long time no blog

        It's been so long since I've actually had something new to say. I've had two appointments since my last post. Getting up at 5:30 for these 9 o'clock appointments is NOT getting any easier. I've graduated again! (although this time it has nothing to do with food). Now I only have to go to NYU every 10 days. Less appointments = less number of times I have to get up before the sun does = a happier sara = a happier world. It all works out :-) 

        Everything is back to normal, besides the fact that I still have this obnoxious retainer wannabe in my mouth. Luckily for me, it should be coming out sooner than expected. I always was an advanced child. It will be gone before I go to Marthas Vineyard at the end of this month.

        For those of you who were asking me what I look like now, I'm not going to tell you. You're just going to have to come and see me to find out for yourselves. Consider your curiosity an incentive. I'd love to see all of you (especially the people I don't get to see normally because they live halfway around the world). 

BYE!

I GRADUATED!

to soft solid foods! This isn't much of an accomplishment, considering I refuse to eat any soft solid foods. It's just weird. Try putting your bottom jaw in front of your top, adding a chunk of plastic to the roof of your mouth, and stuffing cotton balls into your cheeks, and then try to chew anything. You'll fail. I promise. 
There's not really much else that happened during the appointment today. Every day slowly gets better, and I'm able to do more things. That's all for now! 
BYE!

HOME!!!

        Hi everyone! It's been a great (and interesting) three days! I love being home so much more than being in the hospital. I enjoy the freedom. It's definitely nice to be able to walk out of my room without getting permission from nurses. I feel so much better, it's almost like I've never had jaw surgery.
        Okay, I'll start out with that last orthodontist appointment. As much as I hated walking back into the hospital, I knew that it would only be for a few hours. Apparently after they break your face, you get A list treatment, and we were let right in. Either that, or they didn't want my face to scare the little kids in the waiting room ;-) But anyway, they told me that my bite was basically perfect. Scratch that, it was perfect. I bite right into my splint every single time. So, guess what! I don't have to be wired shut! And do you know what that means? I CAN TALK UNTIL FOREVER!!! And my family was looking forward to the silence. But then again, why would I do what is expected of me? The doctors were planning on rubber banding my mouth shut, so why would I let them actually act according to plan. I've never been one to appreciate authority, why start now?
        So, we were finally released. I slept the entire way home. This brings us back to the past three (ish) days. Since I've been home, I've seen movies, went swimming, walked around uptown, and had lots of visits with people. This brings up a big point. I PROMISE YOU PEOPLE IF YOU VISIT I WILL NOT BREAK. Please, come visit! I'm getting sick of the old lady (my mother) and fast! I would love to see anyone who is in reasonable distance. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see my friends in Brazil and New Zealand, but a trip to the states just doesn't seem like a feasible plan. So, if you're not busy, stop by for a while! You'll be glad you did! (great, now I sound like a used car commercial... what is my life coming to?)
        That's really all that has happened. I'm just glad that everything's going as great as it has been. I can't wait to get back to my normal life... which really wasn't that normal anyway.
        BYE!!!

I'm OUT (for real this time)

        I officially left the hospital a couple hours ago! I can't tell you how great it feels to not have wires connected to me 24/7.
        Unfortunately, I only left the hospital to go back at one. I have a (hopefully) quick appointment with Dr. Grayson, and then I will be back in Kingston! I have never been happy to return to Kingston in my life.  I always thought that Kingston was boring in comparison to other places. Let me tell you, after 6 days in the hospital, Kingston is going to seem like Disney. Anyway, I'm going to enjoy my half hour of freedom, Bye =)

GOOD BYE HOSPITAL!!! (except not really)

        After spending way too many days here, I am finally leaving! Freedom!!!!!!! I should be discharged in about an hour. I guess my parents and I should feel at least a little accomplished. It only took us a weekend to talk some sense into a bunch of doctors. Seriously, I thought that we were on candid camera or something! How did they think I was going to manage strapping a mask over my face when I can't even touch it??? And, it gets even better! One of McCarthy's interns asked if I could swallow a pill... A PILL!!! Yeah, I can't eat for 8 weeks, and I'm going to swallow a pill 4 days post op. If this is the future of America's healthcare, I'm moving.
      
I was in the middle of being happy and writing this post ^^^ when they told me GUESS WHAT! you've just won another day of fun at the hospital! So, I'm officially going home tomorrow.

I'M ALIVE!!!!!!!

        After a very gross three days, I return to the blogging world. Wednesday was definitely a falsely positive day. When I woke up on Thursday, reality hit. Thursday, Friday, and about half of today were not very pleasant times for me. I'm just gonna say that tylenol and codeine were two of my best friends.
        Anyway, today is going much better. I feel almost as good as I did Wednesday after the surgery. I should be going to my home away from home tomorrow, if all goes well. Apparently, one of McCarthy's interns (silly intern) expects me to wear my CPAP tonight. Uh, yeah right. Like that's gonna happen. I can't even touch my face, let alone strap some torture device on it. On a more positive note, my oxygen levels have been really high (like around 95) when I am sleeping. This is such a great improvement from pre op!
        This is really all i have to say for now. When I get to the apartment across the street, I'll feel much better, so I'll be able to write more. Thanks for all the support everyone has been giving my family and me! It's been very much appreciated!

Update

Hello everyone. Sara's mom, Anita here. I have to apologize up front as I am not half as witty as my daughter. Sara was hoping to update you herself as yesterday was a great day. Today she isn't feeling quite as perky but wanted me to update her post. Her surgery lasted just over 4 hours and went extremely well. Her surgeon advanced her upper jaw 9mm. She has surgical splints on her upper and  lower jaw which will be in for 8 weeks. They decided against wiring her jaw shut (a good thing for Miss Sara Hutton)) but might at a later date. We were shocked to see her wide awake as they brought us to the recovery room. Once up to her ICU room she automatically started typing away on either facebook or her cell phone. As we all know it's hard to keep Sara tied down, non the less quiet (like her mom). Today her spirits are good despite the fact that she is in a lot of pain. It is simply amazing how little she is swollen with no bandages all. They say the swelling will max at 48 hours. She will continue to heal and as her blog is labeled, breathe or bust! I would like to thank you all for all reading her blog, now you just have to become a member! More updates to follow, hopefully next time by Sara herself. Till then, continue with the texts,facebooking and blog comments.........          

I guess this is it!

        Today's the day! I got to the hospital at 6:30, and I'm expected to be in the OR around 8:30, and out by 1:15. I guess there's not really much to say on this, not much has happened in the last day. 

        I'd like to thank everyone who's been supportive the last three years that I have been dealing with this. Believe me, it's a lot of people! 

        I can't stay on here and type this long drawn out blog, even if I could, it probably wouldn't be all that interesting. It would mostly be me trying to fill up space. So, I'm going to get a head start on#6 of that list I posted, and tell you all "what happens in the OR stays in the OR!!!" (unless my mother decides to post it all on here) 

BYE!!!

One Last Thing...

... until tomorrow that is =)
        I forgot to tell you all that I'm officially approved for surgery! I'm healthy enough for them to cut my face open. I feel very accomplished.
        Anyway, here's some valuable advice. When you ask the nurse if she's good at drawing blood, and she just laughs at you, FIND A NEW NURSE. She is not laughing because she's extra happy, she's laughing because she doesn't want to tell you the truth... she's awful at her job This lady poked my arm a bunch of times, and still couldn't find a vein. Then, she decided it would be a fun time if she did a 360 with the needle while it was my arm. We finally asked for someone who was 'a little bit better at this', and guess what! On first try, she was able to find a vein. Congratulations NYU, you have at least one competent nurse!
     That's really it for tonight. Tomorrow, I'll have a lot to write about. We move into the 'apartment' (it's one room I believe) and get ready for the big day. My jaw will no longer be all opposite and confused! (major accomplishment on my part)
GOOD BYE!!!

To Do List While in the Hospital

This was taken from a Grey's Anatomy Episode. It's some suggestions for how I can amuse myself while I am half dead. :-)

1)run through the halls screaming "code red" just to see what happens

2)walk around drowsily saying "morphine makes everything pretty".

3)counsel patient

4)counsel doctors

5)pick up a defibulator and run around yelling "clear"

6)walk up to people and say "what happens in the OR stays in the OR"

7)ask interns how much money they make

8)answer hospital phones

9)hide in storerooms and hand people supplies

10)go up to the psych ward, sit in a corner and rock back and forth muttering "4 8 15 16 23 42"

11)fake a seizure

12)tell people you need a brain scan because your brain is "abby-normal"

13)put casts on sleeping people

14)give doctors sleeping pills

15)foam at the mouth and tell people that you have rabies

16)steal people's wheelchairs and go on joy rides

17)pretend to od on morphine and walk around petting people and saying "good dogie"

18)strap patients to stretchers and roll them down hallways

19)go up to the psych ward and confuse the patients

20)hold a wheelchair derby

my food for the next 8 weeks... JOY

well this is unfortunate :-)

HI PEOPLE!!!!

        Okay, so long story short... I don't breathe (much). This is due to an obnoxiously small airway. And, according to the professionals, not breathing (much) isn't very beneficial to one's health. Therefore, it's necessary to break my face, make a bunch of adjustments to it, and put it together again. On June 1st, I will undergo a Lefort 1  jaw advancement surgery. Sounds like fun... right?
        This all started a couple years ago when I went to have a simple consult about my bite. As soon as my xrays were seen by the room full of doctors, they realized that my airway was about 2 mm wide. Thus began a three year love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with the world of orthodontics. Immediately following this appointment, I had a sleep study. According to this study, I stopped breathing 82 times in an hour, and had no REM sleep. According to doctors, I should have stayed behind at least one year in school and been diagnosed with ADHD. Because I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, I had to use a CPAP machine (aka CRAP machine). Two and a half years of braces, machines, and masks later, I'm finally ready for them to fix my jaw.
        I'll try to explain this procedure to the best of my understanding. If everything goes as planned, Dr. McCarthy, Dr. Grayson, and their surgical team will move my top jaw forward 10ish mm. This will hopefully widen my airway to the extent that I no longer stop breathing at night time. If this does not correct the problem, I will have some sort of tongue surgery over winter break.
       For those of you who are just really hearing about this, I'm sure it seems like a lot to take in at once. The past three years have been very overwhelming for me. For the longest time, this surgery seemed like it was lightyears away. Now, I'm just starting to realize that it's soon. Really soon. Honestly, I'm ready to just be done. It's like that last final that you don't want to take, but at the same time you just want to get it over with. I've spent the last three years of my life, at least once a month, going to NYU. It's been a very interesting chapter of my life, to say the least. However, I'm more than ready to close that chapter and move on to better things.
        I'll be updating the blog as often as I can. If you want to read some funny stuff, make sure to look at the entries around June 2nd-5th. Apparently I say/write some pretty interesting things while on pain meds :-) Bye!