Hello, my name is Taylor Lobus, and I am raising money on behalf of my uncle, Brian Bjerke. 

Back in 2015, Brian was diagnosed with an extremely rare odontogenic tumor in his upper mouth. He underwent an extensive surgery then to remove it, but in 2020 the tumor came back. This time, the surgery was even more extensive and more costly. Emory doctors removed Brian's upper teeth and his entire palate, and then reconstructed his mouth using his fibula, arteries, veins, and tissue from his left leg.  This left him with a 12-inch scar on his leg and a 3-inch scar on his neck.  Brian spent 10 days in the hospital and many months recovering, which he's still doing.  Since the surgery, he has been on a mostly liquid and soft food diet, as he's unable to chew without any teeth in his upper mouth.  He has also been unable to effectively work for nearly 2 years as a result of the COVID pandemic combined with his tumor removal and lengthy recovery.

Well, the time has come for Brian to finally get teeth implants, along with some re-shaping of his palate in a follow-up surgery, but the medical insurance company just blind-sided him with the terrible news that they will not cover the implants or the prosthetic denture.  The cost of these procedures combined is about $33,000, and additional surgery costs from the hospital are yet unknown.  This doesn't even cover all the significant insurance deductibles and out of pocket expenses they've already incurred over multiple years dealing with this.

2020 has been a lost year for most everyone, but it has especially hit Brian and his family hard. I can't imagine being on a liquid and soft food only diet for nearly a year, being unable to speak without a nagging speech-impediment, being persistently uncomfortable due to swelling and nerve pain, or even really smile because you have no upper teeth. Brian and his family have stayed very positive throughout all this, but I know it's really been more difficult than they show.

My goal is to send Brian and his family $30,000 to help at least cover most of what it will take to get Brian's smile back to normal. Please help me in contributing anything you can. Any donation, big or small, would be amazing and so appreciated.

Thank you!

If you do not wish to donate through GoFundMe, you can donate directly to the Bjerke family using Venmo, @Susan-Bjerke-2