Help Ashley Get Surgery
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Hi everyone!
I am setting up this page to help raise money for my sister, Ashley. She needs to have surgery to fix her TMJ disorder.
History:
In February of 2015, Ashley woke up with lock jaw. She was able to pop it back into place that day but it continued to happen and each time it took longer and longer to get it unlocked. At this time, her jaw has been locked with minimal opening since the end of March of 2015.
In April, Ashley was referred to see a specialist who did a MRI. The MRI revealed that Ashley's jaw joints never grew to full size and that she had disc displacement on both sides of her jaw. While the exact cause is unknown, the specialist thinks that Ashley must have experienced some type of trauma to the face that stunted her joint growth. We don't know exactly what this trauma was but Ashley was drug by a car at the age of eight and this could have contributed. The specialist referred her to Dr. Mark Piper in St. Peterburg who is one of the only surgeons to treat this particular condition.
Ashley went to see Dr. Piper on 5/18 who confirmed that Ashley needs to have surgery to correct this problem. He will be removing her damaged discs and replacing them with fat grafts on both sides.
As Dr. Piper is a leading physician in his specialty, he is a fee for service doctor. This means that they do not bill insurance and his surgical fee of $45,000 has to be paid up front. This $45,000 includes the surgery, a year of follow up appointments, the necessary Orthodontic work, and Chiropractic appointments. It does not include the hospital fees or anesthesia fees. Ashley will also have to stay in St. Petersburg for two weeks in order to be evaluated by Dr. Piper after surgery. Once the surgery is complete, she has to submit the bill to the insurance and wait to be reimbursed. The amount she will be reimbursed by her insurance remains unknown.
Ashley is currently experiencing a lot of jaw pain and daily headaches. If she does not have the surgery, the pain will only get worse and the damage to her nerves may be irreversible. In addition, because her jaw discs are displaced, there is nothing to protect her blood vessels that supply blood to the jaw joint. This could eventually cause the blood supply to her joint to be compromised. If this were to happen, she could eventually need a joint replacement.
I am setting up this page to help raise money for my sister, Ashley. She needs to have surgery to fix her TMJ disorder.
History:
In February of 2015, Ashley woke up with lock jaw. She was able to pop it back into place that day but it continued to happen and each time it took longer and longer to get it unlocked. At this time, her jaw has been locked with minimal opening since the end of March of 2015.
In April, Ashley was referred to see a specialist who did a MRI. The MRI revealed that Ashley's jaw joints never grew to full size and that she had disc displacement on both sides of her jaw. While the exact cause is unknown, the specialist thinks that Ashley must have experienced some type of trauma to the face that stunted her joint growth. We don't know exactly what this trauma was but Ashley was drug by a car at the age of eight and this could have contributed. The specialist referred her to Dr. Mark Piper in St. Peterburg who is one of the only surgeons to treat this particular condition.
Ashley went to see Dr. Piper on 5/18 who confirmed that Ashley needs to have surgery to correct this problem. He will be removing her damaged discs and replacing them with fat grafts on both sides.
As Dr. Piper is a leading physician in his specialty, he is a fee for service doctor. This means that they do not bill insurance and his surgical fee of $45,000 has to be paid up front. This $45,000 includes the surgery, a year of follow up appointments, the necessary Orthodontic work, and Chiropractic appointments. It does not include the hospital fees or anesthesia fees. Ashley will also have to stay in St. Petersburg for two weeks in order to be evaluated by Dr. Piper after surgery. Once the surgery is complete, she has to submit the bill to the insurance and wait to be reimbursed. The amount she will be reimbursed by her insurance remains unknown.
Ashley is currently experiencing a lot of jaw pain and daily headaches. If she does not have the surgery, the pain will only get worse and the damage to her nerves may be irreversible. In addition, because her jaw discs are displaced, there is nothing to protect her blood vessels that supply blood to the jaw joint. This could eventually cause the blood supply to her joint to be compromised. If this were to happen, she could eventually need a joint replacement.
Organizer and beneficiary
Heather N. Alford
Organizer
Jacksonville, FL
Ashley Kelly
Beneficiary