<div>Been a while since I needed one of these, but thankfully this one isn’t an emergency for a change. (Brace yourselves. I’m about to babble.)
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I’ll start with the problem. My teeth have to go. ALL of them. A number of factors are the reasons for this. First, there’s genetics. Both of my parents had dentures by the time they turned 50 because of receding gums. My brother had partials at 40. Then there’s diabetes, which has made me more susceptible to gum disease. Finally, there are my medications, some of which dry my mouth out, complicating the first two things on this little list. My gums have seriously receded to the point where a build-up of calculus is the only thing holding my teeth in place. All of my teeth are loose, even the ones that seem properly rooted. As my gums continue to recede, the risk gets higher that food particles will get trapped between the teeth and gums, leading to incredibly painful bouts of gingivitis. So, as I said, all of the teeth have to go.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>(The picture I posted is a tooth that snapped off without ever giving me an ounce of pain. Only AFTER it snapped did it become RIDICULOUSLY infected. No amount of local anesthetic would numb the site, and when the doctor applied pressure to remove what remained of the tooth, pus seeped out from all around it. It was a BAD time.)
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This introduces a new problem. I’ve been a Type 1 diabetic for more than 48.5 years. In the last seven years, I have been “The God of Diabetes,” meaning that the test used to measure a diabetic’s control, (an Hgb A1c), has been perfect, (between 6.0 and 7.0). That’s because I’ve found the balance needed between diet and insulin. I’d say exercise, but I’m no longer fit to workout. Carpal tunnel syndrome affecting my right hand, diabetic neuropathy atrophying most of the muscles in both hands, Charcot foot collapsing the arches and fusing the bones in my remaining foot, and my arthritic lower spine keep me from even dreaming of exercise. Now, I can manage the insulin part of that formula without teeth, but the diet part...? Yeah, I kinda NEED teeth.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The price for two full palates comes to $1,550. I’m terrible at math, so I’m going to boost that total to $1,600 and hope that will cover the $2.9% processing fee GFM will charge. The removal of my teeth will take three or four visits, but I can handle those costs.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>It's important to remember that I'm on an extremely limited income. Not long ago, a friend made a comment because she thought I was making around $2,000 a month. If that were the case, I wouldn't be here. No, thanks to a recent, outstanding COLA, I'm currently making a whopping $1,100 a month. That's why I'm in need of this help.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>“But Rob, what about dental insurance?” I hear you ask. This is where the usual drama that is my life comes into effect. Medicare doesn’t cover dental. Medicaid DOES (partially) with the right plan. There is exactly ONE plan with dental where I live. I’ve applied for it twice. Both times I was rejected and shunted to a different coverage. I called to find out why, and the answer was, “You didn’t qualify.” When I pressed further to find out what that even means, the answer was, “You just didn’t qualify.”
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Thanks. You were a big help.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>If I was still living in NY, this wouldn’t be a problem. NY Medicaid has dental. I wouldn’t have to ask for any help whatsoever... AGAIN.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>As I said at the start, however, this isn’t an emergency. The extractions, on a guess, will take between six to nine months, and then there’ll be a mandatory waiting period once it’s all removed so they don’t get a mold of my gums while they’re still swollen and healing. Extractions begin with the lower anterior teeth, the loosest of the bunch, on 9 May 2023. I suspect that my blood sugars will bounce like a rubber ball during this whole process, but that will end if I can get a new set of chompers funded.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I’m not going to ask people for big donations. If you could give $5.00 a month for the next six months or so, I should accumulate enough funding for dentures. Just $5.00. And if you share this with friends and family, the funding might happen faster, and I can cross this off my list of ongoing concerns. Oh, and I won’t be pleading for birthday or holiday gifts this year. New teeth will be more than enough. As per my previous begging sessions for aid, I’ll be thanking everyone individually.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>That’s the important stuff. Now here’s some UNimportant stuff. The one thing that cannot be fixed in all of this dentistry nonsense is my Class 3 bite. I’ve been such a psychological mess for so long that my tongue has been pushing at my teeth and gums while I sleep. This nocturnal exercise has resulted in realigning my jaw, giving me “The Underbite of the Gods!” Correcting this would require major surgery, and y’know what? I’m good. I’ve been getting by with this underbite for years. Besides, I’m turning 56 come July. I don’t need to charm anyone with a perfect smile anymore.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Did you read that last paragraph? Awww, you’re the greatest. I said it was unimportant and you read it anyway. That makes you awesome.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Remember, there’s no rush on this one. Give what you can, share with friends and family, and expect reminders from me every now and again until my goal is reached. And thanks for reading this rather lengthy plea.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Sincerely,
</div>
<div>Rob Meadows
</div>

Ivyan Espejo

Anonymous

John Gallo

McIntyre Watts

Benjamin Bernard

Jesse Garrison

Diabetic Needs Dentures to Maintain Control

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

Eligible for Profile Share Badge

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

isEligibleForProfileBadge

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Diabetic Needs Dentures to Maintain Control

Still $2,998,435 to go. Help us build momentum.