Re: sara and carol

[Guest guest]

Hi Amy

Awwww that's sweet of you re: the driving me back into the city after

my surgery:-) Carol actually provided me with the name of a company.

I'll also ask when I have my pre-admin testing app at the LIJ if they

recommend any one. Worse comes to worse I'll use the same company I

used once to go and see Dr. Sachs from Manhattan.

I have also been mad busy getting ready for graduation from my master

degree. Yesterday was my first ceremony and tomorrow is the Columbia-

wide ceremony. I am also in the process of moving apartments and

doing job interviews. So much activity going on and I am wiped out. I

keep on telling myself that I need to take it easy for the surgery.

Don't want to get sick and have to postpone the whole thing, or worse

yet, get sick a few days after like you did Amy! That sounded

horrible!

My next visit apart from a teeth cleaning with the dentist is May

31st. May 31st is actually a BUSY day for me. I get my hooks put on,

plus have to go to LIJ for pre-admin testing and then my pre-op

discussion with Dr. S. And then June 6th it's surgery time. Can't

believe how time is flying by so quickly.

I must say, reading how you and Carol are recovering so well is very

encouraging for me. Some of the people on this board have had such a

nightmare. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will have an

uneventful and relatively easy recovery. I will be left on my own for

a few days about 10 days post-op. My mother is really worried about

it but I told her that if you could take care of 4 kids and Carol

could take care of her son then I can take care of myself for a few

days, even with a healing jaw:-)

Ooooh Israel. I'm envious. My mother often goes there with my step-

father who has family there. The scenery and the food are delicious.

Very similar to some parts of Italy my mother tells me. How many

weeks post-op will you be by the time you leave for the trip? Is Dr.

Sachs worried about you leaving or has he said that it will be fine?

Sara

> hi guys,

> i have been so busy i barely have time to go on the computer

> anymore, my family is taking a family trip to israel and my 10 yr

> old son is going to sleep away camp for the summer for the first

> time - so i have not had a minute to breath - thank god i am

feeling

> better-

> i have been getting a lot of comments on how i look and i notice

> people staring at me a lot- i have heard it all - " did you get a

> nose job " - " you lost so much weight " - " love your chin " - " you

look

> so different i did not even recognize you " - " when you talk your

> upper lip doesn't move it looks funny! " needless to say i was not

> laughing at the last one! i still have no feeling from in my nose

> and upper lip/roof of my mouth- which is a little frustrating being

> allergy season - but i guess i am not moving all my muscles yet

> either - be prepared for this cuz at times it gets frustrating.

>

> i am going back to dr sachs on thursday and i am actually bringing

> my 5 yr old who i think has the same jaw as me and i want to find

> out if there is any way to avoid her having this wonderful surgery -

> wish me luck!

> sara - when is your next appt? did you find a ride back to the

city

> from the hospital? i wish i could take you but my 3 yr old is

home

> from school early and i would not make it home for my other kids.

so

> sorry. it really is getting closer and i hope you are more excited

> than nervous cuz you are in the home stretch now . it would be

> great if we could all have our braces off for the new year i am

very

> much looking forward to that!!

> carol - how are you doing? how many more weeks till the wires are

> off? do you feel like time is crawling by? i hope the rest goes

by

> quickly and before you know it you will be eating mashed pot. and

> pasta like me!

> good luck - hope all is going well

> amy

[Guest guest]

Amy,

It sounds like things are going well in your neck of the woods. I'm

so pleased to hear it! I hope you have a fantastic time on your

trip. I'll be your 10 year old will love camp! I tried to get my

son to go over the last couple of years (he's 13 now) but he was just

never interested. Oh well, to each their own, right?!

People are staring at me too these days. But not for the same

reason! <giggle> I'm still very Cabbage Patch like - but getting less

swollen each day. I have major numbness as well - especially above

my upper lip and my lower nose. I sure do hope it starts to get

feeling - SOON!

My son, bless his heart, has my mouth. We are both seeing the same

Orthodontist. He had a palatal expander just like I did - only mine

was post surgery (my first surgery a couple of years ago) and his

didn't involve surgery. My Orthodontist explained that up until they

are in their teens, the bones inside a kids mouth are still

mallable. So, we were able to correct the upper jaw. He also had

bands to pull his lower jaw back (similar to the surgery I just had)

and his profile is wonderful! The results, so far, have been exactly

what we hoped and prayed for. So, my point is that there are plenty

of things that can be done so that our little ones don't have to go

through the same mess as us! I can't say that it will always be 100%

successful (I had braces and an expander as a kid too, but still have

to deal with all this as an adult.) but it's worth a try! I don't

know if you live on the island or not - but I'd be happy to put you

in touch with my Orthodontist. Some of the work he did was based on

appliances he created and is in the process of getting patented.

He's the best!

So, almost down to the 6 week mark. On Thursday I will be 25%

through my bout with being wired shut! I just keep hoping time will

speed up!

Take care,

Carol

> hi guys,

> i have been so busy i barely have time to go on the computer

> anymore, my family is taking a family trip to israel and my 10 yr

> old son is going to sleep away camp for the summer for the first

> time - so i have not had a minute to breath - thank god i am

feeling

> better-

> i have been getting a lot of comments on how i look and i notice

> people staring at me a lot- i have heard it all - " did you get a

> nose job " - " you lost so much weight " - " love your chin " - " you

look

> so different i did not even recognize you " - " when you talk your

> upper lip doesn't move it looks funny! " needless to say i was not

> laughing at the last one! i still have no feeling from in my nose

> and upper lip/roof of my mouth- which is a little frustrating being

> allergy season - but i guess i am not moving all my muscles yet

> either - be prepared for this cuz at times it gets frustrating.

>

> i am going back to dr sachs on thursday and i am actually bringing

> my 5 yr old who i think has the same jaw as me and i want to find

> out if there is any way to avoid her having this wonderful surgery -

> wish me luck!

> sara - when is your next appt? did you find a ride back to the

city

> from the hospital? i wish i could take you but my 3 yr old is

home

> from school early and i would not make it home for my other kids.

so

> sorry. it really is getting closer and i hope you are more excited

> than nervous cuz you are in the home stretch now . it would be

> great if we could all have our braces off for the new year i am

very

> much looking forward to that!!

> carol - how are you doing? how many more weeks till the wires are

> off? do you feel like time is crawling by? i hope the rest goes

by

> quickly and before you know it you will be eating mashed pot. and

> pasta like me!

> good luck - hope all is going well

> amy

[Guest guest]

Carol,

when I was younger, my dentist told my parents " rapid palate

expander. " This was probably the fourth time since I was a little

girl they had heard this. My mom's response... she had to pay for

her own braces when she was in her 20's, and therefore so should I.

Because of that, I now face surgery... and all my OD now keeps

muttering is " if you were only 12... " *sigh*

Kate

> > hi guys,

> > i have been so busy i barely have time to go on the computer

> > anymore, my family is taking a family trip to israel and my 10 yr

> > old son is going to sleep away camp for the summer for the first

> > time - so i have not had a minute to breath - thank god i am

> feeling

> > better-

> > i have been getting a lot of comments on how i look and i notice

> > people staring at me a lot- i have heard it all - " did you get a

> > nose job " - " you lost so much weight " - " love your chin " - " you

> look

> > so different i did not even recognize you " - " when you talk your

> > upper lip doesn't move it looks funny! " needless to say i was

not

> > laughing at the last one! i still have no feeling from in my

nose

> > and upper lip/roof of my mouth- which is a little frustrating

being

> > allergy season - but i guess i am not moving all my muscles yet

> > either - be prepared for this cuz at times it gets frustrating.

> >

> > i am going back to dr sachs on thursday and i am actually

bringing

> > my 5 yr old who i think has the same jaw as me and i want to find

> > out if there is any way to avoid her having this wonderful

surgery -

> > wish me luck!

> > sara - when is your next appt? did you find a ride back to the

> city

> > from the hospital? i wish i could take you but my 3 yr old is

> home

> > from school early and i would not make it home for my other kids.

> so

> > sorry. it really is getting closer and i hope you are more

excited

> > than nervous cuz you are in the home stretch now . it would be

> > great if we could all have our braces off for the new year i am

> very

> > much looking forward to that!!

> > carol - how are you doing? how many more weeks till the wires

are

> > off? do you feel like time is crawling by? i hope the rest goes

> by

> > quickly and before you know it you will be eating mashed pot. and

> > pasta like me!

> > good luck - hope all is going well

> > amy

[Guest guest]

hi

thanks for the response, i have an ortho that i like, but he seems

to have a wait and see approach. who is your ortho and where is he

located?

it seems what i have been reading that lots of people tried all the

orthodontics for years and still had to go ahead with the surgery- i

wish there was some type of crystal ball that someone can look

through and tell us what to do! for now my daughter is only 5 with

all her baby teeth so i can not imagine they would do anything yet.

my 9 year old alredy had a pallete expander in last year and it was

unbelievable to watch it work - each day we saw the front teeth

seperating and then when i stopped turning the key to expand it we

saw the space close up. for now we are just waiting on her also.

hope you are getting used to the stares , i found when i was out and

about and still had the splint in people were treating me

differently - but in a anice way - every time i spoke i sounded kind

of special and i found strangers going out of the way to be nice -

hope the same is for you- are you able to be out and about and have

people understand you? i would imagine it does get frustrating -

but each day does get closer to the end!

keep your spirits up and i will let you know what dr sachs says

about my 5 yr old on thursday,

amy

> > hi guys,

> > i have been so busy i barely have time to go on the computer

> > anymore, my family is taking a family trip to israel and my 10

yr

> > old son is going to sleep away camp for the summer for the first

> > time - so i have not had a minute to breath - thank god i am

> feeling

> > better-

> > i have been getting a lot of comments on how i look and i notice

> > people staring at me a lot- i have heard it all - " did you get a

> > nose job " - " you lost so much weight " - " love your chin " - " you

> look

> > so different i did not even recognize you " - " when you talk your

> > upper lip doesn't move it looks funny! " needless to say i was

not

> > laughing at the last one! i still have no feeling from in my

nose

> > and upper lip/roof of my mouth- which is a little frustrating

being

> > allergy season - but i guess i am not moving all my muscles yet

> > either - be prepared for this cuz at times it gets frustrating.

> >

> > i am going back to dr sachs on thursday and i am actually

bringing

> > my 5 yr old who i think has the same jaw as me and i want to

find

> > out if there is any way to avoid her having this wonderful

surgery -

> > wish me luck!

> > sara - when is your next appt? did you find a ride back to the

> city

> > from the hospital? i wish i could take you but my 3 yr old is

> home

> > from school early and i would not make it home for my other

kids.

> so

> > sorry. it really is getting closer and i hope you are more

excited

> > than nervous cuz you are in the home stretch now . it would be

> > great if we could all have our braces off for the new year i am

> very

> > much looking forward to that!!

> > carol - how are you doing? how many more weeks till the wires

are

> > off? do you feel like time is crawling by? i hope the rest

goes

> by

> > quickly and before you know it you will be eating mashed pot.

and

> > pasta like me!

> > good luck - hope all is going well

> > amy

[Guest guest]

wow - you really do sound busy too, congrats on your masters -what

is it in? and moving too? i hope you have someone helping you with

that i assume it is after the surgery? where in the city are you,

i lived on the upper west side before i got married (14 yrs ago!)

loved it there!

you should take it easy before the surgery - but truth be told i was

as healthy as can be when i walked into that hospital and lied down

on the operating table - they say it was a fluke that i got that

infection and it does not usually happen - they blamed it on the

hospital or the tube down my throat - in any event once the fever

broke i was better so you just need to remember keep drinking those

liquids as much as you can-

oh - something else i just remembered- my friend who was wired told

me he got nausious in recovery and then threw up - and it was not

fun - if you feel even a tiny bit nauseous you must tell them and

they will put an anti nauseau med in the iv - better safe than sorry.

also have your family bring paper and pens into recovery - as much

as you won't be wired it is still difficult to talk and was easier

to write things down. hope you don't mind my tips

congrats again on your masters!!

amy

> > hi guys,

> > i have been so busy i barely have time to go on the computer

> > anymore, my family is taking a family trip to israel and my 10

yr

> > old son is going to sleep away camp for the summer for the first

> > time - so i have not had a minute to breath - thank god i am

> feeling

> > better-

> > i have been getting a lot of comments on how i look and i notice

> > people staring at me a lot- i have heard it all - " did you get a

> > nose job " - " you lost so much weight " - " love your chin " - " you

> look

> > so different i did not even recognize you " - " when you talk your

> > upper lip doesn't move it looks funny! " needless to say i was

not

> > laughing at the last one! i still have no feeling from in my

nose

> > and upper lip/roof of my mouth- which is a little frustrating

being

> > allergy season - but i guess i am not moving all my muscles yet

> > either - be prepared for this cuz at times it gets frustrating.

> >

> > i am going back to dr sachs on thursday and i am actually

bringing

> > my 5 yr old who i think has the same jaw as me and i want to

find

> > out if there is any way to avoid her having this wonderful

surgery -

> > wish me luck!

> > sara - when is your next appt? did you find a ride back to the

> city

> > from the hospital? i wish i could take you but my 3 yr old is

> home

> > from school early and i would not make it home for my other

kids.

> so

> > sorry. it really is getting closer and i hope you are more

excited

> > than nervous cuz you are in the home stretch now . it would be

> > great if we could all have our braces off for the new year i am

> very

> > much looking forward to that!!

> > carol - how are you doing? how many more weeks till the wires

are

> > off? do you feel like time is crawling by? i hope the rest

goes

> by

> > quickly and before you know it you will be eating mashed pot.

and

> > pasta like me!

> > good luck - hope all is going well

> > amy

[Guest guest]

Kate,

I feel for you ... and understand. My Mom was given options when I

was younger that she decided not to follow through on. I'll never

know how many of those choices put me in the postion I'm in today.

My Mom got very emotional after surgery when she was taking care of

me. I didn't realize that she carried guilt after all these years.

It's really hard to be a parent and to know what to do *all* the

time. I'm going to stick with my belief that things happen the way

they are supposed to ... and just hope that I'm right.

Take care,

Carol

> > > hi guys,

> > > i have been so busy i barely have time to go on the computer

> > > anymore, my family is taking a family trip to israel and my 10

yr

> > > old son is going to sleep away camp for the summer for the

first

> > > time - so i have not had a minute to breath - thank god i am

> > feeling

> > > better-

> > > i have been getting a lot of comments on how i look and i

notice

> > > people staring at me a lot- i have heard it all - " did you get

a

> > > nose job " - " you lost so much weight " - " love your chin " - " you

> > look

> > > so different i did not even recognize you " - " when you talk

your

> > > upper lip doesn't move it looks funny! " needless to say i was

> not

> > > laughing at the last one! i still have no feeling from in my

> nose

> > > and upper lip/roof of my mouth- which is a little frustrating

> being

> > > allergy season - but i guess i am not moving all my muscles yet

> > > either - be prepared for this cuz at times it gets frustrating.

> > >

> > > i am going back to dr sachs on thursday and i am actually

> bringing

> > > my 5 yr old who i think has the same jaw as me and i want to

find

> > > out if there is any way to avoid her having this wonderful

> surgery -

> > > wish me luck!

> > > sara - when is your next appt? did you find a ride back to the

> > city

> > > from the hospital? i wish i could take you but my 3 yr old is

> > home

> > > from school early and i would not make it home for my other

kids.

> > so

> > > sorry. it really is getting closer and i hope you are more

> excited

> > > than nervous cuz you are in the home stretch now . it would be

> > > great if we could all have our braces off for the new year i am

> > very

> > > much looking forward to that!!

> > > carol - how are you doing? how many more weeks till the wires

> are

> > > off? do you feel like time is crawling by? i hope the rest

goes

> > by

> > > quickly and before you know it you will be eating mashed pot.

and

> > > pasta like me!

> > > good luck - hope all is going well

> > > amy

[Guest guest]

Amy,

Sometimes the " wait and see approach " works ... sometimes, it

doesn't. I wish I had that crystal ball myself. There just

doesn't seem to be any way to know in advance if having work done as

a child will greater or lessen the odds for having work done as an

adult.

My son and I are both seeing Dr. Schwartz and Dr. Chris

Paladino in North Babylon. I just love them both!

Yes, people have mostly been nice to me. It's the folks at the

counter who don't look up and keep asking " what?! " that make me

angry! If they would only pay more attention to their customer, they

might see that I'm struggling with my words - and be a bit more

sympathetic or at least sensitive. But, really ... it hasn't been

too bad.

I can speak clearly enough to be understood by those who know me ...

but only for a period of time. My muscles get tired after a few

hours and then my speech becomes more difficult to decipher! I'm

looking forward to greate lengths of time - as I move forward.

Yes, I'd love to hear what Dr. Sachs says about your Daughter. I'll

keep my fingers crossed!

All the best,

Carol

> > > hi guys,

> > > i have been so busy i barely have time to go on the computer

> > > anymore, my family is taking a family trip to israel and my 10

> yr

> > > old son is going to sleep away camp for the summer for the

first

> > > time - so i have not had a minute to breath - thank god i am

> > feeling

> > > better-

> > > i have been getting a lot of comments on how i look and i

notice

> > > people staring at me a lot- i have heard it all - " did you get

a

> > > nose job " - " you lost so much weight " - " love your chin " - " you

> > look

> > > so different i did not even recognize you " - " when you talk

your

> > > upper lip doesn't move it looks funny! " needless to say i was

> not

> > > laughing at the last one! i still have no feeling from in my

> nose

> > > and upper lip/roof of my mouth- which is a little frustrating

> being

> > > allergy season - but i guess i am not moving all my muscles yet

> > > either - be prepared for this cuz at times it gets frustrating.

> > >

> > > i am going back to dr sachs on thursday and i am actually

> bringing

> > > my 5 yr old who i think has the same jaw as me and i want to

> find

> > > out if there is any way to avoid her having this wonderful

> surgery -

> > > wish me luck!

> > > sara - when is your next appt? did you find a ride back to the

> > city

> > > from the hospital? i wish i could take you but my 3 yr old is

> > home

> > > from school early and i would not make it home for my other

> kids.

> > so

> > > sorry. it really is getting closer and i hope you are more

> excited

> > > than nervous cuz you are in the home stretch now . it would be

> > > great if we could all have our braces off for the new year i am

> > very

> > > much looking forward to that!!

> > > carol - how are you doing? how many more weeks till the wires

> are

> > > off? do you feel like time is crawling by? i hope the rest

> goes

> > by

> > > quickly and before you know it you will be eating mashed pot.

> and

> > > pasta like me!

> > > good luck - hope all is going well

> > > amy

[Guest guest]

My parents have felt guilty, too. They have said if only we'd taken

you to a different orthodontist. He was supposed to have been the

best orthodontist in Manhatten at the time (1970's) and I started

when I was 7. There wasn't much they could then other than

straighten my teeth. I had all the headgear but I've been told that

was useless. Nowadays, they have appliances that can make the jaw

grow or not grow in certain ways while the kids are still young.

Hopefully our children will have better outcomes from their braces

than we did.

> > Carol,

> > when I was younger, my dentist told my parents " rapid palate

> > expander. " This was probably the fourth time since I was a

little

> > girl they had heard this. My mom's response... she had to pay

for

> > her own braces when she was in her 20's, and therefore so should

> I.

> > Because of that, I now face surgery... and all my OD now keeps

> > muttering is " if you were only 12... " *sigh*

[Guest guest]

,

I pray for that ... every day. From your lips - to God's ears!

Carol

> > > Carol,

> > > when I was younger, my dentist told my parents " rapid palate

> > > expander. " This was probably the fourth time since I was a

> little

> > > girl they had heard this. My mom's response... she had to pay

> for

> > > her own braces when she was in her 20's, and therefore so

should

> > I.

> > > Because of that, I now face surgery... and all my OD now keeps

> > > muttering is " if you were only 12... " *sigh*

[Guest guest]

Hay girls,

At the age of 11 the OS told my mother, who was a single parent,

that I needed this done. Our insurance would not cover it, and

there was no way in the world my mother could afford it. I too,

never knew how guilty she felt about this until I started on this

journey a few years back trying to find some way to financially do

this, and she supported me the whole time. She was so relieved when

I finally got braces on and was finally taking the first step to

make this right. What angers me now in looking back is that that

former OS never gave my mother any other option other than surgery,

even though I was only 11 and far from being full grown. My now 9-

year old appears to have the same problem starting, and I took her

to my ortho. " Yes, " he said, " there are appliances, and I will do

research to find what will best work for her so that we can avoid

surgery in the future. " So I now know to a small extent the guilt

that my poor mother has carried with her for 14 years, and I hope

and pray my own daughter does not have to go through all this pain

as she gets older. Here's hoping.

Connie

> > > > Carol,

> > > > when I was younger, my dentist told my parents " rapid palate

> > > > expander. " This was probably the fourth time since I was a

> > little

> > > > girl they had heard this. My mom's response... she had to

pay

> > for

> > > > her own braces when she was in her 20's, and therefore so

> should

> > > I.

> > > > Because of that, I now face surgery... and all my OD now

keeps

> > > > muttering is " if you were only 12... " *sigh*

[Guest guest]

Connie,

Thanks so much for sharing your story. I had no idea that my

situation was as common as it seems to be. I guess I should have

known ... but it's nice to be in good company.

Take care,

Carol

> > > > Kate,

> > > > I feel for you ... and understand. My Mom was given options

> when

> > > I

> > > > was younger that she decided not to follow through on. I'll

> > never

> > > > know how many of those choices put me in the postion I'm in

> > > today.

> > > > My Mom got very emotional after surgery when she was taking

> care

> > > of

> > > > me. I didn't realize that she carried guilt after all these

> > years.

> > > > It's really hard to be a parent and to know what to do *all*

> the

> > > > time. I'm going to stick with my belief that things happen

> the

> > > way

> > > > they are supposed to ... and just hope that I'm right.

> > > > Take care,

> > > > Carol