B's Mandibular Osteotomy Surgery & Recovery

My name is Beck and I'm fundraising to support upcoming mandibular osteotomy surgery and recovery.

For about fifteen years I have been navigating various medical issues due to mandibular hypoplasia and a class II malocclusion. These conditions significantly impact my daily life and have brought on many subsequent health issues including a misaligned bite, difficulty chewing/ eating/ swallowing, difficulty breathing/ exercising, chronically impaired sleep, speech difficulty, TMJ issues including chronic pain, difficulty maintaining dental hygiene (being unable to open my jaw long enough to floss and brush adequately without significant pain - contributing to requiring over 20 dental fillings and various restoration care such as repair of cracked teeth), among other concerns.

Trying to treat and manage these issues through physiotherapy, orthodontics, acupuncture, massage therapy, dental appliances, pain management, and medication has been ineffective - a treatment plan of lower jaw surgery that was originally suggested during my first round of braces as a teenager is essentially my only remaining treatment option. There is a very high likelihood of successful treatment and reduction of current symptoms with lower jaw surgery. Bi-maxillary osteotomy (or double jaw surgery) was discussed during surgical consultation and may bring a slightly more improved outcome, but it would come with a few thousand dollars more in fees vs single jaw surgery, which unfortunately prevents it being a viable option for me.

OHIP (a provincial health care plan in Ontario) has affirmed the surgery is medically necessary and approved some financial coverage for surgical time and hospital fees, but unfortunately the required orthodontic treatment before and after surgery, surgical consultation appointments, as well as substantial surgical planning time and fees are for some reason not covered. I am fortunate to have medical benefits through work, but after submitting an estimate to my benefits provider for the outstanding fees beyond OHIP's very limited coverage, I have been advised they will only cover about 3% of the submitted expenses: a single x-ray totaling $230 out of thousands of dollars. Out-of-pocket costs to prepare for surgery so far have already totaled around $13,000 for two multi-year orthodontic treatments, two separate surgical tooth extractions (4 total extractions requiring significant healing time prior to surgery), and surgical consultation fees - these costs have all been above or outside of both OHIP and my benefits coverages. Admittedly, I did not expect to get so many years into surgery preparation and incur so many expenses only to lead up to a point where my benefits provider would deny coverage and leave me unable to continue with treatment independently due to cost.

I work as an AAS Certified Crisis Worker with a 24/7 mental health crisis service covering an area of over 500,000 km². My work requires very clear annunciation and verbal communication, and the nature of jaw surgery recovery would have me written off work for a number of months, especially while my jaw is banded shut. My benefits will pay out a portion of my income while off work, but at 66% of my average income for the duration of my recovery as well as any reduced graduated hours when returning - this will cause a loss of about $3000 in income if not more.

I am fundraising to help support some of the following expenses:

$5600 - maxillofacial surgeon's fees (quoted to include surgical planning, surgical materials, major post-surgical treatment, etc)

$1200 - 10 nights' accommodations in Toronto following surgery minus the partial subsidy via Northern Health Travel Grant

$400 - transportation and ancillary expenses (medical supplies, etc) while recovering in Toronto after surgery

$300 - specialized dietary needs/ preparation (months of liquid-only and soft food-only diet e.g. dietary supplements, meal replacement products)

I will be applying for the Northern Health Travel Grant (NHTG) regarding travel costs for numerous flights to and from Toronto. Even though the NHTG requires all expenses to be paid up front, it will likely reimburse for the flight costs once travel for medical care is completed. Though helpful to reduce expenses, the NHTG does not adequately cover hotel stays (e.g. $550 dollars total for 8+ nights of accommodations) and does not cover any spending relating to transportation in the destination city, food, or otherwise. Unfortunately, driving following surgery or to attend post-op appointments is not an option due to one-way road travel to Toronto of around 1500 kms taking 16-18 hours and dangerous driving conditions in the region during the winter months.

I am waiting to hear from my surgeon's office and Humber River Hospital to offer a surgery date. A deposit will be required at that time (likely 50% of the surgeon's fees) with the remainder due a few weeks prior to surgery. At my consultation, I was advised January is likely for an offered date which is very fast approaching.

I cannot thank you enough for considering supporting me in accessing this medical care, and I sincerely ask that you do not feel any obligation to donate - especially if you are not in a position to do so. If at any time the expected costs are reduced such as my insurance company rescinding their denial of coverage or otherwise, I will adjust the goal amount and if donations exceed my needs either issue refunds via GoFundMe or donate to an alternate fundraiser prioritizing trans folks accessing medical care or emergency funds.

To share a bit about myself for those who may not know me well: I am a proud cat dad, occasional artist/ musician, breakfast cereal enthusiast, amateur birdwatcher, aspiring seamstress, spreadsheet aficionado, and passionate fan of good crew socks, congenial writing pens, and 18th to early 19th century lighthouse lenses. I am a trans person living in what is commonly referred to as Northwestern Ontario, I navigate various chronic mental and physical health concerns as best I am able, and I am currently bracing for our annual six months of winter that is starting to come around. When I can, I enjoy cycling, photography, crafts (including recently starting to learn loom weaving), carpentry/ home renovation/ furniture building, puzzles, board games, video games, road trips, gardening, and camping.