Vancouver Woman In Desperate Need Of Dental Work Insurance Won’t Cover
The 59-year-old
The problem is her
One rejection letter from a dentist in 2009 outlines alternative ways to find funds, while also expressing sympathy: "We sincerely hope these suggestions will help. We are praying for your complete health, dental and physical."
Another letter from as far back as 2007 reads: "I've read your letter and am honored you contacted me. ... Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to personally help you with your dental care at no cost."
The Columbian covered Buckley's dilemma in 2015.
How to help
Donate to
www.gofundme.com/f/rpvre-save-my-life
She needs surgery to prevent possible deadly infections, but is too poor to afford it, and too unhealthy to work, and she's afraid she might die waiting for care because of that.
In 2004, Buckley had two heart attacks and was placed on medications that included a blood thinner. She encountered gastrointestinal bleeding from one of the drugs she was taking, and underwent intravenous iron treatments because she was losing so much blood from her gastrointestinal bleeding. Those iron treatments have softened the enamel of her teeth, and caused most of her teeth to fall out.
'In desperate need'
The act of just brushing her teeth can cause teeth to fall out. She mostly eats soups. Buckley's mouth has become infected and it will continue to worsen with time. Since Buckley has heart disease, her risk of infections is increased. There is risk of the infections spreading to her brain or heart, she said, and people with gum disease have two to three times the risk of having a heart attack, according to
A 2015 letter from Buckley's cardiology provider, nurse practitioner
"She is in desperate need of dental work," Stefan wrote four years ago. "There is a strong association between poor dental hygiene and cardiovascular disease."
Buckley needs her three remaining teeth to be extracted, and a dental implant and dentures to be put in. Buckley's prosthodontist at
Yet more than a decade after Buckley started visiting dentists for help, she is still stuck, hoping to find enough charitable donors to fix her health. Molina declined to comment for the story, citing patient privacy.
Vicious cycle
Buckley once had dental insurance when she worked as an esthetician. But she lost her job because of her heart complications, and can't work now because of her iron deficiency and infections in the mouth. Now she makes
It's a vicious cycle. She needs dental insurance to afford surgery. But she needs a job for dental insurance. But she needs to be healthy for a job. But she can't get healthy without surgery. And she can't surgery without dental insurance.
"I feel like there's nothing I can do," Buckley said. "It's a hopeless situation."
Her story is relevant in 2019 -- a time when
Without options, Buckley has started a
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It's a trend that is becoming more and more common each year. In 2018,
Crowdfunding
"Medical crowdfunding is a symptom and cause of, rather than a solution to, health system injustices ... policy-makers should work to address the injustices motivating the use of crowdfunding sites for essential medical services," Synder wrote in the abstract of the report.
Snyder told The Columbian in a phone interview that crowdfunding can "literally save lives" and make a significant positive impact on people. He understands why people need to utilize crowdfunding platforms for medical care, but has concerns.
"We should be happy for people it has worked for, but at the same time aware that this is not an effective solution to the underlying problem of insufficient access to health care," Snyder told The Columbian.
Snyder said crowdfunding can have its own inequity problems. He explained that people who have larger social networks, more wealthy friends and higher education levels generally did much better with their crowdfunding campaigns than those who didn't have those things.
He also said crowdfunding can come at a cost to people's privacy -- they have to share vulnerable medical and personal information to not only gain people's trust, but also engender their sympathy.
When Buckley's son created her first
Buckley could have another uphill battle with crowdfunding this time, but it's the only option she sees. The last four years have taken a mental and emotional toll, too. Her family is scared to lose her. Buckley has felt depressed through much of her search for help.
"I have to deal with this from when I get up -- it's on me. It's how I look," she said. "Even when I try to put on a little bit of makeup, I still feel hopeless."
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