Three Months!

I meant to make a post between the 2 and 3 month mark and life just got in the way. Things are going great! Yesterday was my 3 month post op mark, which means I'm officially healed. My jaw is supposed to be as strong as it was pre-surgery, so I guess I can start living on the edge again! For me I think that just means walking through the gym and not being afraid of basketballs hitting me in the face.

Numbness: About 3 weeks ago feeling returned to the left side of my lip and chin as well. So now I can feel anything that brushes against my face. I can also differentiate between hot and cold. Numbness along the gum line is the same. It hurts when anything touches it, and the front four teeth are still numb along with the inside of my lip. At the 6 month mark I'll have a better idea of how this will all play out.

Range of Motion: I'd say I'm close to having my full range of motion back. I can eat burgers now without it being a chore.

Swelling: I think it's mostly gone, but I probably still have some residual swelling. At 6 months all of the swelling will be gone.

Eating: I can eat whatever I want at this point, but some things are still difficult. Today was the first time I've had an APPLE in 3 months. I haven't even tried carrots or celery yet. I'm still regaining strength in my jaw and learning to chew with my new mouth. It's been a process that's required patience.

Energy levels: I've been back to myself for a long time now. I finally hit the point this week at the gym where I feel as good as I did pre-surgery. I'm still trying to get my cardio levels back up but today at boxing I felt like I got through the workout without slacking off as much or stopping.

Overall thoughts: I would do it again! It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The first two weeks are the worst and then it gets better. I had a lot of reservations about the surgery and I'm glad I didn't back out. Just the small changes so far have been enough to make me extremely happy. It's so nice to be able to bite through things.

A lot of people have commented on how different I look. It's fun to see people I haven't seen in a while. Some of them just look at me funny like they know something is different, but can't tell what. I didn't have the surgery because I was unhappy with my appearance, but I like my new jawline. So that was a pretty cool bonus! I really couldn't tell much of a difference until last week when I was watching my form in the mirror at the gym then I realized how much my face had changed. Pretty cool!

Because I can't say it enough, THANK YOU to everyone who brought me food, supplies, and books to read during my down time. I have great friends and family and I couldn't have done this without you. It was truly a humbling experience. I've come to appreciate life a lot more after sitting on the sidelines for 6 weeks. I even kind of enjoy running now!

I need to make a post of just before and afters and some kind of flip-a-gram thing of my swelling stages, but for now I'll just post what I have.

Thanks for reading!

Two weeks ago before the WVU game! 

Tonight after boxing.