Straighten Up and Chew Right: Days 9

So, it's been a week since I last posted and a lot has happened. Let me start by discussing the nastiest part. Hematomas. EW. A hematoma is basically a pool of blood trapped somewhere. In my case, at the site of the incision/breakage. After the surgeon sewed me back up, my veins decided to keep bleeding. The blood was then trapped by the sutures and had nowhere to go. As it sat, it coagulated to form hard lumps on my face. At first, I couldn't really feel them due to the massive amount of swelling I had. But as the swelling went down, they became more noticeable. Then, they started popping. Right after I posted my last entry on this site, I got up to take a shower and noticed a weird taste in my mouth. Blood. Lots of blood. I freaked out. I was bleeding for a few hours, and didn't know what was wrong. It was strange, because my swelling had gone down considerably after all that bleeding. I told my dad that I would go to the doctor the next day (Thursday) if it hadn't stopped. Thursday night, I started bleeding again, and Friday morning I was in my surgeons office. He told me it was the hematomas working themselves out. Nothing to worry about. So, ever since then I randomly start bleeding. It doesn't last too long anymore, which is good, because it's disgusting. But the stupid hematomas are still here, making me retain my fat kid look. Especially from the side. Hopefully they will work themselves out in the next week.

My surgeon said that my swelling right now is down 1/3. He says by my appointment next week I should be down 2/3. I'm hoping that will be enough to allow me to feel comfortable in public. Right now, it's not enough swelling to KNOW something's wrong with me, but just enough to wonder if I'm really ugly, or if I have a slight deformity. My head is sort of the shape of an eggplant. I will admit that it's starting to get to me a little. I just can't wait to look normal and do normal things. I am also getting really tired of this diet. My appetite has almost left completely and I never want to eat. It's become more of me forcing food down my throat. It's just tasteless. I'm not sure if thats because it's all the same texture and mostly the same type of things, or if it's the antibiotic because that makes my mouth taste metallic. Whatever it is, I would like it to stop. I lost a good 10 pounds in the first week, then gained about 5 back. I'm guessing it was mostly water weight I lost initially. But now, I have lost the 5 back again, so I'm still at 10 pounds lost. That's at least something positive! I started at about 143, and now I'm at 133. Goal weight is 125 and I feel like I will have no trouble reaching that after I'm recovered.

In other news, our power went out AGAIN last week and our air conditioner was broken for 4 days in 100+ degree heat. I couldn't sleep and have been incredibly tired the past few days. I think everything culminated last night. I felt extremely nauseous and burnt out. But after sleeping for an entire day, I feel a little better. All in all, things are going ok. My bite is still straight, and the doctor says everything looks good. This process is really long and frustrating, but I know it will be worth it. I have an orthodontic appointment tomorrow and I'm weirdly excited about it. Maybe just because it will get me out of the house and I will be in contact with people. Anyway, I'll leave you with some photos from this past week. Enjoy!