A NEW START

...kind of...for me, that is.  How so?  Well, the story is this:  recently I had oral surgery.  My old teeth had to come out.  And so now I have new (false) teeth.  So yes, that means I have kind of made a new start in life...in my mouth, no less.  Some of the back story:

Many of you know how it is.  Moebius Syndrome can be especially hard on one's teeth.  That was certainly the case, often, for me.  From my earliest days, my teeth always gave me some problems.  Some of them came in kind of funny from the start; my mouth and gums I think were shaped a little differently; therefore my teeth were a little bit harder to take care of from day 1; I surely did not always do the best job I could have in taking care of them (though I imagine many of us, with Moebius or no, could say something like that); and of course, to talk with Moebius--moving our mouth and our gums in order to say certain words--can affect our teeth as well.  Saying certain words means we have to move our mouth in a certain way; and sometimes that means our upper teeth will strike a certain lower tooth while we talk.  That's not always good for them.  It can lead to broken and lost teeth, etc etc...well, those of you who have Moebius know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, finally the time had come, something had to be done.  It was time for me to get new teeth.  So a couple of weeks ago the surgery came; and now I have...gasp!...dentures. 

Now first of all I don't want to kid anyone--if you don't absolutely have to go this route, I'd say--don't.  Best thing to do is:  take good care of your teeth!  Keep the ones you have.  Because when you first have this surgery, it first of all involves some days of pain.  And then, there's getting used to your new teeth--dealing with their unfamiliarity...trying to learn to eat with them (and having to stick first with soft foods---I still even now, two weeks out, can't eat anything too terribly hard or chewy; still lots of soft foods for me)...hoping that your new teeth will fit and getting used to the way they fit, and the way they feel...and of course--especially for me, given that I teach--learning how to once again talk normally with them.  I've had to learn certain things all over again.  For example:  for persons with Moebius, drinking liquids can sometimes be a bit of a trial, given that our mouths and lips don't move "normally", and we don't have full lip closure.  But I in my over 50 years of life had learned to drink stuff fairly well, without too much sloppiness.  But now, with these new teeth (that sometimes, especially early in the day, when you've just put them in, sometimes move around a bit) I had to kind of learn how to go about it in a bit of a different way.  I've had to learn to drink things differently (using big cups for some reason helps).  And in talking, there are certain things that I say that sound pretty normal--pretty much like they did before, prior to my getting my teeth.  But other things to me sound different, maybe a bit thicker, though I think it's getting better each day.  But it's definitely been an adjustment.

But the good news is that, well...it could definitely be a lot worse.  It was good to get what broken teeth, etc I had left, out of my mouth.  And I've tried to be very faithful in wearing these new teeth; you can't get used to them if you don't wear them.  But you do get used to them.  And as time goes on one does get the hang of talking more effectively with them.  As time goes on, they begin to feel a bit more normal.  And you know what I think has helped me--what, indeed, helps all of us with Moebius?

It's this:  look, we're used to this.  We're used to compensating.  We're used to trying to do "normal" things with the tools that we have, meaning we're used to adjusting.  We're used to trying to make it work.  We have to deal with new situations all the time--people who don't know us, situations we haven't been in before.  And we learn to deal.  We do it all the time.  It also helps to have good support.  My wife Lisa has been a big help.  The first full day I had my new teeth, I told her I didn't know if I could handle this...I was having a hard time talking, the teeth didn't seem to fit right.  Lisa told me to have patience, it would get better...and it has.  My son Ethan at first wondered what the deal was with my teeth; I think he wondered when I'd look again as I did before.  But I just told him that what happened was--the doctor had given me new teeth.  Wasn't it great?  That seemed to make sense to him.  When he pats me on the shoulder or something, he always takes care to assure me that he will not  touch me on my face; he knows it's still a bit tender. :+)

So, there are new beginnings, always.  This happens to be mine.  But I'm hanging in there and dealing as best I can.  But then that's what we all do, every day--right?  Whatever comes our way, we just try to find ways to handle it.

And you'll find your way, too.  As we smile from our hearts...always! :=)