Dr. Mike,

Well, I was searching on the net that night because it's in discussion about whether I can have the surgery that MAYBE can make lower dentures possible. And I found this fantastic site, and who's logged in, but a dentist! Even you weren't, though, you were the first person on the site that I got to "know" a bit. Even if I hadn't had bunches of post-treatment questions that I was anxious to find answers to, there you were. Right after I joined I started looking at some of your posts to see if you had said anything about something like my case. I know you're not here AS a dentist, but all have to admit you have considerable knowledge on the subject.

My journey over the past 2 years was pretty rocky and I almost didn't make it, but I'm doing pretty well now. (Please feel free to read my intro post from a few days ago, the 20th.)

In October I'm going to the Docs at Shands about surgery to make it possible for me too have lower teeth, though no guarantees. They could do the surgery and it might not work. They said I could have upper teeth any time, but it might look worse by highlighting the lack of support for my lower lip. If they do decide I can have the surgery, I'm sure I'll have to move back to Gainesville for those 30 dives in the HB chamber. My RO, head of my team, was wary of it, but says that as long as these particular dental/oral/facial surgeons are involved, it's OK with him.

So wish me luck. I'm very nervous about any more surgery anywhere even near my mouth, but it sure would be nice to have teeth. The Doc asked what I wanted, and I told him that I wanted to get back as much as possible to "normal". It would be wonderful to be able to smile again.

Lani