• Jaw Journal

    Day 5: All You Need Is Love…and Condiment Bottles

    Pain: 6-7 Numbness: Same. Nausea: Bad this morning, but passed without incident. Back this afternoon after my 3 hour nap, but went away after tomato soup. My day of socializing yesterday caught up with me last night and this morning, and my pain was the worst it’s been. After my 4 and 9 am doses of food and meds, I slept until about 11. When I woke up, my mommy had replaced Brandon as my caretaker for the day! (Brandon had to go back to work. Rats.) Good thing my mom has an iPad to keep her company…I was pretty boring and sleepy all day. My dad came by around…

  • Jaw Journal

    Gettin’ the Goods

    Well, the preparations for the big day are officially underway. My mom once gave me excellent advice when I expressed how nervous I was about surgery. She said, “Just plan it like you planned your wedding, and then you’ll be able to relax and trust that everything will go smoothly.” I realize, of course, I have zero control over the actual surgery. But you can bet your bottom dollar, Annie, that I’m thinking through as many details of the recovery as I can possibly imagine. Right now, I’m focusing on the fun part: shopping. 🙂 So far, with the guidance of my fellow jaw-bloggers, my list looks a little something…

  • Jaw Journal

    In case I needed reminding…

    Ugh. Today was one of those days that reminded me why I need jaw surgery. I woke up this morning in terrible, blinding jaw pain. The right side of my face was burning in an arc that stretched from my collar bone to the top of my head, with a concentrated stabbing-knife kind of pain in my jaw joint. I tried to get up as normal, and took a hot shower to see if it would help. It didn’t. I then tried to eat breakfast (oatmeal) so I could have something in my stomach to ease the nausea I was feeling. That didn’t work either. In fact, it was counterproductive,…