And so the journey begins!
Dad, Mom and I will be driving to Santa Barbara in two days,
Monday, Jan 7, 2013.
Tyson flies in late Monday evening.
Jaw surgery is schedule for Thursday, Jan 10. I have
appointments the two days prior with the hospital, the surgeon (Dr.
Arnett) and a cardiologist. During these two days I am going to eat
everything and anything I want and not feel any guilt whatsoever! (..aaactually
I have been doing that this whole last week and it feels so great!)
Out of state patients are scheduled to stay in Santa Barbara
for 3 weeks. Then we will return to Vegas where I will have weekly check ups
with my orthodontist (Dr. Spilsbury) for 8 weeks. I plan to hibernate for the
next 3 months!
Here is a brief history (and by brief I mean long)...
•
Jan
2008, symptoms started in my jaw- locking, popping, clicking, soreness,
stiffness. At one point it got so bad I could only stand to eat about 5 bites
of food
•
Went
to my dentist who said it was TMJ
•
We
went to see my orthodontist, Dr. Spilsbury who is a TMJ specialist. After
consulting he suggested I go see Dr. Arnett. (He is the same surgeon who did my
mom's jaw surgery 10 years ago)
•
Consultation
with Arnett Sept 2008
•
Learned
I had severe TMJ and arthritis in both my jaw joints which has deteriorated the
jaw bone to 1/3 of it's normal size.. Imagine a pencil eraser = normal, pencil
tip = my joints
•
It
has caused the jaw to recede backwards, closing off half of my esophagus and
creating an open bite
•
Can
no longer eat sandwiches, pizza, tacos etc. Meat falls right out of the middle,
cheese slides off top because I can't bite all the way through, due to the open
bite
•
A
little bit of a lisp started around the time the open bite was getting worse
•
SEVERE
headaches began. Probably lasted from 08-09/10. Felt like someone was pounding
two 6 inch long, fat screws through the back of my head up to behind my eyes
•
Couldn't
sleep. Dreaded bed time (and we all know how much I LOVE my sleep)
•
Tyson
would find me watching informercials in the middle of the night while silently
crying. He would massage my head to try to ease the pain
•
Crying
at bed time was a nightly routine
•
After
the headaches subsided, depression sunk in. Along with an evil spirit I have
never experienced and pray I never do again- EVER! That was an AWFUL awful
feeling. Despair like I have never known it. I asked Ty to pray for me and
instantly the feeling was lifted
•
Good
days and bad days. Happy days and depressed days
•
By
this point I have lost almost all of my confidence. Looking back now is like
watching myself get stripped of my happiness and confidence. I had a "woe
is me" attitude a lot. I have grown and learned so much since then.. but I
wont go into all that!
•
To
this day I still stare at Tyson's mouth and teeth and think it's just so cool
how it all connects normally and looks so great and he can bite things with his
front teeth- I can not wait to be normal again and stop avoiding mirrors
•
SOO
the only way to fix all this is surgery with many medications to prepare me
•
Battled
with many insurance companies on helping out with surgery cost (no insurance
co. would help)
•
Surgery
date got pushed back year after year- total waiting time = 4 1/2 years!
•
Braces
needed before surgery. Spilsbury said only 8-10 months prior, but due to the
surgery date getting pushed back, the braces have been on for 20 months now
•
Pain
with my jaw and neck have decreased a bit since braces have been on and
shifting things
•
Stomach
problems occurred due to the harsh meds
•
On
the fourth time of getting ulcers and the second time of seeing the
gastroenterologist, I had my stomach scoped. Dr said I was lucky I came in when
I did- had a large ulcer that was dangerously close to burning a hole through
my stomach. On a scale of 1-10 it was a 7-8.
•
More
meds- yay me!
•
Stomach
has felt much better since the new medication
•
Still
on a bit of a limited diet to help ulcer heal. Haven't had soda since before
Thanksgiving, I miss Dr Pepper and Broccoli the most!!
•
Been
off the harsh meds since Thanksgiving. I pray that in my pre-op Dr visits, my
body and joints will be ready for surgery
•
So
far my blood tests have come back good- we're a go on that part! Cross your
fingers that the Dr doesn't tell me a day or two before surgery that my joints
aren't ready and we have to post-pone...again
•
I
had a spiritual feeling last week that all will be well, and I believe it!
•
I
asked Ty to give me a blessing before I came down to Vegas. It was so nice! I
was a tad nervous before then, but his blessing of comfort did just that and
now I say - Bring it On! (let's get this over with please!!)
I have
forgotten how wonderful blessings are. All those dark times of depression I
could have been so much happier and felt so much better! It's just so nice to
feel the spirit rushed in, feel so much peace and comfort and know that this
will all work out. Why didn't I ask for more!?
We will
try to update this blog daily so everyone can stay up to speed. Check it when
you want. That way we don't have to call everyone or tell the same thing over
and over. Read first, then if you have more questions you can call
(mom/Heidi).. or text me because you won't understand me over the phone hah!
Posts shouldn't be too long as we will be posting daily and not much will
change. I'm sure you'll mostly hear about how the healing is going and how I'm
feeling that day (as if I'll be anything but hungry) You may even get lucky and
see some nasty, haggard pics of me looking like I just got hit by a train head
on and survived! That's all for now, Stay tuned!
Thanks
for your concern, prayers and support!
.."Happy
hunger games, and may the odds be ever in your favor".. or, uh, actually
MY favor :)
