Elijahdoll! Re: to all of you that are post op or nearing your surgery date...

[Guest guest]

Hey, wendy.

I remember seeing your name back in October. I was supposed to have my

surgery October 8th (I think), so I remember seeing your name on the

October list!

It is nice to hear that you are doing so well. I am gonna take a walk

(as I just said to Britt) and maybe I'll go to the store to get my

mind off the swelling!

Cheers,

Eileen :-)

> I have not posted in quite some time. I had upper jaw surgery to

> correct an open bite on October 27, 2003. I also had an elective

> (cosmetic) genioplasty. I am about 19 weeks post op.

>

> I am here to tell you that there is a big bright light at the end of

> the tunnel. My recovery was also full of struggles and bad moods but

> it was also full of good humor, lots of laughs and the support of

> family & friends. As I have read here today, it is what you make of

> it. You can either feel sorry for yourself and be miserable or you

> can try to make the best of it.

>

> I was not wired, but I was still not permitted to chew anything for 6

> weeks. I became very creative with food & the blender. I did not

> consume one boost or ensure. I did try Myoplex as a meal replacement

> only to find out I didn't like it and had wasted 60$ on a case. I

> prefered to " eat " normal foods, I just mashed them up really well or

> blended them. The first week I had lots of mashed potatoes both

> idaho & sweet. I also ate lots of mashed up avocados, I mushed them

> up with a hand blender and added a bit of olive oil, seasoning &

> lemon juice. I spent my time making homemade healthy soups and stews

> that were easy to swallow. I also drank tons of homemade chicken

> broth for the first 3 weeks.

>

> After 4 days of sitting around my apartment I became bored and

> started having friends over to visit. I even went out to run errands

> with my sister, totally bruised & swollen. People stared, that is

> ok, I as just happy to be out of the house. I bruised worse than

> most for some reason & was a palette of various colors for about 8

> weeks. I was terribly swollen for the first 7 days and then things

> started to go down slowly.

>

> This is not an easy thing to put yourself through and I know it can

> be depressing & tough. My birthday was during week 5 of recovery and

> I still wasn't able to chew.

>

> I didn't let this not chewing thing hold be back from anything. I

> went to happy hour at my favorite sushi bar starting at week 3 and

> was able to " eat " thinly sliced fish (Uzuzukuri) by just swallowing

> little bits. I also was able to eat tofu & ginger sauce. This was

> very easy to mush up with a fork. I was with my friends, enjoying

> life, having drinks and doing the best I could. I am telling you,

> recovery is what you make of it.

>

> Anyway to make a long story short, I have no regrets. My open bite

> is gone, I love my new profile and hopefully will be brace free by

> June.

>

> In fact, I just got back from a 7 day Caribbean cruise, and I did

> plenty of eating to make up for the 6 weeks of not chewing.

>

> My photo file on this website got all screwed up but I will try to

> post some before, during & after surgery photos today under a file

> called Florida.

>

> Happy healing to all of you and to those of you still waiting for

> your date, this all will soon be a distant memory.

>

> If any of you want to IM me with questions on AOL, you can get me at

> Elijahdoll.

>

> Best,

> ~