FloodZone: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... Orependelos clinic, day 4

Today was a good day. Today was a bad day. Today was a trying day and a miraculous day all rolled into one. We saw our highest number of patients (85), completed 49 fillings, performed 90 extractions, and 38 cleanings. The numbers alone show a banner day. But, numbers alone do not tell the whole story. Our set up was good in that we were all in one room with an area for restorative, an area for surgical, and an area for cleaning and triage. Being all in one room also led to confusion at times when trying to determine who was next to be seen.

Let me take this time to share a few of our up and down stories of the day.

The brother of one of our interpreters, Anibal, brought some of his family and friends. They were among the first to be seen. One of them was a very beautiful girl of around twenty who was wearing a nice church dress for the occasion. As it turns out she needed to have two lower molars pulled. I could see the tears well up in her eyes as she was receiving the numbing medication. It certainly could have been from the pain, but I think it also was from the realization that she was about to have two teeth pulled at such a young age. She stayed around much of the day as she was waiting for the rest of her party to have their procedures done. I had a clear view of her the whole time she was there. All day long she had a very sullen, downcast look.

On the bright side we had another young lady about the same age who entered the clinic with her hand covering her mouth. She was very careful not to show her teeth. Her top four front teeth were in very bad shape and in need of some serious dental work. Boy did she ever come to the right place! Randy Arnold and Ryan Galey spent two and a half hours working on her. When she left not only did she have a brand new smile, but she also had a brand new countenance.

We saw another lady in the triage chair who needed to have her front two top teeth extracted. They were beyond repair. However, she refused the service due to lack of funds to pay for the plate that could replace those teeth. It would have cost a grand total of $25 for the plate. Anyone of us would have given that money in a heartbeat. Scott, Ernie, and I wrestled with the outcomes for several minutes and finally decided we could not do for her what we would have been unable to do for everyone. Neither did we want to cause any trouble for the Sizemores or future MOM dental teams.

This was also a day for the grunts among us to pull some teeth. I pulled two teeth and David Dekle pulled one. I regret that I do not have a picture of the tooth that Kay Simpson pulled yesterday.

For me this was an emotionally draining day. It seems that we had a harder time with many of the children today in getting them numb. We had to really explain the benefits of what was being done and help them fight through the tears and the pain of the shots. But, it was also a day to celebrate. We saw 85 people! We relieved pain and improved smiles. All in all it was a great day!