Please help Melissa with tmj replacement surgery!
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Hello, my name is Melissa. I was encouraged to start this fundraiser by a beautiful lady (Julie) when she saw how much pain I was in one day. So I’m reaching out to you for help to change my life and my 3 gorgeous little kids lives. I was diagnosed 20 years ago with juvenile arthritis, coupled with tmd (tempero mandibular dysfunction) has completely destroyed my jaw joints. I’ve been living with chronic constant pain for over a decade. Everyday I wake with a headache that turns into a migraine. My jaw is fused shut, I have less than 1cm gap between my top and bottom teeth at the front and no gap between my molars from severely degenerated and deformed TMJ (jaw joints) which causes constant pain that at times is unbearable. It’s painful to just swallow my saliva, I can’t talk or even lick my lips. This is a picture of me a few weeks ago with cramped face and jaw muscles that last for hours.
In 2008 I was told my only option was a total tmj replacement as the damage in my tmj s was so advanced. He estimated about 2 years with intensive physio and a bite plate until my jaw would be completely fused shut and I would be eating through a straw. Also to delay surgery and manage the pain for as long as possible because the prosthetic joints would have to be replaced every 10 years so as to minimise the number of surgeries but with the costs of approximately 50 thousand for the surgery I’ve never really considered it an option. The discs are dislocated without recapture, and separated from the bilaminar zone. The condyle head has extensive erosions and osteophytes (bone spurs) and the cartilage is perforated with bone marrow lesions where the mandible attaches to the skull.
This report is from 2008, as you can imagine with the degeneration over the past 12 years, the condition of my joints now are so much worse. Over the last five years it has become drastically worse. I desperately need to get this done, my babies are growing up so fast, now 10, 9 and 5 and I just want to share their excitement and enthusiasm for life. It hurts more than anything watching these precious years slip by with pain and fatigue robbing the enjoyment out of every aspect of life. I can’t eat, or speak. My speech is so mumbled. I look like a ventriloquist I also have impacted wisdom teeth that are coming out sideways towards my cheeks that are always infected and swollen causing more pain and fatigue.
The prosthetic joints are $9000 each, they are custom made in the US from MRI scans then sent to Australia. After final adjustments by my surgeon they are then sent back for completion. Courier fees are approx $2000. Also anaesthetist, theatre and hospital fees exceeding $30,000 Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you could please share my story or make a donation if you can, I would be forever grateful.
In 2008 I was told my only option was a total tmj replacement as the damage in my tmj s was so advanced. He estimated about 2 years with intensive physio and a bite plate until my jaw would be completely fused shut and I would be eating through a straw. Also to delay surgery and manage the pain for as long as possible because the prosthetic joints would have to be replaced every 10 years so as to minimise the number of surgeries but with the costs of approximately 50 thousand for the surgery I’ve never really considered it an option. The discs are dislocated without recapture, and separated from the bilaminar zone. The condyle head has extensive erosions and osteophytes (bone spurs) and the cartilage is perforated with bone marrow lesions where the mandible attaches to the skull.
This report is from 2008, as you can imagine with the degeneration over the past 12 years, the condition of my joints now are so much worse. Over the last five years it has become drastically worse. I desperately need to get this done, my babies are growing up so fast, now 10, 9 and 5 and I just want to share their excitement and enthusiasm for life. It hurts more than anything watching these precious years slip by with pain and fatigue robbing the enjoyment out of every aspect of life. I can’t eat, or speak. My speech is so mumbled. I look like a ventriloquist I also have impacted wisdom teeth that are coming out sideways towards my cheeks that are always infected and swollen causing more pain and fatigue.
The prosthetic joints are $9000 each, they are custom made in the US from MRI scans then sent to Australia. After final adjustments by my surgeon they are then sent back for completion. Courier fees are approx $2000. Also anaesthetist, theatre and hospital fees exceeding $30,000 Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you could please share my story or make a donation if you can, I would be forever grateful.
Organizer
Melissa McCormack
Organizer
Perth WA
