I am creating this “Go Fund Me” for the strongest man I know. He is the love of my life and the father of my three children. He is a proud man, not generally asking for help. Even when help is desperately needed. I also tend to try and figure things out on my own too, but when I struggle to do so I will ask for help. Only asking in dire situations; like this one. 

For some back story:

We have been together for just about 17 years now. The first 3 years of our relationship we were constantly out hunting for scrap metal to sell with our son in tow.  Day in and day out, all day long – load scrap, go to the scrap yard, unload scrap, and repeat. Neither of us had a job at this point and scrapping was the way we provided everything that food stamps and WIC wouldn’t cover. We did the best we could.

When our son turned 3 and we were expecting our second son, my husband was finally about to get a job. He worked for a liquor distribution warehouse’s night shift. Soon after our second son was born, we found out that we were expecting a daughter. After approximately 4 years of working there, my husband was promoted to the night shift manager. He would work Monday through Thursday from 4pm until anywhere between 1am and 3am; sometimes even later. He wasn’t making terrible money by this point, but it still was a struggle as a 5-person family on a single income. He stayed with that company for another 5-6 years though trying to hold out for a day shift position that never came.

We have always been behind on utilities. We have had an electrical fire in a wall and just recently a 20,000gal water leak. I inherited our house from my grandfather, although my dad owns it right now since I cannot afford the cost to transfer it into my name. Houses being what they are, problems have arisen and caused us to just fall further behind. All the attempts throughout the years to build up my husband’s credit got upended causing more debt. By the time covid hit we were drowning financially. 

So, approximately 2 years after covid I started trying to find work. I eventually found a job working in the public school system where we live. I work as an aid in the special education department. But as everyone knows, education doesn’t really pay all that well and I am still just at the entry level working through a contracting company. After I had been working for approximately 8 months, my husband left his night shift job. After 10+ years of basically “solo parenting” our three kids, I had reached a breaking point.  It took about 2 months for him to find a job that was a good fit. 

He landed a job through an Amazon contracting company, and he is making better money. Unfortunately, this still hasn’t changed our situation too much. We are just so far behind that catching up has taken forever, especially with all the late fees. Now, I would be remiss not to acknowledge the growth and progress we have made. But the struggle is still very real. Which brings me to the point behind starting this go fund me.

My husband needs and entire new set of teeth. Implants to be precise. His teeth have been a problem for some time; he went to the dentist for the first time when he was in his 20s. But with no disposable income to speak of and living week to week; we cannot make it work. I have been working on building my credit but it’s not great at this point. Dental work is ridiculously expensive. I made him a consultation appointment with a dental implant office. The people there were so nice and truly seem like they want to help him. 

After having to beg him to go, and a 2-hour appointment – we left knowing exactly how serious the situation is. He has several broken teeth (the teeth are being encased in his gums) and a horrible case of infection in the gums. He is in unimaginable pain because of it all (I mean crying while eating a baked potato). He apparently had been trying to keep his discomfort hidden as best he could, but some pain is too bad to hide. It has broken me to see him struggling and crying to eat.  He has also received some negative stereotypical comments based on the appearance of his smile, which has drastically affected his self-confidence. I haven’t seen a real smile in years!

$46,000 for the set he would rather have, they come with a lifetime warranty and are made from a more durable material. $36,000 for the slightly less durable set. We left that appointment and his spirit seemingly shattered. He just wants to give up; Quit eating all together. We have no assets, and not enough credit history to be approved for the financing – we tried! I feel so defeated so I’m sure he does too and do not know what to do. There are no good options.

Doing nothing, isn’t an option. Oral health can impact so many other parts of the body and cause so many complications. These can be devastating! Our kids are now aged 15,12, and 11 years old and still need their dad. They deserve a healthy father who will be around for some time yet and make lasting memories with. Right now, he barely smiles or involves himself in activities… and now can barely eat anything. 

I don’t know what else to do, so I am here to try and ask anyone who can or would be willing to help a desperate stranger. I know that there are still plenty of good people out there. I am trying to save up what I can to make a down payment so I can hopefully qualify for the financing. If you have made it this far, thank you so much for you time and kindness! I am just hoping to get to see my big goofy man smile out of happiness again. I want him to feel confident when engaging with people but especially our kids. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you