A Conversion Story

It never really gets awkward in the dental clinic, but Monday happened to be an exception. Things were going fine before a patient decided to voice his displeasure with the program. This was his second visit to HHH, and the first where he would get dental work done. Normally, when a patient is scheduled for multiple fillings, he/she gets one filling done per visit since the dentist only has an hour with that person, and each filling buildup takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes to complete. I don't know how the communication process broke down, but he assumed that he was getting the whole front of his mouth fixed in one visit, which happened to be three time-consuming fillings on his front three teeth. He entered the clinic cheerfully thinking that all of his fillings would be done today, but he quickly became sour when the dentist informed him that only one filling would be done. The smile vanished from his face, and harsh words spewed from his mouth as if he was entitled to getting all the fillings done in one day. All during this tirade, the dentist listened and tried to calmly explain to him the standard procedure that goes on at the clinic even though he was having none of it. What did I do to help remedy the situation? I stood off to the side, not knowing what to do.

Finally, he allowed us to proceed with the one filling, even though he was still clearly upset over it. Instead of assisting in awkward silence, I decided to start up a conversation with the dentist about a concert I attended a few days before. Tony Melendez came to UST for a praise and worship Lenten renewal concert. What was amazing about Tony was that he played the guitar with his feet. When his mother was pregnant with him, she was given a medication containing thalidomide, which caused him to be born without arms. He didn't let his disability conquer him as he learned to do everything with his feet, even play the guitar. As if his life wasn't difficult enough, he later found out that the thalidomide also disabled his ability to have his own kids. After telling this story to the dentist, I remarked how amazing he was that despite all of his hardships, he still praised God for all his glory, and how grateful he was for everything he had in life. All during this time, the patient was listening, and I could see a slow conversion creep into his face as he realized how trivial his problems were compared to what Tony had to face. After we finished the filling, he apologized to us for his behavior and thanked us for our service.

It was easy for me to look down upon the patient, but I understood where he was coming from. He said that his teeth was one of the reasons he couldn't get a job. I know he anticipated getting his teeth fixed as soon as possible so he could return to employment, and it was a letdown when he found out he was misinformed about the treatment plan. In his own words, he said it was like "telling your kids you're gonna take them to Ben and Jerry's later on in the day, but then night comes and they close." I have to admit, that was a cute way of describing the situation.

In the end, I'm glad he had a change of heart after hearing about the armless guitar player. It's amazing how Tony Melendez continues to inspire, in more ways than one.