I’M DONE. I just got my bottom braces off, and even though it wasn’t as big of a change as getting the top ones off 2 months ago, this means that I am no longer a slave to the recovery process of double jaw surgery! I know I’ve said this a billion times, but it all went so fast.i FINALLY FEEL LIKE MYSELF AGAIN
Even from the time of getting my top braces off til now, it feels like almost no time has passed it went that quickly. I guess being able to smile again and not be self-conscious really makes a difference in my day-to-day life and constantly avoiding pictures and mirrors. Now, I feel like a million bucks and can properly reflect on my experience and say that it was completely worth it and I’ve never been happier.
faith is everything
This was easily the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, and might be the hardest thing I do for the rest of my life. But I feel so much stronger now, and more aware of how truly lucky I am. This whole experience allowed me to know myself on a much deeper level, and learn to love my soul even while hating what I saw in the mirror- because I really had to go through something this physically and emotionally difficult to realize how blessed I am. I connected more spiritually with my faith and realized what/who are really important in my life.
my support system
I’ve had so many great friends to help get me through this, with their presence and encouraging thoughts and words. Not to mention great family who love me no matter what- especially my mom and dad. My mom did SO MUCH in preparation for surgery and throughout the entire recovery process. She spent hours and hours for months and months planning the surgery and dealing with crap from the insurance companies and doctors, scheduling and taking me to appointments, etc.There was so much that went into planning this and she did it all. She even stayed with me all night at the hospital and took care of me this summer while I was recovering. My dad was my biggest role model through all of this because he’s always taught me to be strong, independent, and fearless. Not everybody would be willing to go through what I went through, but I did because of how I was raised by my dad. Not to mention, even if the insurance company DIDN’T cover the cost of the surgery, he would have paid for it regardless because he knew how important it was to me and he just wanted me to be happy. I love my mom, my dad, the rest of my family, and my great friends for sticking by me and helping me make the most of my situation every single day.
I started making a video many months ago that I’ve been working on slowly since my surgery, illustrating my progress and explaining my experience. I hope you will take about 10 minutes to watch it and understand that there are thousands of other people all over the world that go through this as well. Watching videos and reading blogs just like this one helped me get through everything and stay optimistic during the whole process, so I really hope this will help anybody going through the same thing. Thank you!<33333
Follow my Instagram for more progress pictures! – gabblegab
xoxo