You can call it a Christmas wish in June.
A woman who dresses up as Mrs. Santa Claus during the holidays is stepping in to help a 21-year-old girl who will undergo her 14th jaw surgery in June.
Claus, who legally changed her name to Merry Christmas Claus, is married to Mr. Santa Claus – together, they both dress up as Mr. and Mrs. Claus for holiday events.
“I’ve known Sammie for years. Her family is very special to me,” said Claus.
21-year-old Samantha Truesdall was born with a birth defect in which her jaw was too far backwards, causing her severe migraines and pain for years.
“My jaw was so far back – it looked like I didn’t have a jaw,” said Truesdall as she looked through her book of before and after surgery pictures.
Her first surgery was in 2012. The doctors broke her jaw to pull it forward and did a complete jaw joint replacement, but a month later, Truesdall got an infection which led to complications. Her body also didn’t react well to the metal in her mouth.
“I was originally only supposed to have one surgery to kind of fix everything,” said Truesdall. “I thought I would be okay, but I went back to the doctor and was told I’d have to have another surgery.”
After her 11th surgery, doctors completed some scans, which showed her joints had deterriated due to arthritis.
“I’ve now had 13 jaw surgeries in five years. This will be the 14th surgery,” said Truesdall.
Each surgery costs the family roughly eighty-thousand dollars.
“It takes a huge toll on my life. Not just physically, but emotionally, financially – it’s like my life is on pause,” added Truesdall. “Each time, the pain comes back and then we found out the bones had grown back.”
After each surgery, Truesdall is in the ICU for two to three days and stays at the hospital for over a week. The recovery time is about six to seven months.
“This next surgery has me nervous because it’s going to be a little different than the ones my doctor has done before. He shaves the side of my head all the way back,” said Truesdall. “But since my jaw bones are now hitting my skull and joints, the doctor will be shaving the bones and cutting my abdomen to place above the joints for cushion. And that’s what is worrisome because I don’t know what that is going to feel like. I’ve never had them go through my stomach.”
"It's frustrating for me to watch that my daughter has had so many surgeries and is bad all the time and not feeling well all the time and is non-functioning because I can't fix it,” said Kathleen Novak, Truesdall’s mom.
In efforts to help Truesdall, who’s currently enrolled at Kansas University studying pre-med, Claus started a GoFundMe account to help alleviate some of the financial burdens that come with the surgeries.
“She wants to be a maxillofacial surgeon to help other kids like herself who need this type of surgery,” said Claus. “That’s the kind of kid she is. She wants to help others. And to be able to help even a little financially, well that’s the least Santa and I can do. It should be Christmas every day for that child because she’s been through so much.”
After her next surgery, which is scheduled for June 13th, Truesdall will only be able to eat liquids for months and will have to time off of college for her recovery.
“I'm just non-functioning for so long and I'm in tremendous amount of pain in that I kind of put my life on pause,” adds Truesdall.
“If others can make even a small donation of support for Sammie and her mom, it will make all of the difference,” said Claus. “Because she deserves a healthy lifestyle.”
To support Truesdall’s medical costs, you can donate to her GoFundMe page.
