First solid food dinner!

Mashed potatoes done three ways (plain with turkey gravy, cheesy potatoes, and garlic potatoes)! The smile says it all!!



Oh, and what good Italian would I be if I didn't pair this with a good wine. The wine selection which I have been saving for this very moment, is none other that my top red pick. La Crema Pinot Noir! Smooth as silk!



I took my rubber bands off for dinner and freaked Mike out with my un-muffled speech! It was the best! This moment is very exciting for me as I do see a light at the end of this tunnel. Today mashed potatoes, and some day down the road a delicious steak!

Also something I haven't done in 2 months, me sticking my tongue out!

I'm Free!! But ...

8 weeks later and wires are finally cut! What a long road this has been, but the end result looks amazing.

Before (10/31/10):


After & 35lbs lighter (12/28/10):


While I am excited to have my jaw unwired, I still have some recovery ahead of me. I am currently wearing rubber bands to ensure my jaw stays in its new location. For tonight, I can't take them off. Which means a liquid dinner and breakfast for me. I have an appointment tomorrow morning for the doctor to take a look, change the rubber bands, and explain the rest of my recovery to me. I know that I will be in rubber bands for another month, but hopefully they won't be as tight as they are today. I am hoping solid food is somewhere in my immediate future!

Here is a look at my smile. Only rubber bands keeping it closed which feels much better! I can actually breathe through my mouth again!

26 hours to go!!

I have 1 more day left until my wires get cut! I think all of the running around I did over the Christmas weekend has wore me out, because I am beat today! I will post pictures and provide an updated entry tomorrow.

Thanks for all of your support! I'm so excited for tomorrow!
Joe

1 Week to Go!!!

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to be exactly 7 days away from having my wires cut!! I will apologize for the lack of updates lately, but no one would cast me in a reality show about my life right now. Nothing exciting with my progress has been happening. I am currently 31 pounds down and am tipping the scale at 194! I feel great, my clothes are falling off, and I am sleeping well at night!

Based on my good friend Erin's vegetable soup she brought me in week 2, I was found a vegetable soup that I absolutely love and that I look forward to making from here on out. The ingredients are onion, garlic, carrots, celery, kidney beans, basil, oregano, diced tomotoes, tomato sauce, and salt/pepper to season. The recipe I followed also included ground beef which I might incorporate once I can open my mouth. This tasty soup was almost like an italian flavored chili with the basil and oregano. I even topped it off with some parmesan cheese! Yum! I am pretty sure I will be dining on this Christmas Eve night.

Since my last post, I also got the opportunity to head down to my office in the loop to celebrate the holidays with my co-workers. With the exception of a couple people, this was a surprise to all. It felt great to get up in the morning and know that I had a purpose. I got on the Metra and followed my regular commute. It is sickening to say this, but I am actually looking forward to returning to work! Anyways, I just want to thank my awesome colleagues for a great afternoon. I laughed so hard a couple times that I totally was hurting my jaw, but I didn't mind. It was also great to meet some new colleagues who have transferred over from Diamond and 1 from our New York office. Hopefully I didn't scare them off with my muffled talking! I look forward to getting to know them when I return in 2 weeks!

With Christmas being a few days away, I just want to say that I am thankful for all the love and support of my family and friends that have been following this blog and keeping up with my progress! Speaking of progress, check out some updated pictures:

18 days to go!

Hello Everyone,

I haven't written in a while because basically there is nothing to write about! Everything is going well. I have 3 weeks until I get my wires cut. The big day is Tuesday December 28th! While I was hoping to have this done before Christmas, what are a couple extra days? The most important thing is that I can start the New Year with a new smile!

Knowing that I am more than halfway done, I am starting to have some major cravings. I don't plan on eating junk food when this is done, but if I see another McDonald's commercial I am going to flip. I can't begin to tell you how exciting a burger will be!! I am a proud meat eater (please don't call PETA), and I have not had meat since pre-surgery! I am also craving a thin crust pizza with extra cheese. I just want to bite into it and have cheesy hot goodness!! I am getting hungry just talking about this!! The Ensure's and soups just aren't cutting it anymore.

I have been asked what my first meal will be when I get my wires cut. Sadly, my mouth is only going to open a couple centimeters at first. I will be having to exercise my jaw to work its way back to normal working procedure. While I am sick of soups, I will say that it will be nice to eat one with a spoon and not have to blend it up! I am just hoping that 3 days after wires being cut that I will be able to enjoy New Years Eve dinner. We have reservations at Coopers Hawk Winery and I am very excited to sip some good wine and eat some delicious food. While I know that I won't be ordering the steak, I am at least hoping for some gnocchi or pasta. Anything to make me feel full (which shouldn't take much since I haven't felt full in 5 weeks!).

In other exciting news, one of the side payoffs of having this surgery is the eminent weight loss that comes from consuming liquids only. I am not embarassed to say that I have gained some weight through college and have had failed attempts at losing it since college. For the first time in who-knows-how-long I am excited to say that I weigh less that 200lbs! None of my jeans fit me right and I only have 1 belt that fits. While I understand that some weight might come back when I eat normally, I am glad to see the excess go away so that I have a better shot at remaining a good healthy weight going forward.

In soup news, I have found success in a yummy Sun Dried Tomato & Pesto soup, and failure in a Provencial Vegetable Soup. Back to the drawing board on the veggies!

Week 5 - I survived Thanksgiving!

Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am glad to say that I survived not eating solid foods over Thanksgiving. I really thought I was going to have a melt down but I kept trucking along. It went so well, that Mike and I ended up cooking and hosting Thanksgiving for 5 people! Turkey, stuffing, potatoes; the whole 9 yards! By the end of the night our feet hurt, 1 belly was full, and 1 person (me) avoided the extra weight gain over the holidays!

Before you all begin to feel sorry for me, I should let you know that I enjoyed a delicious dinner. I prepared White Bean Soup for myself. The recipe is quite simple and only calls for lima beans, celery, onion, chicken stock, and a little paprika to garnish. The taste reminded me of mashed potatoes. The good kind, not the potato water that was the potato soup disaster of weeks past. In the end, it was great to have family around and be able to host my first Thanksgiving.


I also got a kick out of setting the table. Notice in the picture below where I was sitting. Bowl, spoon, and straw ready for my meal!


I am glad to report that everything is moving as status quo for me. Now that I am at the halfway point all I want is for this month to fly by to get my wires cut. I am not hungry, but am craving the ability to chew food and eat whatever I want to. I am also finding that I can utilize less wax in my mouth to cover up poking wires and brackets. It certainly makes cleaning my teeth and heading out the door much quicker! I am also excited to report that I am down 25lbs. My weight is teetering right above 200. I cannot even remember the last time I weighed in with a 1 in the beginning of my weight. I am hoping that the next few weeks will help widdle down my weight and get me past that milestone.


Here are some updated photos of me!

Week 4 and half way there!

I am very excited to be at the halfway point in my recovery stage! This past week I have been out and about keeping very busy. It feels great to not be glued to the couch anymore. Last Friday we went and saw Harry Potter 7 Part 1. While it was a great movie the lack of caffeine was evident when I was yawning at the 8:45pm start time. Sad to say, my bed time has been 9:00-9:30pm for the past month. Either way I had a great time meeting up with Kellie, Karl, & Kirsten for HP7.1. On Saturday we walked around Ikea, Target, & Costco. Although the highlight was when Mike and I stopped at Jamba Juice for smoothies for lunch. My cap was leaking down my cup and instinctively I went to lick the side of the cup. Whoops! I don't have access to my tongue! LOL. Mike certainly got a kick out of that!

I have also had 1 success and 1 failure in the soup department. I was very excited to make a delicious vegetable stock. I used vegetables that I have never eaten or diced before. I ended up using YouTube video clips to learn how to cut leeks, ginger root, and parsnips. I am really enjoying cooking and preparing my meals. It definitely beats the monotony of eating Ensure for every single meal. With my vegetable stock I was able to prepare 2 soups. The first soup was a Potato and Roasted Garlic. Unfortunately, I left the potatoes in the stock too long and it turned into mashed potatoes. However, I still ended up eating the soup which turned out more like potato water. YUCK! The second soup I made was a Cream of Onion. It turned out beautifully! It was made with butter, onions, dry vermouth, stock, bay leaf, and cream. The soup was deliciously buttery with a nice onion flavor!

Yesterday I had my doctors appointment for the week. As before, everything is looking great! I am down just about 23lbs and the doctor is predicting that I should be at 190lbs when I see him again in 2 weeks. Maybe being wired shut during the holidays is a good thing!

Speaking of holidays, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! This year Mike and I are hosting Jack, Laurel, Grandma, & Papa for the holiday. We are cooking a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoe casserole, corn, and White Bean Soup (for me). While I am going to miss diving into all this delicious food, I am just keeping focus on my recovery and I will enjoy having the family over to our place for our first Thanksgiving. I am thankful for a successful surgery, great family, and good health. I am also thankful for all of your support through this process, and with the passing of my Mom. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!!!

Cheddar is Better!

I believe that I have found my new hobby. Not only does it fill some time in my schedule, but it also allows me to eat amazing soups! My first soup success was a Cheddar Soup that I found on the Food Network website (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/cheddar-soup-with-crispy-tortilla-crunch-recipe/index.html). After the blended meat debacle of last week, I decided that I should target the next food group that I am feeling deprived of, dairy or more specifically cheese!

The recipe is quite easy. The ingredients include onion, red bell pepper, jalapeno, 6 cups of cheddar cheese, chicken stock, cream, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.

The end result looks a little like this ....

Happy Camper!

Following the success of Cheddar Soup, I have purchased a 400 soup recipe book from Borders. There are so many great recipes that I can utilize during recovery, and post! Stay tuned for the next soup success!!

2 Weeks Down, 6 To Go!!

Well folks, I have made it to the beginning of week 3 of my recovery phase! It appears that the tough times are behind me now and I am crusing on forward. As you have lived with me through the rough points and swollen pictures, I am happy to report some exciting changes to me!

1. I can talk! Well, not as articulately as I used to, but people can understand me. The days of carrying around that darn white board are behind me! WOO WHO!
2. I can use a straw to drink fluids and meals! This is an amazing thing for me. It means that I can actually go out into public now and not be afraid of freaking people out with my giant plastic syringe and tube (not that I was leaving the house with those darn things).
3. A spoon has been reincooperated back into my arsenal. Not that I am the most eloquent eater with a spoon. Actually, most of the soup rolls off my lips and down my chin, but advancement forward none the less!
4. I can go out socially! Not that I plan on making this a regular habit, and I was still in bed by 9:30pm that night. Can we say party animal? Either way, I proved to myself that I can return to a normal pre-surgery routine. I just need to remember to not overdue myself. My jaw was pretty sore at the end of the night from talking with my friends. All of whom were very patient and listened as I muffled my way into each conversation. Thanks to you all, love you all, you all know who you are!

Also, a big shout out to a couple of the most amazing friends in the world, Erin & Paul Fasse. Erin made me the most amazing vegetable soup that was easily blendable and I was able to consume using a straw. You guys rock! Eating your amazing soup has inspired me to do some cooking of my own. Stay tuned for how my Cheddar Soup recipe turns out this week!

Now to the exciting part of my post, I have begun to see some very obvious changes in my appearance. I am down 17 pounds as of this morning. Originally, the most shocking photos were my side profile, well not any more. Take a look at my head shoots below:

Day 0 Pre Surgery

Day 1 Post Surgery

Day 14 Post Surgery

Blended Meat??

Yes you heard me correctly. I had such a craving for meat last night that I decided to take the plunge and blend hamburger helper! Now before you all cringe and gag, I will say that while the looks weren't all that, it smelled amazing! Well, maybe just to me because I haven't eaten solid food in 12 days and haven't had any meat in just as long.

I bite the bullet, drive to Jewel, pick up my ground beef and hamburger helper recipe (I chose the Italian Shells Recipe). Mike finishes dinner, we get the blender ready to go, and VOILA! I blend in liquefy mode, I get my TV tray ready, I got my tube in hand and I am ready to eat the most amazing meal in liquid form. AND THEN, the spot behind my teeth clogs up from something not blended enough, the tube clogs, and I get blended meat all over my braces and on the TV tray. Let's just say, I know why I have high blood pressure. I was so mad!! All a kid wants to do is eat some beef! Blended beef 1st attempt = failure!

I took the jump once, I'm not sure if I will do it again. At least I know that I did try it and the small taste I got, it wasn't half bad! The catch is that I get so heated when I am hungry and I don't know if I can deal with another failure just yet. So for now I am sticking to shakes and juices that I know I can consume. For everyone's safety :)

I did have a doctor's appointment this week. He said that everything looks great. I have good hygiene, my healing looks great, and he is thrilled with the changes he is seeing in my face. I am thrilled too. As I am losing weight and the swelling is going down the signs of a solid jaw line are surfacing. He did say that I will not have feeling in my chin for 2-3 months. Which doesn't bother me, except for when I am shaving. I can't seem to shave the part of my chin above the chin, but right below my lower lip. Some people may know this as the "soul patch." The doctor also said that I must practice talking. He said that my pronunciation is so clear that I should have no issues talking with my wires. With that my homework for the week: begin talking more! Anyone I see I just ask for some focus and an open ear. While sometimes I sound like Darth Vadar, I am able to speak! Yah!

This week I have begun getting out of the house. I am no longer on pain meds so I have a license to drive and I am using it! I'm not really doing anything exciting, but just being able to get out of the house means so much. The books I have say that I need to get back to my normal routine and that is just what I am trying to do. Speaking of which, time to get ready for the day!

Happy Friday Everyone!

1 Week Down, 7 to Go!

It has been 1 week, and I have 7 to go! I would be lying if I didn't say that this first week was hell. Let me air my dirty laundry out here in an attempt to correct some of my frustrations and be more productive in week 2.

1. I hate not talking! Mike has some of my "grunts" down, but I pretty much have to write or type everything down. I actually enjoy time alone at this stage because the only person I have to conversate with is myself. On the flip side, I have started to have some visitors and it certainly has been great to see friends and family. (Thanks Jack, Laurel, Dad, Jill, Somer, Jason & Josh!)

2. I miss food! I have been leaning heavily on Ensure protein shakes and broth to sustain my hunger for the first week. Enough of that!! I have found that I have to eat more because my stomach is hungry and I am starting to get headaches from not getting enough food. Lesson learned last night! This morning, I made an awesome triple berry and banana shake for a mid morning snack. I even have enough to have an afternoon snack! The other great discovery is that broth is just too salty and not flavorful. Campbells in a blender, is delicious!!

3. We need more comfortable living room furniture. When sweatpants and the couch turn into your office you realize that maybe it is time for an upgrade!

The last point is really more of a joke, but food and talking have been my biggest meltdowns. Thank you to Mike for helping me, dealing with me, talking me off the ledge, and being ok with doing absolutely nothing for 6 days.

In appearance news, the swelling is going down and the yellow bruising has shown up. I am getting more feeling back in my jaw, but my chin is still feeling rather numb. I am also down 10 pounds after week 1. I go to the doctor tomorrow and am hoping for a good check-up!

Liquid Diet

Ever notice how when you diet that every single commercial on TV is pushing a bacon double cheeseburger, with perfect fries and a large soda? Or how when you are channel surfing the only shows that look good to watch are on the Food Network?

Overall I am doing very well adapting to my new liquid diet, but there are some challenges. I have found that Beef Bouillon cubes make me congested. Not good when your nose is your main breathing source. I have found that Ensure Protein shakes aren't bad. They actually provide a considerable amount of nutrients and calories for me. Strawberry Ensure is breakfast, while Chocolate is dinner. I have also found that when these are the only 2 things you consume for 5 days that you drop weight very quickly! Here is a peek at what my fun food options are for now:

Luckily I have not been considerable hungry during the past 4 days. Eating is a chore in itself! I have to put all liquids in a large plastic syringe and fish a narrow tube to the back of my teeth. It makes eating a slow process as you don't want to put too much liquid in your mouth before swallowing. It leads to coughing or pain in your jaw from the pressure of a big gulp. I'm looking forward to the days where I can just sip a glass like normal, or fill a bigger syringe with liquid and just shoot it to the back of my mouth. Until then, the challenge of patience is still upon me!

Update on recovery: Swelling is going down!

Day 2 - Post Operation

Hello Everyone!

First off, thank you for all of your love, support and prayers! They have certainly helped me fight through my frustrations as I get used to being wired shut.

Let's start with a couple pictures. The first picture was taken the day before surgery. You can see the sever angle of my nose to my chin.

The second picture was taken Day 1 Post Operation when I was back at home. I now have a clearly defined chin and my jaw has been moved out 8mm.

I am so pleased with the already obvious changes to my face! My chin is clearly defined and my jaw is moved 8mm forward! It is just unbelievable. My surgeon and his staff are very pleased with my postive attitude and believe that it will help me through recovery. Then again, wouldn't you be happy with these results?? Speaking of results, my surgeon is ecstatic with the results. This is exactly what he had projected. Once the swelling goes down, and I lose the soft tissue above my neck, we will see a clearly defined jaw line! I can't wait!

So far all is going as well as can be expected. I have gotten used to feeding myself through a syringe and tube. I have mostly consumed water and 2 Ensure protein shakes since Monday. My appetite has just not been there. Last night I finally got 4 hours of continuous sleep both before 1am and after 2:30am. I can't tell you what this has done to my energy level this morning(thus being up and blogging). I did have a protein shake for breakfast and am looking forward to some soup for lunch.

My pain has not been too bad. It is mostly just discomfort with being swollen and not being able to open my mouth. I am not able to talk either. I can grunt to talk but I feel like only Mike would be able to understand me. I am finding that writing my words down is a pain in the butt, however, I will continue to do it as sitting in silence drives me nuts!

I will keep you all updated on my progress!!

Pre-Hospital Doctor's Appointment

This morning I had my pre-hospital visit with my oral surgeon to discuss the procedure and what I can expect during my recovery. I was a little nervous going into this appointment because I had some fears about having my first surgery and fears regarding what to expect. Thankfully my doctor has put many of my baseless fears at ease.

• What if I am that rare percentage that doesn't fall asleep under general anesthesia? No fear, they have a way to track conscious levels. Phew!
  
• How long will surgery last? Surgery is estimated to be about 3 hours. I will go in first thing in the morning and be out around 11:00AM.
  
• Will I be going home after surgery? Not right away. I will be observed for the next 23 hours at the hospital. That means I will have my first hospital stay. I hope the food is good ... oh wait, nevermind. :)
  
• Am I going to be in a lot of pain after surgery? No. The swelling will help to dull the nerve messages sent to my brain. The swelling will act as a road block. Sweet!
  
• Can I talk? Yes! I should continue to try and talk and exaggerate my expressions. This is a form of exercise that will get my muscles moving and back to normal.
  
• So how long will my jaw be wired shut? 8 weeks. WHAT? I thought you said 6 weeks? It turns out that based on my dramatic shift in my jaw that we will want to keep me wired a little longer. The good news, more time in the wires means less time wearing elastic bands after the wires are cut. The bad news, both Thanksgiving and Christmas meals will be consumed in liquid form. No fun!
  
• When can we expect to be 'done' with all of this? Estimated completion date with braces off is looking like 6-8 months from now. Perfect! Bring on the summer sun!

With that behind me, we were able to discuss the process and procedure. It really is quite interesting and I can't do it justice to explain it. I will tell you that my lower jaw will be moved 8mm forward from its current resting position. I will also have some movement from my chin that will help to naturally close my lips when they are rested. With that movement, and with the liquid diet helping to drop 30+ pounds of weight, I should look realitively similar to the way that I did back in high school. Well, maybe less hair, but we are talking about my jaw. See below:

Anyone ever watch the TV show The Swan? Ok ok, its pretty tragic. However, I am feeling like this change is going to be pretty dramatic. This is quite an exciting process for me. It is looking like the 2011 will hopefully bring a new look, a new me, and a better year!

Welcome!

Hello Everyone!

I just want to thank you for stopping by and inquiring about what is going to be going on in my life over the next couple months. I am hoping that this blog can help be my voice while I don't have much of one.

For those of you that don't know, I am going to be having Orthognathic Surgery on my lower jaw. What that means is that I will be having my jaw broken and reset into its proper position. The big day is Monday November 1st.

Over the past 10 years my lower jaw slowly began to recess backwards. As you can see in the below picture, my chin should touch that blue line and be in line with my nose. This shift in my jaw slowly began to change my bite, change my breathing (see red circle which shows my narrow air passage way), and change my facial appearance. This surgery will help to correct these matters and prevent anything else from happening down the road.





Recovery is the biggest challenge ahead of me. My goal in keeping this blog is to update all of you throughout the process as I will not be able to speak to any of you during the 6 week recovery. I will be having my jaw wired shut so that the jaw bones can heal and strengthen. During this time I will be subjected to a liquid diet for every meal! Not something easy for someone like me to do, however, the motivation for this change will help drive the change in my diet!

Thanks for your interest in keeping up with what is going on with me! I will try and keep this blog up to date and post pictures where applicable and not completely gross anyone out.