A NURSE POINT OF VIEW

MY SON HAD HIS LOWER JAW DONE WHEN HE WAS 18 JUST 4 MONTHS BEFORE LEAVING FOR COLLEGE ON A FOOTBALL SCHOLARSHIP. I TOOK CARE OF HIS NUTRITION IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE HIS WEIGHT LOSS. HE HEALED QUICKLY WHICH WAS DUE TO HIS EXCELLENT SHAPE AND AGE. FOUR YEARS LATER OCT 2017 I HAD MY LOWER JAW SURGERY AND HAD MY FOUR FRONT TEETH SURGICALLY REALIGNED DOWNWARD TO CLOSE A CLASS 3 MALOCCLUSION. I AM STILL IN THE HEALING PHASE. I HAD A SPLINT WIRED TO MY TEETH WHICH MADE IT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO TALK FOR SIX WEEKS. THERE WAS NOT MUCH PAIN BUT I CAN SAY A LOT OF THE PAIN FELT NEUROLOGICAL, NERVE PAIN ON THE INSIDE OF MY FACE WHERE I COULD NOT SOOTH IT. I HAD TEMPERATURE IRREGULATION AT TIMES AS WELL, GETTING INSTANTLY COLD WHICH WOULD HURT. MY EMOTHIONS WERE VERY SENSATIVE AS WELL. I BELIEVE IT WAS RELATED TO NOT HAVING CONTROLL OVER MAKING MYSELF BETTER WITH SOMETHING. ONLY TIME WAS ABLE TO DO THAT BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH SWOLLEN TISSUE INSIDE THAT I COULD NOT SEE. AS A NURSE I FINALLY HAD TO TRANSITION INTO A PATIENT IN HEALING MODE AND DO ALL THE THINGS I WOULD TELL MY PATIENTS TO DO. ITS MARCH AND I STILL HAVE TINGLING AND NUMBNESS IN MY LOWER CHIN. I HAVE MORE NUMBNESS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF MY MOUTH AND CANNOT CHEW ON THAT SIDE. I STILL EAT SOFT FOODS BECAUSE ALTHOUGH MY TEETH HAVE GOTTEN STRONGER MY GUMS ARE STILL NOT THERE YET. BUT...I STAY IN THE MIRROR MARVELING AT THE WONDERFUL JOB MY DOCTORS HAVE DONE. MY SURGERY WAS 9 HOURS AND IM STILL IN BRACES TILL THE END OF THIS YEAR BUT ITS ALL BEEN WORTH IT. MY SMILE WILL BE AS BEAUTIFUL AS MY SON SOON. SHOT OUT TO MY ORTHODONTIST AND SURGEON. FM A NURSE POINT OF VIEW