Two days

Friday was an intense day. Had my pre-op apt with CMH..what a task! They ask all kinds of questions like what do your freckles smell like and how do you prefer your cocktail after surgery? (ok i'm kidding but I swear they were weird questions!) I had to have blood taken twice, I felt like I was joining a vampire cult. I had to pee in a cup even though I told them I haven't had my period in eight years. Hello? Not a chance in big bear that I would be pregnant but I had to pee anyways so I did.

So enough of the personal stuff, work was crazy. I ended up working on Saturday for a couple hours because I just didn't have enough time with all the appointments they have you go to the week before. Which was good and bad at the same time because I was hung over from my "last hurrah" party at the pub Friday night but it was quiet and no one else was around.

So, the surgery is Monday and I still don't know if I will have both jaws or just the upper jaw. Doc said he would tell me right before. Great! So right before I'll know more or less pain depends on this decision..can't wait!

I keep getting asked "are you excited?" am I excited to have my jaw broken and re-attached and survive on liquids for three to four weeks? Nope, I want to do it again next year too just for giggles.

Anyways, not sure why i'm in a joking mood, probably because comedy central is having a stand up comedy-thon and it's hilarious.

Well, dad comes down tomorrow, surgery Monday morning @ 7:30 a.m. and then movie mania! Woo hoo!

I think I'll be posting a lot more since I won't be able to talk! See you on the other side! ;D

Questions Answered

I had my apt with the oral surgeon, Dr. Zarrenkelk, and had all my questions answered about the surgery thus far. To my surprise he said that I might not need lower jaw surgery since my lower jaw was in complete alignment with the rest of my face, it was only my top jaw that was off and would need to be brought forward to fix the overbite. This would be awesome because he reminded me that there is always the chance that I could loose feeling in my lower lip due to lower jaw surgery. If I don't have lower jaw surgery I don't have this chance. He told me that once I have the newest impressions taken (tomorrow at my ortho apt) then he would do the surgery on the model and show me what it's going to look like at my second apt w/ him on Friday. (hello? that's frickin awesome! I get to see what it looks like before? crazy..) So I'm excited to see what that looks like.

Answers to my questions were in a packet of information. I can brush my teeth with a baby toothbrush, but only on the outer part of my teeth because they will be rubberbanded for the first 7-10 days. I will be under general anasthesia and the surgery will take 4-6 hours. I will have a plastic retainer thingy that helps hold the teeth in the correct bite alignment, which is better than the expander that I thought I would have. He's going to bring my cheek bones forward also so that my I don't have such a flat profile. I should be mobile after one week and can return to work after two. So all in all I feel good about the surgery and now it's just waiting for it to happen!

One Week!

So I've done a pretty good job of keeping myself occupied over the weekend so I didn't think about the surgery too much, and thanks to Josh for helping me stay busy. Today, however, is a whole other story. My boss is wigging out about it and its making me anxious to just get it over with already so I can go back to normal life!

The weirdest thing for me is that I will never look the same after next Monday. I woke up this morning and thought, "Wow, at this time next week I will be in a hospital and will be knocked out!"

So the countdown begins. I have a pre-surgery apt with the surgeon this morning at 11 a.m. and I'm very excited to find out what he says. I have a lot of questions to get answered so I will post what he ways. I have an orthodontist apt tomorrow and the hospital pre-check in apt on Friday. Should be an exciting week!

Two weeks!

My surgery date is January 28th, 2008. Currently as I write this that is exactly two weeks away and I am super excited, super nervous, and anxious to get it done!

I got the letter today that told me what time to be at the Hospital - 5 a.m.! Holy crap that's early. I'm thinking maybe just stay up all night! Why not I'm just going to get knocked out and sleep anyway right? ha ha no. Probably a bad idea, but what's a good idea is letting my dad know he's gotta stay over so he can take me in.

So the countdown begins and as I collect more pictures and proof of this journey I will post them so all can see the exciting details and adventure of my jaw surgery. Woo hoo!

2002 - 2008

When I was 19 I worked two jobs in Lompoc, CA. I made more money working at Ellen's so I lived off my checks and tips from Mi Amore and used my other check to pay for dental work. I needed a lot since I hadn't gone since I was 4 years old. My dentist suggested I get braces to straighten my teeth. Exactly what I wanted to hear! I had wanted straight teeth as long as I had been self conscious of my appearance. So I went to see an orthodontist.

I paid the $300 for my initial visit to the orthodontist to take study models and x-rays. Upon my return visit to hear my evaluation results he told me I needed jaw surgery to correctly correct my bite. I couldn't believe it! So I wasted money for nothing and I thought it would be a long time before I got my teeth straightened. I wanted another opinion but couldn't afford to keep paying for the initial visits so I gave up for the time being.

Flash forward to 2006 - I live in Ventura now and I'm working full time and have good medical and dental benefits. I have kept my teeth up by going to a dentist regularly and even had a lot of re-work done on the "mercury" fillings I had done before. I keep dreaming about getting my teeth straightened and they had advertised Invisalign. That's what I wanted but feared what the orthodontist would tell me. When I had all my teeth good and done they referred me to the orthodontist. I was hopeful that without saying a word he wouldn't tell me I needed surgery .....but he did. I was shocked! I had never heard of this yet two Orthodontists had told me the same thing. Well I wanted a second and third opinion. I went to 4 other offices and every one told me the same thing. While I was at Hudson and Wright orthodontist office I broke down and cried. It wasn't what I wanted to hear. They said to take my time and think about it.

So I did. I took about 6-8 months. I needed to save up money and pick an orthodontist that I thought I would be comfortable with and who could refer me to a good oral surgeon who was also under my medical plan. Like finding a needle in a haystack! I had questions and I called back a lot. But once they were all answered I didn't know what I was waiting for. It was like I needed the orthodontist to tell me when to be there but it was really up to me. I figured if I waited too long then I would chicken out or make some excuse why I couldn't get the braces on at that point. So I made the appointment for the next week. My friends and family were shocked! And so was I a little bit but very excited.

So I got my braces on February 21st, 2007. The weirdest day of the experience up to this point. As the months went by I was excited about the change. My teeth were moving and it was obvious.