As I thought about Craig I reflected upon his
childhood. I remembered that he wanted
to be the town drunk (or a lumberjack) and that his parents paid for some
braces that he never received. This led
me to my two acts of service that I provided.
The first part of my service was to give three dollars to almost every
homeless person I came into contact with and to talk to them a little bit when
I could. This usually occurred when I
was stopped at a traffic light. I’ll
never know what they did with the money, but I do know that I was able to help
them have enough money to have some food at their next meal. They were good people and seemed very grateful.
I have also had several patients who
were unable to pay for their Orthodontic treatment for a variety of reasons. I have thus relieved them of what they owed
in honor of Craig. In other words they
did not pay for their treatment and were able to receive straight teeth. The exact opposite scenario of Craig’s youth. One child was in braces for the second
time. They were removed the first time
due to financial difficulties that the family had encountered. They still owed $2,750 dollars and could not
pay due to a job loss. They came and
requested that the braces be removed and planned on returning in a couple of
years when they could afford the braces.
I told them that we would complete the treatment as planned and that
there was no need to make any additional payments. In another circumstance, there was a single
Mom of four young children who had always wanted braces due to very severely
crowded teeth. I was able to do so at
several thousand dollars below the actual cost.
I also made dozens of speech and feeding appliances for cleft lip and
palate patients who could not afford them.
They normally cost several hundred dollars, but they were all
fabricated, delivered, and adjusted at no charge. These appliances allow them to learn to eat
and speak during developmentally crucial times in their life. Some of these children are as young as 3
years old. We generally only make these
when they have had several failed surgeries to repair the holes in the roof of
their mouth. The total care given in
Craig's honor was in the tens of thousands of dollars. I wish that I had more patients like Craig
who pay for the braces and never come get them.
(Just kidding) However, it was a
wonderful feeling to provide care for individuals who otherwise would not have
been able to receive it. It was a
wonderful feeling to see their lives changed and transformed. What they received was more then straight
teeth because it changed their whole demeanor and attitude. Their improved smile, self esteem, and
confidence will surely serve them well throughout their lives. Thank you for your inspiration Craig!
Love,
Scott
