Help Save My Sister's Smile!
Donation protected
For those of you that don't know me, my name is Jessie. I am a long time Tahoe local, and was blessed to have been raised up here in the Sierra Nevada's with 3 of my other siblings.
I am very close with my entire family. It took us a while to get where we are at, though. As most everyone experiences in life- we have been through our trails and tribulations.
My closest (in age) sibling, Jenna, and I are 11 months apart. ( I think they call this Irish twins?!) So for 25 days every year, we are the same age.
I have always been fairly close to my sister, so you can imagine my anxiety and stress when addiction took over my sister's life. It started out as periods of time that we would lose contact with Jenna, and as these periods of time expanded and stretched, my family and I dreaded the call that Jenna was no longer with us. Jenna got so deep in her addiction that she began shooting up, gave up custody of her kids, and fully lived the life of an addict. This is not an easy story to tell. Sleepless nights, therapy & counseling, and health issues took over my family in worry for Jenna. The thought of burying my little sister was too much to bear.
By the grace of a higher power (God, Spirit, whatever it is that you believe), Jenna was sentenced prison time because of the trouble she got into.
As she served time, she was able to not only detox, but also fully took advantage of the counseling services, sober activities and anything else she could while she was clear headed, to support her sobriety.
We never full gave up on her...she began reaching out to us, her family, again. We all began to repair our relationship with our family member we thought we had lost to addiction.
It was a long 2+ years, but it was the time Jenna (and we, her family) needed to heal from emotional/physical trauma over the years.
As nervous as we were when Jenna received her release date , we all had faith that she would stay strong in her sobriety and pushed the thought of relapse out of our brain. She deserved a second chance.
I am the proudest sister in the world to announce that my sister & best friend has been sober for 1057 days!!!
Not only has she gained FULL custody of 3 of her children back...but she is working a full time job and supports her sobriety in meetings & sober events.
She is back to her silly self, and has fully embraced her life as a learning experience and continues to be my number one role model everyday!
The GoFundMe is to save Jenna's smile. During her time as an addict, Jenna's two front teeth endured quite a lot of stress. Drug use, as most know, can cause things like:
-Dry mouth, which increases acid in the mouth and leads to rotting enamel
-Grinding teeth
-Loss of blood flow to roots and gums
-A focus on attaining more drugs instead of caring for oral hygiene
-Nutritional deficiencies that can damage teeth and gums
-Greater intake of high-sugar food or beverages, which rots teeth
Jenna is at a high risk of losing both her front teeth in the next month or so, and I want nothing more than to be able to provide her the funds to get two root canals and caps. In all of her pictures, she does not smile with an open mouth, and as you can imagine--this causes an anxiety every time she is happy, and wants to smile freely!
Being a full time mom, working a full time job, and working with a broken health care system..makes for a recipe of struggle when it comes to tending to this issue.
I am now asking for your help! We only need $1 from 5,000 people..I know we can do this! Ideally, the sooner the better. I fear the if we do not raise fund in the next 30 days or so, we may be out of time.
If you cannot donate, I do ask that you share this, I would be forever thankful.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. It is never easy, and always so very humbling to ask for help in a time of need.
So grateful for each and every one of you.
Warmly,
Jessie
*ALSO! I have copies of the Dentist's quote, and for those of you that need to see, Jenna has willingly given me pictures of her teeth. If you need either of these, reach out to me at [email redacted]. I will be happy to provide you with them.
I am very close with my entire family. It took us a while to get where we are at, though. As most everyone experiences in life- we have been through our trails and tribulations.
My closest (in age) sibling, Jenna, and I are 11 months apart. ( I think they call this Irish twins?!) So for 25 days every year, we are the same age.
I have always been fairly close to my sister, so you can imagine my anxiety and stress when addiction took over my sister's life. It started out as periods of time that we would lose contact with Jenna, and as these periods of time expanded and stretched, my family and I dreaded the call that Jenna was no longer with us. Jenna got so deep in her addiction that she began shooting up, gave up custody of her kids, and fully lived the life of an addict. This is not an easy story to tell. Sleepless nights, therapy & counseling, and health issues took over my family in worry for Jenna. The thought of burying my little sister was too much to bear.
By the grace of a higher power (God, Spirit, whatever it is that you believe), Jenna was sentenced prison time because of the trouble she got into.
As she served time, she was able to not only detox, but also fully took advantage of the counseling services, sober activities and anything else she could while she was clear headed, to support her sobriety.
We never full gave up on her...she began reaching out to us, her family, again. We all began to repair our relationship with our family member we thought we had lost to addiction.
It was a long 2+ years, but it was the time Jenna (and we, her family) needed to heal from emotional/physical trauma over the years.
As nervous as we were when Jenna received her release date , we all had faith that she would stay strong in her sobriety and pushed the thought of relapse out of our brain. She deserved a second chance.
I am the proudest sister in the world to announce that my sister & best friend has been sober for 1057 days!!!
Not only has she gained FULL custody of 3 of her children back...but she is working a full time job and supports her sobriety in meetings & sober events.
She is back to her silly self, and has fully embraced her life as a learning experience and continues to be my number one role model everyday!
The GoFundMe is to save Jenna's smile. During her time as an addict, Jenna's two front teeth endured quite a lot of stress. Drug use, as most know, can cause things like:
-Dry mouth, which increases acid in the mouth and leads to rotting enamel
-Grinding teeth
-Loss of blood flow to roots and gums
-A focus on attaining more drugs instead of caring for oral hygiene
-Nutritional deficiencies that can damage teeth and gums
-Greater intake of high-sugar food or beverages, which rots teeth
Jenna is at a high risk of losing both her front teeth in the next month or so, and I want nothing more than to be able to provide her the funds to get two root canals and caps. In all of her pictures, she does not smile with an open mouth, and as you can imagine--this causes an anxiety every time she is happy, and wants to smile freely!
Being a full time mom, working a full time job, and working with a broken health care system..makes for a recipe of struggle when it comes to tending to this issue.
I am now asking for your help! We only need $1 from 5,000 people..I know we can do this! Ideally, the sooner the better. I fear the if we do not raise fund in the next 30 days or so, we may be out of time.
If you cannot donate, I do ask that you share this, I would be forever thankful.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. It is never easy, and always so very humbling to ask for help in a time of need.
So grateful for each and every one of you.
Warmly,
Jessie
*ALSO! I have copies of the Dentist's quote, and for those of you that need to see, Jenna has willingly given me pictures of her teeth. If you need either of these, reach out to me at [email redacted]. I will be happy to provide you with them.
Organizer
Jessie James Locarnini
Organizer
Truckee, CA