Day 16

I had an appointment with Dr. Franco yesterday. I told him there was a wire that was sticking out and stabbing me in the lip and he said he couldn't bend or cut it but he had a tool that he could buff it down so it was smooth. Luckily that worked out because that wire had been catching my lip and making me bleed for days! I don't have an appointment with Dr. Simon until June 20th so it would have been a long time with that annoyance. Franco said I did a good job with the first round of rubber bands and he put only one on this time. I could have cried I was so relieved. The bands are the worst part of this ordeal. They're so painful that I had trouble sleeping! Speaking of sleeping, I have't mentioned that I have NOT had a hard time sleeping this whole time. I've read other blogs and people talked about not being able to sleep or get comfortable. Anyway, after my appointment I actually went to work for a few hours. Everyone seemed pretty thrilled that I was back and I told them I'd work some half days and ease back into it. I'm still in some minor pain but I'd rather just go back to work. There are five girls that work there and we all answer the office phones. I was planning on letting them get the phones until I was better able to talk but then I found out they're all on a 7:30-4:30 schedule now and I'm the only one that will be working to 5. For 30 min. I was answering the office phones and just mumbling and spitting but nobody said anything or seemed to care so I'll just go with it. I can't smile well and my face is so tight feeling and achy. I went to the store yesterday and bought some groceries. I bought a few packs of spinach ravioli but when I tried to eat it I realized that it was a little ambitious and I have to stick to soup a little longer. When I tried to chew I felt a little pop, it didn't hurt it just felt scary. When my mouth is banded shut for hours it's hard for me to get it open after I take the bands off. When they were off that whole week I was able to get my mouth open quite a lot. I can drink out of a "big girl cup" now but occasionally I'll feel liquid running down my neck an chest and realize it's spilling out. Here are some photos of the only rubber band I currently have and the position of my bite now and my best effort at a smile.

I got an X-Ray and took a photo of it so it's bad quality but at least you can see the pins and the 'break' which is the dark arch over my top gum line and the dark lines between the back molars. Gross huh!