Some people have the misfortune of being born with chronic conditions, medical maladies that they have to deal with from their time they’re born, all the way into adulthood. Others develop illnesses later on in life, unexpected issues that crop up for seemingly no reason at all and could be deadly. And there there are those of us who develop normally, remaining relatively healthy and wondering how we got so lucky. Ellie Jones doesn’t fit into any of those categories. She’s a young woman who didn’t even realize that she had an issue until she was 14, and what transpired next changed the trajectory of her entire life. Her condition wasn’t life-threatening, but it did damage her mental health in more ways than one. See how it was diagnosed, what they did to treat it, and ultimately, how major of a transformation it really was, below. You’re not going to believe her before-and-after photos.When she went to get braces at the age of 14 and the orthodontist realized her jaw hadn’t grown since she was eight.
This would begin the long and painful process of correcting her jaw, a six-year journey that certainly wasn’t easy — but was definitely worth it.
“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.”
They basically transformed the entire structure of her face, and now she looks like a totally different person.
She had her jaw cut horizontally and vertically, and a year later opted for corrective surgery on her chin, which was too small for her face.
“I mostly just felt relieved – I finally felt like I could be myself,” she said.
**Now, Ellie’s confidence has grown exponentially, and you can hear her talk more about her transformative journey in the video below.**