Hi everyone, I’m Shantelle. I’m stepping in to run this fundraiser for our friend Colin, because anyone who knows Colin knows he is fiercely independent, incredibly private, and would never ask for this himself.

For the past several months, Colin has been dealing with a pretty awful medical crisis behind the scenes, which has slowly been getting worse while the medical system is being slow in getting it sorted.

Colin has been diagnosed with a severe structural bone deformity in his face (specifically, a Class I biretrusive face with transverse maxillary deficiency). In plain terms: both his upper and lower jaws grew dangerously far back into his skull, and his palate is too narrow. This is mechanically crushing his airway.

This is not a cosmetic issue. It has been the cause of his sleep apnea (an AHI > 100/h), which is currently being treated with a CPAP. It is causing constant, debilitating jaw pain, and even hearing loss due to TMJ, and It has also caused his bruxism which has been causing deterioration of the jaw. It has reached the point where working causes him pain and worsening hearing loss in the right ear during and after every performance.

The only fix is a pretty intensive reconstructive operation. Surgeons will have to break and expand the roof of his mouth, and perform a "bi-maxillary advancement"—surgically detaching and moving his entire facial skeleton forward so he can finally breathe and function normally, and allow him to get back into the workforce and earn his own money again. He will also need braces and implants created and fitted by an orthodontist.

Colin has been living in Paris for the last 4 years and pays social security as well as a well respected mutuelle (private insurance) - because the problems he is facing are in his mouth and head, the insurance policy does not cover it. Orthodontists and Dental Surgeons are often a different plan entirely, and not one that he anticipated would be such an existential problem for his career.

As an “intermittent du spectacle”, his allowance is helping him cover some living expenses, but the out-of-pocket quote for the specialized maxillo-facial surgeon and orthodontist is exactly €8,781.20 (approx. $9,600 USD).

Right now, work is not coming in, and waiting on social workers, Colin is surviving on a bare-bones food budget. We are setting the goal at $10,000. This will cover the exact out-of-pocket cost of the surgery, and provide a small safety net so he can pay rent and buy groceries during the months his jaw will be healing and he cannot work.

Thank you so much for anything you can chip in.