Help Taryn to eat real food again

Yet more surgery but this time neither ACC nor Southern Cross will help with the bill.

In 2011 I was diagnosed with osteo-arthritis of the jaw joints (a rare condition), having to purée food and drink it through a straw. I had my first surgery in Jan 2012 to try and fix it and this at least allowed me to eat soft foods. Unfortunately it didn't work and in July 2013 I had to have the joints replaced with artificial ones custom made to fit my skull. The left joint has been successful however the right one has had nothing but problems.

I have had to give up my career and have been advised that I'm not likely to be able to consider full-time work for the next two to three years due to ongoing issues and pain. My husband Ben and I can manage on one income but, naturally, the cost of the surgery is crippling to most people. That’s why the average person pays medical insurance or waits in line for the public health system to assist. ACC have taken an inordinate amount of time to decide they should not have paid for any of the operations and after their letter of declinatation it has been a shock to be turned down by Southern Cross for my fourth surgery. The type of surgery that I need is not done in the public hospitals and there are only a couple of qualified surgeons to perform it and they do not work in the public system either. Therefore, we have to finance it for ourselves. From the first surgery to this time I have had a very limited diet. I can no longer chew (unless it is very soft), as others take for granted, so I have been on mainly soft foods since the first surgery. Talking is a strain. The whole business has been fraught with tension and upset for both Ben and myself. All our savings will now go towards the cost, but it will not be enough, and so, I ask for a little assistance please, to help us get through this time and help my jaw function again.