Hello! I am Amanda and I'm from Mississippi. My life has a lot of highlights, but one of the biggest ones is that I used to be addicted to opiates for 8 years. It's a long ugly story, but it started with the death of my 3rd son, not dealing with the grief properly, and ended up with me losing my RN license, my family and marriage, and all hope. But I got better, I got help- Lots of help!- and have made a life for myself today that I'm very proud of, helping other addicts get into treatment every day. I currently work in the call center doing admissions for a residential treatment center, I worked my way up to this role from the bottom as an entry level tech on campus. I make pretty good money, but I'm finding myself trying to save for a house and retirement, and raising my kids, and it looks like I will never be able to fix my teeth at the prices that dental work is. Oddly enough, it was after getting sober 7 years ago (8/24/17) that my teeth have slowly gotten worse and worse and now I have pain and missing teeth, need crowns, bridges, maybe implants, fillings, and who knows what all else. I grind my teeth, and have chipped the front ones, its a mess. A dentist through a charity program “fixed” them in 2020, but all of that work (2 crowns, 10 fillings) has fallen out and the 2 crowns need replacing. I believe in working for everything I have and integrity above all else these days, but I of all people know that sometimes we still have to ask for help. This issue is now causing me issues eating and daily pain, and it's depressing. If I were to get my teeth fixed, I think that my confidence would increase, my daily discomfort and avoiding certain foods and smiling could stop, and I would continue paying forward the blessings as I am now, without all of this slowing me down. Me still being here, sober and alive, is a blessing, and I have faith that the goodness and kindness that we put out into the world eventually comes back to us, so thats what I will continue to do! 🙏