Second Jaw Surgery Recovery Days 33-35: Five weeks without real food

Today is day 35. It has been five weeks since my second (and final!) jaw surgery that took place on April 9th. I had my jaws unwired one week ago. One week from today my splint will be removed. The splint is a piece of hard plastic currently wired behind my upper teeth to hold my jaw in place. It also has a spot in which my bottom teeth can fit, designed specifically for my bite. My bite looks perfect and I don't expect any complications.

I'm continuing to drink water, Gatorade, soup and Ensure. That's it. I'm not sure if I will be back to chewing soft foods after my May 21st appointment, but we'll see. I know for sure that I'll be back to soft foods by June 4th. That's the eight week mark. Right now I'm going to work, coming home, watching the NBA playoffs, playing video games and doing whatever else I can to pass the time.

My pain level has been a 1/10 or 2/10 since the second week. The first week my pain level was maybe a 4 or 5, so not bad. I didn't have any trouble swallowing on day one, so I've only lost 10-15 pounds as opposed to 20-30 pounds after my first surgery. I suppose it would be nice if I could lose a few more pounds now since I'll be chowing down on tacos, pizza, burgers and everything else soon.

This photo shows me today standing in my office. Compare it to the other photos on my Before and After pictures page. I'll check back in again soon.