Support Kelley TMJ Joint Replacement Surgery & Neuralgia

My name is Kelley I am someone that has been fighting chronic pain for over 20 years. I have learned to try to make the best out of life no matter how hard it gets. I am a FIGHTER that is finally at a point where I need to reach out for help and accept financial help from anyone that can spare it so I can afford a TMJ Joint Replacement Surgery that I desperately need. I will attempt to explain what I have been through over the past 20 years and what is going on NOW to give an idea of what my life has been and the situation I am in now.

This is extremely hard for me to do, being vulnerable, and letting people know my situation is definitely out of my comfort zone, but I will try my best to give an understanding of my history and present situation.

I was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia in 1998 due a simple dental procedure gone wrong where my nerve was cut and damaged causing me to have to undergo several surgeries that included Nerve Decompression, Nerve Graft from my foot put into my face, 3 Brain Surgeries to put a Stimulator in to alleviate the pain, burning the nerve, neurectomy of the nerve, and over 20 other smaller surgeries and procedures to fix it and get me out of pain and nothing worked. Then in 2010 I sought out a world renowned Surgeon that specialized in Nerves and Jaw issues. He found an Osteochondroma Bone Tumor on the right condyle of my TMJ Joint and he told me that it it had to be removes because my joint could not even function and although it was not causing the nerve pain, it was defintely was making it worse. So he came up with a plan to shave the tumor down off the condyle then it would actually go into the joint, he then once the joint finally went in place it would cause my jaw to be out of place, so he had to break my jaw and reset it, while taking the damaged nerve and putting it behind the nerve so that I could touch my face with electric burning pain from the nerve. The surgery was extreme and took almost a year to recover and it did help my pain lower about 30%, which at that point any relief that I had was welcome. At that point I promised myself I was DONE with surgeries and tried living with this awful pain condition.

Then Fast Foward to 2018 where I started having exteme flare ups of my Trigeminal Neuralgia and my Jaw kept popping out to the right on my face, where I would have to put my fist up flush to my face to pop it back in. I contacted the surgeon that did the surgery and visited him, and it turned out where he did the surgery that did help in 2010 caused my TMJ JOINT and Condyle to Resorb and deteriorate, and he told me that I needed a Total TMJ Joint Replacement and put an Artificial Joint in. To say it scared me to death to get this surgery was an understatement because it was on the side where I had Trigeminal Neuralgia and Nerve Damage. In addition, my surgeon did not take Medicare for his fees, and he wanted $20,000 that being Disabled I did not have the money. So I got with my Pain Managenent Doctor in NYC that I have been seeing since this all began, and he recommended to wait as long as I could and use Botox and Medication management to help with the migraines, spams, and nerve pain. So I put the surgery off just dealing wit the pain the best I could until now.

In addition, to my Jaw Pain I had to have 2 cervical fusions in my neck. The first was in 2011 that was a failure leading me to have to get another in 2021 that was a Major 3 tier posterior fusion and rods C3 to C7 with rods to stablize my neck, and was in a solid neck brace for a year. This was extremely hard on me, I became extremely depressed and put 70 pounds and started to have blood pressure issues, tired all the time, and still in constant pain. I somehow kept refusing to give up, after 2 years my neck finally fused and I felt like I could get back in the gym again, start exercising again, and lose the weight I gained to become the person that I used to be, even with the Nerve and Jaw Pain, but at least ny neck was healed and my hands and arms were not going numb every time I did something physical.

So last August 2024 I started my journey of trying to get my body healthy and back in shape like Ive been my entire life.

Then once I lost 50 pounds by January 2025 and was going to the gym, walking 5 miles a day, and feeling like I was back to being physically fit again I srarted having more Trigeminal Neuralgia Pain, and Severe Jaw and Neck Pain, along with grinding and clenching my teeth trying to find a comfortable bite. I was praying that it was a flare up and would go back down from a pain level of 10 to a 6 as usual. But nothing was helping it, my jaw was dislocating out the right all the time to the point where I had to push on the joint while I spoke to keep it from popping out. The headaches and muscle spasms were back, Botox was not working, and I could not not talk or eat without pain, and I had to stop exercising because it was making it worse. I finally decided it was time to see my Jaw Surgeon, got an MRI and CT SCAN, as well as CBCT Scans. Ater meeting with him I was told I have no option to wait any longer and need the Total TMJ joint Replacement Surgery, much to my surprise it now costs $30,000 out of pocket for just the Surgeons Fee because insurance does not cover this surgery due to how expensive it is, with so few surgeons that actually performing it. I am hoping my Insurance will cover the rest the hospital fees etc., but I know it will not cover all of it, as well as the Travel Expenses to stay in Texas for 2 weeks after the week in the hospital.

This is a MAJOR surger with high risks due to all the nerves surrounding the TMJ JOINT, it is going to take over a YEAR to fully heal. After the 3 weeks in Texas I will then go home to begin the healing process that includes being on a liquid diet for 2 months, mushed diet 3 months, then soft diet for another few months before I can even attempt to eat. At this point I cannot eat solid foods without causing pain and Ive lost a lot more weight and now muscle because I cannot exercise due to the pain.

I am completely devastated over this, I am scared to death of this surgery because people that have normal nerves can get nerve damage from this surgery let alone someone like me that already had nerve damage and Trigeminal Neuralgia. I am so scared of waking up from that surgery in excrucuating nerve pain, because the surgeon has to move the Trigeminal Nerves to get to the joint and stretch them back to put the prosthetic in.

What is just awful about my situation right now is that I KNOW I have to get the surgery because I cannot live in the pain I am in now, and I am rolling the dice and praying it doesnt worsen my pain. The Anxiety and Depression over needing this surgery is bad enough, and then add how am I going to pay for it, which I have been racking my brain trying to figure out ways.

I honestly just cannot believe how that they can expect someone in my position to pay $30,000 because Insurance does not cover ANY of the Surgeons fees in this country. It is bad enough that not many surgeons are trained on this procedure, and the ones that are want big $$ up front out of pocket.

My friend talked me into trying to put my situation up on this Go Fund Me Page to see what happens, and honestly I have been in tears with my hands shaking, because for the first time in my life I put this all out there for people to see because i never wanted to feely pitty from anyone.

I personally cant believe what I have been dealing with for almost half my life and how everytime I get back on my feet, something NEW PAIN comes to knock me back down. But I am still here and still fighting, I have never asked for any help for anything I've been through. This is my last resort, I pray with the help of people and strangers willing to pay it forward will help me financially cover the cost to help me get on my feet this time, so then I can then pay it forward again to someone in need.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and for your help. I ask if you can please Share my story, and if you can afford any size donation it will help me get closer to affording this surgery I desperately need.

Click the underlined sentence below to learn more about what I need:

Here is what artificial TMJ Joint looks This is what an TMJ Prosthetic will look like