Day 42: Pudding Face . . .

It is probably my own fault really. After all, many of my friends and family members know that all I eat is instant pudding and so given that my swelling is refusing to decrease and, in fact, has increased over the last week, I should have expected it really. What am I talking about? Well, my new nickname, Pudding Face. A nickname provided, let it be known, by my wife! :)

If you were to look at some of my facial timeframe photographs, you would see what I mean, especially my side profile pictures. It is as if I have 3 or 4 centimeters of a jaw line where you can clearly see my jaw bone. After that however, the jaw line disappears to be replaced by swelling.

The swelling has increased somewhat over the last fortnight because the bands are taken out of my mouth regularly and I talk a whole lot more than I previously have since my surgery. The result is that my jaw joints are exercised and overly don't like it! :) Hence the swelling. It is something that I was told could happen but to be fair even if it had not, my face would still be swollen and as my surgeon told me earlier this week, I can expect to be swollen for up to eighteen months!

The only outward signs that show I had this surgery is the swelling and the fact I still talk funnily as well as the fact I cannot smile in a normal manner! :) I am still wearing my bands and am quite happily to do so as I feel less pain / aches than letting my jaws operate without any supporting bands!

I am quite looking forward to having my Orthodontia work resume later this week I have to say. It is somewhat ironic really that you spend so long having orthodontia work to prepare you for surgery, only for the surgery and the subsequent moving of jaws, to move all of your teeth out of alignment! This results in many, many more months of orthodontia work needed to fix everything once again. I look at my teeth now and I swear they look so much worse than they did 18 months ago when this process began - so many of my teeth are out of alignment!

I do know that he is going to take off all my braces, surgical hooks, wires, etc, and start over with new wires, arch wires, braces, etc., so I should have the fun experience of even more aching teeth! Oh Joy. I will let you know what my Orthodontist tells me later this week.

The tingling sensation continues and shows no sign of going away! My lips in particular feel the worse and especially when the bands are not on my teeth. I will not miss this consequence of surgery let me tell you!

It was such a beautiful day today that we ate BBQ hot dogs for dinner. Yes, that is right, hot dogs! Don't get me wrong, although I ate the hot dog, it was cut up into very small piece and I simply swallowed the pieces without chewing (absolutely no chewing, remember!) but still, it was not instant pudding! You're proud of me I know :)