Save Tracy's Smile

“Hello, my name is Tracy Crawford-Sovereign, and I really need your help. I urgently need to have a dental reconstruction surgery that will cost me more than $128,000. If you have ever had a painful tooth experience, imagine having that as your entire mouth keeping you from eating, speaking, or thinking straight from an insane amount of pain for days. This is what I’m currently experiencing, and I cannot cover this expense myself. So I’m urgently asking my village for help.”

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Tracy's Story

Tracy Crawford-Sovereign is a Medical Assistant and front-line worker. She is a fantastic singer and runs her own side business making gorgeous cakes and empowering custom clothing. During COVID, she would work an entire shift on the front lines and then come home and sew masks for people into the wee hours of the morning. She is an incredible person with a beautiful heart. Tracy urgently needs our help. 

Tracy has a congenital jaw misalignment that has caused her decades of pain and recurrent infections. Her bottom jaw is U-shaped, and her upper jaw is V-shaped, which causes her teeth and mouth to shift continually . As you could imagine, this constant shifting causes trouble with everyday speaking, eating, and singing. Typically, this would be corrected by jaw reconstruction. However, the surgeon advises against reconstruction and recommends a less invasive, more holistic solution due to her age.

Tracy's struggle has been a life-long journey. Tracy and her husband, David, have spent more than a decade of discernment and in consultations to build trust with a team of doctors. The team recommends a phased treatment plan. They would leave her jawbones in place, reinforce her current jaw structure, remove bad teeth, and build durable implants. This would actualize full function for her while preventing pain and future infections.

Just this past week, Tracy has incurred yet another infection causing her great pain, the inability to eat or speak. Her treatment plan can no longer wait, and the process is beginning now. On July 22, she will start her first step, removing four teeth, cleaning out the infection, and bone grafting on the left side of her mouth. Just this piece will cost Tracy $3,310.

Here is where we can help. The treatment plan will span more than two years, and the total expected cost will be more than $128,000. In addition, the doctors require all the money is paid upfront before each section of each procedure can begin. Given that Tracy's dental insurance maxes out at $1,500/year, that is a huge price tag!

No one should have to do this alone, so here's what we — a group of Tracy's friends — are trying to do:

Seek coverage through medical insurance. We aim to maximize how much of this procedure is paid for by medical insurance. However, we were initially told that insurance wouldn't cover it. So we are in the process of pulling together documentation from physicians to demonstrate how this is a medically necessary procedure and have gained the help of a medical advocate.

Raise money through crowdfunding. Even if we succeed in getting Tracy's health insurance to cover some of the medical work, there will be additional costs, like orthodontics and gum surgery, speech therapy, and lost income during the two-year recovery period.

We ask you to generously share with our friend who endlessly gives of her gifts. 

Thank You!
The Save Tracy's Smile Team:
Mitzi, Esther, Hannah, David, Jennifer, Tracy, and Kate