I am seeking donations to fund a much needed surgery that is long overdue and it will make a huge impact on my life.

As a child, I was a mouth breather due to tonsil and adenoid problems. My airways were so constricted that breathing was impossible, it literally sounded as if I was snoring while awake, my breathing was husky and rough. And when I went to sleep at night, my mother had to close my bedroom door and vents because my snoring was louder than most adults.

When I was 5, my mother decided it was time to have my tonsils and adenoids removed because I couldn’t breathe, my snoring was horrible, and I constantly had sore throats; having abnormal tonsils and adenoids made me a very sickly medically fragile child. My mother found an Ear-Nose-Throat Surgery in our area and my surgery was scheduled.

On the day of the surgery, I didn’t know what to expect, especially since I was afraid of needles. My mother told me that the doctor would put me to sleep and I wouldn’t feel a thing, however, she didn’t tell me I would have to get an IV in my arm. Once I saw the needle, I started kicking and screaming hysterically, the surgical team held me down while an IV was shoved into my vain. I was devastated by the torture.

Finally, the doctor came in to examine me; he felt on my throat and found my glands my swallow, he said, he could not operate on me because I would bleed to death and die. After the surgical team tortured me, now I found out I could die if I had the surgery. I was terrified. My mother took me home and slept the rest of the day because I was doped up on anesthesia. The surgical experience was so traumatic for me, that I decided I was not going to have it. Every time my mother tried to reschedule the surgery, I was start crying and screaming because I didn’t want to be tortured by the surgical team or die from the surgery. I kept my tonsils and adenoids in until I was an adult.

My mouth breathing caused significant damage to my facial development since my mouth was constantly opened while my face was growing and developing. I have Long Face Syndrome or Adenoids Facies, as you can see from the textbook photo I used as my profile picture, mouth breathing can distort the face shape. It also narrowed my jawline that my mouth is titled, some of my teeth did not develop because of the way I held my mouth that there wasn’t enough room for all of my teeth to grow.

This problem can be improved by using braces ($3000-5000) and jaw surgery ($15,000); however, I am not a candidate for jaw surgery because I have missing teeth that never developed due to mouth breathing, and currently dental insurance companies will not pay jaw surgery as this procedure is considered as cosmetic surgery and not medically necessary as it once was years ago.  

These abnormalities affects my appearance and my self-esteem. I was labeled as the “ugly” girl starting around age 10 because of this abnormal features. I have avoid jobs, relationships, and photos because I’m embarrassed by my physical appearance. I’ve tried to stay under the radar so I wouldn’t have to hear the mean criticize from people just because they are looking at my physical appearance. The saddest part of it, this isn’t the way I am supposed to look. I feel like I’m living in a stranger’s body. I also feel guilty that I didn’t have the surgery at 5, that I made a huge decision that impacted me more than I would have ever known.

I have done research on what I can do to improve the appearance of my abnormal face shape and a Sliding Genioplasty seems like the best surgery for me. It won’t fix everything because the damage is done, but the surgery can feminize and improve my facial appearance by reducing length from my chin. This surgery is $7500 and I am seeking donations so I can look better and feel better about myself. I feel this surgery will change my life for the best.