A Step in the Right Direction

Keira is a very special baby. At such a young age, she has already received a miracle of healing allowing her to overcome her spinal cord cyst and regain her strength. She went from being way behind in her development to being ahead of most babies her age. It's as if God didn't want us worrying any more, so he left us no doubt about her physical abilities.

As soon as she could stand, that's all she wanted to do. She much preferred being on her feet than crawling. Then as soon as she could stand, she took a great interest in walking. She quickly learned how to walk around furniture and walls and loved when we would walk her across the room saying, "Walky walky, Baby. Walky walks!"

Every time she stood up on her own, I would encourage her to take steps with no luck- until today. I stood her a few steps in front of me and let her get her balance. Then, while Art watched, I let go and she took her first two steps. She did it two times in a row! She hasn't totally taken off across the room yet, but she is definitely walking at nine months old just like I did.

"Standy Uppies, Baby!"

A New Life

I finally got my braces off today and I never expected this day to be full of so many emotions. I am so excited just to have straight teeth again and hopeful that my corrected bite will result in some relief for my jaw joint disorder. I have suffered for the past three years with my jaw telling me when I'm done eating instead of my stomach. I can't bite into an apple or eat corn on the cob. I can hardly make it through a sandwhich or a hamburger. I can't kiss, I can't even smile like I used to. You don't realize just how much you use your jaw for until it doesn't work right.

As a young adult with braces, I have been very self conscious about my braces for the past two years and constantly felt like my appearance dwarfed my professionalism. I am already very young, working in a world of people twice my age, so I feel like I have to constantly fight to prove I'm not a kid which is hard to do when you have braces on. I'm just glad that my appearance will reflect my age now.

More than any other emotion I have felt today, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment and independence. When I got my braces on, I was under the impression that my dad's dental insurance would pay for half of the cost. The day after I got my braces on, my dad e-mailed me and told me that he took me off of his insurance. I was devastated. Even though it has been difficult for me to pay the approximately six thousand dollar bill, I did it- and I did it myself. Looking back, I realize that was the final tie I had to my father and it solidified my independence from him and helped me learn I can provide for myself entirely.

Lastly, I am so glad to be done with the conflict with my old orthodontist who totally screwed me over. I feel like I finally won the battle. It's so good to not have a daily reminder of him in my mouth any more. Never ever go to Dr. Donald Snyder. EVER. I mean it. I do, however highly recommend Dr. Bruce Havens, who finished up my braces when no one else would even take a look at them. Even though it cost me more to have them finished somewhere else, I knew I had to stand up for myself and defend the truth.

I feel like today was the dawn of a new life- a life without braces- a life of independence.

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER