"Go and eat a burger!" -Dr.Gunson

You know you're in California when...

My sister Katy and I flew into Santa Barbara late last Wednesday night, arriving at our hotel at midnight. My appointment was at 10:45 Thursday morning. We chose a hotel only a few blocks from Dr.G's office so we were able to walk. The weather was amazing! Before my appointment I was very nervous. Had my bite regressed? Would I need a second surgery? All of the unknown was driving me crazy, and I was trying NOT to let it get the best of me. When I into my appointment with Dr. G he said he had been worrying and stressing over the last week about my bite and hoping that when he took a peek inside all would be well. He looked at my closed bite, took measurements and said that everything looked great! He said Dr. Chira had done the perfect thing with the bands and the new wire. They have moved my teeth into the correct position. He was worried that my jaw had shifted out of it's corrected location, and was pleased to see this didn't happen.

Dr. G decided to do Botox on both sides to ease the spasms. The spasms are less than they were in December, but they were still painful. I expressed to him, and his amazing assistant Lena, that I was terrified to have Botox done again after having it done here in VT when it was so painful. They put a numbing cream on my masseter muscles on both sides of my face to take the "edge" off of having the injections done. This first cream did not seem to numb my face, so they did a second cream which did the trick. Getting the injections done this time felt more like getting Novocaine shots, unlike last time when it felt like razor blades across my face. I didn't even tear up! I was quite proud of myself!

(Botox, side #1)

Dr.G then left to call Dr. Chira and let her know the good news about my bite. When he came back he tested the strength of my bite. He did this by having me bite down on the wooden end of a q-tip. Seeing how well I bit on the stick combined with how far out I am from surgery (18+ weeks) he decided I can eat more solid food. He told me I can "go and eat a burger"! I am so ecstatic. I am approved for everything but the normal things that are banned when you have braces (not just because I have braces, but because I still need to build up the strength of my jaw).

Thus far I have enjoyed fajita's, a chicken salad, a hamburger, french fries, a soft pretzel, a doner kabob, toast with peanut butter, and I'm sure many other things I cannot think of at the moment. I am easing into this diet, I don't want to wear out my sore jaw muscles and weak joints. I mean you wouldn't just go out and run a marathon, you would train for months before the big race, right? To be honest, I am adjusting slowly to recognizing I can eat new things! I still look at menus and try to find the softest thing. My opening isn't quite big enough to fully bite into a burger, so I do cut it up into smaller pieces and chew from there.

After the doctor's appointment Katy and I promptly went to eat some fajita's, and spent the next day and a half enjoying all Santa Barbara has to offer!

I had to stare down the chips and salsa, as I am still not able to chew those chips!
The water was delicious!

Oh fajita's! It's been so long!! Yummmmmm!!!


We then continued down to the beach...the ocean was cold!

And I was attacked by a whale!

We also got to see a lot of other animals. Many over-sized seagulls, pelicans, and even starfish!

I cannot express how relieved I am that my bite is okay. The thought of having a second surgery is overwhelmingly scary. I know I still need to be careful, listening to by body, and chew accordingly. Thank you everyone, once again, for your thoughts any prayers!

Smiling My Biggest Smile!