The Hazard Chronicles

This week I want to wish a very happy birthday to My Little Girl, Evelyn! This has been a week of celebrations for her. On Wednesday (her actual birthday) we had a family party. Her class also celebrated their 100 day mark on this day. On Thursday, Evelyn delivered cupcakes to her kindergarten class that she personally, thoughtfully, and individually hand-decorated for each of them. And on Saturday she had a party with all her closest friends at our house. She requested a Valentine’s Day theme for this celebration, and we happily obliged since we could get all the stuff for 70-90% off by waiting until the after-holiday sales. It has definitely been an exciting week for her.

I also have to mention Evelyn’s talk she gave in primary today. She wrote it all by herself, even including a scripture that we had memorized as a family (men are that they might have joy). Since she still can’t write all the words, she drew comic-strip style notes for herself so she would remember what to say, and then she delivered it on her own- clearly and confidently. I am so proud of My Little Girl. It is fun to watch her grow up.

Switching gears a little bit, I want to take some time here to mention one of the major perks I see of owning my own business. Free dentistry. But first of all, I need to make it clear that I am not intending this story to be promotional in any way, but I am telling it here because of its deep significance to me, and for the profound impact it has had in my own perception of my career. Also, names have obviously been changed, as have some of the circumstances in order to protect my patient’s privacy (and to keep the HIPPA lawyers happy).

Anyway, as I have mentioned before, our dental practice is going really well for us. Word-of-mouth referrals have driven more patients to our office than we ever anticipated, and Rachel’s advertising has been extremely effective. Also, “Heartwood Dental” and “Dr. Logan Hazard” are becoming increasingly recognizable names in our area based on our community outreach efforts and the weekly educational articles that I (or Rachel) write for the newspaper. Furthermore, we continue to see nothing but positive public reviews for our practice consistently on a weekly basis, which is only helping to fuel the growth. In other words- things are looking up. It is exciting.

Now, when Rachel and I started this venture, free dentistry was always a part of the plan. In fact, it was (and is) one of the entire end-goals for me. And now that we have our feet under us, and the practice is bringing in money, we decided it was time to start putting together a plan for how we would implement this into the way we care for patients. We still haven’t totally figured things out, and I’m sure changes will be made as we go, but when “Sally” came to my office I decided to just go for it and let the details iron themselves out as we went.

Sally is in her early thirties, but is also the victim of spousal abuse. Like, bad spousal abuse. When she first came to my office, it was with a “life coach” (who I recognized from the community) who was helping her to piece things back together. She was literally unable to look me in the eye, and her speech was quiet and subdued. Smiling was out of the question. Between her and her coach, they were able to explain that things in her mouth had gotten pretty messed up due to her experiences, and that they wanted to put together a plan to fix everything. The one catch was that there was some PTSD-type psychological trauma that made the dental office an extremely uncomfortable place, so we would have to work very slowly and be patient (this is actually pretty common in abuse victims- leaning back in a chair in helpless position with someone else works on your mouth can evoke some pretty strong emotions).

As far a payment was concerned, a local charity had agreed to sponsor Sally’s rehabilitation up to a certain amount of money. Sally was nervous but excited to get started, and so we agreed to take x-rays and give her the options. The initial exam was difficult, and Sally’s coach had to be holding her hands and talking to her whenever she was leaning back in the chair. Midway through, Sally started to cry, but nodded for me to continue. I went as fast as I could without missing anything for the diagnosis, and then sat her up and brought her and her coach into a more comfortable room. Then I explained to them that Sally had two options. Using the money the charity had given her we would be able to do nothing but remove the remaining teeth and give her a set of dentures- but I would make sure it was the nicest set of dentures I had ever done. Another option was to save all of her teeth by undergoing extensive dental work including several fillings, root canals, and crowns, but that this would put her outside of the price range the charity had given her…By a lot. Like, the price of a brand new car. So, it was understandable when Sally looked hopeless. There was no way she would be able to pay, but she was so young, and the idea of dentures was devastating to her.

And then I made a decision. It was somewhat impulsive, but it was one of the best decisions I have made up to this point in my career. I told Sally that I wanted to fix her teeth. The charity money would cover my expenses so I would not lose money on the case, and as long as she was willing to work with us on our schedule I told her that I would be willing to write off all but a relatively small portion of the rest because I didn’t want to see her in dentures. At first she just looked at me. Her coach looked at me. I think they were trying to figure out whether or not I was crazy. And then she started to cry.

During the course of Sally’s treatment, I have seen a total transformation take place. The initial visits were slow. Her coach had to be there. She would frequently hyperventilate or need breaks. It was frustrating, and at times I regretted my decision to do the work. But as time moved on she became more trusting of us and was able to have appointment on her own. She started to build more self confidence and to be more outgoing. It turns out that she likes classic rock (which I always have playing in my office while I work), and we would talk during our visits about the greatest musicians from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. I don’t think I’m being overly dramatic when I say that I watched Sally become a functioning person again, and I was honored to know that I had a part to play in that, however small it might have been.

This week we finished the case. We cemented on the crowns for her front teeth. When she looked at herself in the mirror she let out a laugh and then she started to cry uncontrollably. She ran to where I was and gave me a hug and kept saying thank you over and over again. She was beautiful, and she recognized it. I think it was a life-changing moment for her. Later in the week she came into the office and said she wanted to show something to everyone. We gathered around as she showed us a picture of herself at a party that had been taken on a cell phone. There was nothing special about the picture- it was her and a friend with their arms around each other. Both were smiling.

“Look at this picture, and guess what stands out to me?” she asked.

She continued without waiting for our response. “I’ll tell you what. This is the first picture I have of me smiling as an adult…ever. I have never had that before. I just wanted to say thank you. More than anybody else, it was because of you people- the way you treated me while I was here and the miracle that you have created in my smile- that this was able to happen. You believed in me, and you have given me a second chance at life. I just thought you should know that.” She was crying (again) at this point. I don’t think she was the only one.

And you know- it is rewarding to be able to see that you made that kind of a difference. I mean, I knew I was helping, but I never expected that it would mean so much to her. And the thing is that I easily could have given her a denture that looked just as nice- but to her it would always be a denture and nothing more. I am glad that our business is in the position that I was able to do this. I am glad that I have a skill-set that can help people in this way. I have had several patients who have been happy with my work, and I have received several gifts and thank-you cards from them. I have been the recipient of a lot of hugs and smiles and tears- but Sally’s case is different to me. It is different because it was the first time I had given the patient something significant that they were not able to do for themselves. And I never would have been able to do that if I had been working for someone else. It felt good- I like this business thing.

Anyway- that’s me. It’s been a good week. As far as Rachel’s career is going, she is doing amazing things as well. She has been getting more and more requests for her services in the community lately, and has finally started to have to turn people down. Her work with Sorenson is going great, and is definitely pushing her to become better and better. She is also on a board that is putting together a big conference thing for this summer, and it has been neat to see her ideas getting translated into action. She has very much become the professional, and I couldn’t be any more proud of her.

Addy and Jack and Maren are good too. I just don’t have much to say about them this week. Addy was a little sick. That’s all.

Here are some pictures- have a good week J

Guess what? I made this! There is a story behind it though. A while ago, Evelyn was feeling very lonely and didn't want to go to school. I gave her my guitar pick and told her to put it in her pocket. I told her that whenever she was lonely she could hold onto it and know that I was thinking about her. Well, for her birthday I went to the craft store and bought some beads and chain and stuff and made this necklace. I used a lot of my dental tools to make it, and I didn't really know what I was doing- but I think it turned out pretty good! I love how it looks on her too- it fits tight (but can adjust for growth), and is very "punk." It's cool.

 Here's our birthday girl about to hit the pinata.

 Rachel was pretty proud of this cake. And since I'm not a huge fan of cake, I liked it too since I could just eat the candy bars on the sides.

Evelyn with her friends.