Luna's story so far…

In 2024, Luna had a lifesaving, bilateral TMJ Surgery due to an injury she sustained to her jaw as a child. At 12 years old, she had started experiencing pain in her jaw and neck, and a year later was unable to open her jaw fully. The diagnosis was devastating. If left untreated, the dislocation of her jaw and displacement of the discs would have caused her Trigeminal nerve to be damaged. She was facing the descent into a life of chronic pain and suffering. After numerous rounds of doctors and opinions we were told there was a solution - one that was lengthy, painful and expensive, but one that would fix the damage and save her a lifetime of agonizing pain, difficulty with eating and speaking, and even allow Luna to truly smile once more. As her parents, we knew there was no other choice to make.

Thankfully, with the help of our friends and community, we were able to raise enough funding to help us get through the initial TMJ surgery and recovery. Luna has healed beautifully. However, as we were told at the beginning, this was only the first of two necessary surgeries. The 2nd surgery is required to correct her bite, so the disc repairs remain stabilized.

In order to prepare for the 2nd surgery, Luna has been in braces since June of 2025. During this interim process, Dr. Chris Henry, our orthodontist in St. Augustine has been moving her teeth into the correct position to be ready for the 2nd surgery. We are now approaching this next and final chapter.

The surgical procedure is called a Lefort I Osteotomy and will be done by Dr. Brian Shah in St. Petersburg at the Piper Clinic. It requires him to move her top jaw forward to match the bite of the lower jaw. Protocol for the surgery requires that we be in St. Pete for 2 weeks again, which means I will be taking time off from work to be Luna's caretaker. 

As you may know from our first fundraiser, Dr. Shah does not work with insurance companies and must be paid in advance. We will be given all the information to try to file with our healthcare provider, Florida Healthcare Plans, but there is no guarantee we will see much of a reimbursement. When we figured out the total cost of all the medical bills from the bilateral TMJ surgery that included the surgery, hospital, anesthesia, therapy, chiropractic care, and medications and combined it with the costs of the rentals, time lost from work, and travel across the state 6 times for checkups, the total was over $80,000. Florida HealthCare Plans reimbursed us a total $6500 for her treatment.

There is a $10,000 deposit to schedule the Lefort I Osteotomy surgery which will be deducted from the total price of the surgery which is $41,916. We will not know the costs for the hospital, anesthesia, therapy and medications until closer to the scheduled surgery, but I anticipate those costs to be similar to our first experience. We will have to rent accommodations again for the required 2-week time period and when we go back for checkups. Luna will be on a no-chew diet again for two months after the surgery and then soft food after that for a while, so I'll be back to cooking lots of mashed potatoes and applesauce. 

If there is anything we can do for you, I hope you will let us know. I am still working as an insurance agent and can provide information on supplemental products and alternative healthcare options if you are shopping or have a business that needs any kind of competitive quotes for life or medical insurance, (we all know prices have risen). I have my license in Florida and Georgia. Your referrals help me grow my book of business which in turn helps me provide for our family. Richard is also busy working hard at the PVConcert Hall and The St. Augustine Amphitheater but is always ready to lend a hand if you call him. 

We are so grateful for everyone who contributed to Luna's fundraiser before, and we hope that you can help us again. We could not have managed without your support. Every dollar that was given made us feel loved and cared for...and quite humbled by your generosity. 

Thank you so much for supporting us and Luna,

Alexia and Richard Stanford