Vidya Lutchman – Singer Songwriter Musician – Updates Releases Live Shows

It’s been over two months since I’ve played with my band and I’m in serious withdrawal. I’ve been making sure to practice on my own but I don’t get the same sense of fulfillment that I do when I’m sharing the experience with my band mates. I’m definitely not a solo player. I thrive on the social element of fleshing out my songs with other talented musicians.

Two of my band mates are still busy with some work that they have to wrap up this month. My drummer and I are going to get together to practice this Saturday. Hey two is better than one… well it’s always felt that way to me anyway.

It’s official. Last Wednesday the orthodontist delivered the long awaited news – I’m done widening my jaw. Although it seemed like forever the orthodontist did keep to his initial estimate which was that it would take approximately 30 days for the process to be complete.

The gap between my two front teeth is quickly closing in, should be another week to two weeks before it’s back to normal. Hopefully the teeth will drift back together in somewhat of a straight fashion otherwise I’ll have to deal with that anomaly until the braces go on which will only be in 6 months time once the bone has fully healed from my jaw expansion surgery.

My face is still puffy and my surgeon informed me last week that the puffiness will last a month to two months.

As for the music, I’ve been trying my best to practice on my own even though my singing sounds a little funny with my gap. I have to learn how to exhale without loosing all of my breath through the space between my front teeth! Okay I exaggerate slightly :)

I’m pretty anxious to get back into regular practice mode with the band but I’ll have to wait until a couple of my band mates are through with some work that they have to get finished. Until then I’ll try to keep motivated to practice on my own. Boo :(

I just saw the orthodontist today and what was supposed to be my final day of turning the key on my widener has turned into yet another week. Good thing I didn’t throw away the key! As much as I’d like this to be over it’s better to get it done right otherwise the surgery would have been all in vain. Gotta keep looking at the big picture, right? :)

I’m looking forward to practicing again soon. A couple of my band mates are conveniently busy with some work of their own right now so once that’s wrapped up we’ll be able to reconvene with the music. Although my singing is nothing to brag about now with the 7 millimeter gap between my two front teeth, I can still get by for practice purposes. Plus the band and I will be focusing mainly on getting the arrangements done on our newer songs.

Thursday will finally be the last day that I have to turn the key on my widener. The orthodontist told me that it will take 2 weeks from that point for the gap to close and you have no idea how much I am looking forward to that! I feel like such a monster and I’m completely self-conscious now. 7 millimeters is no small space especially when it’s square in the middle of your two front teeth for everyone to see!!

Also, as a result of all the widening my face is still a bit swollen so I don’t feel like I look like my normal self. Hopefully the weeks will fly by and I won’t be obsessing over this anymore.

Today I picked up the guitar and tried singing for the first time since the operation which has been about a month now. The space makes it difficult to articulate so my words end up sounding a bit slurred at times, kind of like the way a 5 year old sounds when they’re belting out a tune. Once the gap has closed this shouldn’t be an issue. I guess we will have to see in two weeks time.

The day of the surgery came and went and it’s now just over a week since I got the operation for my upper jaw expansion.

The first couple of days were not without their trying moments. One of the toughest parts is first waking up from the surgery. The surgeon warned me ahead of time of some of the challenges I would be facing but they always sound tame until you have to actually undergo them. One is the constant stream of nose bleeding that lasted well up to two days. Sleeping was my only respite and sleep I did for a full two days without eating. As you can imagine that will easily render one pretty weak by the time you do try and get up. My first attempt at getting up was quickly forced to a halt when I blacked out for the first time in my life and was well on my way to hitting the floor but not before Ty got a chance to catch me! That’s my man :)

The other tough part comes later on when the reality of my situation started to sink in a little more. One I have to stick to eating soft foods for the next 6 months until the bone has repaired itself. For those who know me well, not being able to eat like I normally do is a huge deal. It had barely been a week of eating pureed foods and I was already dreaming about bitting into a crunchy piece of toast!

Then there’s the growing space between my two front teeth. My orthodontist needs me to turn the key on my expander one to two times a day for a month to create a 5 millimeter gap. The surgeon already made 20 turns on the expander during my operation once he created the fracture in my palate. My orthodontist needs to see that gap to make sure he has the room he needs to straighten my teeth when it comes time for the braces once the expander is off.

I’m writing from the cottage and I can’t say I’m looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. Most of the swelling is gone and I currently have a 4 millimeter gap between my two front teeth (they are moving a lot faster than scheduled) but I still feel like hiding away in a hole.

I got my appliance in. I was brave at first, taking it all in stride until I got home and I tried eating my first meal. What a nightmare! Sure it sounds like I’m exaggerating but for someone who loves food as much as I do this is probably one of the worst offenses I’ve had to endure. With this new intrusion in my mouth, basically a metal retainer that’s glued to the top of my palate just the simple act of chewing and swallowing my food has become a painstaking process.

That night I tossed and turned in bed. I dreaded what the next 9 months would be like with this new appliance handcuffed to the inside of my mouth. I couldn’t picture myself ever being able to get used to it. I started to freak out. It may well have been the closest I’d ever been to experiencing a panic attack. I could put a halt to this all right now, cancel the surgery and the braces I thought to myself and be done with it. So what, I have to have gum surgery for the rest of my life – Anything is better than having to deal with this hell! But then I reasoned that I had come this far with the process and I knew that it was the best decision for me so I had to stick with it.

Next thing I knew it was morning. I actually managed to fall asleep somehow. Things didn’t seem so horrible anymore, maybe I just had a chance to get over the initial fear of it all. I can’t say that I’m feeling completely at ease but I’m at least starting to get used to it. And that’s a good step forward since the worst is yet to come with my surgery around the corner.

Here are some photos to give you an idea of what the appliance in my mouth looks like. The expander is much like a retainer except that its fused to my palate. I will have to keep it in my mouth for six to nine months after the surgery which is coming up very soon.