Reason for this blog

Hi everyone!

My name's Lindsay and I'm on my way to having jaw surgery in the spring of 2012. I've known for a few years that the only way of properly correcting my bite is to have jaw surgery, but it still hasn't been an easy decision. At first my mindset was one of total denial, and I convinced myself that nothing was wrong with me and that nothing needed to be fixed. I was relatively happy with my appearance, and I felt that my bite was something I could learn to live with. I hated the thought that I wasn't "normal," and I felt embarrased to admit it. I was also terrified that if I went through with the surgery that things would turn out worse than they were initially. I had a lot of jaw joint pain when I was younger, and I feared that the surgery would trigger that pain again. I was also afraid that I wouldn't like the look of my new face, and there's no undo button after surgery! However, the idea of surgery has floated around in my head for a few years now and I've come to terms with it, and reading all the amazing jaw surgery blogs on the internet has given me so much encouragement!

So, this leads me to my reasons for keeping a jaw surgery blog of my own:

#1) To encourage others who are contemplating jaw surgery, and to show them that they're not alone. I've been so inspired by the stories and pictures of other jaw surgery bloggers that I'd love to add my experience to the mix! Hopefully I will encourage someone else out there who is in a similar situation. I've also gleaned some invaluable information about jaw surgery from the blogs I've read. There's nothing quite like learning from firsthand experience!

#2) To keep my family and friends in the loop. Instead of answering 20 emails a day from curious and concerned friends and family members during recovery, I'll use this blog to update everyone at once. This is a slightly selfish reason to keep a jaw surgery blog, but I've heard that I won't have much energy during recovery so I better use my time efficiently! I can also refer to my blog if anyone I know is questioning why I need the surgery. It's easier and less humiliating to refer them to a blog than trying to explain in person all of the things that need fixing with my teeth and face while pointing at myself and making weird facial expressions.

#3) To keep myself occupied while I'm recovering on the couch! Recovery sounds like a long and painful process to me at this point, and I'll need something to keep me occupied other than trying to eat and sleep! It'll also be a good tool to keep me focussed on the positives of my recovery, rather than on the negatives. I can look back at previous posts and see how far I've come.

Well, those are my main reasons for keeping a jaw surgery blog. Now all I have to do is maintain my motivation to post consistently during recovery, which might be easier said than done!