Saul

Miriam describes her two-year old son Saul as a sweet, caring boy with a huge imagination. He loves to sing, dance, and color. Saul and Miriam live together in Fort Worth.

Saul started having sensitivity in his mouth. He started waking in the middle of the night in pain. Miriam took him to the dentist, who quickly scheduled him for surgery. The treatment needed to be completed at the hospital under anesthesia due to his young age. Saul had Medicaid, so his mother scheduled the surgery without issue.

However, Saul lost Medicaid coverage in July when pandemic protections expired. Without coverage his treatment plan would cost over $14,000. “I had no extra funds to help pay out of pocket for my son’s dental treatment and was very worried for his dental health,” Miriam said. “I am a single mother and live on a very tight budget. I hardly have any funds left after bills are taken care of, and I stressed over my son’s much needed dental treatment.”

She applied with another organization for assistance, but never heard back. She was told to contact Gill Children’s Services. Miriam said, “Gill had followed up with me the very next day after I had submitted an application via email.” Our Dental Case Manager Alice worked quickly to keep Saul’s surgery scheduled. Alice negotiated discounts with the dentist, anesthesia group, and hospital to reduce the cost to $2,700.

You provided the emergency financial assistance needed to perform Saul’s dental treatment. His surgery was successful. “He is doing well eating soft foods and liquids,” Miriam said.

Miriam is grateful to the donors who helped Saul. “Thank you for allowing my son to get his dental treatment done and thank you for contributing to an amazing organization such as Gill. You have helped my little family in such an amazing way. I won’t ever be able to forget and will be forever grateful!”