Excuse me… have you seen my smile?
Donation protected
Hi everyone! My name is Tina Armitage and about ten years ago I was diagnosed with SLE and DLE or skin Lupus and Systemic Lupus.
There is currently no cure for these diseases and the treatments are sometimes worse than the disease. One these treatments, which is a chemo medication, stole my smile. You see, one of the side effects of this medication is bone loss and brittle teeth. I had a beautiful smile when I started this medication and now, my mouth is so bad, I can’t even smile anymore.
Just writing this has made me start crying.
I also have constant infections which cause terrific pain and swelling. Eating is just horrendous. It has gotten to the point that I am embarrassed to eat in front of anyone. I eat alone in my basement apartment or hide my face and cover my mouth when I am forced to eat away from home.
There is a surgery that can correct all of this, but it is really expensive and even after fighting for two years, my insurance will not pay for it even though it was caused by medication and can cause great harm to my health as lupus plays havoc with my immune system.
In addition, Lupus,in general, has also stole and continues to steal all my savings and left me in a real bad way financially. I have done everything I can think of to pay for this and just cannot seem to get it covered and because I am disabled from lupus and cannot get a big enough loan to cover it.
You all are my last resort.
Please help me.
I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with a sunken droopy face and no teeth. I used to be happy and social and now my friends have to drag me out and even then I spend the whole night with my hand over my mouth so no one will see how bad it is getting.
Please help me find my smile. I can’t live like this and you are my only options. Thank you.
There is currently no cure for these diseases and the treatments are sometimes worse than the disease. One these treatments, which is a chemo medication, stole my smile. You see, one of the side effects of this medication is bone loss and brittle teeth. I had a beautiful smile when I started this medication and now, my mouth is so bad, I can’t even smile anymore.
Just writing this has made me start crying.
I also have constant infections which cause terrific pain and swelling. Eating is just horrendous. It has gotten to the point that I am embarrassed to eat in front of anyone. I eat alone in my basement apartment or hide my face and cover my mouth when I am forced to eat away from home.
There is a surgery that can correct all of this, but it is really expensive and even after fighting for two years, my insurance will not pay for it even though it was caused by medication and can cause great harm to my health as lupus plays havoc with my immune system.
In addition, Lupus,in general, has also stole and continues to steal all my savings and left me in a real bad way financially. I have done everything I can think of to pay for this and just cannot seem to get it covered and because I am disabled from lupus and cannot get a big enough loan to cover it.
You all are my last resort.
Please help me.
I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with a sunken droopy face and no teeth. I used to be happy and social and now my friends have to drag me out and even then I spend the whole night with my hand over my mouth so no one will see how bad it is getting.
Please help me find my smile. I can’t live like this and you are my only options. Thank you.
Organizer
Tina Armitage
Organizer
Staten Island, NY