Dental issues growing and experiences up.

I was wondering if it was a common experience for others to have grown up without insurance, dental visits and check ups with the doctors, from growing up without insurance and struggling to get a job while undocumented until finally post DACA getting a good full time job with benefits, and having to catch up on years of care not done.

Yeah for sure. I had a cat scratch once that got infected and then my lymph node got swollen and was bleeding internally so after weeks of having a fever, being in pain and suffering knowing I couldn't afford a doctor and thinking I could wind up dying from a stupid cat scratch if the infection spread, I found a church in the shitty town we lived in that had a free clinic twice a week and I made it there. The old retired doctor took a look and had a look of concern, shuffled through some papers and told me he was referring me to a surgical center so they could drain it. I think I was 19 at the time and remember sheepishly telling him that I couldn't afford it. I didn't tell him that, but I knew as an undocumented person I couldn't qualify for medicaid or any government program and didn't even have ID so I was terrified my status would come up (even though I was probably the only undocumented person in that whole city), but he was kind and told me not to worry about any of that.

So I went to the surgical center a couple of days later and got really worried because the place looked new, clean, and expensive but they were expecting me and just took care of me and even gave me antibiotics to take home. Even in early 90's money that would have cost me at least a grand.

I still believed in god in those days so I promised god that if I ever got my green card, I'd donate $1000 back to that church and was thinking of the note to leave with the check...maybe something like "Thank you for taking care of me 5 years ago. I was undocumented and you guys didn't turn me away, please don't ever turn anybody away". Then when I would remember that promise I'd change my mental note to 10 years, 20 years...30 years...The offer is still there actually.

I did send the church $20 with paypal a few years ago though for the free food I had there a couple of times so we're even there, but I was hoping that sending the money there would remind the god I don't believe in anymore about our deal.

come to new york, free health care