Tomiko's Jaw Surgery

   My name is Tomiko.  A year ago, I was at a wrestling event in Europe.    During a take down, my left jaw hit the ground with so much force it knocked a disc out of the joint in my mouth.  I have always been pretty tough and thought I could deal with the pain.  The mobility of my mouth was very limited.  I couldn't open it very wide (about 1/2 the distance).  I tried to get help by different methods...chiropractor, massage, and phyiscal therapy...but nothing seemed to work. 
   I started seeing changes in my jaw.  Things were starting to get worse.  Eating hard foods such as nuts, meat, etc. was becoming more difficult.  If I decided to try to eat something like that, my jaw would let me know with the extra pain the next day.  When I try to yawn, I can't even open wide enough to do a full yawn.  Biting into an apple is impossible.  Even getting my teeth cleaned is a big challenge for the dentist.  It was at this point, that I realized, this problem is not going away.  It is getting worse. 
   I set up an appointment with a oral specialist that was recommended to me.  After the MRI, he discovered that not only is the disc out of the joint, but I have severe arthritis in both jaws that needs to be scraped out.  He told me that if I don't address it now, it is going to be a major problem when I am older. 
   I pay a lot for my insurance every month.  I am an independent contractor, so I thought I better get a big company and good plan.   My insurance company rejected the claim and the appeal that came back after the rejection from the doctor.  I am in the final stage of trying to get an external review where the insurance company will send me to one of their doctors to exam my jaw.  We all know how that is going to go.  No matter what, I believe that the insurance company just wants to take my money, but give me absolutely nothing.  Their excuse is that I am not suffering a hardship and this jaw injury doesn't need surgery.  
    Reaching out like this is very difficult for me.  I hate asking for help.  One of my friends recommended this site to me to help me raise the funds for the surgery.  I got a ballpark quote for everything involved and this was around the amount I was given.  I have never done anything like this, but I figured it wouldn't hurt.  Every little bit will help me offset the total cost. 
   I don't see this surgery happening anytime soon because it is going to take me awhile to save up the cash for this.  If by chance, there is a miracle and I somehow get approved, I will use the money towards the co-pay which I have already experienced with them...it's going to be high. 
   There is no deadline for the money at this point until I  get the final rejection from insurance.  I planned on not scheduling the surgery until I had the cash saved.  Between whatever is raised and everything I can save in my envelope money....that will be when I can make it happen. 
   It's embarrassing to have to go this route, but I wanted to thank you for reading this and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your help.  
  
Sincerely,

Tomiko