I am a 38 year old, single mother of 3 beautiful children who has recently become disabled due to open heart surgery in April of 2008. I have been dealing with abscessed teeth most of my life, and unable to receive medical benefits due to being just $45.00 over the limit for monthly income. Currently, I am unable to work, and our only income is the Social Security Survivor's benefits we receive for the children, whose father passed away in April of 2003.
Bacteria from my many abscessed teeth caused a hole to be eaten away in the mitral valve of my heart. Thus, leading to emergency open heart surgery and a valve replacement transplant this past April. The bacteria from the abscessed teeth also caused many infections throughout my entire body, such as; kidney infections, as well as a spleen infection.
I began being violently ill toward the end of January 2008 with horrible fevers, headaches, upset stomach, diareha, etc. In February 2008 I became even more ill, and was left unable to work to provide for my 3 children. The kidney infections caused me severe pain, and I was unable to hold down food or water. My weight and strength dropped rapidly and by the begining of March, I had lost over 30 pounds.
The medical bills started piling up, as I made numerous trips to the emergency room, and several overnight stays in the hospital. Nothing seemed to get better, and on April 4, 2008, they admitted me to the hospital out of concern due to my severe weight loss and weakness. After running tests, tests, and more tests, they discovered the infections, but could not find the cause of it.
I continued to get worse and lose weight and strength. On April 14th a heart doctor came to my room and announced that I was to receive emergency heart surgery the following morning due to the massive hole in my mitral valve. I was, needless to say, shocked, and totally unprepared to have such major surgery at such a young age. After the surgery, the infections remained within my body, causing me to nearly die due to so much weight and strength loss. By the time I came home at the end of April, I had lost 50 pounds. When I arrived home, for several weeks, I continued to be unabe to hold down food or water due to the infections caused by the bacteria, and lost an additional 10 pounds. I could not walk, and was bed ridden and totally dependant on my 3 children to do things for me.
Doctors were in fear that I would not make it. Eventually, I began to tollerate some fruits and hold down water, and began to regain my strength in my legs. It was such a slow process, and not until a little over a month ago, was I even able to get up the stairs in my home. I am still weak, and unable to work any job, as the doctors say that my heart rate continues to be high, and they monitor me very closely. I have accumulated over $250,000.00 in medical expenses and have absolutely no way of paying a cent. The heart doctors tell me that the cause of the infections which reached my heart were due to the severe abscessed teeth that I have never been able to afford to get fixed, and also that if I do not find dental help, that I will die.
I have applied for Disability Benefits, and also with Donated Dental of South Dakota, but both places say that it may take up to a year to make any decisions on whether or not I qualify. I do not qualify for medicaide, because as I said, the Survivor's Benefits for the death of the children's father leaves me $45.00 over the limit.
I went to see the doctor on Monday of this week because I was begining to have the same symptoms as those that started in January, and when I explained to him that while I knew I needed to get my teeth taken care of, the government says there could be a year wait or longer. He looked at me and very frankly said, "You do not HAVE a year. You NEED to get those abscessed teeth out of your mouth or you WILL die as a result of the bacteria which still spews into your bloodstream because of them. It is life or death for you, bottom line."
I have been so depressed and frustrated this week, trying desperately to find the dental help I need, but to no avail. Not even the doctor had any suggestions for me. There is only one "free" dental clinic in Rapid City, SD where I live, and their appointments are booked for over a year. Also , when I called to explain my urgent situation to them, and explained the extent of my condition with the abscessed teeth, the lady informed me that the free dental clinic here would not be able to even help me because they did not offer such extensive oral surgery. At this point, I do not even care if I get dentures or not. I just want to get the abscessed teeth out of my mouth. There are probably over 20 abscessed teeth that need pulled, and it is a matter of life and death for me.
Because I am unable to work, and do not like to sit around doing nothing, I decided to go to school to receive a BA in Business Administration Pre-Law. I begin classes in September, which is great, but the remaining money from the Pell Grant I received will only be around an extra $700 per quarter. As it is, I cannot make ends meet with only the Survivor's Benefits. My life is falling apart rapidly. I cannot afford to pay the bills in full, much less put food on the table or even get school clothes for the children this year.
I do receive Food Stamp benefits, but only qualify for $254 per month due to the small amount of Survivor Benefits I already receive. I have checked into any other government funding, but again, to no avail. I cry myself to sleep worrying about what will happen to my children if I do not receive the dental/medical attention I desperately need. I am all my children have. After the death of their father, his family completely disowned us, and we relocated to South Dakota from Texas to be closer to my family. My family does not have the means to help me.
I feel lost with nowhere to turn, and I fear that I will die before I even have a chance to really live. My children are so scared, and I haven't any words of comfort for them. Surely it cannot be my time to go YET! I have so much life left to live and to share with my children. If anyone has ANY suggestions or information or even just prayers to offer that would be helpful to my situation, I would be eternally grateful.
WHAT I NEED IS A MIRACLE!
Sincerely,
Christy
