Ellie Jones from Wales was born with the facial deformity condition meaning her teeth were not aligned. When the Rhyl woman went to have her braces fitted to straighten her teeth, aged 14, consultant orthodontist Joy Hickman realised her jaw had not grown since she was eight-years-old.
Over the next six years Miss Hickman worked with consultant maxillofacial surgeon Emma Woolley at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd to transform Ellie’s looks and her whole life’s outlook.
She underwent her first operation at the age of 16 and Ellie, who is now 20, said: “It was really painful, but had to be done to sort the problem. Continue...
“I was on a liquid diet for about a month, which was really hard, and I couldn’t talk properly – I had to use a notepad to communicate.
“After a while I was able to mumble a few words, and had a lisp for a while due to how swollen my mouth was.”
The surgery paid almost immediate dividends: “About six months after it was my Year 11 prom and it looked good.”
Her jaws were cut horizontally and vertically, then a year later she endured more corrective surgery on her chin, which was also misshapen: “I’d always felt like my chin was too small, so the second procedure, which was optional, made another big difference.
“I mostly just felt relieved – I finally felt like I could be myself.”
“I was shy but now I feel really confident. It has changed my whole life.”
No comments:
Post a Comment