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Hi everyone, my name is Robert and I need some help. Wow, just saying that was hard
I’m not very good at asking for help, but I will do my best to try and explain my story and my wish. I never thought in a million years i would be on gofundme asking for help. I’m not that guy. I’m the guy who help’s others And not expecting anything in return. And now my life has changed dramatically with medical bills and everyday expenses I cannot afford this Procedure. So here’s my story the best way I can describe it.
Before the bike accident and diagnosis of cancer Life was good. I had good health A decent job and two beautiful grandkids. And they made me smile all the time. Now with no teeth, it’s very hard for me to Smile. Before everything I had good teeth I did have 2 back teeth that were cracked, at the time my job did not offer dental insurance, and could not afford to fix them, So in 2015 I went online looking for and signed up for several dental makeovers contests and In November of 2018, I received several calls from someone saying I won a prize Instantly thought it was a scammer, 3 years have passed and I totally forgot about Signing up for up The smile makeover contest. I thought I was about to get scammed. so I kept hanging up on them I honestly forgot. Finally after getting tired of all the calls, I thought I would play along with their game (so I thought.) this person on the other end of the phone started telling me what I had won and That’s when it clicked. I remembered signing up for a makeover.
I apologized and explained the reason for the hanging up. Thank God, they understood Lisa gave me a name of a dentist that was going to do the the makeover, and on my first visit things are going good until they seen something more serious was going on At that point, they said they would have to call Lisa (the lady from the charity ) and let her know that this needed to be addressed before they could proceed. I also called Lisa at the charity , and she arrange for a biopsy.The test came back and told I had Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the tongue. The charity and the dentist told me they would continue after I addressed the cancer.
So In February of 2019 I had surgery to remove the cancer which meant a 1/3 of my tongue and 4 of lower front teeth had to be removed. I had two weeks off of work to heal from surgery went back to work the beginning of March, and on June 26, 2019, the day of my dental visit after recovering from surgery I was riding my motorcycle to the dentist and was involved in a serious Motorcycle accident on I 55 in Illinois. I laid in the ditch for 45 minutes until someone saw me and called 911. I had Some pretty serious injuries. I suffered a severe head injury, my jaw was broken in three places and lost several top front teeth, six broken ribs a punctured lung broken and dislocated wrist, a broken collarbone and dislocated shoulder, After getting out of intensive care and the hospital I called the dentist and informed them what had happened. The dentist said they would give me a full mouth makeover. I was so happy they were going above and beyond the original procedure. My surgeon had done several surgeries on my jaw and was aware of the smile makeover contest my doctor and dentist we’re communicating and updating each other.
During one of their conversations, the dentist asked the surgeon if he would remove all my teeth and he would give me a full smile makeover. I was terrified, and excited all at the same time. When I heard what they wanted to do, I was so happy I was going to receive a full smile makeover, and if that wasn’t enough more bad news came, COVID-19 pandemic. I then received the news that the dentist could no longer honor their treatment due to the pandemic. My world came crashing down! My worst fears came to a head ! Now, I have no teeth and no smile no makeover. The dentist was able to give me false teeth, but with the tongue surgery, I was not able to eat with the false teeth. I would severely choke on food and I had to start eating very soft or blended foods because eating food without chewing this was causing a digestive and choking issue. Currently here I am in 2023 with no teeth no smile or Social life. I am extremely self-conscious to be in public! I was thankful During the pandemic that we had to wear masks in public.
Now that restrictions on masks are loosening up, I stay home . I wish this could change. I would like to go in public and be able to smile and talk with people Again. I was a very outgoing person before all of These circumstances, but a lot has changed since the bike accident and cancer. So I’m asking for some help I would love to smile again and not be embarrassed to go in public. So I would like to Thank Everyone for taking the time to read my story please share with friends and others on social media…..
I am 57 years old and would love to enjoy the rest of my years with a smile…..Stay safe everyone!