“I never thought in my wildest dreams I’d be able to get this done.” – A Conversation with Barbara Kurdna 

Editor’s Note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity while preserving the patient’s authentic voice and story. 

Barbara Kurdna traveled from Nebraska to Costa Rica at 77 years old with decades of unresolved dental trauma. She’d carried nickel and aluminum in her mouth for over 20 years. Through her functional medicine network, she found TRYBE. And finally, she found answers. 

We sat down with Barbara to hear her story. 

On Finding TRYBE 

I come from a small town, Red Cloud, Nebraska. I was lucky enough to find Dr. Torres and Dr. Carter in Omaha, Nebraska to help with my dental issues that I’ve had for many, many years. They said that my dental issues could be fixed. And they told us about Dr. Fernández in this clinic, that they knew them. And if I would be interested in making the trip down here to get dental restoration done. 

I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be able to get this done. It’s been a long, long road, but we did it and came down to do it. And I think God leads you where you need to be.

On the TRYBE Experience 

Everyone here has just been great to us, more than helpful, and Dr. Fernández is very kind. I really haven’t seen Dr. Fernández that much because I n’t remember surgery at all. But I just remember the kindness, his kindness, and he sat us down and explained everything to us the day before surgery, the scans and everything. So we knew what to expect.

How It All Started 

Long story short, my dental situation started as a young child, but in 1981, our local dentist put in nickel and aluminum bridges in my mouth, which I had in my mouth for over 20 years. And when I found out I was gonna have to have those out, you know, they did blood work on me. And I had nickel and aluminum in my system and all of that. And that’s scary. 

You don’t even think about it when it happens to you, because the dentist says, “Oh yeah, this will be great.” And they did, they looked great, but I felt like I was eating tinfoil every day.

Why She Had to Leave the US 

So much as what we have in the United States, nothing’s been the closest to this that we have in the United States. And I’ve done biocompatible dentistry, but nothing on this level. And that’s why I’m here. 

Medicine and dentistry in the United States… when I first wasn’t feeling well, back in the 90s, somebody told me, “Find out what’s in your mouth.” So I went to the dentist I’ve been going to, and I said, “Could you tell me what I’ve got in my mouth?” 

And he looked at me and he said, “If I find out anybody’s messing around and taking stuff out of your mouth, I will turn them in.” 

And that’s what happens in the United States. And that’s why people are scared to death to go against it. They just want to do the mainstream because they don’t want to buck the system.

Finding Hope Through Functional Medicine 

I think around 1999, we found functional medicine, which is more the natural side. And we’ve been doing that for like 25, 26 years now. And I can tell you right now, I wouldn’t be alive if we hadn’t found functional medicine.

The Decision to Travel 

A friend of mine who is a nurse was down here maybe around a year, a year and a half ago for surgery. And she couldn’t say enough great things about this. And she looks wonderful. She recovered wonderfully and has now a new baby. 

Just hearing her stories about the clinic made us feel so safe about coming here. Our friend told us kind of what to expect when we got here and Dr. Torres did too. So it’s kind of been what we expected, but I’ll tell you the people are very friendly here. And it’s beautiful. I wish I felt like going out and seeing the rest of your country. Maybe the next time.

Looking Forward at 77 

That’s why I say, I think God leads you to where you need to be at the time you need to be there. I’m 77 years old, but I don’t intend to die tomorrow. And I want to live the next lot of years a lot healthier. I mean more healthy than I am.

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