Two-and-a-half years

Two and a half years... that's how long I've been wearing my braces. A little over a year ago, I had my upper and lower jaws broken in 5 places. I'm healed, my jaw is strong and I am counting down the days (finally days!) until my braces come off!!

D-day (debracing day that is) will be April 9, 2013. Can I get a Hallelujah!!?

I will make sure I take pics that day... going in then coming back out! With smooth teeth!!

CANNOT WAIT!!

Just a little bit before...

Surgery day is looming... 2 days away. Eek!

Hubby and I had delicious tender steaks for supper tonight and I am glad to have had the chance to eat one of my favourite meals cooked by my favourite guy.

So... I figure now is as good a time as any to share with you (my awesome readers) some pictures that my wonderful friend Nancy (of Nancy Snow Photography) took of me in her home studio a couple weeks ago. She ordinarily does photo shoots for children and families, but since she's a good friend she hooked me up :)

Even though the orthodontist and surgeon take their own pictures for diagnostics, I wanted to have some nice pictures that I was happy to share; and more than just a selfie taken at arms length!

Now without further ado, here I am, in all my braced/negative overjet glory!

Face on:

Side profiles:

 

Now, just remember... the next pictures I post will be way less polished! There will be no studio lighting and I will have a puffy moon-face and NO makeup! LOL

Thank you everyone for all the support you've given me, I appreciate it so much! I will be taking my laptop to the hospital with me, and as soon as I feel up to it, I will be updating this blog.

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Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, there's just one week to go!

Today was my pre-op day, and I spent a looooong day at the hospital going from waiting room to sitting/waiting in a chair in a hall, to another waiting room... et cetera. I had blood drawn for pre-surgical tests and impressions made of my bite (big apologies to the tech whose job I surely made more challenging what with all the gagging). Measurements taken, umpteen questions asked (both hospital staff and me asking questions), and x-rays done.

I am soooo glad I took with me a fully charged Kobo and Blackberry today. I read about 40% of "The Help" and kept in touch with hubby and some friends via BBM. I sat in one particular waiting room alternately reading and watching the snow blowing around outside.

By the time I made it home I was exhausted and chilled to the bone. A nice hot shower and some snuggles from the dog and I am feeling quite a bit better. It will be a nice early night tonight, and I can't help but wonder how I'll feel a week from tonight while I am in recovery after my surgery.

After chatting with the surgical resident this morning, she said that until they do a mock surgery with the models they make from my impressions she said they can't determine if they're doing both the LeFort (upper jaw surgery) and the BSSO (lower jaw surgery). There is a chance I could just have the BSSO which would mean less hospital/recovery time. I had to sign a consent form stating that when the surgeon gets in there, there is a possibility for genioplasty even though the chance is super slim.

So now, with one week to go before surgery, I have answers to most of the questions I had and I have a list of things I want to get done this weekend to get my house (and my fridge) in order for next Friday!

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Making a List and Checking it Thrice

I like to be prepared. Perhaps more accurately, I don’t like being unprepared. Maybe it’s my inner girl scout at work, but whatever it is, means I like to be ready for any situation I might come across. When my husband and our friends vacationed in Cuba a few years ago, it was joked that any minor medical emergency could be dealt with my rummaging through my luggage. Not entirely untrue… we did use some of my mini-pharmacy to take some packing from stitches out of a friend’s chin. That same vacation I found it took some mental preparation to leave our room without a sweater, “just in case”. Being an east coast gal, I am always leery of weather claims that insist I would be warm enough without a jacket or sweater. At an off-roading event last spring, our friends played a game called “Did Beth Bring It?” to try and come up with an item that I didn’t bring. When you’re spending 3 days camping and playing in the woods, it is good to have a handle on things you might need for repair/comfort!

In anticipation of my upcoming surgery - 2 weeks, 3 days but who’s keeping track? - I have been thinking a LOT about what is to come. What to eat drink. What can be blended, what shouldn’t ever be blended (I’ve been advised a Big Mac is a tragic blender meal). How long till I am sick of Boost/Ensure? I have freezer bags with cubes of blended berries that I strained the seeds out of (shut up, I am not a keener) and look forward to adding those to the smoothies/supplement drinks I’ll be eating drinking.

With that being said, I’m going to miss food. I love to eat. I am a texture eater too, so not being able to chew is going to be a pretty big thing to adjust to! So I have been keeping a list… a list of things I love that I want to make sure I eat before my surgery. As my time gets closer, it is becoming clear I need to make a strategy for when I am going to eat these foods. Hubby is going away the weekend before my surgery, so we can’t have any special meals together that weekend. We are going out this weekend for my favourite breakfast though, eggs benedict. The thought of the Hollandaise sauce makes my mouth water even as I type this.

So while this whole braces/jaw surgery journey is about to come to a peak, I can’t help but think longingly about the future as well. A future that includes raw carrots and broccoli, pistachios, crisp apples, caramels and burgers/pizza/sandwiches that I can chomp into without spending the following 20 minutes fishing bread/dough out from between my brackets.

The worst is yet to come, but the best is just beyond.


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A Tale Worth Reading

There are lots of blogs out there chronicling peoples' trip through braces and jaw surgery. Some are graphic, terrifying, hopeful and some are just confusing. Well, tonight I came across an almost daily journal of a guy in Alberta who went through double jaw surgery somewhat like what I'll be going through in 3 short weeks (as of right now there are no plans for me having a splint). If you are interested in reading a candid and well written tale of jaw surgery, check out: http://doublejawsurgery.com/
(and it doesn't hurt that the guy is 100% adorable too!)

In other news I got my letter today from the Department of Oral and Maxiofacial Surgery today... one little sheet of paper to confirm that on February 3rd I'll be having my face rearranged (as it were) by my surgeon. I also have my pre-op day booked for the 25th of January. They tell me to anticipate a full day of hospital appointments. From what I've been told by others who've gone through it at this hospital, there is a lot of "hurry up and wait" where you sit in a waiting room for ages and the actual x-rays/measurements/impressions take an alarmingly short amount of time. I expect the ole Kobo will get a lot of reading time in on that day!

So now here I am with three weeks to go. Butterflies take flight thru my insides when I think about what is to come and I try and quiet them with careful planning and a heart full of hope. Or else I'm just like an ostrich with my head in the sand!

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The Countdown is ON!

Yep, here we go. Less than a month till the big surgery day. My freezer is getting filled with things I am blending and freezing for the coming days where I eat through a syringe. I have turkey dinner (from Christmas) and turkey soup too (blended smooth). I even included a couple meals of finely diced turkey dinner (turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas) for when I am able to start on small/soft meals again.

I been able to say so far, that I hadn't been nervous. Can't say that anymore. 2 nights ago, I had a panic attack. Actually, at first I thought I was having a heart attack, then I took a second and thought about what I was feeling and it became clear that the horror-show type images that were in my mind (about the upcoming surgery, bone saws, titanium plates, etc) and decided to just go to sleep and hopefully wake up refreshed.

Thank goodness, I did wake up feeling less traumatized, however really run down. I have come down with some kind of sickness... throat is swollen, my head is hurtin' and I just feel blah. Well, as long as I get all this out of my system before the big day I'll be fine.

New Surgery Date

So it has been a few months since my last post.
New wires. Power chains. Push coils. Tender teeth. Soft foods.

But also camping, hiking, swimming, sun, family, friends. It has been an amazing summer. When my teeth are sore, my wonderful husband is more than happy to share meals with me that are easy for me to chew.

And so we come to today. I had a visit to the orthodontist this morning. As I'd had impressions take 2 days ago I knew I would today get word from my ortho whether he recommended moving up my surgery date or leaving it as is.

And the verdict is...

New surgery date of February 3, 2012.

It is only 2 months sooner than my original date, and it means I"ll be playing an abberviated curling season. It also means I'll be wired shut for my husband's birthday and Valentines Day which makes me sad only because we won't be getting our annual heart shaped pizza.

I am excited anxious nervous curious about what lies ahead.

When you were given your surgery date, what feelings were you most aware of?

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