Tegan's TMJ and constant headache

Hi, my name is Tegan Merrick and I have been dealing with jaw, facial, and headache pain for the past 2.5 years. I have TMJD (temporomandibular joint disorder) which for me means the disk, or cartilage, between my jaw and skull has shifted forward.  My jaw bone now touches my skull when I close my jaw, and is quite painful. My jaw bone, especially the left side, is now arthritic, brittle, and has shrunk due to lack of blood flow.  

I started experiencing jaw muscle and tooth pain in the summer of 2019 due to my wisdom teeth growing in. The pain continued after I got them out so I was given a mouthguard, and when that did nothing  I got an MRI in July of 2020. My dentist determined that my disk had shifted out of place and sent us to the Piper Clinic in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Dr. Piper pioneered the type of surgery that I am getting (more on this later), which is why we have to go to Florida. My consultation was in June 2021, and my surgery is scheduled for January 6th, 2022. I am getting fat graft surgery on both sides. This includes the removal of my old disks and injection of my fat into the joint. My shrunken jaw will repair itself after surgery. 

The recovery process is going to be pretty brutal because I will have a splint (visually similar to a nightguard) between my teeth and rubber bands keeping my jaw in the same position while I heal. Because of this restricted jaw movement, I'll be on a no-chew for at least 3 months, possibly longer. For the first 5 days after my surgery, I have to be on a liquid-only diet.

The actually brutal part is the constant, often debilitating, pain I am in. I experience either medium to severe headaches, migraines, jaw muscle pain, earaches, mild vertigo, ringing, numbness, or sore hands on any given day, and often more than one symptom at a time. The regularity has steadily increased to daily in august 2020, and constant in may 2021.

This will be a tough financial situation, as insurance will only cover half of the surgery, and there are plane and hotel expenses. I would greatly appreciate donations (which is of course why I made a gofundme in the first place) but also your prayers!

Please pray that the pain would not disturb my life too much and that even in this valley the Lord would walk with me. Please pray that the surgery would go smoothly and my healing would progress well. And lastly, please pray for my family at this time. My mom will accompany me to Florida for the 2 weeks we have to be there in January and the 3, 6, 9, and 15 month checkups, which will be rough on my 2 younger siblings and dad.
Thank you for listening : )