Dear Johnny,

My dad, Tom, is a retired carpenter, but has since went back to work as a

maintenance man to make ends meet. Due to the nature of his work as a

carpenter, he has numerous health issues. He has had Hip replacement,

Knee replacement, Herniated disk surgery, both rotator cuffs repaired, and

more.

My dad has been a hard worker his whole life. I used to watch my dad from

my bedroom window leave for work early in the mornings. He would come

home as soon as he could, dirty and tired but never too tired for us kids.

Even with the struggles he would still smile and laugh. He loves telling

stories and stupid jokes. But over the last few years, I’ve seen him smile

less and less because of problems with his teeth. He has had upper

dentures for the last 15 years, but recently has had serious infection in four

of his bottom teeth (two of them had to be pulled). His dentist has warned

him that he needs denture replacement. He has health and dental, but it

doesn’t cover dentures.

He lives alone now and it’s hard for him to come up with that extra money.

I try and help as much as I can, but I am a single mother that works full

time trying to get by myself. I would do anything for my dad. He needs

upper and lower dentures, but he just doesn’t have the money. I know he is

worried about infection and it’s painful for him to even eat and I think he

gets embarrassed in public because of his teeth. He’s always been my best

friend and I’m just scared that if we don’t fix this he’ll have problems down

the road. I really would just be able to help my dad smile again.

Thank you for all you guys do, it is greatly appreciated by everyone.

Destiny

Who Helped: Christopher & Pipefitters 533. Alexander Ray’s TV & Appliance, Tom, Joe & Miles, Lori, Jerry, Cosentino’s

How You Helped: raised money for new dentures for her father and groceries