Day 16: Operational Cost

Day 16 of Double Jaw Surgery

I received an informational letter in the mail today from the hospital outlining how much each part of the surgery cost. Holy moly! It was a lot. I never really knew how much it would cost because every single surgeon I've spoken to (6+) never gave me even a ballpark figure, I guess because they didn't want to misspeak and then be held against that figure if it differed. Well here it is below! However, it may vary for other people.

My personal deductible was $1100 and the splint cost $1388. I have yet to receive any additional bills. I originally had the option to get a genioplasty and get a chin but my surgeon ended up not recommending it and not necessary after analyzing my 3D photos. If I had gotten it done though, it would have been an additional $5000 or so out of pocket because that would've been a cosmetic procedure outside of the medical necessity of the jaw surgery.


Once this is all over and I'm back on a normal food diet, I will compile all my expenses of liquid diet foods, prep materials, etc. to see what the ultimate cost amounted to be.

Day 15: 2nd Post-Op Appointment

Day 15 of Double Jaw Surgery

Today is Friday the 13th, as Facebook keeps reminding me. It's also the day of my 2-week post-op appointment I've been waiting for for so long!

What's up, Doc?
I sat patiently in the waiting room for a half hour for my name to be called. "Tina?" "YES!" I was ushered into one of the rooms and Dr. Baker examined the outside of my face and then removed my surgical tape. By the way, the 2 incisions on my lower jaw were to access my jaw to make the cuts. They made the cuts from the inside but they also have to access from the outside to help make the osteotomys.

I asked 3 questions:

1. When can I stop sleeping elevated?
   A: I can stop now since it's the 2-week mark. If I wake up swollen, then elevate again. Generally, I should be good by now though.
2. When can I start exercising and to what extent?
   A: Every surgeon's protocol is different, but no vigerious activity for 6 weeks at least. Light cardio 3-4 weeks. In my case, give it another week. I can use light weights, stairmaster, leg presses, squats, etc. Just don't want me to cough or do something where I'd want to open my mouth.
3. When can I start blowing my nose?
   A: Probably safe to start now. Everything communicates, the nasal cavity and the mouth where they made the incisions, ...sort of collects fluid and the blood vessels are disrupted during surgery. So if I blow my nose too early, I could cause the blood vessels to blow and then I could end up bleeding. They just don't want me to bleed underneath my skin where it has nowhere to go other than swell up and cause a hematoma. The clear mucus is normal. Just be careful/gentle and not too aggressive. 
4. When should I see Ortho?
   A: Probably 4-5 weeks after getting the bands off and I can open and close a bit.

Bands (off) that make me dance.. of joy?
Then the most awaited decision! Am I getting some of the bands off?? Unfortunately no. He said next week we'll take half off and then we'll take off the rest of the bands in 2 weeks.
Again, normally you put a splint in and all the teeth line up and you just wire the splint to the upper teeth and allow the jaw to open and close. When he did that, I had a little bit of an open bite. My ortho probably could have closed it overtime but it would have taken a decent amount of time. So what they did was take the splint out and locked my upper jaw down to my lower jaw, which will make it much better for me in the long run. But because they did that they weren't able to have that extra level of stability with the splint that would have held the teeth edges together. So they're using the rubber bands instead to do the same thing. Patience, patience.

Pre-appt happiness, anxious for bands, sad they're staying on. Tape is off though!

Textbook Fame
What was cool is that Dr. Baker asked my permission to take my photos (with my eyes blurred out) and use it for a chapter in a textbook. Apparently he has to do a chapter on technique and the pictures would be to match my physical face with the computer modeling of my x-rays. I gladly obliged.

Grocery Trip and Thin Out Soups
I was really looking forward to less bands to allow thicker foods/fluids to enter my mouth. Nevertheless, I was ready to have some thicker soups. I headed to the grocery store to buy myself tons of nutritious juices and went home to thin out one of the soups I bought last week, butternut squash. I combined and blended organic heavy whipping cream and the the soup in the Nutribullet, warmed it up, and then enjoyed it! It was still a little thick, but I managed to drink it all, despite the tight spaces.

Natural Surprise!
I got home to a big tall box from 1-800-Flowers and was so excited and surprised :) After what seemed forever to unbox it, it was a nice tall Money Tree plant. The name makes me chuckle. It was really beautiful and from what I read, it doesn't take a lot to care for and indoor conditions are ideal for it. Phew! Good, because I'm not very good at plants. In fact, I have dead twigs and branches in my place for decor. Oh, and who were they from, you ask? My team at work!! The card wished me well on my recovery and that they miss me.  I thought it was so sweet of them to get me a plant of this magnitude! So cool. I love my team and I miss them.

Day 14: 2 WEEK COMPARISON!

Day 14 of Double Jaw Surgery

I've made it folks! 2-week mark. It's been quite a journey. From being pricked 5+ times for the IV to potato head to now. My jaw is still fully rubberbanned shut - hopefully tomorrow's appointment will change that. Now let's dive into some comparison photos!

2-Week Comparison

What a difference!!! I actually have an upper lip now! Sounds silly, but due to my underbite, my bottom lip was dominant and always covered my upper lip. In fact, I have nice full lips that I never realized I had hahaha. Looking at my profile, I also have cheeks now! My cheeks before were very sunken in and flat. Now, granted I'm still a little swollen, they're more evident and pushed forward when my upper jaw was moved forward. I was afraid that my skin under my chin would be a little excessive and I'd have a double-chin after moving my lower jaw back, but the swelling is going down and it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

Regarding my body comparison, the lighting isn't very consistent now that I put them side by side. However, as I said yesterday, my weight loss is about 10 lbs in 2 weeks. There are some changes in the body that I can tell a lot more physically than in a photo. It's a big problem that I haven't been able to eat substantial, thicker soups due to still being fully shut.

Diet
My diet still consists of Ensure, water, and prune juice. I definitely am starting to get the itch to eat other foods. All I want is some eggs!! lol! I am used to eating 2-3 eggs every single day! My stepmom advised me to get some heavy whipping cream to thin out soups. That way, they'll pass easier through my shut mouth and not get stuck in the rubber bands. I bought tomato soup, broccoli and cheddar, and bisque. One of my work buddies was kind enough to bring over some whipping cream - so as soon as I'm done with my doc appointment with Dr. Baker, I'll whip and blend me some good ol' chowder!

Discomfort
Starting yesterday, I've been experiencing discomfort in my lower jaw/teeth. Almost like a soreness. My bottom jaw no longer wants to be held up anymore by rubber bands. When I try to relax my lower jaw, it kinda pulls on my teeth because they're rubber banned with my top jaw. My jaw is just getting really antsy to move! Sounds uncomfortable, right? It is.. Other than that, there's no other pain.

Double Visit!
2 of my favorite work buddies came to hang with me today for hours! Chris is a big gamer and he brought his Xbox to play Walking Dead. I told him previously that I enjoy watching people play video games, it's entertaining to me. Him being a big gamer, it was music to his ears haha. Ahmed was awesome and brought me the whipping cream I needed for fabulous soup. We chatted about what I've been missing at work, played some video games, watched a couple movies, and had some laughs. They're awesome and I miss working with them!

Today was a really great day! I'm very excited about tomorrow's doctor visit. Hopefully I have great news about removing some of the bands. Aaaand good night! <3

Day 13: GTI & Chai Latte!

Day 13 of Double Jaw Surgery

Slept in today after yesterday's rainy day. Had the usual breakfast of 2 Ensures and downed a glass of Prune juice (started this daily since Day 11). I noticed that these progress photos I post at the top of each post don't exactly reflect what I see in the mirror... In the mirror, I appear a tad more swollen.. I think, maybe... maybe not lol! But either way, it's still a vast improvement. Quite happy about the progress!

GTI Love
I mentioned in an earlier post that my car and I have gone through it, "it" being an accident that cost a little over $15,000 in repairs total (all paid by insurance.. and why it wasn't totaled beats me). Well I received an e-mail yesterday that the last part that needed to be replaced (part of my tail lights) finally came in the mail after over a month on back-order, so I headed to the body shop to get that done. After that, I headed to the car wash to give it some lovin' after sitting in the parking garage for so long and the rains lately. I'm a clean freak in general. I like everything neat and tidy - part of my Type A personality. It felt wonderful to have her nice and clean and I wiped her down too so no water spots appear haha.

Chai Latte
After I returned home, I strolled around the neighborhood and decided to treat myself to some deliciously warm Chai Latte. I haven't consumed any other beverages besides Ensure, water, apple juice and prune juice.. so a nice warm latte was quite a treat indeed! I had no problem drinking it out of the cup's cover either. I briefly thought about purchasing coffee-flavored drinks, but then I thought about the extra caffeine and how I can't exactly burn the extra energy off. So nevermind!

TOMORROW IS DAY 14! STAY TUNED!

Day 12: Self-reflection

Day 12 of Double Jaw Surgery

Self-reflection
My life nowadays is not very exciting where I have something to blog about every single day. This does make me think about how how we lead our lives and what we make of it. Sure, I can't do much right now, but I could certainly use this downtime to watch all the sermons I've been missing out on, watch all my purchased Creative Live course videos (if you don't know about this, get on it!), read all these books that have been left just sitting neatly on my desk, plan out to go on a mission trip, write hand-written letters/cards to my friends and family, seriously think about re-launching my photography business, and whatever else. Shut off the TV and do some self-reflection. Alas, this blog is not about my dreams and aspirations since most of you are strictly here to view my progress in pictures, riiiiight?! Well, I shall write about whatever I feel and hope you enjoy it :)

Other than that.. look at my photo above! My face is slimming down considerably and it hasn't even been 2 weeks yet! I am so happy with my profile. Day 14 will be a big post on the 2-Week update with comparison photos of my face and body from swelling and slimming down.

Dreams
I've been having a lot of dreams lately about opening my jaw, chewing on steak, talking normally, etc. Then I wake up and Biggie's "It Was All a Dream" crosses my mind. Le sigh. I'm not complaining, but I'm definitely counting down the days of getting my bands off. My jaw is becoming restless and tries involuntarily to move. Not only that, I'm really looking forward to a good brushing!!!

Day 11: Weight Check

Day 11 of Double Jaw Surgery

Recovering in the Winter may be the worst idea. Wait a sec.. it's not yet Winter, but it sure is getting colder. Typically when I'm really cold outdoors, I chatter my teeth uncontrollably. Last night I was invited to watch Spectre in the movie theater. By the time we let out, it was about 10PM and on my walk back home, I was freezing! I don't know if it's the plates in my head now or what, but my jaw and sinuses felt extremely tight again and I was fighting to chatter my teeth because well... I can't with my jaw still rubber banned shut. That walk was so uncomfortable and I couldn't wait to step into my apartment's lobby!

Mastering Not Yawning
Can we agree that yawning is contagious? *nod head* Well, I have truly been tested. When hanging out with people or just watching folks around me and they yawn, I have to make a conscious effort to not yawn as well.  It works 9/10 times and the small instances I do have to yawn.. you can imagine it's another uncomfortable action. Trying to pull apart your shut jaw is just weird. It doesn't exactly hurt, because I still feel no pain, it's just awkward.

Weight Loss
I've been stepping on my Fitbit Aria scale about every 2 days since the surgery to track my weight loss due to this restricted diet. I'm not sure how accurate it is regarding body fat though. Ignore the weight goal, I set that last year. Don't really have a goal in mind anymore, just happy with a fit healthy body.

Starting Weight: 142.3 lbs / 32.9% body fat
7 Days Later:  134.2 lbs / 32% body fat
11 Days Later: 133.1 lbs / 31.2% body fat
TOTAL LOSS: 9.2 lbs

The 1+ year prior to surgery, I knew I wanted to get my body ready physically to tackle through the recovery.  I knew I had to gain muscle and eat well so my body wouldn't deteriorate and heal slow. After seeing how well I am recovering, I could say that I was onto something! Nearly 1 year ago, I weighed 151.4 lbs and lost 10 lbs in the past year to a fitter and strong body with muscle. Big thanks to my girl, Katrina, who trained and helped me tremendously until she had to move out of state. On Day 14, I'll update with a photo comparison and the official 2-week weight loss update. I was hoping by now I could have more full liquids, but it is still very difficult to eat anything besides Ensure, broths and juices because everything is still fully shut and there are very little spaces for liquid to pass. I can't wait for this Friday when Dr. Baker removes some of the bands.

Day 10: Praise!

Day 10 of Double Jaw Surgery

What a beautiful, sunny morning! I woke up refreshed and decided it's about time to return to church to give praise to God for all he's been doing in my life, most recently this incredible recovery. I had a couple of Strawberry Ensure Plus's, took a shower, and got dressed for a day spent out of the house!

Swelling Difference
I noticed yesterday that my swelling is a little uneven. My left chin area side is a little more pronounced than the right. I mean left, as in my left, not looking at me left. Nothing to be concerned about, just an observation in healing.

Back to Driving
I climbed into my beloved car for the first time in 10 days and warmed her up a bit before taking her out. It felt GREAT to drive and not be driven. I love my parents and friends who helped me, but nothing beats driving your own car, and manual on top of that. As you can tell by now, I love my GTI. We've gone through some hurt together recently (which is a completely other and long story!).


Praise God
I entered one of my church's local campuses (National Community Church) because I didn't want to risk driving too far out to my home location in DC. It felt great to be welcomed with smiles and "good morning's". Despite getting a few looks at my swelling and surgical tape and then my semi-mumbled good morning back, it made them smile all the more! Worship was wonderful and we had a special guest who rapped! The entire message and time spent was rejuvenating and I was sure to praise Him for all he's done for me recently.


Retail Therapy
After church, I was not ready to go back home. So what do I do? Hit up the mall and get some shopping done! I visited 2 of my favorite stores, Chelsea Collective and Athleta, and got an incredible deal at Chelsea!! I can't even repeat it because it was something they did out of the kindness of their heart, courtesy, whatever you want to call it! Again, I continue to be blessed.. it is NOT a joke. By the way, why did no one tell me that Nike Rosche's and Nike Juvenate's are so freakin' comfy!? I had to get both of them!
 

A photo posted by Tina Leu (@tinaleu) on Nov 8, 2015 at 12:16pm PST

Home Base and Numbness
By the time I got home, I was super hungry. I quickly drank an Ensure and warmed up some leftover soup from the Thai place. Since I've been drinking out of a cup/mug and no more on syringes, I've noticed my upper lip is a bit numb. So when I hold up the glass to my lips to drink, it feels a little weird because I sort of cannot feel it and sort of can... I also can't rest it on my bottom right lip too much because my suture is still there and it hurts a little bit. Other than that, no pain.

I Have HBO?!
When my dad was here to look after me during surgery, I noticed that he was watching movies on HBO, but I didn't really think about it again until a couple days ago. I have no idea when Verizon FiOS gave me access to HBO, but I know it wasn't part of the deal when I first signed up a little over a year ago. It could have had it for this entire past year or just a month, but it's been given me a whole slew of films to watch/rewatch! I recorded a lot already for when I just want to lounge around (which is a lot of what I'm doing anyway).