Lip switching

As promised, I'm sitting down to type about what a lip switch happens to be. Its really kinda incredible that they were able to do something like that. But its where they take some of your lower lip, flip it upside down and sew it in place as your upper lip. Its a complex and time-consuming surgery, not to mention it consumed all my time for the next... three weeks as I healed, but its hard to do. Equally so, its hard to see whether or not the tissue thats been misplaced will survive. Actually, its a shot in the dark. The doctor told me, basically, it was going to be a hit or miss surgery. I was terrified of it being a miss because what in the world was I going to do now? I would have been missing my upper lip because the tissue would have died and, not to mention, the fact that they took some of my lower lip away.

I remember when I had it, I went in knowing what was going to happen and everything but once I came out it was a complete shock. Its all well and good when you know something is going to happen but once it does, it leaves you stunned and shocked. I remember waking up and it hurt, of course, but I felt slightly better knowing that the surgery itself had gone well and that meant there was a good chance that the tissue would survive. But then there was that "what if" hanging in the back of my mind as I went through life with my lips sewn shut (literally). It was extremely hard to eat and I lost weight, again, and was down near 105 by the time I could get my lips separated. If you know anything about body weights and heights, I'm 5'8" and that means I should weigh between 125 - 130. I was about twenty pounds or so underweight. I ate through a syringe, again, like when I had had my upper jaw moved forward.

It was three weeks before the surgery to undo my lips and it was a great feeling being able to open my mouth, if only slightly, and be able to eat from something other than a syringe. Still hurt like hell whenever I was trying to eat but the tissue had survived and thus I was able to keep my "new" upper lip.

There is now a scar on my chin and I'm going in on December 23rd to have scar revision surgery on my upper lip. I'm not afraid of it but I don't enjoy the pain and discomfort afterward. I know its kinda silly, but it hurts. It really does hurt, but I guess thats just the price I pay for surgeries, eh? But all in all, I'm ready and willing to take it head on.

On other news, why I haven't posted in a while, I've been busy with school and exams, keeping up with that stuff, doing Karate. Which I've slacked off of because of my sprained ankle, which is getting better but not as well as I'd like it to be. I'm also attempting at starting a forum for cleft lip and palate survivors and the people who know them. Quite frankly, its easier said than done because I don't really have the time as much as I would love to. Unfortunately I've been too busy with other things than dealing with something like that. Yes, yes, its all about priorities, but right now my priorities are with school. But I'll keep everyone who reads this informed of what I'm doing.

If I don't post, it'll be because I'm not able to get on before surgery to write down my thoughts and whatnot. I'll be away for the weekend and then I'll be back on Sunday but Tuesday is surgery day and I can guarantee you that I'll be running around all day Monday to get stuff done. These doctors seem to think that some random person would walk in off the streets and pretend to be me just to get surgery. How unlikely is that? But I'll pacify them and go in. So, if I don't post, thats where I've ended up, I'm not dead. Not yet at least. ;P