My story
AUGUST 27, 2008 - News!
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Hi all,
It's been a while since I've given news, so before you worry, I decided to write to you again; I saw both my surgeon and my orthodontist this week!
In fact, I wasn't supposed to see my surgeon before September 9, but I went to see him last week in emergency because 2 weeks ago, a mysterious lump appeared on my left cheek, very close to my scar. I had noticed it while massaging my scars one evening. Before getting sick and stressed out over it, I decided to call my surgeon's secretary and I was able to go see him the same morning! After a complete examination of my lower jaw, he didn't know why this lump had suddenly appeared, but he knew that it wasn't caused by infection nor one of the screws that was trying to come out because the lump is right where he cut the bone to bring my lower jaw forward, so it's not where the screws are. In reality, I was a little afraid it was one of the screws! All signs pointed to swelling, but why would I suddenly swell like that, it's an unsolved mystery!
In short, I applied moist heat to my cheek all week last week and the lump has decreased in size, so it's a good sign. Since I had an appointment with my orthodontist to continue my orthodontic treatments Tuesday of this week, my surgeon had told me to come back to see him right before my appointment with my orthodontist to assess the status of the lump since last week. I received nothing but good news from him since last week: the lump has decreased in size, my scars are looking good, however I still need to protect them from the sun, my mouth opens "normally", etc. My chin is still a little numb, but the numbness is subsiding slowly but surely. Everything seems to be getting back to normal, I still have a few discomforts (I sometimes have a hard time hearing from my left ear, my left jaw joint is still a little stiff when I open my mouth, my sinuses get carried away from time to time, the inside of my mouth is still badly bruised because of the braces, etc.), but I shouldn't worry from what my surgeon told me. A lot of changes have occurred in my face in the last few months, I have to be patient before everything is back to normal again.
Before I left my surgeon's clinic to go to my appointment with my orthodontist, I showed one of my wedding pictures from 2005 and a picture taken at a friend's wedding at the beginning of August to my surgeon and his assistant. Since I've printed out these pictures, sometimes I just look at them and I simply cannot believe how much I've changed. My surgeon and his assistant couldn't believe it either! He had a hard time remembering that I looked like the person on my wedding picture when he first saw me in consultation before I had my braces installed! It must be a good sign if he doesn't remember the "old me"! :) When I told my surgeon and his assistant that after all, I had changed my glasses since I got married, he said, with a little smile on his face: "Do we agree that the glasses weren't the biggest part of the problem??!!" HA HA HA I also showed the pictures to his secretary and another dentist's secretary as well. They couldn't believe it either! Hahaha These pictures are like my "hunting trophies", I carry them with me everywhere I go and I'm very proud to show them as well. And I'm obsessed by the idea of getting rid of all the pictures taken of me before I had my braces!
It felt a little weird not making another appointment with my surgeon when I left the clinic. He doesn't need to see me before my braces are removed and I don't know when that is going to be done...
Then, I went to my orthodontist's clinic so she could continue my treatments. (Finally! I hadn't seen her since the end of June!) She removed the brackets glued to my 6 lower front teeth to realign them with the new position of my teeth. She had done the same thing with my upper teeth the last time I had seen her.
One of the hygienists that were with me noticed my "Joe V" necklace, the smirk now associated with Bon Jovi. She said: "Ah, this smiley is so cute; it looks funny." Hahaha A lot of things have happened to me while wearing this necklace and only the Bon Jovi fans know what it is, that's what makes it special! Since I had a device in my mouth to keep it from closing, I wasn't able to explain what exactly was this "smiley"...
I asked my orthodontist for an estimate of how much time I have left with my braces. She told me that in 3 appointments, maybe 4 at most, she would probably be able to remove them! There is usually a 5 or 6-week gap between appointments, so the new estimate is in the January/February 2009 timeframe. I hope that it will be around that time because I must admit that I'm getting a little tired of having them!
My orthodontist seemed as happy to see me as usual, so did the hygienists that know me since the beginning of this adventure. When everything that had to be done in my mouth was finished, I showed my famous pictures. It created a huge commotion in the clinic, all the hygienists came to see the pictures, they couldn't believe it either. My orthodontist was so impressed that she asked me if she could scan the pictures and put them in my file!
The receptionists probably heard the commotion created by the pictures, so when I returned to the front desk to make my next appointment, I told them that my pictures were being scanned and that I would show them to them after. They then told me that they always like seeing pictures. When one of the receptionists saw my pictures, she started with the most recent one, so it wasn't too bad. But when she saw the one from my wedding, she stepped back and almost screamed: "AH!" like she was in shock! HA HA She apologized for reacting that way (ok, I must admit that I was scary back then! Haha), but she told me that she was in shock to see what I used to look like.
I don't remember who got the idea, but my pictures got in the hands of the clinic director as well, the woman that had taken the pictures to scan them came to take them again to do something else with them, I don't really know what. I simply know that I created an unexpected chain reaction when I showed these pictures! Hahaha
I have also decided to publish the emails about my whole surgery experience on the internet. I'm still in the process of reading them to correct typos and inaccurate things that I may have said. I hope to help at least one person in their decision to go through a similar surgery. Let's say that it is worth it! I'm proud of what I have accomplished, mostly when I see new patients in the waiting room of my surgeon's clinic reading brochures on wisdom teeth; I'm so happy to have gone through it all! My surgeon thinks it's an interesting project, and my orthodontist vigourously and positively reacted to the idea as well, so I must thank my director at work for the idea! ;)
As you can see, I'm doing well and I have no regrets whatsoever to have gone through it all! I have never had any regrets about this, except maybe when my teeth were stuck together with elastics! Grr I even had a craving for Boost the other day, I wanted one too bad, I had to drink a can and the funny thing about it is that I still like the taste of it! HA HA
See you soon,
Marie-Hélène
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