Day 18: Ouchie

Yesterday was a long-ish day, compared to what I've recently been used to. We drove up to Waco for my nephew's 3rd birthday party, and met a lot of new people. Also, something that I forgot you pretty much have to do in all social situations not involving some sort of outside entertainment (and sometimes even then) - talk all the time. I hadn't thought of it, I guess, but after the party and then dinner with my mom and Cliff, my left jaw was yelling at me pretty loudly. But I waited until I got home, and then took the first Tramadol I've taken in a week and a half. Even that didn't do it enough for me to sleep, so I took 2 ibuprofen as well. And then 2 more ibuprofen when I woke up at 3am. This morning, everything seems to be fine though.

The weirdest thing is happening with the numbness. It seems to be going away in (what seems to me at least) pieces. As in, non-connected pieces. The place where this is especially weird is in my lips. Feeling has returned to my entire top lip (although it still feels weird cause just above my lip is a bit swollen and numb), and the right side of my lower  lip, but the left side of my lower lip remains obstinately numb. Jared quipped it was because my left brain is so much more powerful than my right, which doesn't seem entirely correct, but I think it might have something to do with it. It's like, the brain can only handle so much at a time, so instead of doing pieces of each, it concentrated on one side first and is now moving to the other. AND in going through my "talking" notebook from the first bit, I did complain about the right side hurting a lot more than the left. So maybe that's why my left side is hurting more now. But of course it could be a bunch of other things, too, like the surgery was more drastic on the left side, or something about what my face does when I sleep, I don't know. 

Anyway, only 3 more days until the splint comes out, and my prodigal return to the office. In order to have the splint taken out and a mold made (for that special palate retainer), I need to be able to open my mouth the equivalent of two fingers stacked on one another. I've taken a poll of several people, and three seems to be the norm for people who haven't had their face bashed in with a scalpel, but for me, two is difficult. That's weird, right? I think I'll ask Dr. Voorhees why that is, if it's muscle tightness or the swelling or tendons or what. Who would've thought 6-8mm could have made such a difference?! That's another question I have - exactly how far did he move the lower jaw? Maybe I should be writing these down...