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Sarah has the sweetest smile and few people would know what she battles every day.

In September of 2010, Sarah went into the hospital with viral meningitis. During this one week hospital stay several MRIs and CAT scans were done to determine the cause. During this time they caught the tip of what they thought was a rather large cyst in her jaw. The oral surgeon she was referred to did a biopsy just to be sure. Even he was surprised to discover that it was a tumor. It was benign, but very locally aggressive. We never knew. At this point, Sarah hadn't been experiencing pain. Had they not caught it by accident, it could have destroyed far more than just her lower right jaw.

Sarah was referred to an Oral Maxillofacial Surgeon who looked at her x-rays and scans and told us that she needed immediate surgery and not to wait to prevent the ameloblastoma from getting larger and destroying more than just her lower right jaw bone.

She had immediate surgery in late October of 2010. They had to take out the joint and the entire portion of her lower right jaw. In its place she has a titanium plate going from the front part of her chin all the way around to her hinge joint. Her recovery from the surgery took at least 2 1/2 months. But it has left its lasting scars. She no longer has full mobility of her mouth (she cannot open it as wide as she used to), she lost 1/4 of her bottom teeth due to the bone removal, and the tumor caused irreversible nerve damage going to part of her face and bottom lip, along with a scar on her neck.

She was told by her surgeons that while the titanium plate will help function for now, that it is still relatively fragile and could at some point fail within 1 - 2 years of surgery. They also said that the risk of reoccurrence of this tumor is high for the first 6 - 9 months. She cannot do many of the things that she used to do because she cannot risk the plate breaking prematurely or the reconstruction could end up being even more extensive. She cannot eat many of the foods she once loved to eat because it may damage the plate if she chews on the wrong thing. And, to look at her, you'd never know what she lives with every day.

She is now at the phase where she needs the reconstructive surgery and we have no insurance, no credit, no cash and don't qualify for any of the hospital's programs. The reconstruction will be extensive with three surgeries done concurrently (transplanting part of her tibia to fashion a new stable jaw bone and part of her rib to form the hinge joint) to minimize the risks over other standard bone grafting treatments, lessen (if not eliminate) additional surgeries, shorten recovery time and be able to prepare her new jaw for teeth to be replaced.

Every dime of this donation goes directly to the hospital, doctors and labs to pay for the surgery, hospital stay and related costs.

Help a 17 year old girl become whole again....help her regain her confident smile. Never take the smile of a child for granted. We would be forever grateful for your support.

AND THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS FOR YOUR KINDNESS!

You can also send donations via mail to: Sarah Reynolds' Surgery Fund, c/o Congregation Ohev Shalom, 6821 McCallum Blvd, Dallas TX 75252. ** A Haskoma is available upon request - email Tamar at kathleen.jcreynolds@gmail.com

John (Zevulun) and Kathleen (Tamar) Reynolds