Week 2

Here she is...just two weeks after surgery!  I can't believe it!  She is looking so good.  Her attitude and physical health are so good.  God is answering every prayer one at a time...in the perfect time.  We specifically prayed that the surgery time would be shorter than expected, that she would not have much (or any) bruising, that she would not be in great pain, that her spirits would be good and that she would heal fast...those are the answered prayers to date.  There are still some to be answered.  But God is so good. He is faithful.  He is mighty.  He is being gracious to my Bailey.

She still has some swelling and is struggling with her speech and the stuff in her mouth.  Yesterday she was a bit grumpy.  I could tell that she wasn't being her normal self.  She was just grumbling....not really complaining...just a bit short with everyone.  I took her in my arms and stroked her hair and just held her while she cried.  I told her it was OK to be grumpy....she had earned it.  I told her she didn't need to put on the face of being strong, that her dad and I and her sisters were here for her and she could depend on us.  I reminded her that God was her strong tower - to run to Him.  I reminded her to take all her burdens all her cares to the Mercy Seat and leave them there.  There we stood, holding each other, crying in the kitchen....then we looked at each other and smiled at each other because we knew we were in this together with our Father in Heaven in charge of everything....  Then she made this.... a yummy, almost healthy shake made of fruits, yogurt and spinach....she is getting creative in her drinks. 

Now for some pictures of the inside of her mouth as best we can see it.  Keep in mind that her upper jaw is wired to her skull holding it place.  There is also a splint in between her upper and lower teeth that stabilizes her upper jaw as it was widened (split) 10 mm or 1 cm!  Her lower jaw is wired to the upper jaw as well.  There is also stitches all around the upper and lower jaw at the gum line...  There are screws in her lower and upper jaw that anchors the wires.  Her teeth are also wired together.  You'll see it all below......

The green bands that you see are from the braces.  The white middle piece is the splint.  This helps stabilize the upper and lower jaw while it heals and also holds the upper palate in place as the cartilage fills in from where it was split.

The wires going down under her lip will be better seen in the next photo where they are anchored to the lower jaw.....

 

You can see here the screws holding the wires from the teeth to the lower jaw.  This picture makes my stomach turn.  I can hardly look at it.  They will be removed in about 6 weeks.....

To the left you can see a wire that looks like it is going up into her face under the lip...it is.  That is one of four wires that go up to her facial skull that holds the upper jaw to the skull.....

If you look at the her front teeth in the earlier picture you can see that her front two teeth are separated.  They weren't before the surgery.  The separation occurred when they split the palate!  The braces were even cut to allow that.

It's a lot to take it in.  But she is doing well.  She has numbness still on her upper lip and cheeks half way up her face.  The feeling came back on her lower lip and chin area.  Little by little she can feel tingling in the other areas.  She also says that when she smiles or laughs she can feel the wires that are connected inside her face on her cheek area and that is uncomfortable.  Again, I am amazed at her attitude and all that she is doing.  She has gone back to school and is driving, shopping and going to flags.  She isn't afraid to talk about it at all and when I ask her for photos for this or for Facebook she is always more than willing to let me add pictures.  If you know her and have questions or want to see anything, she will be happy to answer your questions and let you see her mouth.   I know she has bad days and struggles.  I know she hates the way all this feels, I know she would love to sink her teeth into a juicy burger, crunchy taco or yummy chicken curry, but she has 6 more weeks.  I'll show how she eats in one of my next posts.  It is a pretty big ordeal...but so is talking and brushing teeth for her these days.  All things I take for granted.....