graduated

Yesterday I went to my orthodontist for the last time.  Everything looks good and stable, he said.  I will probably have to go in when my retainer breaks, apparently the type I have won't last forever.  But, its nice to know that chapter of my life is closed.  I have another appointment in March with my oral surgeon, I don't know if or when I'll stop seeing him.  I still have numbness, but I've gotten used to it.  Sometimes I don't even notice it.  Weird how your body adapts.  Ah well, it's already 8:00 and I should have left for work at least 15 minutes ago, so I'm off!

I survived

Well, I survived the day.  When Scott and I arrived at UNC they called us right back and hooked me up to an IV.  But an hour later, I had to go to the bathroom!  The doctor didn't come in till another half hour later.  But apparently it only took a half hour to take the screws out.  They had to cut inside my mouth and outside.  And I was asleep the whole time, thank goodness!  Apparently I said some things I forgot, some embarrassing things, in front of Scott.  But they gave me my screws and scheduled me to come back next week for stitches removal.  I also have pain meds and antibiotics to take.  I have spent most of the day laying on the couch resting and dozing off and on.  I started feeling pain about 4 hours after we got home.  I had to eat soup for lunch and dinner and the next few days I can only eat soft food.  My jaw is sore and the area where he cut is sore, muscles and all.  But inside, I don't feel a thing.  I guess that's one advantage of being numb still.  Scott has done a good job taking care of me.  He has definitely earned a few brownie points.  I am a bit scared about sleeping tonight, if I roll over on my face accidentally, it will probably wake me up from the pain.  Anyway, thank you for the prayers, and maybe tomorrow I'll post a picture of my screws.

Another milestone

Well, in two days I'm going to have my bottom right screws out.  I'm trying not to think about it much because I'm scared.  Yes, I'm scared of a little cut after all I went through.  But I was unconscious when it happened last time.  This time I'll be awake.  My hope and prayer is that it will work.  I'm so tired of not having feeling in my tongue, my face.  I'm tired of the pain.  I'm tired of having food on my face or in my teeth and not knowing it.  I just want to feel normal again.  The cold that I've had the last few weeks has been minor torture.  Every time I blow my nose (which runs nonstop), it forces tears out of my tearducts, which in turn makes my eyes red and irritated.  I'm just tired of it all.  And there seems to be no end in sight.  The other night, at my brother in law's birthday, a family friend mentioned that she never got her feeling back after jaw surgery.  Is that going to be me?  Will my face be this way?  I knew that there might be spots, but not half my face and mouth.  I just keep pushing off the thoughts, because if I let myself think about it, I get overwhelmed and depressed.  Well, enough of the depressing words.  Please say a prayer for me and the doctors.  That's all for now.

Sick

I've got a little cold or something.  Scratchy sore throat and super exhausted all the time.  Not sleeping too well for the last week, either. 
So, here is the update on my braces.  I went to my orthodontist last Thursday.  I was ready to have a little sit down talk with him and convince him of the importance of getting my braces off in time for my wedding.  But, he was on the ball this time and told me that he would have them off, he knew it was important, and set the date for the end of September.  So I go back in 4 weeks, I guess get molds made for my retainer, and get them off a few weeks later.  I want to be excited, but since everything has been "oh, we need more time" or "no, its going to take longer" I don't want to get my hopes up.  But next time I go, if he tells me for sure the next appointment is it, I'm calling my dentist to schedule a teeth cleaning for that very day!  (Possibly even a whitening)  I cannot wait!  It seems like its getting harder and harder to deal with my braces and mouth issues.  Before, I dealt with it because, well, I didn't have a choice and I knew it would take a while.  But now its just anticipation that there may be light at the end of the tunnel.  I keep imagining how nice it will be to run my tongue over my teeth and feel the smoothness, to not be afraid of (or annoyed by) food being stuck in my braces.  And even though I'm still numb and can't open my mouth wide at all, I will feel like one more hurdle has been climbed and is behind me now.  So, the timeline is:  Screws out August 26, Orthodontist Sept.2, Braces off around Sept. 30. 
As far as wedding stuff, I don't know how I'm keeping up with it all, but somehow I'm managing.  Scott and I went to visit my aunt Debbie this weekend to talk about the cake.  She happened to have made some cake for someone else's wedding so she let me and Scott sample.  Last week I dropped off my grandma's wedding band to be repaired and cleaned.  They called a little bit ago to say it was in.  I'm so excited to get to wear it again.  Aunt Debbie told me that she thought grandma would really like knowing I was going to wear it on my wedding day. 
Yesterday afternoon, Scott's car broke down while he was running to grab some dinner.  He had to get it towed.  Turns out, it is totalled!  Apparently the timing belt broke and everything in the engine is bent and broken now.  It didn't have enough miles to break already, but was about 6000 miles past the warranty.  So we may be car shopping this weekend, bleh.  Poor guy.  It's just one thing after another with him it seems (first his house having issues, now his car). 
Ok, I'm going to go get the ring now, can't wait any more!

Busy day, busy times

Life is a whirlwind right now.  Funny to think a month or two ago I felt like life was standing still.  Most of the stuff for the wedding is all planned and arranged now.  I'm about to track out (tomorrow, yay!) and I'm basically spending the whole time working on wedding stuff, going places, doing things.  I think I might have one free day where I don't have to do anything, ha ha!  But I'm not complaining, it's all fun.
Today is picture day at school.  I was looking in the mirror trying to practice my smile.  I decided it's no use.  I still have braces, my cheeks are still chubby.  Another year of school pictures with me looking horrid.  I had a nightmare last night about my braces.  I dreamed that my orthodontist said he didn't know when my braces were coming off.  He told me I might have to wear them forever.  That's how I feel right now.  Like they are never coming off.  I'm so sick of wearing them.
My friend Jenna just had her wisdom teeth taken out on Monday.  She is all swollen and in pain.  I feel so bad for her, and definitely can relate.  I hope she feels better soon.
Tonight is Open House.  Its crazy, but they planned open house the day before I track out.  So my room is going to look bare.  No pretty artwork or projects on the walls.  Desks will be mostly cleaned out, so parents can't see what it looks like.  I just hope they are understanding, that's the way it goes in year-round school.
Last weekend, Scott and I painted, repaired, wired, and cleaned his house.  He got his carpets cleaned on Monday.  This weekend we will finish painting and cleaning.  It's really coming together, but it sure is a lot of hard work.  I still have paint on my feet that I can't seem to get off.
But this weekend won't be all work and no play.  Saturday night, my girlfriends and I are going to see Barenaked Ladies!  I can't wait, it's going to be so much fun.  We're going to park at the NCAE building, walk over to The Pit for dinner, then walk to the ampitheater.  I just hope that it's not too hot and it doesn't rain.
Well, that's all for now, I have to get to school and take my terrible picture.   :)

Sunday afternoon

So, here's the word on what the oral surgeon said.  He told me that it's normal to have the popping, but not have the pain with it.  He seems to think that I'm having the pain because I'm overworking my left jaw.  I haven't been chewing on the right side because it hurts too much.  He told me that he wants me to start taking glucocimine and chlorsomething or another to help my joint move better.  And he wants me to eat more on the right side.  When he said this, I started crying.  Yes, I cried.  I don't know why, I guess I've been a ball of stress this week and the prospect of the pain just pushed me over the edge.  I was so embarrassed.  He was very nice about it.  I told him that I was sorry, it was just scary.  He said that was fine, it is scary.  Then he tried to make me laugh by telling me that its like spraining your ankle and only using the other one.  He said, you know what happens when you do that, right?  I was like, yeah, you mess up your other ankle?  And he said, no, you walk funny.  He also scheduled my screws to come out the last week of August.  Fun, fun.
So, yes, Jenna, typically you do pick out food after tasting, ha ha!  And we did pick out what we want, but we are going to the tasting to make sure its what we want, we can change our minds.  Basically there is a menu we choose from in a price package, several meat and side dish options. 
The photographer is really cool, I think that's going to work out well.  I asked her if she can make me look good, she just laughed and said she doesn't like her picture taken either. 
Oh, no!  My sister just called to tell me that my nephew fell on his face at the pool (while running, the little stinker) and busted his lips.  He has a tooth that is just starting to come in and now it looks funny.  Please say a prayer for him! She's taking him to the dentist tomorrow.  Hopefully he didn't do any permanent damage.
Well, that's the update for now. 

Almost 6 months

Well, I'm almost 6 months post surgery and I'm still healing.  This is taking much longer than I anticipated, ha ha!  Everyone else's blogs have them carefree and healed mostly by 3 or 4 months.  I'm headed to my oral surgeon today for a regular follow up visit.  Unfortunately I'm having a new problem.  For the last month or so, when I'm eating sometimes, my left jaw socket has this sharp pain as if it is coming out.  Then, for about the last week, I have woken up with moderate to severe jaw pain in that socket.  I emailed my orthodontist but he referred me to the oral surgeon.  I don't know what he's going to tell me today, but I'm kindof scared about it.  For some reason, everything has to be harder for me recovery wise.  I don't want any more issues. I'm hopeful, though, that he will know what is going on and have a solution.
Meanwhile, wedding stuff seems to be coming together this week.  We visited the caterer yesterday afternoon and picked out our foods.  We will get an email with a quote later this week and I guess approve it and and sign on the dotted line.  Then we get to go to a tasting at the end of August.  Since they are a regular restaurant caterer, they have a tasting event every two months.  It will be set up like a wedding reception, so it should be pretty fun.  Scott was so funny, he of course wanted the best food of everything.  And I of course, was the practical one that tried to bring him back to earth.  But the caterer guy said he'd try to have one food that Scott really really wanted, which may end up being some fancy cheese.  And if he can't do that for Scott, maybe I'll try and hunt it down for him.
On Tuesday, we got my engagement ring sized down, to a size 5 3/4!  I was shocked.  I thought it was too small, but it actually is just right and possibly could have gone down a little, but I'm afraid my knuckles won't let me ever get it off.  Anyway, I was going back and forth with the jeweler about the size, certain that it was too small.  But I finally gave in, since she was the expert.  We also ordered our wedding bands.  Scott tried on a few, there wasn't the hugest selection. :(  But I told him to get what he wanted, and he picked one out, seemed happy.
Tonight, we meet with the photographer.  I'm really excited about this.  I think she's going to take really neat pics, and she seems affordable (relatively speaking, ha ha!  I've learned photography is insanely expensive.).
My number one question to her will be:  Can you make me look ok?  Seems like only 1 in ten pics of me turn out decent, ha ha!  She'll have to take thousands just to get 10 good pics of me. And, the next question will be: Can you photoshop out braces? Oh, please pray that they come off before the wedding!
Other than that, Scott will look fine, he always does.
Next on the list of to do's:  I need to meet with a florist.  Once I have all that done, I can relax...oh wait, no I can't.  Scott and I have to work on invitiations!  Yes, we are making them.  I know we are insane, but I just can't bring myself to send out a traditional, regular old invitation (no offense to anyone who ever has, eek!).  It's just when you get an idea, and it grows and grows on you, its just hard to change it.  And what we're trying to do is more my style anyway...I think they'll turn out pretty cool, even though they may not look the most professional, ha ha!
Well, I suppose that's it for now.  I'm going to go eat some breakfast, shower up, and head out.  It takes 45 minutes to drive to Chapel Hill.  While I'm out there, I'm gonna swing by the bridal store and pick up my fluffy slip thingy for my dress.  I still don't get why I have to wear that thing...and hopefully a color swatch from the bridesmaids' dresses.

Three!

I guess I'm the third life changing news.  Last weekend my boyfriend proposed to me.  It was all very sweet and lots of funny stories surround the planning of his proposal.  Last month apparently Scott contacted my sister and asked her to help him find out my ring size.  So my sister unsuccessfully, in more than one way, snuck into my house to find out.  She was not very sneaky though, she forgot to put away the phone, left the jewelry box open, and closed my toilet lid, which I never do.  When I arrived home, I was so freaked out that someone had been in my house that I had nightmares for two nights.  I called Ashley, hoping it had been her, and she admitted it but wouldn't tell me why.  The other thing she messed up on was that she sized my ring size two sizes too big.  Silly girl!
Anyway, back to the romantical stuff.  Some of you have already heard it, so you can skip the next part if you want. :)
It was Saturday, June 27.  I had just spent the last two weeks frantically working on report cards and end of year paperwork. That morning I was still in my PJS and glasses and was settling in to work on fixing report cards.  While I was fixing breakfast I got a text from Scott.  This is what it said:  "I think you should check if the plants on your porch need water."  I thought that was odd of him and responded with a "Lol, why?"  I didn't hear back from him right away, so I just finished making breakfast.  Then I started thinking about it and decided that he was right.  It had been in the upper 90's all week and my plants were dying.  So I filled up my watering can and stepped out to water the plants.  On the stoop was a big brown box that said "for Marlo" on it.  I looked around in a panic, worried that Scott was out there watching me in my pjs, looking terrible.  I grabbed the box and came in.  When I opened it I found several packages wrapped up in brown paper, tied with twine and little notes that said "for now,""for later,"and "for tonight." On top was a note, which I will not tell you exactly what it said, but suffice to say, he was indicating that I should open the packages and it was going to be a special day.  Inside the packages were various gifts, such as a "When Harry Met Sally" dvd (because people always tell us we are like them), French music CDs, a bottle of Champagne, 2 boxes of Mac N Cheese, and a ring box sized box that said "A Promise."  Inside that box (which said Zales on it) was a little note that said "I bet you thought there'd be something in here."  Later, Scott came over to get me for church and had a pound cake he had made for me.  We went to early service, then went to Michael Dean's for dinner.  I already had known about this since he had asked me earlier in the week if we could go on a date since it had been a while.  We had a lovely dinner and after we went by the lake that we had gone to on our first date.  I thought he was going to propose there, but he didn't.  So we went home and I popped in the movie.  He had never seen it before, so it was fun to watch it together.  After the movie, he hopped up and said "Time for dessert."  I followed him into the kitchen.  He turned and said, "You gonna watch me cut the cake?"  I laughed and went to put in a French CD.  When he walked in, I wasn't paying much attention.  I looked up and saw the plate with cake, but he swung forward the other plate, which had the ring box.  I laughed and told him he had already done that.  As he handed me the plate, I could feel that it was heavy.  He told me to just open it.  So I did, and inside was a beautiful ring.  He quickly got down on one knee and simply asked me to marry him.  I was shocked and it took me what seemed like an eternity to get the word out "Yes."  He then told me to put it on, but I laughed and told him I couldn't do it, he had to.  And that's when we discovered that the ring was too big. 
Anyway, here is a picture of the ring!

And here we are right after (I called my sister and of course she ran right over to take pictures and see the ring).

So this week I have been a busy girl.  Our wedding date is set for October 30 (based on my track out).  So that means I have a little less than 4 months to plan!  But God must be watching over us because everything so far seems to be working out.  We are having our wedding at Duke Gardens.  I can't even believe that because they book up a year in advance, and they use a lottery!  We also found a reception place already, caterer, photographer, and my wonderful Aunt Debbie is making the cake.  She makes cakes semi-professionally so I'm sure it will be beautiful.  And, I already have my dress.  I really wasn't expecting to have it so fast, but when I tried it on, I knew it was the one.  Now we need to sign all the contracts for places and people and I need to find a florist. 
I did get some disappointing news about my braces.  My orthodontist had told me a few months ago I'd have them off by the summer.  Now he's saying the fall.  I am absolutely not going to have braces in my wedding pictures, so if I have to have them taken off for the wedding and put back on after, so be it!  Ha ha!  I am going to see my oral surgeon next Friday and find out when I get the lower jaw screws out. 

More adventures in toothland

So after my bracket popped off again, my tooth decided to continue moving, and it hurt.  So I emailed my orthodontist pleading my case.  He told me that he didn't want me in pain, so come in the next day.  This time, he only put the wire through one clamp on the bracket and so far it has held.  I went back to UNC on Friday to see my oral surgeon.  He feels that changing the wire will help and wanted to keep me on the Neurontin.  So far, I don't see any change in the pain in my lower jaw.  Last night I went to brush my teeth and it still hurt just as bad, and biting is nearly torturous.  I really hope I don't have to live the rest of my life like this.  Meanwhile, my sinuses are running like a leaky faucet.  I had switched to Claritin but I'm not thinking that it's working.  I am contemplating seeing an ENT/allergist and find out what they think is going on.  Is it sinuses being messed up and hypersensitive or is it allergies legitimately getting worse as I'm getting older? 
In other news, this weekend was busy and fun.  Went to see a comedian Friday night, went to a street festival Saturday morning, and went to see "Wicked" and have dinner with girlfriends Saturday afternoon/evening.  I really enjoyed the show.  We were way up in the nosebleed section but it really wasn't as bad as everyone feared it would be. 

And then dinner was yummy, although a bit scary trying to get there, ha ha!  Jenna couldn't get her GPS to work and we were driving through downtown Durham...need I say more?

Day 90!

So today it has been officially 90 days (3 months) since my surgery.  I had my teeth cleaned this morning and my dentist was so excited to see the results.  He also assured me that he felt I would get my feeling back and that the lingual nerve (the nerve that the screw is possibly pressing on) will also heal.  Last night I realized that one of my brackets on the bottom was loose, so I had to run back by my orthodontist's office for him to put a new one on.  That bottom tooth is so stubborn, it was already trying to go back behind the two teeth on either side of it.  3 years of braces and that tooth wants to go back to it's old ways, sigh...
I can't get over how clean my teeth feel!  The hygienist had to work a long time to get all the buildup off, especially where the surgical hooks had been.  There were a few shockingly painful moments, but she was careful and as gentle as could be.  And...no cavities! Yay! 
I took some pictures of how I look today.  Perhaps I should put a before and after up?  Sure, why not!

Before

After

Before

after

So...what do you guys think?  Can you see a difference? I think it's a major improvement!

Changing wires

This morning I went to my orthodontist to have my bottom wire changed.  It was not as bad as I feared, although not painless.  My orthodontist did the work and he was very careful not to hurt me this time.  Whenever I jumped in pain, he would stop and make sure I was ok.  The new wire is much lighter.  It's so nice to have all the rest of those surgical posts out.  No food got caught in them today when I ate, it was so nice!  I also told my orthodontist about how my surgeon wants to take out the screws and he seemed a little surprised but agreed that it's not normal to still have a numb tongue and taste metal.  He also told me that I did a good job with my bands and wearing them (I had no choice, it hurt not to wear them, ha ha!) and that I would most likely get my braces off in 2 months.  So I have another visit in 5 weeks, then I'm assuming the next one will be to get the braces off.  I do have one concern, though, my bottom front tooth that originally went behind the others beside it is trying to do it again.  I hope this doesn't delay things. 
Tomorrow I get my teeth cleaned, I can't wait!  Maybe I'll take a picture of my teeth after, since I haven't shown what they look like in a while. 

Track out!!!!

It's official, I'm tracked out now!  I was in such a good mood yesterday, even my kids noticed!  And my mom asked why I was so chipper when I called her yesterday morning while driving to work.  Even she knows I'm a huge grump in the morning.
I have so much planned for this track out.  Last track out I had surgery and was recovering the whole time, so I didn't get much done and it wasn't much fun. :(
Today I'm going to scrapbook with Jenna and some friends, then go do some Karoke.  Then Sunday, mom needs some help moving furniture before she gets her house painted and in the evening I'm bartending for our pre-golf tournament coctail fundraiser.  Monday is the golf tournament, hopefully the weather will be nice.  I'll be the photographer again.  It's fun riding around on the golf cart and chasing down the foursomes.  Every year there is one elusive group that I end up driving the full circle before I find them.  Then I rush to Walmart to print the pics, come back to the clubhouse, put them into the pre-printed cards and envelopes and pass them out at the end.  It's a lot of fun, but definitely a stressful moment to get it all done in time.
Then Tuesday, I go back to my orthodontist.  He apparently talked with both of my doctors and they persuaded him to take out the bottom wire.  So that's whats going to happen.  I'm scared that it's going to hurt so bad, but at the same time I can't even chew or eat on the right side it hurts so bad, so maybe this will help.  I'm going to take a lot of Motrin before I go.
Then Wednesday I get my teeth cleaned.  You don't even know how much I am looking forward to that (even with the potential that it's going to hurt).  My teeth feel just ick from wearing that splint so long and no matter how much I brush, I don't feel like I can get them clean.  Then Friday, its back to UNC for another follow up visit with my oral surgeons. 
Among the other things I need to take care of over track out:  oil change and detail/clean my car, take stuff to Goodwill, yard sale (hopefully), spring clean the house (it REALLY needs it, I've neglected my chores, sorry mom!), balance my checkbook (eek, do I have to?), and get a pedicure.  Yes, a pedicure.  That's important.  It's spring and my nails are naked! Hee hee.
Oh, maybe I'll relax and sleep in a day or two, sit outside and enjoy the weather and catch up on my reading.  Or maybe even "do lunch" with friends and family.  Hmm, think I can squeeze all that in?  Oh, and Scott might take a day or two off so we can take a day trip somewhere.
Oops, I also have to do some school work, planning.  Get this...the county messed up my sick leave from my surgery.  They had me down as track 2 so all the time I was off was taken out of my sick leave, and became medical leave.  The school secretary finally got that all straightened out, but because of it, they decided to audit my leave.  My principal had let me switch one of my work days to the beginning of track out.  Well, they didn't like that.  So they basically didn't count it and made me use a sick day for that work day.  I was so mad, and somehow they took two days, not one.  I'm not sure why they did that.  I need to talk to the NCAE and see if what they did is legal.  I'll probably call them next week.
Ok, that's all for now, I think I have caught you up on my life so far.  I need to start gathering all of my scrapbooking stuff now and figure out what I'm going to work on today.  Later!

Metal Mouth

Last Wednesday, I went to the Orthodontist.  He decided not to take out the bottom wire, which was a relief.  He then proceeded to clamp the back of one of the brackets on my left side molar to create a ridge.  He hooked a rubber band on it and brought it to the front in a triangle.  I wasn't paying much attention to how he did it because while looking in the mirror he gave me, I noticed a large glob of broccoli, much to my horror...a leftover bit from lunch.  Anyway, I told him I could do it and went on home.  Well, when I took out the rubber band to eat, the sharp metal edges of the ledge shredded my tongue each time it rubbed to move my food (I still can't chew on the right side, it hurts too much, so I have to eat on the left and use my tongue a lot to help).  Then, spent about 10 frustrating minutes trying to get the dang thing back in!  I have no idea how he did it so easily.  
The next day, I went to my oral surgeon again.  I told him about the pain I'm experiencing on the right side and how it hurts just to brush my teeth.  He seemed concerned about this.  He said I shouldn't be experiencing pain.  Then I told him that my tongue is still numb on the right side and I bite it a lot and that I also have been tasting metal for the last 2-3 weeks.  He had me close my eyes and stick out my tongue.  He then poked my tongue different places with a stick and I raised my hand if I felt it.  He told me that he thinks that one or both of the screws in my lower jaw were sticking into a nerve.  He said its good that I feel prickles on my tongue and can taste, which means the nerve is still alive.  He decided that at 6 months post op, he wants to remove the screws on that side.  I have no idea if they're going to put me to sleep but I'm hoping they will, because they will be cutting into the outer part of my cheek to get to the screws.  He also said that it might benefit me to go ahead and take out the bottom wire and put a lighter wire in to relieve the pain.  Unfortunately, he was heading out of town and seemed preoccupied but said he'd contact my orthodontist.  Well, I didn't hear anything from my orthodontist, so I emailed him what my doctor said.  And my orthodontist said he disagrees and wants to keep the wire in.  Sigh...I just wish they would coordinate what they want to do and just do it!  Anyway, that's the latest jaw stuff.  I am worried that this taste will never go away or that I'm always going to be numb on my face.  I understood before that I might have some numb spots but having a completely numb side of your face and mouth are difficult to live with any more.  I just want to feel a little normal again.  My doctor reiterated that I have a very difficult surgery with a lot of movement and torque.  Doesn't make me feel better though. :( 
On a side note, why do people always want to take pictures of you when you really don't want your picture taken?  I know I didn't like my pic taken before surgery, but it's even worse now when I don't feel normal.  I know my face is still swollen and I can't smile right.  I'm extremely self-conscious.  I should scan the hilarious class picture that they took.  But I won't because I look terrible in it!  It is hilarious, though.  All my kids have these crazy looks on their faces and there I am trying to smile but looking like Herman Monster, ha ha!  Anyway,  enough pictures already!  :P

Cuppy cakes!

Sorry I haven't written in a while.  I got caught up in my report card work.  It takes basically a couple of weeks before they are due to get all the assessment data gathered, comments written, etc.  It's a highly stressful time for me (as well as the other teachers, I've heard).  So my family and social life kindof takes a back burner. But now they are all done and I can finally....catch up on all the work that didn't get done while I was working on report cards, haha!  I have piles of laundry, a stinky bunny litter/cage to clean, and more school work to do this weekend, plus a birthday party and visit my dad!  Oh, and of course time with Scott.  We are planning to go to the farmer's market in the morning.  I want some pretty plants to put on my front stoop, and some goat cheese!

So tonight I went over to Jenna's and we made cupcakes for our friend Dawn's birthday tomorrow.  It took us all night, but here are the results!

Jenna was a bit more professional than me.  I had a hard time making the icing walls and some icing kept accidentally getting into my mouth, but all in all they turned out super cute.  Boca was so funny, she kept watching us, unsure of why I was sitting in her dad's seat and not playing with her.  (Boca is Jenna's cat)

So this week was a week of firsts for me, or rather second firsts, ha ha!  I ate pizza and a hamburger!  Of course I had to cut the pizza into small bits and I had to bite off tiny bits of the burger on top, then bottom, but I ate them!  The pizza was for an after school special party thing several teachers and I did for some of our students.  I told them it was the best pizza I have ever had!  I'm doing better as far as the severe nerve pain, but I am still experiencing pain.  I'm also still quite numb.  It's all just so weird to deal with.
I'm avoiding paying my hospital bill, I know I need to pay it soon, it just hurts to pay thousands of dollars at one sitting. 

My dad is doing so much better.  He went to the doctor this week and the doc told him that he was a miracle.  Most of his patients with that kind of stroke have permanent blindness in one eye and permanent balance issues.  So far dad is enjoying his retirement.  He doesn't have cabin fever yet, he has years of relaxing to catch up on!  He can't drive for another couple of weeks, so he doesn't have much of a choice, ha ha!

EEEK!!!

Just got my bill from the hospital.  My part is only $2,444.10, due by the end of the month!  The total bill before insurance was $19,184.41.  Apparently pharmacy/supplies was $10,214 of that and the surgery itself was only $7,901.  Interesting to me how expensive all that is.  And, interesting how there is absolutely no where on the internet that tells the cost of orthognathic surgery.  I hope I don't get arrested for leaking a secret and posting this on the web!  Its a good thing I have a flexible benefits card and put some money away from my tax return to pay this.  Oh, and I'm about $100 from reaching my maximum out of pocket.  I think I'll reach that with my follow up visits and eye appointment in a couple of months, ha ha! 
As a follow up to Monday, Tuesday was a terrible day for me.  My mouth hurt so bad I couldn't hardly think straight all day and I was in a terrible mood.  Finally, at the end of the day, Jenna suggested Motrin.  Why I hadn't done it sooner, I don't know, except that I just couldn't think straight!  Anyway, each day has gotten a little better, but it still hurts a lot and I can't tell if the Neurontin is working.  Oh well, tomorrow is Friday, TGIF, and I'll have the weekend to catch up, maybe, ha ha!  Paige's birthday is Saturday, so I have birthday hoopla and I want to see my dad and Scott, so I doubt I'll get much rest.
So my dad, he is a walking, talking miracle.  They released him from the hospital this morning.  No in hospital rehab.  Can you believe it?  I was skeptical but Mary says he is doing really well.  I'm amazed by him.  Just amazed. 
And poor Scott, he had a rough day today, ended up back in the ER in so much pain.  I hope all this passes soon for him.
Ok, I have a stack 7 inches tall of papers to grade that I have been carrying around since last week.  I need to get busy.  Later!

6 weeks post surgery

Well folks, today was quite an eventful day.  Actually, starting Friday morning, everything has been eventful.  Let me tell you about the weekend first, then fill you in on a little good news from today.  As many of you know, I have been suffering with nerve pain that won't go away.  It seems to be spreading now, to my tongue and upper lip, as well as general soreness all around.  Friday morning I woke up with another headache and in pain and I just had had it.  The Darvocet wasn't helping, I was tired, and weak from not eating enough, and I just had it.  So I balled in the shower, and I called Ashley balling.  She calmed me down and comforted me and I knew that I would need to do something come Monday when I went back to the doctor.  Then Ashley told me that dad had been up all night throwing up and Mary was taking him to the ER, thinking it was Norovirus.  I told Ashley to email me if anything happened or she heard anything.  So I went on to work.  Well, at the end of the school day, while waiting for the last few busses, I happened to pull out my phone and saw that Ashley had called.  She left a message for me to call her as soon as I got the message.  Well, when I called, she told me dad had had a stroke.  I was in shock.  He was in the ER still but they were about to take him to ICU.  Well, basically from there I spent most of my weekend at the hospital in the ICU.  It was really scary because he could have died.  He has a clot in an artery going to his brain and it will be there the rest of his life.  The doctors say that his stroke is the best kind of stroke to have, most of his patients recover and live mostly normal lives.  He doesn't have the droopyness or stuff that most people get.  He is dizzy a lot and nauseated because of where it is.  He also will have vertigo issues.  He's going to be in the hospital for at least 5 weeks including rehab. 
I was supposed to go to the beach with Scott, but that of course got cancelled.  Well, Saturday morning, I had another headache and was laying in bed trying to get rid of it before I went to the hospital to see dad.  Scott called me and told me that he was also in the hospital.  At first I was confused and wondered why he went to see dad already.  Then he explained that he was in the ER with kidney stones, again.  So, between running to see dad, I was also trying to check in on Scott, take his car home for him take him some stuff.  I felt really bad that I couldn't be there for him more but I really wanted to be with my dad. 
I am still exhausted from the whole ordeal.  Now dad is moved into a regular room, but he's still kindof loopy and dizzy and nauseated.  I'm not sure what's going on at this moment.
Now onto the actual oral surgery stuff (sorry I haven't written in so long about it).  Today I went back to UNC.  I told my doctors that I was still in terrible pain.  He just couldn't believe it.  He told me that most patients come in to the clinic at week 6 feeling great, no pain, ready to go on.  They decided to go ahead and take out my splint, though, and put me on a nerve blocker (finally!!!).  The splint coming out was kindof gross.  The doctor put on a plastic face mask and had me wear a gown.  I was like, geeze, is it really that bad?  He said, yep, stuff goes flying, a lot of things get trapped in there.  So he cut the wires and told me not to swallow.  Well then he was like, DONT SWALLOW!  So of course, I swallowed.  And I felt something go down.  I told him I swallowed and I was imagining a tiny wire tearing up my insides.  I asked him if that was going to be bad.  Then he was like, oh here it is, was on my finger the whole time.  So what did I swallow? I asked.  Debris, probably.  EWW!!!
Anyway, the assistant came into the room with a tootbrush and toothpaste before he even finished, handed it to me and said, here you probably want to brush your teeth, now.  And I did!  It was nasty.  I brushed for like 8 minutes.  Then I couldn't get over how weird everything felt to be normal again.  Anyway, here is a picture of the splint:

It looks like a retainer, doesn't it?

So my doctor said he was going to keep it in case he needed to put it back in.  (I hope they at least cleaned it before putting it in that bag!) I go back next Thursday.  Lets hope the Neurotin works.  He also said that he wanted my orthodontist to take out my surgical wires and put in lighter wires.  
Well, at my orthodontist appointment, little did I know the torture I was about to face.  When the hygenist went to cut the wire, it hurt so bad I almost passed out.  Imagine twisting and pulling every single one of your teeth one at a time, that's how it felt.  They had to stop and put the chair up.  I seriously thought I was going to die.  When she pulled out the wire, she accidentally cut my upper and lower gums, so I was bleeding everywhere.  Thankfully my orthodontist said to put a hold on the bottom one, cause it hurts to even brush my bottom teeth. 
So right now, I'm licking my wounds and waiting for the Neurotin I just took to kick in.  Here are the after pics of my orthodontist visit. 

 

  

Don't look too close at my teeth, you might see some blood, ha  ha!  

Strep

Yep folks, I got strep throat.  Went back to work for 2 days and the kids gave me a present! :)
Sigh...c'est la vie!

Fuzzy slippers and crying children

Well, I survived my first two days back.  I am exhausted. 
Yesterday I dragged myself out of bed and got ready for work.  I packed lots of water and different foods to eat.  I hopped in my car with all my stuff and was driving past Apex Elem. in the snow flurries when I realized how toasty warm my feet were when my car hadn't heated up yet.  I looked down and saw to my surprise that I still had on my fuzzy slippers.  Argh!  The kids were ok, but I was so tired and had tons of papers to go through
that I went straight home and worked on that all night.
I didn't eat enough today, it takes so long to eat that lunch was over and I wasn't even halfway done trying to eat my soup!  One of my students decided to start crying this afternoon at recess and cried all the way to the bus.  I stayed at work till almost 7 planning for next week. 
This Sunday is my nephew's birthday, so we had the family dinner/celebration tonight.  He got tons of gifts, happy as can be.  When my sister put the candles on the cake (which mom made, chocolate icing on chocolate cake), I told him there were too many.  He counted them and said, "No, Aunt Marlo, there's 7, that's right."  I told him that was wrong.  He counted again.  I told him that he wasn't allowed to get older, so there were too many.  He then understood and said, "Nope, I'm turning 7.  Nothing you can do about it."  You see, I've been telling him for some time now that he can't get older, he can't loose a tooth, he can't go to first grade, because I don't want him to get older.  He just argues with me and basically tells me there's nothing I can do about it.
Ok, I'm too tired to write any more.  Except that my doctor apparently called and left a message today to see how I'm doing and told me that he and my actual doctor discussed it and decided I don't have to wear the bands any more, to see if that helps the pain. 

Update

Well, yesterday didn't go so well with the medicine again.  It took 4 hours for me to feel nauseated but I was ill all night.  I called my doctor this morning but he was in surgery.  I finally heard back from him about what to do much later in the evening and he told me that they are going to try another type of drug, Darvocet.  He said I can take it and work, but I shouldn't take it and drive.  So I'll have to take it when I get to work, and eat a full meal before hand.  Which is hard to do on a liquid diet.  And I take it every 4 hours.  Which is hard to do, at work.  I am so ready for all of this to be over. 
Today I started feeling pinprickles in my tongue on the numb side.  It is really spreading all over my mouth, too.  I can also feel my back teeth a little, they are very very sore.  I am so tired of my mouth hurting all the time!  I guess this means I'm getting more feeling back, I just hope that it doesn't mean more pain. 
Tomorrow I go back to work.  I am not really looking forward to it.  It will be hard to talk that much and be up and about that much.  I really, really hope my kids are good for me.  But I feel terrible not being at work, so much is piling up and needs to be done.  So I'm going to face whatever challenges that come and deal with it.