After a month passed, most of the major swelling went down, and I was finally able to take off my mask. I used to look like a monkey and like an Avatar character, but I’ve moved far away from that now (though mornings are still a little swollen). My facial expressions and pronunciation have also improved a lot. Still, if I deliberately try to pronounce sounds like “u” and “i” very precisely, it feels awkward, and I still can’t make facial expressions exactly the way I want, but it’s not noticeable at all in everyday conversation.
Maybe because I went through such a hard time, these days I’m even enjoying looking in the mirror. It’s only been a month, but when people around me say I look like I lost weight or look younger, I feel like the financial pain was worth it. Sensation still hasn’t come back yet, but now that the gum swelling has gone down a bit, I really feel like I can live again. Maybe because my stomach shrank when I couldn’t eat, I don’t eat much anymore, so I’ve lost weight, and because my face looks plump from the bone grafting, I like that it feels like I have a youthful-looking face.
I’m turning forty next year, so at this age, looking younger is absolutely a good thing If I’d known it would be like this, I wish I had done it when I was twenty and pretty, but I’m glad I’ve finished this lifelong homework. I’m looking forward to the swelling going down even more from now on. That’s the end of my 4-week review!