Help Aiden Finish Bike Accident Recovery

Hello friends, family, and community. As many of you know, on August 24th, 2021, I was in a life-threatening bicycle accident on my morning commute to work. At the bottom of a hill, I went over the handlebars of my bike and slid on my face for eight feet. I was rushed to UIHC, where I had emergency surgery for a broken jaw and orbital fractures. Additionally, I broke my nose, fractured two vertebrae, broke two teeth, and fractured another. Thankfully, I was wearing a quality helmet and suffered no brain injury. Although my physical recovery has gone well overall, it is not done yet, and it's quickly becoming much more costly.

 

This accident has taken a tremendous toll on my mental health and has done more costly damage to my teeth than I could have ever imagined. Due to the nerve damage to my face from the accident and upper jaw surgery, six of my upper front teeth are dead and ultimately require root canals and crowns. I began the dental phase of recovery in January 2022 once my jaw healed enough for dental work. Unfortunately, by March, I had already blown through the coverage afforded by my dental insurance for this calendar year. I was lucky to have most of my hospital bills covered by my medical insurance and felt that I could take on the remaining out-of-pocket costs. I was not expecting the cost of my dental care because I didn't know the extent of the damage.

 

I've covered the expenses I can afford, and I am currently financially wiped out due to the mounting dental costs. My dentist is kindly covering the filling costs for the four teeth I will have crowned this month to help offset costs where they can be flexible. My broken teeth affect how and what I can eat, leave open sores in my mouth, and are a daily reminder of the bike accident when I look in the mirror, see my face on Zoom, or smile with my teeth showing in photographs. I want to protect my teeth from other breaks, infections, and even more costly dental care if I do not proceed with the necessary oral care this year. I also want to close this chapter of my life to stop feeling like I am living in the aftermath of this accident, and I know crowning my teeth will move me further toward this goal. Therefore, I am asking for help to cover my out-of-pocket dental care costs this year. Help me finish getting the root canals I need and crowning my front teeth. Thank you to my community for all the love and support you've shown India and me through this recovery.