Urgent medical treatment needed
Donation protected
Hi, my name is Valerie. It is very humbling to ask for help but my condition has backed me into a corner and my family is unwilling to help. My jaw bone is disintegrating and if I don't get help, my face will literally cave in.
I had double jaw surgery (DJS) on 1/23/20 to correct my sleep apnea. As you can see from the X-ray, there is lots of hardware in my face. That plate on my chin is causing my jaw bone to be infected and eaten away. I need surgery in Boston to remove the chin plate, clear out the infection, perform a bone and gum graft, do a corrective DJS, extract my lower front teeth, get a partial or bridge, and have a rhinoplasty done.
The fallout from this surgery gone bad has been both physically and emotionally damaging and has significantly diminished my quality of life. Ever since I had my botched DJS done 2 years ago, I have only been able to chew on my left side molars because my right molars do not meet. My left molars are grinding down significantly because of overuse, I've developed TMJ, and most of my food is swallowed partially whole, which has caused colitis and landed me in the emergency room.
Another issue is that my front top and bottom teeth do not meet, resulting in an open bite. I never imagined my life would involve never eating pizza again. As a result, my teeth have become loose from my body trying to solve the problem by repositioning the teeth. Two in particular need to be extracted and replaced with a partial or bridge.
Another complication is that I am only able to breathe out of half of my nose. My left nostril is blocked and I wake up with my lip split daily due to breathing through my mouth. Apparently when he did the surgery, he moved my nose around.
But none of these is even the most pressing problem. When the surgeon operated on me, he moved a gum flap but did not replace it. The original tissue died so I also need a gum graft. If I don't have that corrected, the infection will spread and I will lose more of my teeth.
Because my case is so complicated, I have to travel to Boston for the 5 procedures - double jaw surgery again, bone graft, gum graft, tooth extraction, and rhinoplasty. More so, I need the best surgeon I can find because I can't take the chance of another botched surgery. The repairs needed are beyond the capabilities of surgeons where I live in Maine, and many Mainers travel to Boston for life threatening and complicated surgical procedures.
I had double jaw surgery (DJS) on 1/23/20 to correct my sleep apnea. As you can see from the X-ray, there is lots of hardware in my face. That plate on my chin is causing my jaw bone to be infected and eaten away. I need surgery in Boston to remove the chin plate, clear out the infection, perform a bone and gum graft, do a corrective DJS, extract my lower front teeth, get a partial or bridge, and have a rhinoplasty done.
The fallout from this surgery gone bad has been both physically and emotionally damaging and has significantly diminished my quality of life. Ever since I had my botched DJS done 2 years ago, I have only been able to chew on my left side molars because my right molars do not meet. My left molars are grinding down significantly because of overuse, I've developed TMJ, and most of my food is swallowed partially whole, which has caused colitis and landed me in the emergency room.
Another issue is that my front top and bottom teeth do not meet, resulting in an open bite. I never imagined my life would involve never eating pizza again. As a result, my teeth have become loose from my body trying to solve the problem by repositioning the teeth. Two in particular need to be extracted and replaced with a partial or bridge.
Another complication is that I am only able to breathe out of half of my nose. My left nostril is blocked and I wake up with my lip split daily due to breathing through my mouth. Apparently when he did the surgery, he moved my nose around.
But none of these is even the most pressing problem. When the surgeon operated on me, he moved a gum flap but did not replace it. The original tissue died so I also need a gum graft. If I don't have that corrected, the infection will spread and I will lose more of my teeth.
Because my case is so complicated, I have to travel to Boston for the 5 procedures - double jaw surgery again, bone graft, gum graft, tooth extraction, and rhinoplasty. More so, I need the best surgeon I can find because I can't take the chance of another botched surgery. The repairs needed are beyond the capabilities of surgeons where I live in Maine, and many Mainers travel to Boston for life threatening and complicated surgical procedures.
I thought insurance would cover at least 30% of the cost, but my surgeon is strictly cash pay. For some reason, many dentists and oral/maxillofacial surgeons refuse to take insurance, so all of these procedures will be out of pocket. At even a very conservative estimate of $5,000 total per procedure, my portion of the expense is well beyond my means and there are few options available to me. I have no help from family and Care Credit will only cover about $1,000 of the total cost. I have spent many sleepless nights worrying about how in the world I'm going to pay for this to get my life back.
Along with the surgeries, procedures, partial or bridge, and prescriptions, I will need to pay for temporary housing in Boston for at least a month - if not more - to attend my follow-up appointments. Other definite expenses will be my meals, and subway fare for transportation to and from the hospital. I can't have someone else watch my cats because they do not eat while I am gone, so even the most meager accommodation that accepts pets is at least $50 a night. Also, since they are my emotional support animals, there is no way possible that I could be away from them for an entire month.
If I could go back to the date of the surgery and take it back, I would do anything for that. It's been a nightmare two years with something that was supposed to help me instead causing a complete change of life that has taken away the most basic of body functions that I previously took for granted. Just to be able to actually eat again and breathe again and not worry about my bone dissolving or teeth falling out will at least get my life back to normal, the way it was before I had the surgery done.
Please help me get my life back. Your donation of any amount will be greatly appreciated. God bless you and yours!
Along with the surgeries, procedures, partial or bridge, and prescriptions, I will need to pay for temporary housing in Boston for at least a month - if not more - to attend my follow-up appointments. Other definite expenses will be my meals, and subway fare for transportation to and from the hospital. I can't have someone else watch my cats because they do not eat while I am gone, so even the most meager accommodation that accepts pets is at least $50 a night. Also, since they are my emotional support animals, there is no way possible that I could be away from them for an entire month.
If I could go back to the date of the surgery and take it back, I would do anything for that. It's been a nightmare two years with something that was supposed to help me instead causing a complete change of life that has taken away the most basic of body functions that I previously took for granted. Just to be able to actually eat again and breathe again and not worry about my bone dissolving or teeth falling out will at least get my life back to normal, the way it was before I had the surgery done.
Please help me get my life back. Your donation of any amount will be greatly appreciated. God bless you and yours!
Organizer
Valerie Trumps
Organizer
Addison, ME