Where I’ve Been, Health Scares, and Why Patient Advocacy is Crucial

It’s been…quite the summer….

This is a very difficult post to write, but I’ve finally mustered up the courage to discuss what’s been going on over the past few months.

Firstly, I greatly appreciate the emails, LinkedIn messages, and even texts from those that I’ve met through this platform.

Knowing that people care makes a huge difference when you’re going through a complex health issue.

To get folks up to speed that might be new or have missed other posts about this…I had orthognathic surgery in April 2021.

In layman’s terms, I had both of my jaws cut out from my skull, re-configured, and put back in via titanium plates and screws.

Some of you are probably wanting to vomit reading this.

Why did I do this to myself?

To answer the question, my jaws never grew correctly….as you can see in the photo below on the left….I had a huge class two, anterior open bite. This means my lower jaw was underdeveloped, and my upper jaw had too much bone. As a consequence, my front teeth could not touch.