Facing Up To It - 21

So double Jaw surgery went ahead on the 8th December as planned. I spent most of the day in theatre and the evening back on the ward where Michael was waiting for me. 

And the day after, Saturday, all the children came in to see me which was rather sweet. I spent that night in hospital too and arrived home on Sunday night still completely worn out! 

I took the above photo when I began to really feel human again, just before I lost the chin strap. 

Mary aged 9 had been making notes on her phone and I thought I would share them with you here. She did a good job of blogging I think ....

Mummy's jaw surgery at christmas!

13th of December 2017. Mummy has had jaw surgery. On fifth day now. She is better than she was in hospital. Finding it quite hard to breathe through her nose. She feels hot, tired and painful. She can go  to the toilet and drink and get dressed! Mummy is doing well. She can walk around a bit. She is wearing pyjamas at the moment. Mike is feeding her with a syringe. The dog has to be gentle to mummy. Mike is being very protective over mummy. The Christmas tree is up and ash is itching himself all over. Ash respects mummy. It is 6:39 and mummy is having some pain killers. Mummy just coughed a little and she burped. She doing ok now.  We are going to spend some family time with her before we go back to dad's house. I am changed so I can spend some time with mum. 

14th of December 2017.It is now day six and mummy is better at talking than she was. I came over earlier and she took her painkillers. She managed to eat Christmas cake blended with cream cheese and soya milk! She is having soft carrots for dinner tonight. She's slowly getting better. We are going to see the surgeon who did the surgery on Monday next week. We hope the surgeon will think that mummy is recovering well.

 Day 7. 15 December 2017 and mummy  can very very very slightly smile! She looks so so so so so so so good now. Mum is gradually getting better every day. One step at a time. Her nose is still clogged up with old, dry blood. Mummy has taken the plaster from her Chin and she looks so so good. She's normal but a bit swollen. 

It is the tenth day of jaw surgery (18th December 2017) and mummy's nose is clear! Mummy managed to syringe in some soup. Mummy put cheese in he container and melted the cheese then mummy put milk in it and stirred it in. Then mummy blended the soup. It is 1:10pm and mummy is feeling exhausted and she doesn't feel like talking. 

Day 12 of jaw surgery. Wednesday 20th of December and mummy is feeling sad that she can't have all the Christmas chocolates. She is making soup for dinner. It is a vegetable soup. With goats cheese in it. We have more crackers from Michael and Joy. We now have twelve crackers! It's getting exciting! 

The 13th day of jaw surgery! The 21 of December! 4 days to go until Christmas Day! Mummy is able to drink out of a cup! The orthodontics tightened mummy's elastics. 

14th Day of jaw surgery! 22nd of December.  Nearly Christmas. 

And then Christmas just sort of happened and I recover, one day at a time! 

Facing Up To It - 20

Well it’s been some time since I blogged about the jaw and teeth, since I went from April to November in limbo, being surgery ready and waiting for THE DATE along with jaw buddies of mine in a certain Facebook group. 

Then it all began to happen. I got the surgery date, and I went to several appointments in preparation. There’s one on Monday with the surgeon too. That should be proper interesting. 

And these bad-boys were fitted, surgical hooks to create more mouth ulcers and facilitate wiring during the actual op. They are on the bottom teeth as well, pointing downwards! 

So today, with one week to go, I’ve taken a selfie for you. I normally compensate for my bite, but here I’m hiding nothing and have bitten together to show you my actual pre surgery face. I don’t look like a fun, inventive creative person from this picture. That’s why I mostly show you my stuff, or my cute kids. 

But here I am, for the record. Next Friday will see me under the knife. Hammer. Well, however they separate jaw bones, I do not really want to know. Eeeep! 

Not A Waist!

When the loop on Michael’s waistcoat frayed and broke I was not sure how to repair it because the black loose weave wasn’t something I had in my stash and I felt that using black cotton wouldn’t match well enough to not look out of place. 

But these days mismatched buttons is a thing, and so I chose something colourful that Mike would like, to make a whole new loop with and I think it looks rather fab. This repair was done by hand-stitching the edge seam closed, once I had opened it carefully with a stitch ripper to release the rest of the frayed loop. 

And he likes it! 

Skullduggery...

And here is my skull, at home in my natty corner unit. He looks forward to greeting those of you who come to Dorset Art Weeks! 

It’s not for Halloween ...

I like skulls. I suppose given my pending face related surgery, I really ought to have at least a passing interest. Jaw surgery blogs and Facebook pages appear frequently in my comings and goings about the internet. 

This lovely specimen is a Childs toy who’s head broke when he got dropped and was glued back together with Sugru. I love that stuff. 

In order for the paint not to crawl, I’ve treated it with ESP which is another fabulous product that no one asked me to plug. So that’s vinyl wall plaint slapped onto a plastic skull. 

But it’s not for Halloween, it’s for always. I will show you where it’s going to go, on permanent display, soon! 

Feeling like a sloth, on a rainy day in July?

So the fuzzies went on a walking with bio-father, and mummy was left with all the baby sitting. Mary left instructions for specific toys, Matty texted to ask if hers were ok, and when I looked at Daisy's collection of favourites I saw that her newest toy had a note for me and Mike ...

I love him so much I desided to ask daisy if we could collaborate on a little project. She thought that was a fabulous idea so on a wet Saturday I had my paints out. Some of the paints pre date all my children. 

Eventually, layering paint and chalk, tracing and collating and embellishing just a little, a new sloth was born.

I'm going to varnish him tomorrow when the PVA is really dry and then I'll hang him up. I can't wait for daisy to see him! But then, I shouldn't try to hurry things. After all, a sloth knows how to chill...

From tiny to huge! Pet Portraits ...

From this tiny well loved degu, captured in black and white ...

To a colourful calico, who I have created in exchange for some fabulous hand knitted gloves ...

And via this special horse, who I had to keep off line until the birthday when he was presented. I will probably go back to working on my book now ..

Be A Unicorn!

Life is challenging to say the least, I know that as much as the next man. Woman. Crafter .... But there is a way out and  its possible for just a moment to .... 

And take a colourful time out from homework, medical madness and yes, art and craft work! Daisy and Mary pounced on this book as soon as it arrived and sure enough, smiles began to spread!

Be A Unicorn by Sarah Ford is cute funny and, I found, amazingly tender. I have enjoyed it with my tea and biscuits, while trying to gain weight for Double Jaw Surgery, resting between household chores or worrying about the worries my growling children have. I can think of many people i could pass this book on to, to cheer them up, but this copy is mine! (Insert tinkling, unicorn-type giggle).

Just don't laugh too hard, ok? Hmmmm, i wonder if these guys would publish my book? 

Facing Up To It - 19

I went to orthodontics again yesterday, when I had been in braces 777 days! The black bands were removed and I got .... Well I will show you at the end, but first a flash back to sometime in March when I had a sort of deja vu experience of cameras, mould making and a new X-ray of my profile for working out what a surgeon should do while I'm fast asleep in Poole Hospital shortly ...

Orthodontist and nurse set about me with mirrors and odd spoons ....

 

Usually we see the close up results of these photos but Michael stepped in to show just how those gob-shots are taken. I have such a tiny mouth that when they pop these things in and ask me to bite together I laugh, and they have to release more of my lip. I can appreciate just how much they get stretched for surgery, but I still don't really want to think bout it much!

 

Left, right, front all my teeth are captured. I can wait to see them at the joint clinic at the end of May! 

 

And back to yesterday, Mary and I have our birthdays in May, so I got some very cheerful and celebratory coloured bands, as well as a new left hand bed spring and power chains top and bottom. But L declared me surgery ready, there are just a few issues that could easily be fixed post surgery. 

 

On Monday 24 April I met my surgeon, or actually one of my surgeons and we had a talk about expectations versus reality, and she said she would make 2 plans, and let me consider them both. I always thought I was up for double jaw surgery, but this might not be the best option for me now. We shall see. On Monday 8 May I meet the other surgeon and see what he has to say. Yikes! 

Facing Up To It - 18

I was hoping for impressions taken at my latest appointment, but L said I still had some gaps to close before those were taken, and I felt dismayed at the prospect of delay. 

I was fitted with some rather impressive suspension system, although they didn't make the ride home any smoother! Apparently could keep working until the gap closes so I am sure I can have my moulds done in march when I go back March. Time really flies these days!

 

Even though as an artist I've always maintained that purple will make my teeth look more yellow, I slipped into purple bands yesterday up at the hospital, having been 692 days in braces and feeling bored of all my favourite colours! 

 

The good news was that I was booked into the next Joint Clinic that comes after my next visit, so I get to see the Max Factor guys in April, and I can't decide whether to be delighted or really absolutely scared because they will probably give me a idea of when surgery will be. Eeep.

Also sorry for the stained teeth. I'm not due for a blast with the hygienist until March but she does say I keep everything really clean. Phew. 

Catherine, Mary's Jelly-Cat Doll

It's certainly been cold in Weymouth this week, so Mary was converned about this pretty doll she calls Catherine. Mary made her various wraps, but our little friend was still cold. I asked Mary to choose an odd sock (we have quite the collection) and she came back with this one which Catherine liked a lot. 

 

Using the sock top as the main body of a jumper, I cut sleeves from the tubal part of the foot and stitched something akin to a raglan sleeve jumper together using small zigzag stitch to prevent stretch. For size I simply kept placing things against the doll. 

 

Catherine's bunches are tied with scraps of fabric. The garment was easy to fit as her head is squashy and socks are stretchy. It's a generous 80's sort of neckline anyway. 

 

Catherine loves it and has felt much warmer. Hooray for sacks of old, odd socks. 

 

Have you upcycled socks, or used new ones to make something? This is the first thing I made that wasn't a sock cuddly toy ...