One Week Before

Hey there!

I wanted to create a blog to help others going through the same procedure as I am. Reading other blogs has helped me so much that I wanted to share my experience as well. Also, this is a great way for my friends and family to keep up with me as I undergo this experience! Jawdrey seemed to be the perfect name for the blog. My name is Audrey, so... yeah. Heh.

I got my first set of braces when I was 8 years old. Notice how I said first set. After 2 years, they took them off to see how I was doing or something like that. Nope! Not good enough. After about a month of chewing gum and eating as much hard candy and popcorn as I could stuff my face with, the braces went back on, this time for 4 years. I finally got them off when I was 14.

You'd think that 6 years of braces would have really done the job. And it seemed like they did, until I was about 17. I realized that my lower jaw was sliding forward again, so I went back to the same orthodontist that I had vowed never to see again in my life. Little did I know that this was definitely NOT the end of it. He basically told me that my jaw was destined to be this way, and that even though they did everything they could, I would eventually need surgery. Well, that sucked.

Here are all the adorable pictures of my teeth. I hate how they make you frown. Also, how cute was I in 7th grade? Oh damn!

At the time, we didn't think insurance would cover surgery at all, so any type of procedure wasn't a financial option for us. So, I told the doc "sorry!" and went along my business. I didn't like that guy anyways. My underbite wasn't hurting anyone, so it didn't seem like something I needed to fix at the time.

Flash forward to senior year of college, when I was 21. I was inspecting my teeth after brushing them one night (as I typically do, because I am an oral hygiene FREAK) and realized that one of my front teeth had chipped in the corner. What the what? I just turned 21... did I do something the previous weekend while under the influence of soda (heh)? I chalked it up to natural weirdness and went about my life as normal. But in the next few months, more and more teeth were withering away. AHH!

I love teeth; more specifically, my teeth. What was happening to them?! And then finally, a lightbulb went off. My bottom teeth had perfectly straight lines when touching the teeth that were chipped. And they fit together like peanut butter and jelly. Mac and cheese. You get it. There was a definite issue here. My teeth are precious.

Finally, I consulted Chamberlain Orthodontics, who had amazing reviews from so many people in my community... including my own mother (have you seen her teeth?! A-maz-ing!). Their staff was, and continues to be so wonderful. I am given the perfect amount of attention and never feel like I'm just another patient. They take so much time to answer all of my annoying questions and are just so nice! They did their absolute best to find a solution for me other than surgery; Dr. Chamberlain even sat down with me and drew on x-rays of my face to show me why surgery was the only option. No orthodontist has ever taken that much time out of his day to explain things to me before. And when I didn't particularly feel completely comfortable with the surgeon that they had recommended to me, they went out of their way to find another surgeon that would fit my needs. They continue to go above and beyond with their practice, and I literally could not recommend them enough. If you live anywhere in the Phoenix-Metro area, it's worth the drive to Chandler. I promise.

Over spring break 2013, I had my first consult with Dr. Elliott, the surgeon who would be working with me. I had a really wild spring break, as you can tell. Dr. Elliott made me feel so comfortable, from his warm personality right down to the way his office is decorated (it's like you're in a cozy cabin. I want to sleep there.). He was another doctor who sat down and made sure that every single question I had was answered. If one of his nurses or assistants came in with a question, he would politely wave them off to make sure I knew that I had his undivided attention. This is so important to me in a surgeon, as I can imagine it is for any person going under the knife. I feel so blessed to find someone who can provide that!

I forgot to mention: what's so special about my case is that I get to do Invisalign, instead of regular braces. Invisible braces? Huzzah!! Another thing that's different about my case is that it's actually my upper jaw that's the culprit of this whole mess. You sneaky upper jaw; I'll get you if it's the last thing I do!

We had to battle with the insurance a lot. They rejected my procedure twice, but the third time must have been the charm, because they said yes! The other amazing thing is that we have really great insurance, and we have an out-of-pocket maximum. This means that no matter how much I had to have done, it would be covered outside of that maximum. And the maximum is pretty low for healthcare standards. I thank my lucky stars every single day that I was born into a financially stable, insured family. And I appreciate my Dad SO much for working so hard to keep us that way. Dad, if you're reading this, thank you so much. I don't say it nearly enough. There are so many people out there without healthcare, and I am fortunately not one of them (not trying to get political here, just very thankful).

4 days ago, I had my last pre-consult with my surgeon, Dr. Michael Elliott. Both of my parents joined me in asking a million questions for the (hopefully) last time. Dr. Elliott showed us on an actual human skull what he's going to do so I could see it. Little did he know, I've been watching YouTube videos for weeks now, so I'm pretty up to date on the procedure. But my parents don't know too much about it, so they got the preview... much to my Mom's squeamish dismay. If you want to see a quick, 51 second video of what will be happening to me, click here. Dr. Elliott has already assured me that I won't be setting off airport security for the rest of my life... phew!

Starting tomorrow will be my last week at work for a few weeks. I'll be completely out of it for a week, then working from home for two. But I'll be damned if I'm going to miss the company Christmas party. I mean, there's an open bar...

I literally took these pictures right before writing this blog post. Not sure why my face looks so red. Blame it on the iPhone? You can better see my underbite on the right. But after Monday, you will see it no more! Mwahahahah!! 

I'll post again the night before my surgery, and then as much as I can right before and subsequently after. If you just read through all of the above, props to you for being able to sit still for so long. Go give yourself a potty break.