After years of struggling unsuccessfully to get back to work, 23-year-old mother Ciara Martin finds herself “caught between a rock and a hard place” as a result of her chronic diabetes.

Although Ms Martin said she has been able to qualify for Financial Assistance, the cash-strapped Government agency cannot help with a problem she believes is one of the top obstacles holding her back from getting a job.

She doesn’t have any teeth.

“I’ve had diabetes for about 16 years, and because I didn’t have the right medication, all the nerves in my mouth are shot,” Ms Martin told The Royal Gazette. “All my teeth are gone, and they can’t do any kind of implant — it would be just a waste of time and money.”

Aside from her difficulty in expressing herself, Ms Martin said she was convinced her lack of teeth at such a comparatively young age has caused potential employers to look at her askance.

Her last job was seven years ago, as a cashier and server for Mr Chicken — a post that she held for about two years. Before that, she worked at the Ice Queen.

Ms Martin said her background was retail, serving food and child care, although she was still working toward obtaining a qualification in the latter.

Out of more job enquiries than she can recall, Ms Martin said she only made it to two interviews.

“Every place I’ve applied, I never get phone calls back,” she said.

“I want to go and work. I also want to have a better appearance with my face. Right now I feel like I look like someone who’s addicted to drugs, which I am not. I’m not asking for pity or for people to feel sorry for me. I’m just asking for people to understand my circumstances.”

Ms Martin said she discovered that she was pregnant only after being taken to the hospital for her diabetes in October, 2011.

“I was in hospital for a week for a diabetes coma. They told me that because I was under so much medication, I would have an irregular menstrual cycle. But time passed and the doctors had to do some blood work — and they found out that I was pregnant. I was blessed with a beautiful baby boy, but the bad thing is that with the way I’m living, I can’t afford it.”

Financial Assistance provides $450 a month to cover her groceries, she said. With a young child to provide for, she barely scrapes by. In the meantime, Government relief will not cover her for the cost of dentures.

“They told me whatever I need to get, I need to get it on my own,” she said.

Ms Martin said she had tried to plead her case to the Bermuda Diabetes Association, which in turn requested her to obtain a written statement from the Department of Financial Assistance stating why she couldn’t get help, but that so far the agency hadn’t provided one.

“If I could get my teeth fixed, I could feel better about myself, it would be easier to get a job, and I could finish my education,” she said. “It’s not a want — it’s a need.”

She requested for anyone with advice to contact her at ciara.martin32@yahoo.com.