Day 9: A concern

Sleep continues to be an up and down thing. I think maybe my body is starting to rebel from having to sleep in the recliner. I had some sharp nerve pain in my left elbow that kept me awake last night. Tuesday night was much better, very similar to Sunday night. I'm certain that there has been improvement in my sleep, but I don't think I'll know just how much better things are until my sleep habits get closer to normal. That means sleeping in a bed, recovered sinuses, better drool control and, probably, just my body figuring out that sleeping my back is OK. I've tried lying on my side, but the pressure on my face feels too odd. I've also tried lying down in the bed, but the nasal drip issues leave me coughing too much.

One concern I have is about how my jaws are coming together. As you can see from the picture below, they don't meet in the front.



That's pretty much as far as I can close them. Now, I know that part if it is due to the splint I'm wearing: It's sorta like an athletic mouth guard, only much more rigid. Plus, there's assorted other hardware in there and still a decent amount of swelling. But, I'm not certain how my bite is supposed to be or will be after the splint is gone. It's not clear how it can close correctly, unless I'm in for another year or so of braces. But, my orthodontist said two to six months more metal mouth and then I'm practically home free. Of course, things can change.

In any case, tomorrow's my 10-day followup with the surgeon. I have a whole list of questions to ask him and this one's at the top. It's a two-and-one-half-hour trip to Chapel Hill and the appointment's at 10, which means we may hit rush hour in Raleigh. So, we're going to leave an extra hour early, just in case. If we get there too early, we'll walk or something.

I'd wanted to post a picture of Mary, but she won't let me. I'll keep trying.