I HAVE A DATE!!!!!

I received two phone calls this morning, both from my OS's office. One was Candy, she does the Ins. processing. She said she has notes back from May stating that when we were ready for the next surgery, to just submit the information. So she thinks everything will go through just fine. The other one was from Dr. Weldon's nurse/scheduler, Jamie. She actually went in on my last surgery. She says that barring any problems with the Ins. Company, she has submitted all the paperwork to the hospital for my next surgery to be on…… drum roll please……..
MARCH 24TH!!!!
That's only 8 weeks away! I'm so excited and a little bit nervous too. I ordered the zip and squeeze stuff last week just in case. I want to start getting a game plan ready. Vitamins, exercise. I want my body to be as ready as possible this time around.

New pics, including the profile

I thought I would share that dreaded profile pic. Do you see what I mean though? You could almost see where a lower advancement might work. Who knows though, I'll just leave it to the professionals.

I am amazed at how much the openbite has closed. I remember after the SARPE I could fit a whole finger into the opening. The braces have definately been doing a good job. Because of the shape of my teeth though, I don't think the braces can do anything more with the little gap in between my two front teeth. I will definately need to get that fixed, for some reason it really bothers me. I can't wait for that moment after my next surgery when I can look in the mirror and see my teeth touch for the first time ever in my life. I know exactly what Shontell means when she says she got choked up at her appointment. This has been an amazing transformation. I wonder if our doctors even know what a difference they have made in our lives.

This is going to be an awesome year.

OS Update!!

I am trying not to get too excited about my appointment today. I feel like everything went so well though. He addressed my concerns that I spoke of earlier. None of which, he seemed to think were very serious. He thinks the roof of my mouth may just be from the way my bone healed after surgery. It’s really very minor and doesn’t really bother me terribly, I feel at ease with that answer and happy that something wasn’t wrong.
He thinks the clicking in my jaw is just part of my jaw problems that will hopefully be fixed with my next surgery. He was actually really pleased with the results already. When I first went to see him, when I opened my mouth, my jaw popped horribly. It’s significantly better than it was. In time, hopefully it will be fixed.
My lips… he can’t think of anything the surgery would have done to them. He said he really just thinks it’s the braces. My lips don’t close naturally, it’s definitely forced. So between that and the rubbing of the braces, he just thinks they are constantly irritated.

Ok… now for the surgery part. He said he really is pleased with the way my teeth are coming together. He still feels that upper jaw surgery is still the best choice for me. I mentioned to him that Dr. Post had mentioned a few adjustments back, a possible lower advancement. He said in his opinion, he would prefer just doing the upper jaw surgery. He said he feels we can get at least a 95%+ bite with just doing the upper jaw. He feels if you can get that close, its best not to do more if it isn’t necessary. I have thought a lot lately about how I would feel if he said this. I think I am really okay with it. I think being able to just have the one jaw done and being that close is okay with me. I have thought a lot about the complications and lingering problems you can have after lower jaw surgery so I guess, if I don’t have to chance it, I won’t. Maybe I’m just chicken to press the issue, but I really feel comfortable with this decision.

I left his office at about 4:45 and he said he was still planning to speak with the Ortho. tonight. He said he would get his staff to resubmit the Ins. paperwork to make sure we are all set there. So, before I left, he said we could tentatively look at March for a surgery date. I immediately felt the butterflies and the excitement. His practice though, is incredibly busy so, I’m not going to hold my breath until we have a definite date.

He said the cuts for the surgery are very similar to the ones he made for my SARPE. He said it’s a little more involved, but he suspects I won’t be in the hospital for more than a night or two. He said I did really well with my SARPE so it would probably just be the one night. I have to cover for somebody’s vacation at work for one week in March, but other than that, everything could potentially work out okay.

My mind is running a mile a minute. I am praying that everything just falls into place.

OS Appt. tomorrow

So my appointment with the Oral Surgeon is tomorrow. I'm so worried I am going to be disappointed. I hope he at least gets the ball rolling with the Insurance company again. When he sent the request into the Ins. Co. for my SARPE, he detailed the whole game plan including my second surgery. They approved the first one so I'm hoping we won't have any trouble this time around.
I have three major concerns I want to address with him:

1. I've noticed that I have a small bump with a groove type line on the right hand side on the roof of my mouth. Sometimes lately, I notice it gets a little sore and I feel a throbbing pain.

2. When I walk, I notice that on the left side of my jaw, I have this clicking noise. I have no idea what it is, but it drives me crazy.

3. My lips!!! They still bother me so much. They burn and hurt so badly. I use the hydrocortizone way more than the dermotologist recommended. It's the only thing that seems to help though.

So... wish me luck tomorrow and I'll keep you posted.

A surprise adjustment!!

I brought my daughter to her Ortho. appt. yesterday and low and behold, he said he could do my adjustment too. I reminded him I had an appt. with the OS next Thursday. I told him I was hoping for a surgery date of sometime no later than May, earlier if possible. He actually seemed like that wasn't out of the question. So, I have two more appt.'s coming up soon. When he originally put my bottom braces on, he didn't band my last molars. He said they looked good and didn't want them banded while he moved everything else around. Well, he wants them on now. So on the 13th I'll go to have separators put in (oh, how I hate those things) and then on the 20th I'll have bands put on and then he said he wanted me to get some new molds made up. I really hope this means we're close.
In the beginning, when I had my first surgery, changes seemed to come quick. Now, I feel like it's always a hurry up and wait deal. I know good things will come in time, I just want to see something now. I'm so happy for the people that finally have their dates scheduled. A little jealous too I guess.

I just took some Advil, my head and jaw are aching today. It goes right along with my mood. The holidays kept me so busy, I didn't have time to think about the next step. Then, my sister and niece came to visit from Texas and North Carolina. My sister left yesterday. Now it's time for me to get busy with something else… I'd like it to be preparing for surgery.
Hopefully, I'll hear some really good news next Thursday.