Help My Mom Smile Again

Hi, my name is Chelsea and I’m fundraising for the oral surgery and dentures my mom needs.

My mom is one of the most beautiful people I have ever known. She cares much more about everyone else than she ever does about herself. No matter what we have gone through in life, she has always been there with a smile and assurance that everything will be just fine — and unconditional love to make sure it truly was just fine.

At this point it has been years since I’ve seen my mom really smile because of issues with her teeth. She can barely eat anything unless it’s soft. She lives off of yogurt and peanut butter for the most part which is terribly unhealthy especially for someone with the medical issues that she has (which are explained in detail below along with the oral care she needs) but it also means she cannot eat dinner with the family or enjoy eating out with friends. Her jaw has shifted completely due to the damage to her teeth and it causes a lot of pain along with making it difficult for her to speak clearly. She is very embarrassed as well and no matter how many times she is told she’s beautiful no matter what, it’s a small help in the grand scheme of things.

I think it’s good to give some background on this amazing SURVIVOR I’m so blessed to call “Mom”.

At 3 years old she went into the hospital to have her left leg amputated above the ankle due to a birth defect. She NEVER let her disability stop her from doing anything. My mom is the type of person who has always been able to see the good in a situation. Never have I known her to let things get her down regardless of how hard they get. Whether it’s financially, emotionally or physically, nothing stops her.

Fast forward to 1996, my mom had just given birth to my youngest of 3 brothers. She started feeling generally unwell and sought medical attention. She eventually would end up being diagnosed with Graves’ disease and needing to have her thyroid zapped with radiation. I remember missing her while she stayed at my grandma’s house after the radiation because she couldn’t be around anyone. Shortly after the radiation, she was back in the hospital - this time with a blood clot that was thrown to her right leg resulting in 9 vascular surgeries in 11 days where they had to completely reconstruct her leg in an effort to save it from having to be amputated. They did save the leg but she spent 4 months in the hospital and was told she was never going to walk again due to the blood clot injury alone but adding in her prosthetic on the other leg? They said no way would she walk again.

What did she do? She rented a house that was situated at the top of a hill and the only way to get to the front door from the driveway was to walk up some of the steepest outdoor stairs I’ve ever seen. I was a kid at the time but it was a huge incline and at least 15-20 steps. She not only walked but she ran her own businesses and raised 5 of her own kids, along with my own daughter who was born when I was 15 years old and she even had another child, my little sister who is 20 years my junior. My mom is an absolute hero. I have no words for what an amazing woman she is. She ALWAYS perseveres and does it with a beautiful smile.

About 5 years ago my mom started experiencing a lot of swelling in her legs which eventually got worse and worse and she was diagnosed with lymphedema. Not only does this swelling cause severe pain in her already extremely painful limbs but it causes stress on her body’s other functions and she struggles to stand, walk or even sit. The doctors cannot do anything for her lymphedema because she has so much trauma already in her legs that it simply isn’t an option for her. So she will have to suffer through the lymphedema and it will get worse over time, it’s already spreading to other areas of her body.

EVEN WITH all of the things my mom has already struggled through in her life, she always had a smile which always shined bright through every single dark time I’ve seen. Until now.

My mom has been having problems with her teeth for years and being on a fixed income, she doesn’t have access to the funds needed for dental care. Her government insurance doesn’t cover it at all. She has been through so much trying to get her teeth fixed but it’s proven to be the most difficult thing because of the price and the work involved.

I’ve made this fundraiser to ask for help with paying for my mom to feel confident in her smile. Her teeth need to be removed completely and she will need jaw surgery that will cut her lower jaw and put it back into alignment. She then will need to be fitted for dentures. None of this is covered by insurance. We found a place that would charge nearly $10,000 for the entire process but they do not do proper anesthesia so she would need to be awake and given only a Valium and some local anesthesia for complete teeth extraction and major jaw surgery in one sitting. I wouldn’t wish that type of pain on anyone, but my mom has surely been through enough pain for one lifetime.

We have found another provider who has quoted that it would cost around $18,000 to have proper anesthesia for the procedure, the extractions, the jaw surgery and full dentures. Please help me by sharing this fundraiser or donating if you are able to. I would really like to help my mom. Thanks for reading this.