21st November - 2 weeks today since my face was surgically rearranged

Recovery is still going very well but the intended weight loss is definitely eluding me! With the weather as cold as it is outside, my face aches when I go out, so I'm at home cooking.... Cyril is being treated to two home-cooked meals a day and is starting to wonder whether having me at home permanently might not be such a bad idea! Here's a photo of me creating yesterday's dinner time dessert: Poires Herisson (pear hedgehogs - made with baked pears, roasted flaked almonds and a hot chocolate sauce). You can see that the swelling in my face has come down considerably in the ten days since I last posted a picture. But the main reason I'm including this one is for John Hickey, who phoned as I was busy with culinary fine art. John, if you're reading, since making edible hedgehogs is the only current vent for my energy, I reckon you'll be seeing me back at work before too long!



I have check-ups with both my orthodontist, Mr David Young, and my surgeon, Mr Ken Sneddon, today. I see David Young first and he enthusiastically imprisons my teeth in a series of rubber bands. This is the last stage of the treatment and designed to move the teeth post surgery to their most optimised position before the retainers are created. The top teeth are now in their perfect position, but the bottom ones have some way to go, and it may be the end of March 2008 before I am officially de-braced..... Still, I have come this far now and those extra few months should just fly past.

The meeting with Mr Sneddon was a short one. He's very pleased with recovery and doesn't need to see me for another three weeks. He's also given me the green light to start exercising again (as long as I steer clear of boxing...). He's pleased to hear that I've started to get some tingling and throbbing in that dangerous lower lip. It's a really good sign and suggests that I may not be one of the very unfortunate 3% who lose sensation permanently in that region. However, he does say that the swelling won't go down fully (and therefore I won't be able to see the final results) for three months. Even though my voice will sound normal well before then, visible progress from here on in is likely to be fairly slow. I digest this information further this evening. Two weeks on and I'm bored and a little frustrated by the numbness, particularly in the chin. I'm hoping that it's something you learn to live with.

My x-rays arrive by email. I should definitely make an interesting skeleton now; look at all that metal inside my face! There are three pins on each side of the lower jaw, and quite a bit of fancy joinery going on either side of my nose. No wonder it all smarts a bit: