Hello friends! Sitting on campus, waiting for my 11:30 vocal lesson, and I figured what better way to spend my time than doing a little blogging. I really have a ton of work to do, but this is more fun. I have an abstract due on Friday for my research project that I'm working on right now. It's really hard to explain what you're going to do for the next 8 months when you haven't actually done anything yet. My working title is...wait for it..."Impact of vaccine platforms and anti-inflammatory drugs on the ability to separate tumor-specific autoimmunity from autoimmune pathology in a melanoma mouse model." Mouthful and a half. It is actually easier to write than I anticipated, but still. It's no small feat to explain cancer immunotherapy in 500 words. I also have to do a godforsaken chapter summary for a 2nd year psych class that I'm in. I signed up for a chapter swap group and purposely chose a chapter that wasn't needed til the second midterm since this is a busy week, and then they up and decided that everyone needed to submit them a week before the first midterm, aka this Thursday. Unnecessary and annoying. The course is actually fairly interesting though...we're talking right now about facial recognition (or lack thereof) which is particularly apt for me obviously. People keep asking me about that, and it really is strange. I've had absolutely zero "identity problems", which was one of my biggest fears going into this whole thing. I thought I'd have at least a while of looking in the mirror and freaking out, but that hasn't happened once. While still in the hospital I did make them open the bathroom cabinet so I couldn't see the mirror when I hobbled past, but that was more because I looked like Sloth from The Goonies than anything else. But since then, completely normal. Minds and bodies are crazy stuff, people. Who knew that you could change your face completely and still recognize yourself as yourself? Not me! What has been awkward, though, is at least 5 times I've passed people on campus that I know quite well and waved, and they've stared at me blankly and walked past. I don't think 5 people have decided to stop liking me so I'm pegging it on the lack of recognition. I do enjoy the 5 second pause before the realization as I start talking, though. Always entertaining. Ooh on that note, here is a comparison shot from last Tuesday (10 week mark). I think the swelling has gone down even since then, but it's a good side by side.
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| 10 weeks post-op |
As my mother points out, yes it is a particularly bad before shot, but I couldn't put a nice photogenic smiley before shot or it wouldn't look as cool. That's the cardinal rule of before and after shots.
This weekend was very exciting. My mom came for lunch on Friday which was awesome because she hasn't seen me since I moved back 3 weeks ago! Big change in the swelling. Then it was homecoming on Saturday, and although we didn't actually get tickets (they sold out in 20 MINUTES), it was still wonderful. So weird to think that this is the last homecoming of my undergrad. (Cue the emotional music and slideshow of memories.) We got all dressed up in our red, black, and yellow and had some fun. In the evening we ended up going to "funk night" at one of the bars downtown that my roommate is obsessed with and it was way better than I expected. I did my best in all photos to not smile, so there are an excessive number of pictures with my tongue out or growling fiercely. You know how it is. Last night I discovered though that my smile really is coming along! I still have a little bit of that "I watch you while you sleep" look because the top half of my face is immobile, but it's getting there. The way less fun event of last night was when my poor roommate Rebecca broke her heel in a hockey fiasco. OUCH. We brought them food to the hospital but I didn't stay with them. They got home by 12:30, crutches in tow. 4 hours in the ER actually isn't that bad of a wait for a non-life-threatening injury I suppose, but it was quite the long day for her since she drove back from Montreal and then played 2 intramural games. She's a champ!
Overall I'm feeling quite good. Even though I'm feeling better (whether I've tricked myself into thinking so, or I actually am), I'm making a very conscious effort to not overdo it. Trying very hard. I'm still doing my exercises like a good girl, and the pain is minimal. Last week I was eating with headphones in! I never could do that before because the grinding of the joints was so loud. That was one of the first direct improvements I've noticed. I've been sick all week with a wicked cold though which isn't fun...it's really hard to blow your nose when you have screws right behind it, let me tell you! The only thing that's bothering me is that I've realized that my scars aren't even, as stupid as that sounds. They are both beautifully thin and straight, but they're not exactly symmetrical under my chin. The rest of my face is now perfectly symmetrical, so I wish they were too! Well actually I just wish I hadn't noticed it. Ah well, I'll just bio-oil the crap out of them until I can't see them anymore. Either that or I'll just stop being crazy and remind myself of how exquisite they are (they actually are unbelievably well done). On a more positive note, I'm crushing it in Fantasy Football. I won last week, and this week not only am I winning but I've got the highest projected total in the league with 147. That's right. The Goaldiggers are bringin the heat.
Anyway, off to sing now. I'll end this post with yet another selfie. I'll give up the selfies when the face novelty wears off, I promise. One of these days I might even smile.
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| Day 75 |
Yay for swelling going down! It's up to you now, facial muscles and nerves. I believe in you!
A
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