This August will be Four LONG years of no teeth for my friend! She has been sooo patient (waaaayyyy more patient than I would be). She has had many surgeries with downtime and recoveries. Extended times when she couldn't work. Nothing but liquid for 2 years. No teeth = no chewing = no solid foods. Drinks only thru a straw still and all her food must be soft. For a girl that loves steak, it's been a challenge na yet she has kept a positive attitude. Her Tri-care insurance does NOT cover her new teeth, The Dr's in Augusta she uses are not covered. So it's all been and continues to be out of her pocket.

As a divorced momma its been hard for her physically, emotionally and financially. She is almost at the end of the journey. Her teeth can be ordered and finished but first she has to pay for them. Susie is a Warrior, not a victim - and she needs our help. Please join myself and her friends in helping a girl get her smile back by contributing to her "teeth fund" . She needs $45k (crazy but true). Any contribution will help. Below is the article written about her in Jan 2023 by South Magazine about her Jaw Journey.

https://www.southmag.com/steel-magnolias-2/

Susie Villareal noticed a significant amount of swelling along her jawline- enough to cause concern and refer to her primary care physician. An ultrasound revealed a build-up of fluid, and she was treated for a possible abscess twice. But the discomfort and swelling remained as a benign tumor grew undetected, eating away at her jawbone.

“The only way I discovered it was when I took a bite of a tortilla chip, and my jaw cracked. I went back to my primary care and told them something was wrong. When I pushed on my jaw, it clicked like an eggshell.”

Upon referral to an ENT, a dental x-ray exposed the tumor, now nearing the size of a baseball under her chin and pushing upwards toward her tongue. Diagnosed with ameloblastoma, a rare noncancerous tumor in the jaw, Villareal was sent to the specialists at the Dental College of Georgia with the Augusta University Medical Center for life-saving surgery. With most of her jaw gone around her chin, Villareal was the perfect candidate for “a jaw in a day.” An ENT, plastic surgeon and maxillofacial surgeon would perform a surgical dance to remove the tumor and rebuild her jaw “from nothing but a plate and leg bone.” In the recovery room, the maxillofacial surgeon said, “I have good news and bad news. The good news is the tumor is gone. The bad news is, you have no teeth.” With her newfound “bubba gump gums” as she affectionately referred to them, Ms. Villarreal replied “No shit.” to both of their amusement.

But the journey continued as an infection grew around the titanium plate. A second surgery led to the majority of its removal after the bone graft was successful, and much to Villareal’s dismay, a third surgery was needed for her to have teeth. But she met with Dr. Marshall Newman, the new maxillofacial surgeon to her case, and his colleague Dr. Kyle Frazier, a fourth-year resident, who both supported her decision, building a trust that allowed Ms. Villareal to feel confident moving forward.

But the journey continued as an infection grew around the titanium plate. A second surgery led to the majority of its removal after the bone graft was successful, and much to Villareal’s dismay, a third surgery was needed for her to have teeth. But she met with Dr. Marshall Newman, the new maxillofacial surgeon to her case, and his colleague Dr. Kyle Frazier, a fourth-year resident, who both supported her decision, building a trust that allowed Ms. Villareal to feel confident moving forward.

But the journey continued as an infection grew around the titanium plate. A second surgery led to the majority of its removal after the bone graft was successful, and much to Villareal’s dismay, a third surgery was needed for her to have teeth. But she met with Dr. Marshall Newman, the new maxillofacial surgeon to her case, and his colleague Dr. Kyle Frazier, a fourth-year resident, who both supported her decision, building a trust that allowed Ms. Villareal to feel confident moving forward.