I was born with a bilateral cleft palate & cleft lip. I had 4 surgeries before I was 4 yrs old. My secondary cleft was repaired but my primary was not. My parents divorced when I was 12 which left my mother single raising my sister & myself.  Money was always tight. She raised us well however she could never get the rest of my surgeries for the remaining repairs of my lip & palate. As I've become older & the insurance companies change I've never been able to get the repairs I really needed. 2 yes ago my mouth ,teeth & sinuses began giving me a lot of pain, headaches,repeated tooth & gum aches & soreness.  My teeth began to crack ,chip, break & become loose causing my teeth to separate  .

I'm in the low income bracket so I was sent to a dental college where they pulled all but 13 teeth. Said they would do a bone gr a ph to correct the missing bone in my palate & then insert implants so I wouldn't have another of trouble or pain. I've waited a year & still am waiting for this procedure to happen. The first of this year the roof of my mouth became accessed causing my upper gums to have severe pain . A friend gave me antibiotics to help with the infection that began seeping through my sinuses & into my mouth. Noone would see me without an 150.00 office visit & 150.00 per extraction which i couldn't afford while the dental college had me set up for an march apot. That was the earliest they could see me. I became nauseated,  wmake & was off work for 2 was. Then a local church does a weekend dental clinic 1 weekend a yr.

I got there at 6:15 & stood in 27 degree cold weather until 8 am when they opened the doors. They told me 1 procedure per person. However being looked at by a few different dentist they decided that they would pull the rest of the 13 that was left to relieve my pain & help clear up my infection. I was so thankful & it was all done for free. Now because of bone structure of my palate, my very narrow & small mouth i was consulted that the all in 4 dentures implants or the snap in implants would be my best option.. which is  25000 .00 on the low end. I don't have no white near that kind of money & I was told the longer I wait that the bone will start to detereriate & shrink which would leave me with no way to have the sturdyness to be able to maintain & hold the implants. I now have a lisp,trouble talking,I can't eat much but soft foods or broths. My self esteem is so low. I won't go out in public & it's been years since I truly felt normal or would smile. I'm in desperate need of any help that I can get & i would be so thankful for the help. I wanna take pictures with my grandkids, go to their games & school events without feeling embarrassed  & feeling like I'm embarrassing them. I would love to go back into society & have some security of my self. To eat & talk without ppl wondering what I'm saying. It would give me my youth back,my self esteem back & my life back. I'm too young to look old & br embarrassed to open my mouth. I want to live my life & not just feel like I'm existing because I'm hid off in my home. Work & home..t h ats my life we & has been for a few yrs now. I should be living my best life instead of hiding from it. It would mean the world & so much more to me .

Thank you for taking the time to feel my pain & grief. God bless you all..