The next step...5 days away.

Wow, I can't believe how fast 6 months go by! 6 months ago today I was thinking tomorrow I go in for my 9th surgery. Fast forward to now and I'm saying to myself 5 more days and I'll be in for surgery 10! Time just doesn't slow down.

Well since the last time I posted about my next surgery being on January 3rd a bit has changed. My doctor was gone for 2 weeks in the beginning of December, I had my cone scan done while he was gone and when he came back he said there wasn't enough time for him to plan exactly what to do. This surgery on the 3rd was going to be a bigger surgery then expected, it wasn't just going to be taking out the mesh screen and screws and putting in the base of the implants. My doctor was hoping to construct the nasal base as well, but when he saw the x-ray of where my mouth is now he found that there was a lot more planning involved before he could just go in and place the implants. He has to create the 3D figure of my face on the computer and digitally place the implants to figure out exactly where to put them, but he wants to get it just right which would require more time.  So on December 16th we post poned the surgery. My doctor was hoping to have everything planned and ready to go either in February or March. Unfortunately this meant I would have to wait a few more months before I could get this screen and the screws out of my mouth.

My mom talked to my doctor's surgery planner who said there were two options available:
1) Wait a few more months and do everything in one surgery, and only deal with the cost of one surgery.
2) Split this surgery into a 2 part surgery where I could have the first one on January 3rd to only remove the screen and the screws. It would be too long of a surgery just to do in his surgerical room in his office building, which meant the cost of the surgery would be even more because of it being in a hospital. Basically double the cost of what this step could be if it were only done in one surgery.

Financially it was best to choose to wait a few months inorder to do it all at once. Not only that but also it would be best for me not to have as much anasthesia put into me in one year. If we fast forward to the future we could be looking at 3 or 4 more surgeries in this upcoming year which would put me at 3 or 4 more doses of anasthesia put into me in such a short amount of time. So with this thought out, my parents decided to post pone the surgery.

My mom describes me as one of those "ducks in a row" people. Always wanting everything in order and knowing what's coming next. The news that the surgery was going to be post poned was extremely disappointing. I was mostly upset about the news not just because it set us back in time with how soon I could be accomplishing the next to step, but because the amount of pain I was in was increasing. It was so bad that smiling ached, eating would send sharp pains throughout it, I could only talk for a little while before it starting hurting again. Usually I can tolerate pain, but when it started affecting my every day life it was becoming too much. The hole in my mouth has been growing daily. One of the sides where the mesh screen has been coming through it began making a clicking noise, which we figured couldn't be good. My mom is so great and like any mother she doesn't like seeing her kids in pain. She's always trying to find a way to fix things or find a way to get through it. Finally she gave in and called the doctor's office a few days ago and rescheduled my surgery to have it done in two parts. We got it rescheduled on the same day the surgery was originially to be on, January 3rd.

It's amazing to have such a supportive family. A family is irreplaceable and to have one like mine is something to be truly thankful for. It wasn't by accident that I was adopted into the Scheel family, but it was bigger than that. It was God's plan. My mom has always been here for me, every step of the way. All the orthodontist or dentist appointments, doctor check ups, pre-ops, surgeries, post surgeries, you name it she's always there. We are a team, without her I wouldn't be who I am now with all these surgeries. She's always teaching me and bringing be back to God as the ultimate one who's in control. This is our journey. So as we venture into this surgery, I just ask for prayer that everything goes well.

My mouth as it is now...

My surgery is in 1 month. The bone is continuing to grow daily. I have watched in my mouth as weeks pass the thinning of the layer of tissue that covers the titanium mesh on the right side of my mouth. A few weeks ago there was enough tissue to barely cover the titanium, the tissue was see through but still covering the sharpness of the bone and mesh screen. But as time has passed since then the bone has grown even more and stretched the tissue to the point where it can no longer cover the bone graft completely exposing a chunk of the the mesh screen and bone. It's painful no doubt about that, as I am getting anxious for this next surgery because it will remove this screen and the 5 screws that hold it in place. My mom and I took pictures of my mouth so that you are able to see what has grown in my mouth...wish we could have gotten a picture of us trying to get a picture of my mouth! My mom was holding open my mouth while I was trying to get a good clear picture of the bone grafts...Below are some pictures of my mouth how it is now...hope you don't find them too creepy :)

Here's the whole picture of my mouth

Here's the right side of my mouth

Left side of my mouth