The wire holding my jaw shut came out today! The rubber bands that replaced it, feel equally as tight. Now it’s up to me to talk and move my jaw to help the healing process. I used a straw for the first time and ate some apple sauce, a huge improvement from the thin liquid diet of the last two weeks. Each day I realize how long this recovery is going to take and how hard it will be. I’ve come an exceptionally long way that has surprised all of us. My face, which was once unfamiliar, seems pretty normal given the circumstances. What is most concerning to me is the nerve damage. It’s yet unclear how much feeling I will regain as my nose, cheeks, and right side of my upper lip don’t have feeling. From experience, I know how long nerve damage can take to heal and how ghostly it feels when it doesn’t return. I never imagined this would happen to my face.