A Smile Connects Us You And Me

Disclaimer: If this is your first time viewing my blog, welcome! I started this blog prior to my double jaw surgery to give information, support, and a sort of therapy for myself. If you're on the road to surgery and recovery  I encourage you to take a look at  this post  - just as no two humans are alike, and no two jaw surgeries will be the same. "Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained." - Marie Curie In the last year, I have learned so much more about my body and I am learning more about how to take care of it; self-care never being a forte of mine. Since being diagnosed with my auto-immune diseases (Ankylosing Spodolydis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Ulcerative Colitis), discovering more about my Marfan Syndrom, and starting treatment with TNF inhibitors I have been on a non-stop journey of try...

I cannot believe it's been 8 YEARS since jaw surgery! It has absolutely been both one of my greatest struggles and one of my greatest accomplishments. Last year I posted that I'd been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), and this year I add another auto-immune disease to the mix: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) (pronounced ank-kih-low-sing spon-dill-eye-tiss). This is a form of arthritis that primarily affects the spine; however, Frequency of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) involvement in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) has varied from 4% to 35% (source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3669964/). Because of my Marfan Syndrom that also causes so much joint pain and back pain, AS has essentially been "hidden in plain sight". A few months ago I went to my dentist to have some work done and my jaw was very tired and sore for about three weeks. I knew I was pushing it having my mouth propped open for an hour...b...

HAPPY 7 YEAR "JAWVERSARY" TO ME! Sam, Addie and I on our first day at Seattle residents. Hello to anyone whose found their way to my little blog. It's been 7 years since my double jaw surgery. Please look back and see how far I've come. Some (I dare say, most  days) I forget I even had jaw surgery. Never, ever thought I'd say that. In the last year, in addition to being diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (an auto-immune disease), I've also been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (another auto-immune disease). So combine that with my Marfan Syndrome...my body has a lot going on....but my jaw is holding steady. In terms of residual symptoms in my jaw/from surgery....I would say I have minimal jaw tension and have had one lip-twitching incident in the last year. Both, I'd say, are aggravated by stress. I've had no dental work done in the last year and a half, besides the routine check-up and cleaning(s). The extensive work I've had done ...

Hey there devoted blog readers. Today marks my 6th anniversary of having my double jaw surgery...what I fondly call, My Jawversary! I used to make this a night of copious amounts of food I couldn't eat before surgery, but this year I plan to celebrate in just giving thanks in how far I've come. Head-butting Queen Our daughter is now a year old, and gave me a nice head-butt to the cheek last week. I'm a bit sore and still a little swollen (I've been taking tylenol as needed, but have not been heating/icing as I should). I know this too shall pass, and head-butts during a tickle session from your toddler are probably one of the best ways to get hurt. Without looking back at my previous posts I can't tell you how many screws and plates I have in my face, what was used to replicate bone in my face, or many of the other details. I think it's testament to how far I've come. My jaw pain does not control my life. The only doctor I saw for my teeth this ...

When I started this blog I promised myself that I would continue to post updates for at least 5 years post-op. It was really challenging for me to find blogs beyond 3 years post-op when I was reading about other peoples experiences. I want people reading about personal experiences with jaw surgery to have some knowledge of what it's like not just a day, month, or year out - but years!  Here's where I'm at today: Nerves: The nerves in my lower lip only twitch when I am really exhausted or stressed (same as 4 year mark). Places in my face that I am still lacking some feeling- chin, lower lip, and gums. This lack of feeling isn't annoying or problem causing- it just is what it is... Swelling/Pain: I still have days where my face puffs up a bit- usually in extreme heat/humidity, or when I have a lot of neck tension. Plates and Screws: I still feel vibrations when at a concert where there is feedback from the amplifiers, so I try to stay away from concerts with a lot of f...

So, it's been 4 years since my jaw surgery...HOOORAYYY! It has been so long I feel quite disconnected from the experience. Well, other than knowing it was one of the most challenging experiences of my life. As a teacher I am constantly telling my students to persevere and that "struggling" can be a good thing, it helps us grow. This is exactly how I feel about my jaw surgery experience. No matter how challenging, I am so happy that I had the surgery done. I don't even want to think of the pain I would be in if I hadn't done it.  Here's where I'm at today: Nerves: The nerves in my lower lip only twitch when I am really exhausted or stressed (same as 3 year mark). I have almost all of the feeling in my chin and lower lip. I got the feeling back in the tip of my nose this year. I have feeling in my gums, but not full feeling. Swelling: I still have days where my face puffs up a bit when I have chewed or talked too much, but it goes down when I get a goo...