All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth

My name is Amy Feddema. I’m missing a tooth and my other front tooth is chipped. Here’s how it happened:

It started in April when I went to my primary doctor because I had been nauseous and vomiting for 5 days and was having a hard time breathing. My doctor told me to go home and drink Gatorade because I was dehydrated and to return the following day. So I did, and I went back to see her and I was in diabetic ketoacidosis and still dehydrated because I’m diabetic and didn’t realize there was low-sugar gatorade. So she told me to go to the ER.

I went to the ER and they gave me several nebulizers and admitted me because my electrolytes were all off. That was April 3rd. But then my kidneys and liver failed and I was on 24 hour dialysis. I had a blood clot in my arm and two in my lung. I went into cardiogenic shock and my body was septic. They also discovered my heart valves were leaking. I was on life support for many days and in intensive care. The doctors weren’t optimistic about my future. I am so grateful to be alive!!

Unfortunately, while I was intubated, I lost my front tooth and swallowed it. My other front tooth was chipped. The St. Cloud Hospital told me tooth damage is a rare but known complication of having a breathing tube in my mouth and denied reimbursement for the cost of repairing my teeth. 

I had open heart surgery to replace my mitral valve with a mechanical valve and repair my tricuspid valve. I have been living in a facility since April and haven’t worked since the end ofMarch. My insurance won’t cover my teeth repair/replacement and I have no money to pay for it myself.

I would be so grateful for your help so I can have my teeth fixed. I smile all the time and I’m embarrassed of my missing tooth and chipped tooth. Please consider helping me. Thank you!!