2 MONTHS {1 Hour Breaks}

SUNDAY, MARCH 4th

My 2 Month Anniversary

Yay, I'm two months post-surgery and doing extremely well. I am right on track with the healing process, and I have moved up to the #4 slot on my Therabite. The only time I really have bump-ups in pain is when I talk and smile too much while wearing my splint. In addition, when I am working on my computer, my shoulder and neck pain will come back, so I have to work in short periods to prevent this. My good days far outweigh my okay days. (I wouldn't say I have any bad days!) I am continuing to focus on my posture, do Pilates (twice a week now), walk, perform my physical therapy exercises, and run (I'm up to 2 miles). I won't lie, the healing process is tedious and all-consuming, but I am very happy with how I'm progressing. I cannot believe I feel this good after only 2 months!

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7th

8:45 PM- There is a reason my Dad nicknamed me Grace. I am the clumsiest person I know. After two months of being super careful, I accidentally knocked my splint off of my bathroom counter. As I saw it on the floor, cracked in half, I must admit that I felt the panic rising up. I thought, THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING. I have done everything in my power to be diligent about my jaw care, and now the only thing that holds it all together is broken. 

Since it was after business hours, I left a message with The Piper Clinic explaining what happened. I decided my only option in the moment was to super glue it together, and thankfully I knew right where my Super Glue was stored. Then, just my luck, my Super Glue lid was super-glued to the tube. Ugh, there was nothing I could do to get it apart. I was over my break time and home alone, so this is when the waterworks started. I wasn't going to bother my husband, Jay, because he was in a business dinner, but I was upset, so I texted him the photo of the broken splint. He excused himself and called me right away, and told me he would be home as soon as possible. I got myself together and I was off to the store to buy more Super Glue. 

Jay isn't the kind of guy who waits for the office to call back the next day. He still had Dr. Piper's emergency phone number in his phone, and unbeknownst to me, he sent him a message asking what to do. Thirty seconds later, Dr. Piper, who was on VACATION OUT OF THE COUNTRY, called Jay back. NOW THAT IS AN AMAZING DOCTOR! Jay called to tell me that Dr. Piper said that the best thing to do was to super glue it together. I was already making my purchase!

TIPS: What to do if your Splint Breaks

1. STAY CALM. Just this once, don't worry about going over your break time.

2. Get your splint as Dry as Possible. I used the cool setting on my hair dryer.

3. Glue the splint back together. Use Gel Super Glue, because it doesn't drip.

4. After holding the splint together for about a minute, wipe away any residue. Once it's dry, you might have to scratch off any glue that has gotten in the tooth holes.

At 7:45 in the morning, Tonya called me and let me know that they would make me a new splint that day, and overnight it to me. She told me not to worry. It was comforting to know that I wasn't the first person to break my splint. In less than 48 hours, I had my new splint... AMAZING! Dr. Piper did say that the new splint would not fit exactly the same way as the original one, because I had gotten used to the original. He said if it was more comfortable, I could wear the super-glued splint, provided it fit just like it did before, which it does. So far it's holding strong. At my appointment in a couple of weeks, they will adjust the new splint. Once again, The Piper Clinic came to my rescue!

THURSDAY, MARCH 8th

1 Hour Breaks

With each increase in break time, my life gets to feeling a little more normal. I have been able to go out to eat a couple of times now, which has been really nice. However, I do have to be even more diligent about the time schedule. With longer breaks, the 5 times a day gets spread out longer, and if I am not careful, I am up really late taking my last splint break. 

2 months down, 7 to go...

Time to Celebrate with Chocolate Covered Strawberries 

(plated for Jay and pureed for me ;).