Fighting for my smile and livelihood
Donation protected
If you know me, you may have heard stories of my youth, in particular my experience living with an abusive father. If you don’t know me, allow me a few minutes to share.
As a boxer in his home country of Cuba, my father had the boxing skills to knock an opponent out cold. By the time I was 13, my father had broken my jaw twice within three years. The first time he broke my jaw, it was set, however the second time it was not, and it never was, as he said it would mend fine. I grew up with a crooked smile and for the last 15 years my crooked smile has been a great talking point for me as a speaker, coach, and trainer; it was often funny to smile big and show off my misaligned jaw when I spoke of my youth.
Behind the entertaining smiles, however, my chronic jaw and teeth pain had become aggravating, giving way for the loss of almost half my teeth throughout my adult life. In these last five years, the growing pain from the deteriorating ramifications of a misaligned jaw, mismatched bite, and damaged teeth has become more than I could bear. I now face a maxillofacial surgery – a corrective and restorative surgery - that my insurance company will not cover.
Maxillofacial surgery is costly. My particular surgery will cost $58,000, Which is far more than I have due to financial struggles during this pandemic. My speaking and coaching business has dwindled, and I have had to tap into my savings to survive.
The surgery and corrective procedure will be performed by Dr. Hardeep Dhaliwal, MD, DMD of Adara Surgical Institute in Issaquah, WA. and Dr. Lily Xue Du of Ideal Smiles in Bellevue, WA. The procedure will consist of extracting all my remaining teeth, reducing some upper and lower bone from my jaw, and installing 8 to 12 implants and a set of upper and lower devices that will serve as my new teeth on my newly aligned jaw. I discussed the possibility of dentures with my dentist and surgeon; however, my misaligned jaw made dentures prohibitive and would give way to other complications in the future. My current appliance is being held in place by two molars that are failing. Maxillofacial surgery is the only viable option.
The date for my surgery is October 26, 2020 and the lump-sum payment is due before the procedure. That is why I am reaching out to you for help. It’s a difficult decision after many sleepless nights, but my health and livelihood are at stake. I must turn to my community for support and raising the money needed for this battle.
Please consider contributing to my fundraiser and sharing my GoFundMe page with your community.
Sharing all of the above and asking for your help is a humbling experience. My appreciation and gratefulness will reach far beyond on the words in this post.
Humbly with gratitude
Omar J. Rivas
As a boxer in his home country of Cuba, my father had the boxing skills to knock an opponent out cold. By the time I was 13, my father had broken my jaw twice within three years. The first time he broke my jaw, it was set, however the second time it was not, and it never was, as he said it would mend fine. I grew up with a crooked smile and for the last 15 years my crooked smile has been a great talking point for me as a speaker, coach, and trainer; it was often funny to smile big and show off my misaligned jaw when I spoke of my youth.
Behind the entertaining smiles, however, my chronic jaw and teeth pain had become aggravating, giving way for the loss of almost half my teeth throughout my adult life. In these last five years, the growing pain from the deteriorating ramifications of a misaligned jaw, mismatched bite, and damaged teeth has become more than I could bear. I now face a maxillofacial surgery – a corrective and restorative surgery - that my insurance company will not cover.
Maxillofacial surgery is costly. My particular surgery will cost $58,000, Which is far more than I have due to financial struggles during this pandemic. My speaking and coaching business has dwindled, and I have had to tap into my savings to survive.
The surgery and corrective procedure will be performed by Dr. Hardeep Dhaliwal, MD, DMD of Adara Surgical Institute in Issaquah, WA. and Dr. Lily Xue Du of Ideal Smiles in Bellevue, WA. The procedure will consist of extracting all my remaining teeth, reducing some upper and lower bone from my jaw, and installing 8 to 12 implants and a set of upper and lower devices that will serve as my new teeth on my newly aligned jaw. I discussed the possibility of dentures with my dentist and surgeon; however, my misaligned jaw made dentures prohibitive and would give way to other complications in the future. My current appliance is being held in place by two molars that are failing. Maxillofacial surgery is the only viable option.
The date for my surgery is October 26, 2020 and the lump-sum payment is due before the procedure. That is why I am reaching out to you for help. It’s a difficult decision after many sleepless nights, but my health and livelihood are at stake. I must turn to my community for support and raising the money needed for this battle.
Please consider contributing to my fundraiser and sharing my GoFundMe page with your community.
Sharing all of the above and asking for your help is a humbling experience. My appreciation and gratefulness will reach far beyond on the words in this post.
Humbly with gratitude
Omar J. Rivas
Organizer
Omar Rivas
Organizer
Woodinville, WA