T Minus ONE days!

Twas the night before surgery and all through the house,
I was like a crazed starving tornado eating everything in sight.

 I.mean.everything. Kit Kat bars, Reeses' Fast Breaks, cookies, fruit snacks, red vines. All this after a delicious steak dinner at Flemings, too. Wipe that judgmental scowl off your face, I'm having jaw surgery tomorrow and that means...my teeth are going to be WIRED SHUT! Six weeks of eating nothing but things that can be sucked through a straw. If anyone knows me, you know that there would be no greater challenge life could throw my way than to take my food from me. Terrible. But let's start from the beginning.

Since high school, I have been suffering from chronic headaches. I never though much about it until college and I started to realize how many bottles of Ibuprofin I was going through, and it occurred to me that it probably wasn't normal to be in pain that many times a week. I started to track my headaches and pay attention to how they started. I felt like the pain would radiate through my jaw joint, down the base of my neck, and behind my eyes. Almost every night I would wake up with a pounding headache and have to take medicine. They started to get progressively worse (migraines) and my jaw reflected the degeneration- about once a week it would lock up and crack super loud, which was very jarring and a little bit scary. I realized the two were probably related, so I started looking into what it could be. After seeing a dozen doctors, I was diagnosed with TMJ disorder, which is essentially arthritis in my jaw joint because my jaw/bite has grown in a way that puts lots of pressure on my joints. Turned out, my brother in law Tanner, his mom, and his sisters had all been treated for TMJ as well! This turned out to be a huge blessing because after seeing SO many doctors that gladly took my money and did ZERO help for my TMJ, they were able to direct me to a doctor that actually knew what he was doing! Trust me when I say, that in itself was a miracle.

Dr. Correa took a bazillion tests and treated me with a splint for about eight months, and it relieved my symptoms, but it was only a temporary solution. After everything was stabilized, it was time for braces and surgery. The idea of the surgery is that it will correct my bite and the misalignment in my jaw, which will relieve the pressure in my jaw joints. Eight months more of braces to get everything set for surgery, and here we are! Granted this was a much watered down version, and if you want to hear about every treatment (physical therapy, splints, acupuncture, chiropractic, etc), I can surely give that to you personally. But I'm prettttty sure my phone won't be ringing off the hook in response to that offer.

So my sister Kate recommended I start this blog, as an outlet and a way to keep everyone updated on my recovery.

SO! I'm feeling surprisingly calm... headache, as usual. Maybe a little stressed if anything, because I'm a planning freak and I'm going over and over in my head trying to make sure I have everything set for my recovery. I've got a plethora of items including, funny looking strawed bottles, juicer, hand blender, mesh strainer, wedge pillow, alcohol-free mouth wash, baby tooth brushes, baby nose sucker, mini white board (to communicate with), tons of liquid foods, etc.

People always say this when they go through hard things...but...the support I've felt from my family has been SO touching. I feel so buoyed by their faith and kindness. Without even asking for it, my family has been fasting and praying, sending gifts, calling, sending thoughtful emails, etc. My mom is coming out to take care of me for a week after I'm discharged from the hospital (best mom ever), because even though Hunter was more than willing to step up, there's nothing like being under the watchful care of mama. Speaking of which, I would be remiss if I did not give a giant shout out to the best, sweetest, most amazing husband in the world...a bazillion back rubs, doctors appts, and dollars later, we are finally looking at a hopeful end to the suffering. Thanks babe for always taking care of me and always supporting me in every way in this treatment.

The surgery is 7:30am tomorrow, so we have to be there at 6am to check in. The surgery should take about 5 hours and then I will be in the hospital for 2 days after. I should probably head to bed, here are a few pics for "before" surgery, even though the doctor said I wouldn't really look much different afterward (thank heavens). You will probably get a kick out of how frankensteinish I look right after surgery though, so you can compare that hideous face to this slightly less hideous one.


You can see here how my jaw swings to the right.

Here is a pic of me smiling my braces smile with my "last supper" tonight. Filet mignon with gorgonzola sauce, asparagus, and peppercorn mashed potatoes. AKA manna from heaven. It's going to be bittersweet remembering that meal as I slurp up my chicken stock and gatorade for the next 6 weeks.

Anyway, bed. Good luck to me! xoxo