Yes, I broke my jaw. Yes, I'm fine.

To all of my beautiful, caring, and concerned friends who keep asking...
Yes, I did break my jaw (in three places, actually); and yes, I am fine.

Gasp! But Liz, how ever did you do that?!

This past Saturday, I had lovely adventures in New Buffalo with my bestie Danielle, her boyfriend Joe, and our friend Jim. It was a magical day of sand castles, swimming, and laughter. I still consider it the most fun day of my summer so far. Toward the end of the day, we were climbing the big rocks on the beach, something I do every single time I'm in New Buffalo. This time, I somehow slipped on the rocks and landed chin-first. It happened very quickly, and no, I don't really remember exactly how. The impact resulted in two hairline fractures- one on my chin and one on the right side of my jaw- and a clean break on my left condyle (part of the TMJ). I also bit the sides of my tongue pretty well (there was an awful lot of blood), bruised my left knee and the palm of my right hand, and had five stitches in my chin. A few of my teeth were also kicked slightly out of place.

That's awful! Are you okay?


Miraculously (and I do mean that), none of my fractures require surgery. Tuesday, the wonderful Dr. Benson of Michigan City, IN, reset my jaw and wired my mouth shut. My jaw will be wired like this for two weeks and then held shut with rubber bands for a week. The fractures will (basically) heal on their own. Yes, I still have many hurdles to overcome, and yes, I'm quite sore. I have a prescription for Norco, a relatively strong painkiller that I take every four hours. You will also find me frequently holding a bag of frozen peas to my face. Next summer (when I'm living at home and not running all over the country), I'll have to get braces (again) to straighten my teeth and further correct the damage to my bite.

Someone was really looking out for you!


Yes, yes, Someone was. I've been joking that I'm the only person who could trip and wind up breaking their jaw in three places, but this could easily have been a more traumatic injury. God has really been on my side this week. It's been a humbling reminder of exactly how perfect His plans are. My parents have repeatedly pointed out that I could have hit my eye, or my head, or even suffered brain or spinal damage from my fall. I am very, very blessed to be doing as well as I am, and I thank God for watching out for me. I mean, honestly...my biggest concerns are that I can't brush the inside of my teeth and I had to remove my lip piercing...WOW I am blessed!! I am talking, walking, and laughing with my family and friends. This coming Tuesday, I will still be leaving to spend my summer with the Troopers!!

 I am very, very thankful to be on the road to recovery, and to have been kept as safe and healthy as I am. So, thank you to everyone for your concern, support, and prayers...but yes, I am doing quite well and I will be fine!! (Although, I probably won't climb the rocks at the beach any time soon...)