The Reality of Jaw Surgery

Hello readers!

I have been posting less and less over the year but I still want to update since the blogging community has been so good to me and has really been my rock when I was going through so much.

I am amazed how much time has passed since my surgery and how great life is not having to worry about my jaws anymore.

I've been so busy with life that i sometimes forget how much has changed and how fortunate I am. I feel truly blessed that everything has gone so well.

First off, something I want to share with all my jaw surgery buddies. As much as we want this surgery to lead to perfection, in reality, it doesn't. Not even for those with great results. It is a journey filled with challenges and we really have to choose our battles wisely and not let the small things take away our joy. I am more than happy with my results but I still don't have perfect results. I have permanent numbness in both my lip and chin. I've learned to accept the fact that this numbness will probably always be there. I also still get pressure and swelling in my upper plates. I wake up and feel sore some days. I'm still battling with tongue thrusting but wearing my retainers religiously in order to keep my teeth where they should be. Be demanding when it comes to having retainers after braces and make sure you're wearing them enough that they don't ever feel overly tight on you.

All of the above are things I've learned to accept. I don't let them take away my peace and I try to focus all my energy on the positive changes I've experienced. I have a bite that closes, I can chew almost anything, I don't have excruciating TMJ pain on a daily basis as I did for years.

This is all more than enough to make me feel forever grateful that I had this surgery and went through this long process.

Looking past jaw surgery, life has changed in so many ways. I feel so much more at peace that I can finally live my life normally and do the things I've wanted to do. I've been finding school so much more manageable not having TMJ issues. I feel like I can actually see the light at this point.

I will try my best to post a video soon. I think it shows much more accurately how much my face has changed.

I hope everyone is well. Also so excited to hear so much good news from the blogging community. I feel like so many of my jaw surgery buddies are experiencing so many positive changes in their lives and I hope we can all continue to update and share this joy.

Love you guys!!

Terra

Almost a year post op

Hey guys,

Hard to believe it's been almost a year since I broke my face. Weird isn't it?
Time really flies when you're enjoying your new face.
I will do a proper before and after update at the one year mark. I still have to do my before and after video. I need to get on that soon.

Once again I love my followers and blogger friends for being there throughout this very long and challenging journey. Thanks guys for all the support and advice.

Lots of love!!

Terra

Last damn orthodontist appointment I LOVE MY FACE

Sweet Jesus I hate going to my ortho.

I had to go for my 3 month appointment post braces removal. I actually cancelled the original and moved it. I knew the appointment would end badly considering I cracked my top retainer months ago but avoided hearing them blame it on me.

Anyway this stupid retainer wouldn't fit from the day I went to pick it up. It was torture getting it on and once it was on it was not coming off. I wore it every night as directly but the top came up to high and it wouldn't snap on.

Anyway it wasn't broken, just chipped from me constantly having to force it on. I went it and initially they said I'd have to pay $200 to replace it but then my ortho said to just do it for free and if it breaks again I have to pay the $200. I like my ortho even more now considering he didn't charge me $200 for a piece of plastic. They should just make doubles when people get braces and keep the backup in their office. Won't happen though, otherwise it would be too easy. I can only imagine how often kids go in there because they lost or broke their retainers. They must make a killing. I used to lose and break my retainers all the time in highschool. Once I forgot to put it in the case and my dog chewed it up. Probably the most expensive chew toy he has ever gotten.

Anyway they all went ohhh and awwwwwe when they saw my bite. It's a huge difference from before and I am sort of in love with all the changes. I feel pretty! I am almost a year post op and just the other day i noticed my jaw is more square. Weird, new changes all the time. It's awesome though. I'm loving it.

VIDEO: 11 Months Post JAW SURGERY

Moving past Jaw Surgery

Dear jaw surgery friends,

I hardly post anymore although I was sure I always would.
It's weird now when I look back and remember what it was like to be pre op and then post op. It's weird when I think about how different everything was, how different I was.

They say you're never handed more than you can handle in your life and I have to admit that I never understood that or believed it until recently. This was the year or realization that I thought I couldn't survive and would never make it through. Somehow I survived.

I won't bore you with the details but to all those of you reading my blog with that anxiety of the unknown, I promise you life gets better after jaw surgery. The journey isn't a simple one, and it's not easy, but you'll get through it and when you do you'll be happy you stuck to it.

It'll be a year since my jaw surgery is October and I hardly think about it except for the rare occasion when I get some TMJ pain from talking too much or chewing something too hard. It's not constant like it used to be. Every day is easier not having to think about jaw surgery. I like my face for the first time in my life probably because it's the face I feel like I was suppose to have, or the face I had before my jaws decided to shift around.

I am forever grateful that I had support when I needed it while going through this process. That is why I want to stress that if you're going through this, don't be afraid to talk to someone about it, someone who will understand where you're coming from.

Terra

10 Months Post op

Hello readers!!

It's been a crazy summer and I've been slacking in the blogging and youtubing department.
I did do a youtube update not that long ago and I will do a retainer one soon.
My bite has been good and has pretty much stayed the same. I've been wearing my retainers nightly for the most part. The only time I didn't wear them consistently was when I was at the hospital overnight with my grandmother.

My last post was on the way back from Montreal and everything sort of got crazy after that. A couple days later my grandmother fell ill and was hospitalized in critical care. I was closer to my grandmother than most people are so when she's not well I don't leave her side. She was at the hospital for 9 days in which I pretty much was there all the time, around the clock. She started to improve on July 6th and we had a lot of hope that maybe she would someday be well enough to be moved to a different ward and eventually recover. The following day she went down hill really fast and that was the last day I got to spend with her. Planning the funeral that week was chaos with the amounts of flooding and the storms in Toronto. We had a power outage so I got very little sleep working around the clock to have everything sorted out. The funeral turned out to be beautiful and I think it honoured her life well.
I miss her every single day.

Some days everything that has happened these last few months just overwhelms me so most of the time I try not to think too much. My life has forever changed in so many ways that sometimes I don't recognize it at all.

At the same time I feel blessed to have the amazing people that I do have in my life. Hoping for lots of good from here on out. I really hope all your wonderful people are doing well. I miss your stories and I've going to try to catch up on everyones blog.

xoxo
Terra

Is this normal?

Hey guys,

So the last week I've noticed that my bite is really close to literally just hitting. Post op I had an overjet but now I don't even have a mm of extra space. I've been wearing my retainers at night but I wake up and my bite is super tight. I may have to call my ortho regarding this. Just a mini panic here.

I was really more worried about the open bite coming back but it feels like my muscles are pulling my bite back into an underbite.
ARgGGGFHDFHFDG

Maybe I'm just over reacting. I'll book in an appointment with my massage therapist, maybe my facial muscles are just tense.

Anyway otherwise life is good. Heading back to Toronto after being in Montreal with the bestie.
She's moving back so we packed stuff and caught up on life. We went to an outdoor electronic music party which was pretty cool except we got eaten alive by all the bugs.

I always get a kick out of the stop signs in quebec. It's Terra backwards. I still remember when we went to Ottawa 10 years ago and the stop signs said Stop Arret so we would say "Pots Terra"

Drinking in the day. I like the massive amounts of wine people drink in this province. 

This was a separate stage but if you were drunk enough and could see this guys dance moves. 

We were forced to drink from the bottle when some random guy thought he could pick me up by bumping his booty into me. This didn't work and we lost our cups :( Losers

I have these two massive bruises and I have no idea where they came from. Was before the festival though. 

I also have this massive bite on my arm, still not sure what this was from

<3 Terra