and its impact on facial esthetics. Lastly, any words of wisdom on what it
might take (emotionally, socially, spiritually, etc) to
come through the surgery as solidly as possible. Thanks Michelle!!!
Julie
I completely understand what you mean about the hair! Mine has gotten so long, but I don't think I'm ready to get a haircut yet. Maybe once I'm a little more deflated. hehee ;)
That's good that your students are understanding. As for the speaking- just think of it as a facial/vocal exercise marathon or something! I'm sure the more you speak the more your voice will return to normal.
Good luck with the new semester!
Aww, thanks guys for all your nice comments!
Julie, my pre-op experience involved taking lots of measurements of my face. There was a contraption called a "face-bo" (at least, that's what the nurse kept calling it). It takes precise 3D measurements of the jaw - basically how each jaw sits in your mouth. The nurse also took facial measurements of my lips, cheeks, nose, and chin (basically my whole face).
I wasn't shown any pictures of my profile after the surgery. It didn't even occur to me to ask, and as I'm thinking about this, I'm glad I didn't do that. I don't think that seeing those photos would have changed anything about my decision for the surgery. I did ask my OS how my bite would look like after the surgery. He used my molds to show me how they'd look like afterwards, and just seeing that was amazing for me.
I didn't have a choice in the amount of advancement for my jaws. My upper jaw was actually not advanced at all. It was the angle of my upper jaw that was corrected. And my lower jaw was advanced in alignment to my upper jaw. I never got the impression my OS wanted my two cents about the amount of advancement I wanted. Again, this didn't occur to me. (Wow, I'm glad I have a great OS because I'm realizing how much blind faith I put in him!)
In terms of support, I found that it came from multiple sources (i.e., friends, family, blog!). I am so grateful my sister and boyfriend were able to care for me immediately following the surgery. And blogging about this experience has introduced me to other people who are going through this as well. In a strange way, I felt like we were all in this together, which was helpful because I didn't feel so alone going through this jaw surgery experience.
Sometimes I felt down, though. Not everyday was filled with hope and happiness. On those days, I would let that sadness pass over me, cry a little bit, feel sorry for myself, and wait for those feelings to pass. It didn't happen all the time, but still, those days were certainly there.
To stave off boredom, I caught up on some summer reading, writing, and watching movies. I tried to stay away from the TV because I didn't want to see food commercials. And I took walks outside as soon as I had enough energy to do so.
Anyway, sorry for such a long-winded response. I hope this helps, and if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!
:0)
Michelle
Well,, I'm glad my post was thought provoking! It's just strange. Some before before jaw surgery are unhappy with the way their face look and welcome the change. Others become uncomfortable with the change. I kinda feel like I'm in the middle, I was happy with the way I was then, I'm ok with the way I am now. However, all that becomes skewed when I hear from everyone around me how "incredibly omg you're totally different! You look soo different!!" it's like.. "I do?.. uh.. ok?" Is my mind teasing itself that I see me but everyone else sees a different person? It's kinda freaky. I wish I could see though someone else's eyes every now and then.
Aww, you look so pretty! I need a haircut too. I think I have my hair pulled up in all but one of my pictures! When I'm taking all my supplements religiously, my hair grows super fast. It sucks because that means I have to keep up with my hilights more often! Oh well, long live the ponytail.
Thanks for the update. And the reply about talking with your surgeon. When I ask my surgeon questions, he's pretty cool, but I do wonder if he thinks my google-yahoo board--medical article review approach to medicine is for real. :) FWIW, I like your long hair. Short hair can be good too, but your curls are soooo pretty.
Michelle:
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and generous reply. I really appreciated the effort you put into replying to questions that I have had about the surgery. Always a pleasure to check in with you via your awesome blog. Look forward to staying in touch
with you. Take care.
Julie
Hey Julie,
Not a problem! In fact, it's a pleasure to share my the insights I've gain from this jaw surgery experience. Here's my email address if you ever want to ask me a question without posting on my blog:
mverges@iusb.edu
:0)
M
You look amazing, girl!! I like reading your blog cuz I can relate -- I'm a psych student, and I had the same anxiety about talking so much more than I had to during the summer. Best of luck with the school year!
wow!!! teaching 2 months post-op? superstar!
You look great! How're you doing?
I started law school on August 25th...:( but I'm near the end of my orthognatic journey, so very happy too!
AND, I got a new hair cut this weekend...I let it grow out after the surgery b/c I didn't have energy to think of a new do. I was what my friend called, "the Ring girl"...which freaked me out.
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