Another Dental Experience
I don’t know how many of you remember a blog that I posted a while ago about a dental experience I had here in Haiti a few months ago, but if you missed it, click here to read about it. That experience was much different than others I have had in the states, and today I am in the middle of another experience with a dentist here in Haiti. This time, however, I am here with 2 of our children (Zalex and Fedeline) who have had some issues with their teeth and they are here at Christianville to have those issues fixed. Before I go on, I want to tell you about 2 different American dentists that I have experience with. First of all, if you live in LaGrange and do not have a dentist, please consider Dr. John Vollenweider! He did some work for me when I needed it and it was one of the most pleasant dental experiences I have ever had, he and his staff are top notch. Secondly, if you live in the Jacksonville/St. Augustine area and do not have a dentist, I would strongly encourage you to check out Dr. William Harriet. He comes down to Haiti a few times per year, and has been wonderful for our children. He is the one doing Fedeline’s work right now even as I type this and he is a good man and a very knowledgable dentist. Both of these men have either helped us personally or our ministry when they did not have to…they just did.
Anyway, today the experience is much different because I am sitting in the waiting room and I am feeling nervous for an entirely different reason. I am nervous because I know that Fedeline and Woodlerxe have some very painful procedures that, while they are very necessary, will cause them some pain, and all I can do is sit out here in the waiting room typing this blog. I also know that they are each nervous about going in, mainly because they did not say a word on the ride over here, and if you know Fedeline, that is extremely uncommon. They do not know what to expect, and I know when they are finished, especially Fedeline will be in a lot of pain. She needs to have 4 teeth extracted, she has decay on some of her permanent teeth, and she has some cavities that may or may not need to be filled. These things have caused her a lot of pain. Anyway, I know they are about to come back out, so I will finish this blog tomorrow and tell you how it went…
So now I am sitting at a dining table while all of the children are at school taking exams, and I want to finish the blog. Yesterday, when Fedeline came out, I could tell she wanted to cry, but she did not want us to see her cry. The dentist, Dr. Harriet, told me she was incredible. She just sat there and let him do the necessary work without wiggling and without crying, and he was genuinely impressed with her. I could, however, see a look on Fedeline’s face that you just do not see very often. She was stunned at what had just happened and she was in pain. In fact, when he let her back into the waiting room, she immediately crawled into my lap and just laid their for a while (again, very uncommon for Fedeline to sit still in your lap like that). She then, when I could tell she was about to start crying, asked if she could go to the restroom and then stayed in there for a couple of minutes. It was very sad, but I also knew the procedure would help her a lot. Woodlerxe, on the other hand, came out like nothing had happened. He was smiling, laughing, and just ready to get back home and play again. It was interesting, I know he didn’t have any major work done, but I was impressed.
When we got back home, Fedeline went from sitting and not talking much to running around like a crazy woman. I gave her ice and a little pain medicine, and the next thing I knew, at dinner, she had a chicken bone in her mouth just chewing on it like nothing had happened. At the service, however, she was back to sitting right next to me, holding my hand and being pretty subdued again (very uncommon for Fedeline). It was definitely an interesting day for her.
Sitting here typing, I am so thankful for all of the people and organizations here in Haiti who help us. We have Christianville that always does whatever they can to help. We have Hope Rising that has taken us and our kids in when we needed a place and have been wonderful to us throughout the process. We have KORE Foundation who helps us with chicken and other food and 2 of their leaders are always there to talk with us and give us advice. Haiti Health Ministries is an incredible place that has helped me when I had a Tropical Ulcer and has helped some of our children when they had medical issues that needed attention. In fact, I know some of you who are reading this would be more interested in medical missions, and Haiti Health Ministries would be an incredible place to get involved and to give. There are many others as well, but we are so thankful for all that these organizations and people do for us.
As I sat in the waiting room, I was taken by 2 things. The first is the wonderful people and ministries we work together with here. The second is that I was struck by the fact that Fedeline and Woodlerxe were getting dental help when they needed it. We live with them now and we can truly take care of the children that we have been called to care for. We can sit in the waiting room and be worried about how they are handling the pain they are going through, and we can be thankful for people like Dr. Harriet who help us take care of our children. It was an interesting trip sitting there and thinking about those 2 things, and thinking about the GOD of the universe who brought all of us together for this moment and for the advancement of His Kingdom. Thank you for always praying for us and even more in the next few weeks and months as our children are still transitioning to their new lives.