Sommer's Smile

Hiya! :) My name is Sommer and I want to thank you ALL for your support whether it is physical, emotional, spiritual, or financial. It’s SO hard for me to say that I need help and I’ve resisted it for a VERY long time, but so many of my friends and family have encouraged me to speak up about my situation and honestly I just can’t put it off anymore. Some background on me for those who don’t know me (and some extra details for those who do) – I’m a little person and am no stranger to some rather unusual medical issues / procedures. Since age 11 I’ve had hip replacements, back surgeries, and over 30 other major surgeries. I was even in a body cast at one point and had to learn how to walk again. I’m now 39 years old, married to the man of my dreams, and consider myself blessed beyond measure.

Although I still deal with many medical issues, there is one medical issue that I continue to struggle with above and beyond what I consider my normal, everyday. I have a bone degeneration disease that has attacked my jaws and teeth. I’ve been battling with both medical and dental insurance for more than 4 years while my teeth continued to wear away and fall out. I stay sick and in pain because of broken teeth, exposed nerves, ulcers, abscesses, and other infections. We have a plan of action available to prevent my jaw from collapsing, but we have hit one dead end after another in finding a way to finance it. Medical insurance refuses to pay for “elective” work until the jaw actually collapses and requires a feeding tube and reconstructive surgery. Obviously, we’d like to avoid that. Dental insurance will “cover” it, but maxes out at $1,500 coverage per year. The total amount for the procedure and the prosthesis is about $50,000 and about $25,000 is required up front before they can do the procedure. Normally, this wouldn't be too large of a problem..but with the costs of all my other surgeries & daily medication..it has just been so hard for us to keep up! 

A few weeks ago, things changed that made it impossible to wait any longer to take action. My teeth and jaw became so infected that the only resort was to pull them all immediately, wait for the infection to heal, and then plan the implant / prosthesis procedure to reinforce the jaw. They have STRONGLY encouraged this to happen within the next 4 months. This means we have very little time to come up with $25,000 or I could face even more severe problems.

So here I am. I always try to present a positive outlook to a world that is entirely too pessimistic in my opinion..and I have based my life outlook on faith that God has and will always pull me through whatever I’m facing. All I want is to be well enough to be a good wife for my wonderful husband, serve God, and be a blessing in return to all of my friends and family who have blessed me SO much! Asking for help is hard, and I've never had to ask in over 30 surgeries, but this is me...finally asking for help. I plan to keep up with my experiences with mini documentary videos so even if you’re unable to help financially I welcome you to join me & send your good thoughts and prayers during this particularly terrifying journey.

Love Always,
Sommer @~>~