Jaw Surgery

I haven't posted about my jaw surgery in quite a while, so here's a little update.. and a full out how it went story. (if you want you can read about it here, here, here, and here.)

pre-surgery, last meal (burger, and brownie ice cream for dessert).

here's how the story goes... (WARNING: if you are squeamish I would avoid the pictures, they are kind of really disgusting).

I've had braces for 8.5years now, I strongly believe that my orthodontist screwed up my mouth.. but long story short, the only way to fix it would be to get double jaw surgery. so that's what I did.

on May 10 I underwent double jaw surgery. the surgery lasted 10 hours, and I was under for a total of 12 hours. (they estimated the surgery to be about 8 hours so we knew it'd be a long one). I wasn't really that nervous, I mean I was a little bit but not as much as one would think. I was mainly just concerned about the length of the surgery, the pain afterwards and the whole healing process I knew I'd be able to handle.. I have a very high pain tolerance. right after the surgery I felt fine, just tired and what not from being under for so long.

the next day they had me on dilaudid which is 10 times stronger than morphine, the docs had me hooked up to this nifty machine that pumped .2 ounces of dilaudid into my body every hour (thats how strong this stuff is, you barely need any of it) but the best part was that if I needed more I could hit a button and it would dispense another .2 into my body, I could hit that button every 7 minutes if needed. but the damn stuff was so strong that I really only hit the button a few times -not to mention it made me super tired. that machine was my absolute best friend. I also had a visit from Malone and her little sister, it was really great to see them and it made me feel SO much better. lots of people were asking to come see me but I really felt/looked gross so I denied them until I arrived home, except for Malone cause she's been my best friend since we were youngins.

after surgery, chipmunk style.

the day after day, so Saturday, they took me off of my favorite machine. up until this point I was living the life, I felt fine, hardly any pain.. although my nose was just a constant nose bleed.. literally it never stopped bleeding -really gross and annoying. anyways, once they took me off the best machine ever invented and tried to get me on the liquid pain meds I started to go downhill.

day 3 (Sunday, May 13) post op was the worst day out of any of them. this day would be a normal day for people to go home, but I wanted to kill myself (not literally), but that was the first time I regretted the surgery. I hated it. I hated my life and the doctors and everything. it sucked. but I kept on trucking. needless to say I did not go home that day because, quite frankly, I felt like shit.. and looked like it too.

swollen and gross. yikes.

 day four, which would be Monday, I finally went home. although, if we didn't have to pay to be hospitalized I def would have stayed one more night. by this time the drugs were really getting to me. I was having weird thoughts (mainly I'd think it was almost morning time when it was really like midnight and things like that). but I didn't feel like complete death.

after arriving home I felt better mentally. just being in my own house was comforting. but now I needed to start drinking liquids.. ya see, the entire time in the hospital I had about two sips of juice. I was not in the mood for anything. so my parents made me drink gatorade, we kinda made it into a game where they'd pour me a glass and I'd have so long to drink it. I hated that game, but it worked. since my nose was still bleeding, and I had serious saliva issues, my dad made me a suction thing like dentists use. I had one in the hospital, which I used every five seconds. he just took an air bed battery and attached it to a tube thing and taped a paper cup to it. it actually worked really well, and made me feel so much better cause I had this fear of drinks getting stuck in my throat and not being able to breathe. by now I was completely on liquid meds, I forget what it was called. and on the road to recovery. I started feeling better and better each day, and getting more and more energy. not too long after I started 'eating' soup, mashed potatoes, rice, and letting chocolate and graham crackers melt in my mouth. along with all those smoothies//milkshakes of course.

looking back on the surgery now, knowing what I know now, I still would have done it. for sure. I think it was completely worth it in the long run. the pain//suffering wasn't super horrible, just a few times I hated it. not bad for double jaw surgery. no eating for 6 weeks, barely communicating for a week, pain, trouble sleeping, weird dreams from the meds, etc, it was all worth it. If you need to get jaw surgery I would definitely do it. all you have to do is get through that first week and you're golden, good to go. the rest is just an uphill climb, but an easy one, no mountain or anything just a little hill.

now, I'm just going to my orthodontist to finalize everything and hopefully I'll have my braces off before I reach 9 years, fingers crossed!

about 10 weeks post-op

anyways, that's the story and I'm sticking to it.
Happy Wednesday!

life is good

I'd be rich...

It's a brand new link-up with Lauren and Tiffany!

Ten Things You Would Do With A Million Dollars

1) Pay off my college, Randy's college, and Melissa's college.

2) Buy Dad/Brian/Randy new vehicles.

3) Give some to Gram.. buy her a new house or something.

4) Have a treat-yo-self day once a month.

5) Take my family to Ireland.

6) Put some in my savings for a rainy day.

7) Donate to cancer research, and now with Hurricane Sandy donate to the Red Cross.

8) Get season tickets to the Indians, Browns, Cavs, and Buckeyes.. all good seats, every year, and for my family too.

9) Throw a giant "I'm a millionaire" party.

10) Buy my parents a new house, with a maid and landscaper -so they wouldn't have to do housework anymore. 

Anyone remember this song?

 

life is good

Weekend Update - TrickorTreat

Thursday::
CMA Awards!

watching the CMAs.. compliments of Brian's face mask.

Friday::
Erin came over to carve pumpkins. I know, Halloween is already over and done with but because of Hurricane Sandy our Trick-or-Treating was postponed a few days so I had to postpone my pumpkin carving so they wouldn't be all rotten and gross for the treaters.

my pumpkin :)

Erin's pumpkin, boo!

After the pumpkin carving, Diana joined us and we ventured out to my friend Scott's birthday/Halloween party. No pictures from that, but I did good with the pumpkin photos, right? The party was fun though, we didn't stay too long but we did get in a game of beer pong. Even if me/Diana lost.. it was close.  Also, my Hilltoppers won their first playoff game.. Go Toppers!

Saturday::
Work work work.. actually it wasn't bad at all. Easy day for me. After work it was home to scare trick-or-treaters! We normally go all out: scary music, scary masks, scary decor, lots of candy, etc. but because of the whole delay my dad/Brian aren't home (in southern Ohio for hunting) it was just me and Mom. But after the very first treaters we had whom parents shared with us that they love coming to our house because it's always scary and spooky and fun we both felt bad for our lack of preparedness. I threw on Brian's carhart jumpsuit thing and the Michael Myers mask, grabbed my iPod and set it to play the Halloween theme continuously, and boom our house transformed (at least somewhat) into a house of terror. Next year we're going BIG to make up for this year. After the treaters came and went, we walked a few houses down for the annual neighborhood post-treating porch party. lots of wine, pudding shots, and caramel-cider moonshine.. it was more of a halloWINE than halloween. Also, my Buckeyes won.. AGAIN! they actually killed the Illini, 10-0!!!!

Sunday::
Here we go Brownies, here we go! woof woof!! Well, the Browns lost. but on the bright side I actually got a lot accomplished for a Sunday. The day ended with a little Remember The Titans -one of my all-time favorite movies. and Joel Osteen. I've been watching his sermons the past few Sundays, and I really enjoy them. last night was all about not letting other people get under your skin. really good message.

10/29-11/4 Goals

1:: clean my room (dust, vacuum, laundry.. etc). -I did some laundry, and my room is definitely cleaner than it was, but I still never got around to dusting. and by never getting around to it I mean I hate dusting and am trying my hardest to ignore it.

2:: make progress on my dvd organization.

3:: catch up on tv shows I dvred.

4::carve my pumpkin.

5:: survive hurricane Sandy.

eh, not too bad... 3.5/5

11/5-11/11 Goals

1:: do better on my goals.

2:: eat healthier. 

3:: finish the book I'm currently reading.

4:: catch up on laundry, keep room clean.

5:: drink more water.

life is good

"I feel like I found out my favorite love song was written about a sandwich"

^ name that movie..... (27 Dresses)

the CMA's were last night! I don't know about you, but I sure love me some country music! the opening with LukeB, JasonA, and Eric Church was amazing. everyone's performances were rockin, I loved Mr. McGraw's new song, a fan of Dierk's new hit, and always love my favorite Brad Paisley and his co-host Carrie Underwood (they did an awesome job hosting again, they're hilarious). not to mention the tribute to the one and only, Willie Nelson. goodness gracious I love country.

1. What terrifies you the most?
      spiders. definitely spiders.

2. Favorite fall/winter drink?
       hot chocolate. or I always love my Mikes Hard, and Three Olives, if you're looking for something alcohol related.

3. Do you and your spouse have the same political views?
     no spouse here.

4. What was the last book you read? Was it good?
      I read If You Could See Me Now by Cecilia Ahern, and it was good.. I really enjoyed it.

5. Do you look forward to the snow each winter? Why or why not?
      yes and no. I enjoy the first snowfall, and I definitely love having a white Christmas. but, here in Chardon we're the heart of the snowbelt in Ohio so I could do without the amount of snow we get.

1.  Something I swore I'd never do, but have ended up doing anyway is    I don't think I've ever done something I didnt want to do, I'm one hell of a stubborn person .

2.  Something I've always wanted to do is   go to Ireland, one day...

3.  Something I have absolutely no desire to ever do is   sky dive//bungee jump, anything dealing with free falling. or smoking/drugs.
4. The best thing I ever did was   accept the middle school coaching job.

5. When it comes to trying new things, I am  not always up to it.. it depends how I'm feeling. Certain things I hate change, but sometimes I love trying new things.

6. One thing I've never done is  smoke a cigarette, or any kind of drug for that matter.
7.  My favorite thing do do is  spend time with family and friends, watch movies, play/coach volleyball.

one:: Halloween!

two:: Halloween festivities.. such as, dressing up as Flo from Progressive.

three:: the CMAs. I lovelovelove country music, as I stated above.

four:: I survived Hurricane Sandy. Praying for everyone who was affected.. stay strong!

five:: the Buckeyes moved to 9-0, the Browns won another game, my Hilltoppers made it to playoffs.

life is good

Mr. John Carpenter

Halloween

Here's what Netflix says::

In this iconic slasher flick, mental hospital escapee Michael Myers goes on a murder spree on Halloween night after returning to his hometown. As Michael targets baby sitter Laurie, pyschiatrist Dr. Loomis makes it his mission to stop the rampage.

Here's what IMDb says::

A psychotic murderer institutionalized since childhood for the murder of his sister, escapes and stalks a bookish teenage girl and her friends while his doctor chases him through the streets. 

Here's what I say::

Best horror movie ever created. 

The Halloween series is like none other, and the best one is the original.. although number two is right there also. Halloween is the only horror movie that scares me every time I watch it. don't get me wrong, Paranormal Activity, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, they'll make me jump but none of them give me real fear. Michael Myers keeps me scared, you know the kind of scared where you feel the need to watch your back afterwards.. the real fear. I give it 5/5. absolutely terrifying.

John Carpenter, you did a phenomenal job. every thing about the movie is amazing. everything about Michael is amazing. 

it's the little things that make it... the fact that Michael walks as fast as you run, or that you never really know whats behind his expressionless mask. the fact that no matter how many times you shoot the bastard he keeps on living. the fact that Michael is behind every tree, looking in every window, and no one ever sees him lurking. the fact that the iconic Halloween theme holds so much power to inflict fear on the viewers, and it's just music.
 

Fun Facts::

the mask is a white Captain Kirk mask.

Michael Myers was known as "the shape" in the original script.

Halloween was the highest grossing independently filmed movie until the Blair Witch Project in 1999. That's 21 years.
Carpenter made this film with  just over $300,000.
many critics credit Halloween to be the first in the new line of slasher movies.
it was Jaime Lee Curtis' film debut.

 Mr. Carpenter, hats off to you. 

life is good