Day 1: Back Story and Dentist Referral

Hi everyone! My name is Cassandra but people call me Cassi. When I was 12 years old I was put into braces. After 7 painstaking years, I told the orthodontist to take my braces off at the tender age of 18. I was about to graduate from high school and go to college, the last thing I wanted was to be the "brace face" girl. The orthodontist agreed and then told me, "you know, braces really didn't work for you. If you really want to look better, you need to get your jaw broken." To that I said f-ck you and left the office. I was happy. My teeth were straight (well, straighter than I was used to 7 years ago) and my smile was pearly white.
Then came college and boys and drinking and well, who had time to wear their retainers? By the time I was a senior in college my teeth were a hot mess. My bottom teeth were majorly crowded, my overbite was still horrible, and my top teeth were starting to jet out again. I kept thinking, my teeth aren't that bad. Every time I went to the dentist someone had to bring up jaw surgery and, let me tell you, I was not having it. No way, no how. I don't think you could have paid me to get surgery at that point. Fast forward to where I am now. I am 25 years old and I teach preschool in Illinois. I have to talk all day long and smile the whole day. I get headaches daily, cannot chew food properly, have restricted air flow, and have a very unflattering side profile. I finally broke down and decided that it was seriously time to consider my options.
I made a dentist appointment at a fabulous place here in Arlington Heights. I felt so comfortable and the dentist was easy to talk to. I told him about my problems and explained my history. He took one look at me and said, "you know what you need to do, you've been told it for a while now." I rolled my eyes, took a deep breath and realized that I needed to face the music. I would need to have jaw surgery. The dentist gave me a referral to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. I was barely out of the office when I dialed the number and made my consultative appointment. September 3rd would be the day I would start my jaw surgery adventure.