Help Shalise Heal: Support Her Jaw Surgery

Shalise will be having arthroplasty surgery on May 7th to reposition her jaw.

Since the disc in her jaw went out of place in January, she has spent/accrued $8,000 in treatments to try and get the disc back in place to no avail. Treatments and procedures included a custom mouth guard, a visit to an oral surgeon who did a manual manipulation procedure, an ER trip due to complications from all of the muscle relaxers, massage therapists, the initial consult for an oral surgeon who can do the surgery, and an MRI to diagnose that the disc was out of place.

Since January, when her disc went out of place, she has been on a soft/liquid diet and lost 35 pounds in the first 5 weeks due to not being able to eat normal food because of the pain in her jaw. Talking, eating, and sleeping are all extremely painful for her.

Shalise has had to fight insurance every step of the way, and no one could believe it when she found out that her jaw surgery so she can open her mouth was not covered under her insurance policy! It has been the most trying 4 months of her life with the constant pain in her jaw, the inability to sleep because of the pressure on the jaw, her bite being off, and not being able to move her lower jaw.

In addition to all of the expenses up to date, for her procedure, the surgeon's fee will be $8,500 (discounted), plus an estimated $5,000 for the hospital/anesthesiology fee which will be billed after the fact. She is so thankful for the discounted cost, but at least $13,500 is still a lot of money!

For any of you who know Shalise personally, you know she is the person who would do absolutely anything in her power to help anyone in need. She is always thinking of others and now is our turn to step in to help her.

Every donation received will help take some of the financial burden off of her and allow her time to heal and recover without stressing so about her medical bills.

Below is a bit about her surgery.

Thank you so much for caring and reading about Shalise’s frustrating journey so far and we pray for a smooth surgery and fast healing for her!

❤️ Shalise’s support squad

Arthroplasty (disc repositioning):

An arthroplasty is an open joint procedure that is reserved for individuals who have not responded favorably to other measures. Open surgical exploration of the TMJ follows after conservative (non-surgical) techniques and minimally invasive procedures (arthroscopy) have failed. The goal of an arthroplasty is to repair, reposition, or replace the disc (cartilage) of the joint. Often, a damaged or displaced disc leads to clicking/popping and significant pain in the joint. The position and condition of the disc is identified prior to surgery with an MRI.

Disc repositioning is a common surgical procedure performed to correct anterior disc displacement that has not responded to non-surgical treatment and results in painful clicking joints or closed locking. The displaced disc is identified during surgery and repositioned to its correct anatomical position. Disc repositioning has shown to improve jaw function and has successful results >90% of the time.