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Implant dentures for sick mom

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My name is Courtney Simonds. This is my story.

I'm a mom to two rambunctious younglings, and caregiver to my disabled combat veteran husband, who has PTSD and bipolar. As if that isn't enough, I was also diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome last year after a lifetime of being inexplicably sick.

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is a genetic connective tissue disorder where the body doesn't make collagen correctly. To shortly explain how it affects me, I feel 65 when I'm only 28. I'm always tired and in pain. Getting out of a chair is difficult, showering requires a nap, and walking for any length of time leaves me hurting and out of breath. Stairs are the enemy. Putting on makeup gives me a migraine. Shopping incapacitates me for the day. I have anxiety. I sleep like crap, when I even sleep. My stomach hurts pretty much all the time. My idea of a good day is Netflix, hanging out with my hubby and kids, maybe playing some video games, and coffee.

And it took my teeth.

At 19 I was pursuing a modeling career.


I was teaching myself photography. I've been an artist and loved writing stories as long as I can remember. Then I woke up one morning and I had a giant chip in one tooth. Being a normal 19 year old girl, I panicked. The first dentist I saw told me I would lose all my teeth. I don't remember what he said was the reason, for the life of me. He said "you're going to lose all your teeth and there's nothing I can do about it," and then he started quoting thousands of dollars (I was in college and unemployed) and I just blanked out.

After that things just snowballed. My husband (then boyfriend) was suffering (undiagnosed) from PTSD from Iraq, and bounced from job to job. The economy had just crashed. We traveled from California to Washington to Connecticut and back to Washington, living with family and friends, doing anything we could to stay off the street.

During this time I had no insurance. By the time I was desperate enough to apply for state insurance, many of my teeth were rotted and black, including my front 7 teeth. (I have no pictures of that. Trust me, you wouldn't want to see it.)

The enamel crumbled away. I'd bite on something, even something soft like bread, and lose half a tooth. This was before I had even heard of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, so dentist visits were excruciating with veiled judgment and not believing me when I told them local anesthetics didn't work on me. No one could tell me what was happening to me. And it hurt, oh God. My face would flare up in such pain I'd be left sobbing. And I couldn't even use Orajel. I had nothing.

I was 24 and my son was 4 months old when I had those 7 stumps of teeth removed surgically, plus 4 impacted wisdom teeth.


(My cheeks swollen after the surgeries)

To make an incredibly long story short, things snowballed further. My husband started having panic attacks where he'd black out. They sent him to the hospital. He was drinking, delusional, not working, hiding in the house, not talking to me or interacting at all. I forced him to seek treatment. We were homeless and on the move and I was pregnant again. (We'd wanted two kids, she just had really bad timing) My husband tried to kill himself.

I didn't have time for myself. We were barely surviving. I was doing everything I could to keep us off the street. I joined the Army (and was kicked out in basic training because of my medical issues). Thank God we had family to help. Every time I went to a dentist, I got no answers and even less help.

I'm happy to say things have gotten better since then. Hubby has disability, which has given us the first steady income we've had in almost ten years. So at least we aren't worried about being out on the street. My daughter is 2 1/2, my son will be 6 in less than a month.

One year ago I had the last of my teeth removed.


We still don't know why my teeth crumbled, but it's an unfortunately common scenario among EDS "Zebras." Weak enamel, we think. A malnutrition or malabsorption issue, perhaps.

Regardless, I was toothless at 27.


(Last Halloween, I was"Toothless the dragon" from "How To Train Your Dragon" -- hey, you gotta laugh at it sometimes, right?)

It's not something you ever expect to happen until it does. Nobody expects to lose a part of themselves early, especially something as functional as teeth.

I looked into dentures, but between the high, narrow palate that is common with EDS folks, my ridiculous gag reflex, and my young age (if I stuck with traditional dentures, my jawbone would be almost gone by the time I was in my 60s), they were not an option.

I didn't have great self esteem to begin with, and this has completely destroyed it. I can put on makeup and fake a smile, but inside all I see is my no teeth. Every time I talk, I fear people can see my gums. I avoid smiling. I have a lisp now. My lips shrank and my face sagged. I feel like I look much older than I am.

And there's only so many times you can eat baby food and mashed potatoes before you really lose all will to live. There's a reason they used to give prisoners gruel.

God help me if I have to live like this for the rest of my life.

I found an amazing dentist who understands my condition and my anxiety and will work with me. I'm planning on getting a permanent upper implant-assisted denture (I go in every 6 months and they remove it and clean it, I don't have to do anything) and a removable bottom.

This means they will surgically implant posts into my mouth that the dentures will snap into. This way, we can bypass the roof of my mouth/gag reflex entirely. They will support my jaw, preventing bone loss. They will look more natural and feel more natural. I can have at least one part of a normal life back.

But they will cost $30,000. And that's with as many discounts as he can give me. There are no insurance companies that will cover this, not without an 18 month wait. I've already waited a year, I've already had bone loss. I can't lose any more bone. And even then I'd still be stuck paying thousands. 

I can deal with EDS, with the pain and exhaustion. That's just the life I was given. I can deal with the everyday stresses of being a mommy and keeping a house. I chose to have children and I adore them. I can even deal with the unusual situation of my husband and his specific needs. My husband is the most amazing person I've ever met and I'm blessed to have him by my side. 

I cannot deal with this. I need to be able to at least eat.

Please help, even if you can only donate a dollar. Please share. Give me a smile back, one that I haven't had since I was a teenager. Give me my self confidence back.

And most of all please help me be able eat again. I just want a gosh-darned sandwich.

Organizer

Courtney Simonds
Organizer
Pasco, WA

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