Desperation Stories Part II

Early last week I wrote a post on a lady who was so desperate to get a denture replacement that she used an alias name in hopes that I would not notice and she would receive a free denture. Well if you read the post you know that she did receive the denture however not without me noticing or catching on to her sneaky ways.

Well this week the stories of desperation continue, these might be considered more sneaky and clever rather than desperate… however I think they all fall under the umbrella of being desperate.

Yesterday when I arrived at the clinic there was this random lady sitting inside the compound waiting to chat with me. How she got in without an appointment only the guards and God know that but none the less she was sitting there waiting for me.  Once I got things started for the day I attended to  her and her needs. She begged me to give her an appointment at that point and time, verse her getting in the line up and waiting her turn like every one else has to do.   

Now let me give you an update on the dental line situation. The past three Mondays and Thursdays we have had around 225 people form the line hoping and wishing they get the chance to get in. The past 3 weeks after all the appointments have been handed out I have felt like we have not even made a dent in the line. Very frustrating and sad….People are getting the clue that closing time is coming sooner rather than later and they are coming in masses. The line is so huge that yesterday when I handed out the last ticket for the week the lady ran away screaming Halleluiah Halleluiah Halleluiah.  That is just a little insight into the number of people who are showing up at the clinic weekly and what I am dealing with on that matter… now back to the lady.

So or course I explained to her that it was not fair for me to give her an appointment when the people outside had been waiting in line since about 5am or earlier. She was not happy but after several times of explaining my reasoning she left. I thought she had finally understood that she needed to form the line however a few hours later my translator comes to me and tells me there is a lady who has showed up with an appointment card with the wrong date on it and wants to be treated today. When I went to check out the situation I found out that the lady was yours truly….. random lady from earlier.  After several questions she admitted to going to her friend and asking to use her appointment card, hoping we would not know it was not her. HAHA oh my. 

Lets not forget I spent an hr earlier in the day explaining myself to her, how could I forget her lovely face. I said I am sorry but you need to form the line and you also need to get this appointment card back to your friend, because if she misses this appointment she to will have to form the line again.  SERIOUSLY!

Also yesterday when I was pulling into clinic I noticed this sign hanging up outside by the motor bike parking area that said Garde Velo 1oo F.

I thought to myself, you must be kidding me, are the security guards really charging our patients for parking. What don’t they not get about NO MONEY BUSINESS. After the line up and dealing with the rest of the stuff I deal with every day I remembered this sign. So I walked out of the compound to have a look and sure enough the sign said Keep Bikes 100F (about 20 cents), I then explained that they could not charge our patients to park their motor bikes there. The security guards informed me that they were not doing it that it was some man who lived in the area who decided to start a parking garage outside of our FREE clinic. HAHA . So I said he can not do that anymore, we pay good money to the security guards and that would be a job for them not this man who thinks he needs to start a business outside the dental clinic.

I have to give it to these people, they are very resourceful and they try every avenue possible to get what they want or need. It just doesn’t always go over that well with me.  My team keeps telling me I should write a book once I leave here…. I am thinking that I might need to consider this as my next business move. Oh what will I do without Africa?.?

Wild Hogs.

My dad and brother the two on the left hand side of the picture below, are currently on a 6 day/4 State motorcycle tour with two other father son groups from our church back home. This is the second day and I have been updated frequently thanks to the wonderful advancements in the cell phone world. Please keep them in your prayers as they continue to bike around the northern sates of the USA. I believe today is Utah. 

Biking through the mountains must be an amazing experience for them. 

Them at Black Canyon.. I think in Colorado.  Yesterday Day 1

A New Level of Desperation

Just when you think you have seen and heard it all, someone comes along and blows your mind and brings you back to the reality of life here. I was sitting in the reception room with Joyce our receptionist today and in walked a translator followed by a patient. He explained to me that she had been here before and the we had removed a few of her teeth and she had lost the appointment card with the denture man for a replacement fitting. I said ok no problem just give me your name so I can look up your chart. She complied and I proceeded to pull her chart. The notes from the day she received treatment stated that we had removed 2 teeth the very front 2 on top and that those teeth needed to be replaced.

I thought ok easy, just make her out a new appointment card and I will be on my way. Just to make sure I did not miss any teeth that need to be added into the replacement I asked the patient to open her mouth. When she did the patient had NO upper teeth at all. I then looked back at the name and age of the patient to make sure I had the right lady. Sure enough the name was the name the lady had provided us with. 

First red flag the age on the chart said 24... this lady looked about 40. I asked her again is this you she nodded yes.  

Second red flag and the biggest of all. There is no dentist in the right state of mind that would request only 2 teeth be replaced if there were no other teeth left. What would you attach it to. Why would you only replace 2 when 14 other teeth are missing. 

Anyway come to find out this lady.. had used her friend, sister or daughters name to come in and attempt to receive an appointment to get a denture for her toothless mouth. I figured if someone is in that sate of despair then who am I to say no you can not have one. Someone asked me if I wrote on the appointment card that she only get the 2 teeth out that the original lady was suppose to get out, and I said no b/c then she will just return with a note from the denture man saying it is not possible..... just when you think you have seen it all.

Can you imaging being so desperate for a denture that you had to lie about who you where.... I am sure this lady did not even second guess this decision.  There is an entire different lever of desperation here and this is just one mild example.   

Locks of Love Night

Tonight in Starbucks Cafe the Africa Mercy Crew had a Locks of Love Drive. Anyone supporting 8 inches of hair or more was faced with a de-lima.... to cut or not to cut. I personally did not meet the to cut criteria...I however do have a few friends who passed and decided to cut. Actually as I type this blog I am overhearing my next door roommate brake the news to her mom that her beautiful long hair is now gone...the walls are REALLY thin... you can overhear anything. 

My favorite quote from the night. I will not be defined as beautiful because of my hair.  

People sitting around watching the cutting show. 

The freshly cut ponytail of a 5 grader. 

No Words Are Needed...........

New Outfits

Today I received two new outfits from a patient as a thank you gift. They are very nice and fit very well as you can tell in the pictures below. Nice thought but not exactly my style or is it? 

This one is a shirt and a wrap skirt in the gorgeous color of light brown. It even included a head wrap. 

This one is a pants set..... a little big don't you think? 

So big that Liz and I can both fit in it...... hahah 

Unexpected Visitor.

It is wonderful to have an un-expected visitor stop by just to say hello. They don't want anything, they don't need anything, they don't expect anything...... they just want you to know they are thinking about you and appreciate you. That is the kind of little blessing that changes a persons day from bad to good... and that is exactly what Noel did to my day today. 

Noel was the 2nd broken jaw patient that we fixed this outreach. I think the number on his chart reads DBED #5 we are now on DBED# 4200. I remember him the day I spotted him in the line up on that first Thursday. He did not look so good. Today almost 5 months later he is stopping by the clinic just to say HELLO to me. His English vocabulary is not the largest in fact I think he only knows Hello, I am good, thank you, and Jessica. Which makes since why every time he sees me he sounds like a broken record saying Jessica...... however it is one broken record that I enjoy. Above is a post-op picture of Noel with his daughter. When we discharged him about a month ago I was sad when I said good-bye thinking I would never see him again.... little did I know he would stop by un-expected and say hello.