Help fix Anna's jaw!
HI everyone,
I am starting this GoFundMe for my wife Anna, in hopes we can help relieve some of the costs of a much needed surgery.
What is the surgery?
Anna has a debilitating jaw condition called TMD or Temporal Mandibular Disorder, also commonly known as TMJ. She has suffered with this for about 20 years, and I have only ever known her with this condition. She suffers from constant pain, headaches and is unable to properly open her jaw to eat or even something as simple as a yawn. This surgery is going to change her life and needs to be done. It breaks my heart every day I can't help her with it.
Many doctors were unhelpful, but we finally found a doctor capable of empathizing and understanding the condition properly and able to act upon it. Dr. Reed Day is the surgeon that will operate on her jaw, removing her destroyed cartilage and replacing it with some encapsulated fatty tissue. There are more temporary minor-surgery measures we could take, but the condition would only return after a very short reprieve and would not solve the underlying condition. Dr. Day has been performing these operations for 26 years and even invented a surgical technique that is less invasive than other doctors.
The total cost for this operation is $28,850
This includes the surgery, an overnight stay and care, and the anesthesia.
Several people have asked about it, and our insurance will not cover this operation or services because it is out-of-network. We visited several specialists in network and all they would provide was a reccomendation for a "splint", which is a dental device Anna wore for nearly 6 years. This is like a sports mouthpiece, and basically does nothing if the cartilage is displaced or destroyed as in Anna's case. Therefore, we had to go to a doctor who knew his stuff.
We will need to pay $1000 a month for the bulk of the surgery over two years (whew, not an easy task for us!), and $4650 up front for covering stay and anesthesia costs.
We are scheduled for surgery on April 16th and the $4650 is due a week before.
Everything and anything helps!
Thank you!
Bryce
