Help Kathryn Heal: Surgery After 8 Months of Pain

My name is Andrea. I'm raising money for my good friend Kathryn who needs a major jaw surgery this fall. Over the past 20 years, Kathryn has had multiple surgeries to remove benign (ameloblastoma) tumors from her lower right jawbone because they continually recur. About 10 years ago, she had a major surgery to remove part of her jawbone and had it replaced with metal bars and cadaver bone. It should have been a long-term solution to rid her of her tumor cells; however, in 2019, a tumor grew right on the line between the original bone and the new bone. When this tumor and the surrounding bone were removed, there wasn't enough bone left to support her jaw long-term.

In February 2025, the metal bar in her lower jaw broke unexpectedly and caused the remaining bone in that area to fracture. Kathryn was sent to a specialist jaw surgeon in Denver who would like to put a prosthesis in her lower jaw. This surgeon is the only one in Colorado who will perform this type of surgery. He is out of network with all insurances, which means Kathryn will have to pay $10,000 out of pocket before the surgery can be performed. She will also be responsible for an insurance deductible of $7,000 before insurance will cover the remaining costs such as the plastic surgeon, anesthesia, hospital stay, etc.

Kathryn was told she had to wait at least three months before receiving her surgery because they needed to approve the design of the prosthesis first. For the past five months, she's been living in constant pain and eating only soft foods waiting for the approval. Now that they have approved the design, the doctor believes she should be scheduled for surgery at some point in October, at which point she will have lived with her broken jaw for 8 months.

Kathryn has continued to work nearly full-time at a strenuous job with horses all while homeschooling her three children. She's basically surviving on the maximum amount of ibuprofen every day and prayer. Please find it in your heart to help get rid of the burden of financial stress as she waits for the official surgery date.