It all sounded like a “chicken soup recipe” to me.. and I was the chicken being cooked…!
On the occasion of *World Plastic Surgery Day* I would like to express my gratitude towards the Surgeons who operated on me and gave me a new life.
Dr. Amresh Baliyarsigh (Plastic Surgeon), Dr. Jayesh Vahanwala (Maxillofacial surgeon) & Dr. Sudesh Mishra (specialised Dentist), all based out of Mumbai, are the angels sent to me by God.🙏
Back in 2013 I was diagnosed with a tumor (Mixoma) in my lower jaw (mandible).
It all started with a small swelling (peanut size) in the lower left gum. As It was not painful, I was delaying my appointment with the dentist.
Being a mother to 6 month old twins and a working woman, I was totally unaware about the silent killer which had eaten up half of my lower jaw bone leaving a wafer thin lining, that could have broken anytime even with a small impact.
Finally, a dentist friend who came to see my kids one day warned me about the swelling. I immediately took an appointment with a dentist who referred me to a Maxillofacial surgeon..
Later to my surprise I was informed that the tumour (lucky non cancerous) must have been growing in the jaw bone for years & must be operated immediately.
I was just 30 then!!
The process told by the doctor was terrifying, as I was going to lose more than half of my teeth in the lower jaw (11 to be precise).
A piece of my hip bone was taken and grafted in place of the removed infected bone. Surgery was done. (Not by the above mentioned doctor).
The pain, the stress, the trauma , the after surgery complications was one side of the story but to my misfortune after six months the grafted bone cracked, the surgery had failed 😖.
It was a *nightmare* !
Slowly my jaw started deforming as the bone was not accepted by the body. Later I understood from other doctors that the bone was not live (as they say) meaning it did not have the blood veins & hence the graft had not taken up.
I was told that I will have to undergo another surgery.
This time with a bone from my leg (Fibula), which has blood veins and will be stapled with the other veins in the jaw.
It all sounded like a “chicken soup recipe” to me.. and I was the chicken being cooked…!😄😄
Jokes apart.. But it was another most traumatic, extremely anxious and depressing period of my life.
I was not left with any choice.
Finally with the support of my husband, parents, sister, other family members, friends and mainly my kids who were just 2.5 years old at that time, I gathered all my feelings, fears & dumped them in a bin and courageously went ahead with the process.
My bosses then (at Jet Airways) were outstandingly supportive and understanding.
Tough times bring out the courage & strength in you to face the challenges & good people shower their love, care, support and blessings.
The surgery took place (this time with the above mentioned set of doctors) for 16 long hours, 4 days in the ICU & 15 days of hospitalization with a food pipe through the nose, multiple tubes injected in the body to drain the blood from the stitches, drips, painkillers, antibiotics and what not.. worst part was the bed pan (one realises the importance of walking to the bathroom by yourself at such times).
I was brought home with a plastered leg and many other cuts stitched in various places of my body.
But I must admit that I got the highest priority, attention and pampering from everyone🙈😊.. dark clouds with a silver lining. 😄
But there were many silver linings to my story .. My doctors who were kind and understanding listened to my complaints patiently and showed sympathy with the right dose of medication and conditions.
Salute to their confidence in bringing the best out of a spoiled chicken soup… I was back with a set of artificial teeth (implants) .
Today I can eat panipuri & chakli without any challenge (what more one wants) 😁😛.
My flight (metaphoric for my life) has encountered bad weather, rough patches, severe turbulences, windshears and even bouncy landings couple of times .. but I took off again for a smooth landing this time with the help of perfectly trained skilled surgeons. 😇
Today I want to thank all my doctors, my rock solid husband, my lovely parents (strong mother & kind father ), my sweet sister who stood my me, my cousin Neeta and her husband Kunal, my dear friend Pushpa (dentist) and Sneha (gifted me a book “Secret”) who gave me courage, took care of me throughout & brought me out of the most toughest part of my life. 🙏
This long message was required to acknowledge and pay gratitude to all of them 🙏
An ever grateful,
Poonam
Postscript: Should any person within your knowledge needs this type of treatment, I would be more than happy to help with first-hand guidance. You may please contact me through contact@seekmediation.com
Yes, that’s me today:
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