A Smile Connects Us You And Me

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...

Wow! Has it really been 3 years? It's very exciting to me to think of all of the progress I have made, and continue to make, yay! I am very happy I had the surgery, and my life has forever been changed for the better. A lot of positive changes have happened in the last year, Sam and I are engaged and getting married next summer (WHOOHOO!), I've changed schools and grades (4th grade!), my brother has had twins, and I'm sure there's more I am forgetting. So much to smile for! This morning Sam and I celebrated my 3 year anniversary with bagels! Mmmmmm.... In the past year I have gone through a lot of testing for my joints. As I have posted in the past, I have pain in many of my joints. It is a daily battle for pain management. In the Spring I had an MRI for back pain. They found that I have a couple herniated disks in my low back, and I have dural ectasia. Dural ectasia " is a  widening  or ballooning of the  dural  sac surrounding the...

Here I am, 2 years post-op and  smiling on ! Last year at this point I had some PTSD of sorts from the anxiety of my surgery. This year I am celebrating my 2 year anniversary, but I didn't have any anxiety! Yay!   I am still so happy I had the surgery, and my life is forever better for it. I recently saw Dr. Gunson here on the east coast for a visit, and he continues to be pleased with my recovery. In the past year I was finally able to get a classroom of my own! I have 16 amazing Kindergarten students, and I could not love it any more! It is truly my dream job, and I went through at lot to get where I am. I'm not sure of my current ROM (range of motion), but it isn't even a concern for me. I eat apples at least 3 times a week, and I don't usually have to choose foods that are really soft. I do have days where my jaw is more sore because of stress. I am still  working with my physical therapist on neck and shoulder tension related to how my body holds stre...

Day 365 Days Post-op - 11.4.2010 This was the fortune I got the week before my surgery. I decided to keep it as my good luck charm. Before and After Profile Here I am, 1 year post-op and smiling on ! It's hard to believe it has really been a whole year since surgery. In the last couple of weeks I have been getting those same feelings I had last year before surgery (stress, anxiety, fear, etc). PTSD of sorts perhaps? I am so incredibly glad that I do not have to mentally and physically prepare myself for such an intense surgery this year! It was 100% worth it, but as my other post-op jaw buddies know, it is very stressful! Besides recovering from the enormous surgery over the past year, I have also been getting back into teaching! I could not be more happy or excited! :) I am currently a cooperating teaching a local kindergarten classroom. We have the greatest class, and it is great to finally be doing what I love!  My ROM (range of motion) is at 35mm which is in the ...

Today I fly to NYC to see Dr. Mac for some teeth restoration (hopefully the last of it!). I'll try to remember to post what happens ASAP. Thank you to everyone for their continued support! Smile :)

Recently I have had several other "jaw buddies" state that my situation has made them second guess getting their jaw surgeries. This scares me because if anything my experience should do the exact opposite! If I didn't have this surgery I would have eventually lost all of my teeth due to my clenching/grinding/terrible alignment of my teeth. Not to mention the terrible/unbearable pain I was in pre-surgery. Compared to where I was pre-surgery I am doing amazing! I just still have pain and muscle spasms (due to the arthritis) that the average person doesn't have. These are things I knew would not be cured by my surgery. Surgery DID help tremendously and I have not regretted for one second getting my surgery. Dr. Gunson and his team have been so supportive and helping in figuring out what treatment is best for me pre/post-op. Nothing is black and white, and no two people will have the EXACT reasons for having surgery, nor the exact results. It is a personal choice, and ...

Today I go to see a Rheumatologist about my joints to see if there is anything they can do to help my joint pain. This isn't something that could have been fixed by my surgery, in fact surgery has made them feel better. But because I still have pain/swelling in my joints on a daily basis my surgeon has decided to send me to the Rheumatologist . I'll let you all know how it turns out! Still loving my new bite! Keep on Smiling! :)