Day 6 I am feeling so cheerful!

Oh my gosh guess what happened today! well!
I had my first appointment with with surgeon, and he TOOK MY WAFER AND BANDS COMPLETELY OFF! yayyyy! I am so happy!
Then I had to go see the orthodontist to get looser bands on but they said that the elastics normally pursuade your bite to go into the correct position, but as mine are already in the complete correct position, for the time being I don't need them! wahoooo! They're just going to see how things go, I have an appointment in a weeks time and if anythings changed at all then they'll put bands on then:) but at the moment I am just loving be able to TALK! yippeeee I was babbling away to all the staff at the clinic just because I could:) I feel so lucky that I can have no bands so soon after surgery, as I know lots of people are in tight bands for weeks, I'll have to see how things go though with whether my teeth move at all:) So even though I had a tough time with sickness and things this first week, I think this luckyness definately makes up for that.
 I am worried that my bite will be unstable with no bands, but I think I just have to trust the orthodontist to know that it will be fine! Also they said that if my bite does start shifting, to not try and position it back into the right place, because that will just be like I am faking the correct position and will hide the actual problems. I'm glad she told me that because I think I would've done that if not.
Also, I can see my bite now, it's amazing! It's just so crazy to see my top teeth coming over my bottom teeth.   I just can't get over it.
They also took some photos and did xrays today. I saw my before and after side profile xray, it was unbelievable the difference. My face looked about half as long in the after xray!
I am just feeling generally happy today. I am so glad that the worst of this surgery is definately over now, I feel like everything will just get better from here!
One thing is my face is soooo itchy and tingly. Especially the roof of my mouth and tongue, it's a really irritating feeling but it's good because it means the feeling is slowly starting to return and that It's healing.
Here are some photos:)

I tried to take a picture of my teeth but it was really hard to get it so you could see! haa:) Also even though the surgeon keeps saying they are in the right position, to me they don't really look like they are:S But I suppose I just have to trust him as he is definitely an expert!
Also, I have just one more thing to say, chicken Complan is AMAZING haha! it tastes like roast dinner! I thought it would be gross because I looked on the ingredients and it doesn't actually contain any real chicken, but it was truly delicious!

Day 5 since surgery

Hello Everyone! Day 6 has been prettyyy good. I got an actual good sleep last night and I slept deeply for the first time in days. I had quite a lot of pain this morning, from headache, neckache and jaw ache, but now I feel kind of ok.
One of the most annoying things I've been getting almost constantly, is the feeling that my teeth want to pull apart! It feels like they're being pulled out and that my jaw wants to snap open. Also, today my jaws been twitching a lot and making wierd little pop noises (I hope thats normal:S)
I wanted to tell you all about where my face is numb so I made a wierd little diagram on paint paha:) It's quite scary so I hope it doesn't freak you out! Red means not numb, and blue means numb.

Also the roof of my mouth is completely numb. I think the numbest area would be my top lip, but thankfully my bottom lips hardly numb at all! My surgeon said he was really pleased with how he kept the nerve safe that runs to my lip and chin whilst he did the surgery.

I have become MEGA bruised today! I am yellow and green! Here is a photo

Another good thing is that eating has become way easier. I can swallow fine now, and I've eaten a good amount today! One thing is I'm really not a fan of the fortified drinks they give you, because they don't taste like proper food, but they are nicer if you blend other nice stuff in with them:)

I'm becoming so frustrated with not being able to talk, it's made me realise how integral it is communicating and that I would normally just take it for granted! It's such an effort to write out what I want to say. Also, I'm covered in pen from where I've been writing and then accidently drawn on myself! ha:) 

Day 4 since surgery

Last night was absolutely crazy. I was feeling so sick because I couldn't take anti emetics like I had been in the hospital, and I also couldn't take pain relief, as that adds to the sickness! So the whole night I was in lots and lots of pain and shaking. I had to cut my bands off because I was feeling so sick, was really hard to get the scissors in and me and my mum and dad were all panicking because we couldn't do it and I was on the verge of being sick! but we finally got them off and I was sick twice. Then I thankfully managed to sleep a bit and then in the morning we drove back to the hospital. The way there was quite dramatic, and I was sick in the car:( but when we got there they gave me some anti emetics to take home and put more bands on. I'm feeling a lot better now thankfully:)
I've also decided to stop taking codiene/tramadol for the time being, because I think the pain is at a stage where it's bearable when I'm only having paracetamol, and codiene/tramadol was making me feel incredibly sick and also making me hallucinate which was quite frightening. When I closed my eyes I thought there were people around me and touching me, but I opened my eyes and there was no one there! I think I'll only take that if I'm desperate now.

I have to say, that this is the hardest thing I have ever been through in my entire life, and I think I underestimated what it would be like before going into it. Last night I was feeling quite regretful, but now I feel more positive and I feel like I can handle it again:)

My profile is so different!!

Some bruises have come up today under my eye and on my left jaw. 

That little mark on my forehead is from where the surgeon put a pin in the operation! He said it was so there was something steady to measure how far he was moving everything.

Finally home! Day 3 since surgery

Hello Everyone!:) I am finally home from the hospital it is currently the 3rd day since my operation. It has been such a dramatic few days I will tell you all about what has been happening....

The first day of my surgery (day 0) I felt pretty great, I think I was high on morphine! And also, I wasn't banded together at all so I could drink and use a cup and a spoon. That night I also slept a lot, one thing though was that I fainted in the night and whacked my head on the wall which was scary and painful but that was no way near as bad as the 2nd night in comparison. The day after the surgery I started getting more and more swollen but it only really started to become awful when my surgeon put the bands on!! I have a power chain going over all my teeth and I think it's like the equivalent of being wired shut. I can't move my teeth at all, my jaws had shifted slightly right before he put the power chain on so he had to kind of yank it back which hurt! Having my teeth clamped shut meant I was getting pain from my jaw, and also I found breathing hard and that was really scary. Before I had the bands put on I could breath through my mouth so I was fine, but with my teeth clamped shut it made it really hard, and I couldn't breath through my nose at all because it was completely blocked:( I had to put this little plastic tube in the side of my mouth to hold my cheek open so I could kind of breath through there. It was still almost impossible though even with the plastic tube. It's still hard now too because my nose is still quite congested.
The past few days have just been kind of the same level of horrible, but my swelling has gone down slightly today which is good.

One thing is I HAAATE is the liquid pain killers:( I just find it so hard to swallow them. It's because there was a tube down my throat during the surgery meaning my throat is all swollen and bruised inside! So my swallowing just isn't working yet very well, it is slowly improving though. The second night was really dreadful because I tried to take liquid codiene, but really couldn't swallow at all and it all just fell out my mouth again. But, then I wasn't allowed any more because they weren't sure how much I'd actually had, so I was pretty much on no pain relief that whole night and I couldn't handle it! Last night wasn't so bad and I'm hoping tonight, now I'm home I will finally get some sleep as I haven't slept since the first night:(

I was actually meant to go home on the second day, but because I found it so hard to take the pain killers I had to have injections and my drip. I developed a way of being able to take my oral pain killers now though with a nice nurse called Sandy, where I take this little tube and attatch it to the end of a syringe and put that all the way to the back of my mouth and then it goes down my throat a lot better:)

I am really happy with how my face is looking though! I can see the outline of my profile and it looks so good. I am unbelievably swollen at the moment but when it goes down I think I'll be so happy with my results. My surgeon said he was really proud of himself!:) also he said he managed to protect the nerve really well, and I can feel my bottom lip really well which is a good sign.

I am finding not being able to talk so frustrating. I'm going through an entire notebook a day! But I just love talking and its so horrible not being able to say the thoughts that are popping into my head without having to find a pen and paper and make my arms write!

Here are some photos,

Heres me in hospital on the first day, when the swelling hadn't really come up much yet...

   Heres me today, on day 3. I have an obese head:( I was actually even more swollen yesterday though! On my neck you can kind of see how my throat is swollen ... 

Here is a front view. Ew my face is so shiney. Thats another thing my skin has gone reallyy bad! Did anyone else find that?

That black thing is so gross, it a little wound from where they took out the blood draining pot tube (thats the tubes that are coming out of my neck you can see on the pictures of me in the hospital. They were to drain blood out, and they were attatched to little pots on the end. They looked horrible and grusome but they didn't hurt, it only hurt when they were taken out. I could feel them being pulled out of my neck it was awful!!)

Love you all, I will update more tomorrow probably. It is such a massive relief to be home!

Day after surgery

Here's Rosa's Dad, Tom, to update on her progress after her surgery. Yesterday she was still out of it from the anaesthetic - and not too swollen yet.  Today was a tough one - more swelling; tired after a bit of a difficult night in the hospital - and she's now got bands on so she can't talk and is a bit panicky about her breathing.  The surgeon is very pleased about how the operation went, and her profile is quite changed.  I'm sure tomorrow will be better.

I have to be brave!!

hellooo everyone!:) well in 7 and a half hours I will be at the hospital waiting for my operation!
I am feeling quite positive about it and I'm really trying to be brave, but I keep forgetting about it and then suddenly remembering and getting a wave of fear. It just feels like I have an incredibly long journey out in front of me and its really daunting to know whats in store for me in the next weeks. I am sure everything is going to go fine though but I just feel so full of aprehnsion, I think when I wake up I'm gonna feel mega relieved to just be on the other side:)
I had such a lovely night tonight with my friend Olivia, we cooked a feast for my last proper meal! We cooked salmon and pasta and then we made a huge cake with marshmellows inbedded inside, and also a cheesecake! it was so fun:)
I will update again probably tomorrow, I'm going to make videos at the hospital as well!:)
Also I want to say a massive good luck to Erin because she is having her surgery tomorrow too! We are surgery pals:)

Only 2 days left!!!

oh my gosh..............ONLY 2 DAYS aaahh!
I'm so full of anticipation!
One minute I feel scared and the next minute I feel excited, I'm like a big ball of emotion!
I've been on an eating frenzy this past week as well, I'm eating everything in sight. I think my body subconsiously knows it has to store up because I've been feeling really hungry! I'm already planning what my last proper meal will be too, I think I'm going to have pasta because thats my very favourite food and I wouldn't be able to eat that for ages after my operation:) also my friends going to come round and we're going to make a giant cake!
After the surgery as well, I think I'm going to borrow a juicer off a friend because I thought it would be really useful for making fruit juice and vegetable juice! and maybe it would be cheaper and healthier than buying heaps of different juice too.
I'm really worried about feeling lonely when I can't do much whilst I'm recovering, so I've told all my friends that they have to just come round all the time! It'll be so nice to be able to talk to people on here too:) I've also bought and borrowed dvds and books for entertainment..
I had my veryyyy last appointment with the surgeon the other day. It was a very quick appointment just to check that the wafer (or splint) that they had made for my teeth fit properly. This was a thin piece of plastic that will fit under my teeth after surgery, and they will attatch it to my braces. It will be to make sure my teeth stay in the new position. I also got to see the model of my teeth that they had made to use in my operation! It was really strange to see it and they showed me on the model how they were going to move everything and how my teeth will fit together.

One thing that I really love to do is make funny faces and I think it'll be so sad when I can't move my face after the surgery and make expressions! But I have to remember I will be able to sooooon, this won't be forever:)
Heres some photos of me and my friend Hana making crazy faces:D

yaayy! I'll probably post again after my operation:) Or maybe I'll do a quick post the night before too! I might make a video.

My Appointment with the Surgeon!

Hello everyone!
I had my apointment with the surgeon today. This was the appointment that they had forgotton to do before, that meant my surgery had to be delayed. It was a really exciting appointment!
He did a mould, but it was a bit different to the other moulds I've had before, and he also gave me this piece of wax to bite into which was to see how my jaws come together at the moment. He basically has to construct this mini model thing of how my jaws currently open and close and how my bite is. He showed me someone elses one, and it's like a cast of the persons top and bottom teeth, but then they are attatched to this metal cage thing that opens and closes in the same way that persons jaw joint does! It's quite hard to explain.. ha:)
He looked at my face in such close detail today and spent probably like 15 minutes just getting me to open and close my mouth and bite together and things, I could tell he was really concentrating and imajining what my face will look like! He also just measured all the dimensions of my face, and at one point he put this metal cage sort of thing on my face that was for measuring the distances between my jaws and nose and mouth, it was so strange it went in my ears and 3 people had to help him put it on my face! I felt like I was in one of those films because I could just see this metal cage and 3 peoples faces looking down on meee!
I also asked lots of questions which was really useful, because until now I could only ask questions to my orthodontist and receptionists and nurses, so it was great to ask the person whos actually going to be doing the surgery! and he was really patient and answered every single thing I asked.
I asked him about the whole tongue thrust issue, and he said that was normally a problem for people who have overbites and 'anterior open bites' and that he doesn't think it'll be a problem for me. I said I'd seen that people had needed speech therapy after surgery to help them adjust to talking with their new jaws, and he agreed that maybe I would possibly need that as my bite really affects my speech and it makes my pronounciation sound quite unclear and muffled. So I'm going to see a speech lady before my operation and probably after too! So thats, cool and he said they make a recording of your voice! wow!
He also warned me about how different I was going to look, which no one has really said to me before. He said,
'You do realise you are going to look incredibly different after the surgery don't you? Friends will walk past you on the street and not recognise you'.
I think I'll be ok with that, but it is really strange to think about. It's going to be alot to get used to... because your face is so integral to your identity so for it to change in such a dramatic way, will be hard to adjust to. He also stressed that he thought I'll look really good though, so I'm not really worried!:) And I think my friends will get used to it really fast. I asked him as well, if I'd still look like myself and he said I definately would so thats good:)
Another thing he said was that hes going to move my jaw slightly to the left! He says my chins a bit wonky! I had no idea.. haa! but then afterwards I looked at it in the mirror and it does actually veer to the right slightly! So thats interesting. He says the movements of my jaws will be:

top jaw- 3 mm forward and 3 mm up

bottom jaw- 6mm back and slightly to the left

He also said I'd have a splint between my teeth for 1-2 weeks after surgery. I think it was a splint anyway, he actually called it a 'wafer' but he showed me one of them and it looked exactly like the splints people have had in the blogs I've seen:) The wafer thing is to make sure your teeth are in the correct position.
He said as well that I won't be banded or wired shut for the first day after surgery, and then on the second day he'll put elastic bands on. I thought this was strange because I'd imajine the first day would be when your jaws would be most vulnrable but I'll be able to move my mouth straight afterwards so that'll be nice. And it will also mean I probably won't struggle to breath when I first wake up which is something that was worrying me because I'd read that a lot of people get that when they first wake up!
I have another appointment with my surgeon in 2 weeks time so I'll do another post then:)

Surgery Delayed until The 25th......

Hi everyone!:) Well, I have lots to tell............
I have just been on holiday to Amsterdam, which was amaaazing but I got some really disapointing news while I was there. My Mum called me up halfway through the holiday to say my surgery had to be delayed until the 25th of July! I was so upset at the time because I had completely prepared myself for the July the 2nd date and I felt really ready, I even cried on the phone! I feel ok about it now though, and am just going to make use of these three weeks and have fun until the surgery comes:)
I'm really vague about the details because obviously I couldn't talk to the jaw surgery people from Amsterdam, but my Mum said the receptionist said something like that they forgot to do a vital stage in preparing for surgery! She said they said it was something to do with working out exactly how my bite is so that the surgeon will be able to know exactly how to move my jaws in the operation. So I reckon it'll be something like a mould, which is annoying since I think I've have about 100 of those! ha:)
I'm going in to see the surgeon on the 3rd so that he can do whatever it is he forgot to do, so I'll find out more then.
It's really frustrating but I'm just glad they managed to still give me a July date and that it wasn't delayed more, It's only 3 weeks so I can handle it:)
I also had an incredible time in Holland we did so much fun stuff! Here are some holiday photos...