Look what I found! Frankenstein night guards!

Life has just been rolling along. Summer is just beginning and we already have a really full schedule! This weekend was one of the only weekends where I will have any large amount of time to clean so I spent most of today cleaning and organizing. While putting away some sheets and towels in our linen closet, I found my very first night guard! I can't believe how tiny it is! It looks like a child's which is actually pretty sad.

I couldn't talk about my sad night guards without having proof so here it is!

Fortunately, these night guards don't fit anymore cause I have an adult sized jaw now! Goodbye monster-jaws, hello perfect smile!

Finally! A date!

It's finally happened. A few days ago, I got a letter from my insurance stating that I was approved for my surgery. Yesterday, I got a call from Mary and she called to book my surgery. I have a date along with all my pre-op and a few post-op appointments!

My surgery date has been scheduled for Monday, October 26th at 7:30am at MGH.

I can't believe that it's scheduled and it happened so quickly! I am definitely impressed by Mary and how prompt she was this time around. Last time it took forever for the insurance to come back and for Mary to contact me with a surgical date. Such a pain. This time around was way different. And, since I want to wait until after the summer and push it to October, my options were extremely open. It was nice to be given 3-4 different options and I got to pick the one that worked for me.

I'm going to spend this summer doing the things I want to do and have fun. This summer is going to be epic!

It's Official! Really official!

So there's good news and there's bad news.

The good news! Today I got confirmation that my surgery will be 100% covered by my insurance. I was told previously that it would be covered but having the proof is just a great relief. I definitely couldn't afford this surgery if my insurance wouldn't cover most of it.

For all you medically inclined folks out there reading this blog (aka nurses, doctors, medical staff), I have been approved for a Le Fort 1 and Saggital Split operation.

For those not medically inclined, it means that I am having both my upper and lower jaws moved into the optimal position (aka double jaw surgery).

Now, for the bad news. BCBS won't cover any type of genioplasty because it's considered "cosmetic." Gosh darn, I really wanted a new chin! Hahahaha! I've been told that after my surgery, my chin might not be as pronounced as it is now. I saw some digital mock ups of what I could look like with a chin implant and I decided that it just wasn't for me. LOL.

Time to make some appointments! But first, a photo!

Me and my approval letter!
Also, this is what I will look like in the future with no chin. HAHAHA. Nailed it.

Too slow, too fast!

Well,  these last few days have been quite hectic! I was booked for a pre-op appointment and spoke with Mary (insurance coordinator) within 1 day of finding out I was ready for surgery. It all seemed to be happening so fast, definitely way faster than last time.

The day before my pre-op appointment I got a phone call from Mary. It turns out there was some sort of miscommunication and I am not ready for a pre-op appointment since I haven't done any pre-op work or anything yet. (Which I initially questioned when we first spoke but she assured me that there'd be no issues. Uh huh. Should have known!)

Anyway, when I was talking to Mary, I asked her about Dr Keith's surgery schedule and when they thought they'd be able to book me. She said if my insurance comes back soon then they could probably book me for surgery at the end of July.

Holy shit balls.  Not what I was expecting at all. Usually surgeons are booked well in advance, especially for complex surgeries like my own. I couldn't believe that they'd be able to fit me in so quickly. I had such a difficult time getting a date last time that it blew my mind that I could have one within 4-6 weeks. Yikes! It's hilarious because I was so gung-ho about having this done as soon as possible and now here I am postponing the surgery. If someone had told me I would post-pone my surgery, I'd have laughed in their faces. 

I told Mary on the phone that I honestly had expected to be going through surgery sometime in October. She seemed surprised and advised me to get in contact with Dr Klein because my waiting could derail/ruin her plan for me.

Great, just great.

Thusly freaked out,  I sent her a quick email asking about a surgery time line and if she'd be ok if I waited until October for the surgery. I figured that she would email me back with a yes or no answer but she surprised me with a phone call that evening.  I was working and couldn't answer but she left such a nice and reassuring voice mail. She assured me that waiting wouldn't harm my teeth nor my progress and said she would call back tomorrow to personally talk to me. 
You have no idea how much I appreciated that phone call.  I've never really had a doctor personally call me before just to check in so it was just so nice. We talked the next morning and she told me that I have nothing to worry about. Any time that I am ready for surgery is good with her. I'm really glad that we talked.  She really allieved a lot of my concerns. So it looks like I will be having surgery after Columbus Day.

I've already told my boss that he can expect me to be out anytime after Columbus Day for 6-10ish weeks. I will come back when I feel up to working again. I've been told that I may feel ok but my energy levels will be extremely low since I'll be on liquids for awhile.  My job can be quite strenuous so I don't think I'll be able to perform my job in the OR until I'm 100% again. I walk a lot, carry and lift heavy items, and I talk all day to other doctors and nurses. So we shall see.

No photos this time because nothing has changed since last time. But I do have another appointment with Dr Klein in July. If I hear from Mary before my next appointment, I will certainly post about it!

EDIT: I got a phone call from Mary on Friday in the late morning but of course I missed her phone call. Left her a voicemail not 10 minutes after she left one for me on my cell. Never got a call back (and it was like 11:30am). Too good to be true? Hahaha. At this point, I'm not worried so it's not a big deal. Hopefully I'll get in touch with her next week. Maybe my insurance already came back with a yes for surgery (doubtful but you never know!)

It's Official! What I've been waiting to hear...

These last couple days have been quite hectic for me! Lots of annual doctors appointments, dentist visits and orthodontist check ups.
Yesterday, I went to my regular dental visit for a cleaning. Came back 100% clean and with no cavities! This had been like 3 years with no cavities so I'm pretty happy. 
Next, I went to the orthodontist in the city. Got there a little early only to discover an ice cream festival at City Hall Plaza here in Boston. I'm a lover of ice cream so I couldn't say no to that! Only regret is that I wish I could have stayed longer!

Finally saw Dr Klein and she finally uttered the magic words I've been waiting to hear : 

"You are officially ready for surgery."

Ahhhhh! 

There's a part of me that is ecstatic, over the moon, happy to get this over and done with. And there's another part of me that is scared, I'm comfortable where I am right now, and Jesus they are going to do what to my face?! So yea yesterday I had every kind of emotion that a person could have rolling around in their body.
I decided that denial would ultimately win out until I got a phone call from Dr.  Keith's insurance coordinator, Mary. It doesn't exist until things actually start happening, right?! Haha. Last time I had to deal with her, I had all sorts of issues with getting in contact with her. My messages weren't returned and it took forever to get a surgery date scheduled once the insurance approved it. However, I was pleasantly surprised when she phoned me this morning! I've got a pre-op appointment already scheduled for next week! Definitely impressed, that's for sure.

Aaaaaaah! Pre-op already?!?!?!

So many things happening all at once; my brain can't process it! I'm sure my schedule will fill very quickly with all sorts of appointments. Very exciting! And scary too.

I have another orthodontist appointment with Dr Klein just to double check that the wires are all good. They will also be prepping all my brackets for surgery at that appointment. Which kinda sucks but oh well. The surgical wire isn't as bad as I originally thought but we will see.

For now, I'm in a holding pattern. Which I guess means no more adjustments! YAAAAAY! 

My teeth have looked pretty straight for awhile now but here are some photos anyway!

Me looking fine in my hospital bling. hahahaha

Teeth - Straight!! Ta da!

A more natural smile. 

No news is good news!

It's been awhile since I posted an update so here I am.  :)
Teeth have been doing their thing which is good. I've made so much progress and things have moved so quickly it's getting difficult to notice the small changes that are happening.
I had a quick appointment at the orthodontist office just for some impressions. It went very well, nothing crazy happened, haha. One of my lower brackets had been bothering me so I grabbed some more wax and went on my way. Super easy! I didn't even need to see Dr Klein which was nice (not that I don't like seeing her, it was just nice because my appointment took all of 15 minutes). My next appointment is June 3rd where I will have a normal adjustment.
That day is looking like it's going to suck though. I have a regular dentist appointment in the morning for a routine cleaning and then the orthodontist appointment right after. Hopefully they are gentle with me! I'll have to remember to stock up on a few soft foods before then.
Other than that, nothing else to really report. In non-teeth news, I've been recently getting into biking and cycling. There is a trail near my house that follows the Charles River directly into Boston. Don and I have decided to make that our goal and do it together. It's roughly 30 miles there and back so it'll be great exercise! The only thing I have noticed so far with our bike rides is that my jaw is sore a little after. I think I strain my jaw or something while wearing my helmet. Gotta figure out a way to stop doing that.

Here are a few photos of progress! They are from about 2 weeks ago,  just never got around to posting them!

Photos! More photos!

I finally sat down and took some better progress photos! I still have an open bite but it's not nearly as bad as before.  Next appointment is May 21st for just impressions. After that, next adjustment is June 3rd.

Fully biting down

Teeth looking straight!

Frontal view smile