Hi, my name is Lily Meade and I am writing this fundraiser request for my best friend, Brittany Mackey. She has an urgent medical need and my hope today is to explain to you what is going on and how you can assist a kind, compassionate creative in getting back to work and normal life as soon as possible.

Two of Brit’s wisdom teeth did not erupt in adolescence like they were supposed to. This can happen for a variety of reasons, but the important point is that they are making themselves known and a problem now.

On Monday October 20th, she began to experience severe tooth pain. While looking for a local dentist to see her, she discovered that her state “Medi-Cal” insurance renewal was denied due to a paperwork error in July. She has since reapplied and is awaiting new results, but is currently without insurance.

Because of this issue, she had to pay $95 for an x-ray and evaluation on Tuesday the 21st (despite being told $35 on the phone before she arrived). These X-rays prove that the issue is indeed her wisdom teeth and they are infected to the root. There is no saving them, they must be removed. She is in extreme pain when she eats, talks, or does anything most hours of the day. This agony is so unlike her. It breaks my heart to see.

This location told her this would cost $4.5k (which seems extreme for an extraction to me considering there are some places you can get teeth implanted INTO your mouth for less). They sent her home with prescription pain meds ($30) and scheduled a mid November appointment with their oral surgeon. After seeking advice from her community and the internet, she purchased a basic PPO Delta Dental Insurance plan that cost $33 per month effective November 1st (but the appointment still isn’t for a few weeks after that). It’s unclear what the costs would be reduced to once/if that kicked in.

She’s tried other dental clinics who could refer her out to lower cost options but they are booked out until January. I have been doing my best to help her with this these past few days despite being on deadline for my next book because I am deeply aware of how devastating dental pain can be not only to your health, but to your finances.

Just this March, I had to emergency crowdfund myself for the extraction of a former root-canal tooth that I couldn’t afford to get covered with a crown (even before I got lost my own insurance this spring). That marked the third tooth I lost not because it was inoperable, but because I was simply too poor to afford to save it. Dental coverage in this country is somehow even worse than “basic” medical insurance.

It is a deep moral injustice that we treat teeth as if they are luxury bones to upkeep, instead of the center of the one of the most vital parts of our entire body. An infection in the mouth can spread to not only destroy previously healthy teeth (which happened to me in the past, costing me a formerly strong tooth because I couldn’t afford to treat the one next to it), but even enter the bloodstream and endanger the entire body. Even if debilitating pain was not a factor, the health concerns alone should make dental care a vital human right.

The poorer you are, the harder it is to afford dental care. The less care you can afford, the more teeth and health concerns you risk. Losing teeth is not simply a cosmetic issue—it directly impacts a person’s ability to eat and speak without pain—but the appearance issues of the loss should not be understated.

Brit works a public facing job and must be presentable and talk to customers. She can’t sit silently and keep her mouth shut. Even if the cost of the treatment alone wasn’t an issue, she’d have to take 3 days off post surgery to recover which will cost $350 in wages. At her best health, she is just barely making rent as is. There is no chance she would be able to pay rent with $350 missing from her paycheck. It is a part time retail job and hours have been reduced recently due to slower traffic.

She will lose even more money if she misses work anyway due to the increasing pain. It’s escalated so quickly that she started searching for an emergency oral surgeon. She found a surgeon that is willing to see her as soon as she has the money upfront for $1050 (a huge improvement from the 4.5k). Because it’s an emergency service this surgeon does not accept insurance.

Brit’s birthday is on November 16th. My plea to you today is to please help my friend avoid counting down to her special day in agony, waiting on a nearly $5,000 appointment she can’t afford and doesn’t have the credit or income to enter a payment plan for. Or even worse, to suffer the entire holiday season praying that a low-cost clinic can see her in the new year.

With the pain and infection already this bad, delaying further could be dangerous for her health in addition to her finances. Years ago, when I first got insurance again after aging out of pediatric coverage, I almost went septic from a kidney issue that grew out of a simple bladder infection that I didn’t have the ability to see a doctor for when it could have been solved with antibiotics.

Brit’s pain is fixable. Her problem is solvable. Please help my friend get this surgery so I can see her smile again and breathe a little easier. She shouldn’t have to choose between her rent and her health. I’m currently homeless and I would rather give her the money myself than see her have to face what I live with. I would if I could, but I’m suffering myself. All I can give is my skill in writing transparently about stuff that really, really sucks, LOL.

We’re hoping to raise $1500 here to cover the cost of the emergency surgery, the $350 in lost recovery wages, and a small buffer for fees and the costs she’s already had to spend. The sooner we can raise this amount, the better, so please share with anyone you think might be able to help!