GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – Navy Cmdr. George Sellock, a dentist deployed with Joint Task Force Guantanamo’s Joint Troop Clinic, performs dental work on a Trooper’s tooth, May 13, 2009. The JTC is a first line aid station for JTF Guantanamo Troopers. (JTF Guantanamo photo by Army Spc. Cody Black) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I don’t know how to look at this. I have two choices. I can look at this as, God gave me a rest, so I can have strength to handle more problems, or I can look at this as so much for the peace, because it is gone. I will let you decide, and respond to this. As I said earlier, my brother, Al, is determined to have his ice pick back. He is still grumbling today, after over fourteen hours has passed. I have that problem I am dealing with, trying to stay calm, and pretty much ignore his pleadings. I have told him the answer prior, and do not wish to debate any longer. I had taken him to a local dentist three weeks ago, and had teeth pain checked out. The sloppy care given by the office caused us to have to go somewhere else to have this matter attended to. I don’t mean to be rude to anyone, but I seriously believe that there are some professionals that look at disabled adults, as someone they can pass off as a stray dog walking by their window. The utmost care and gentle talk is sometimes not present, and these special patients are talked about in front of them as if they are not sitting there, or maybe thinking they are tone-deaf, because they are mentally challenged. Today finally arrived. I am excited for Al, not because I am going to take him to a dentist, but we are going to be able to get a consult done and an appointment made for the extraction of these teeth. When we arrived at the office, we were on time, and they were late. It was evidently their lunch break and they went a little over, leaving us to stand in the drizzle or try to walk Alvin back to the car. It was a short wait, so I said nothing. She let us in. She took our paper work that had been sent to us by mail to fill out ahead of time, so as to save them time and money? She asked for his insurance card, although it stated very clearly, that there was no insurance, because he is on medicare. I said, he has no insurance, this is private pay. She commented that this would be costly. I almost laughed, because I knew that going to a dentist is not pocket change. We sat down, along with two others that walked in behind us, all with the same appointment times. Yes, this is definitely saving someone time and money! The tech calls in the other two that had followed us in, leaving us last to be called. Alrighty then! They proceeded to give him a full mouth x-ray, in which you have to stand during the process. She kept telling Al to stand still, and bite on the black plastic, and keep you chin rested on the chin guard. Picture a weak man, with severe tremors doing this outlandish request! She tried so hard to get this accomplished. I tried just as hard to keep my big mouth shut. Finally, I could take no more. I said, have you read his files? She said that she had read where the other dentist wanted him to have this test done. I said, it isn’t going to happen. There is a difference between wanting and happening. She looks at me like I am stupid, the duh look. I said look at his legs, they are buckling under him. He can not stand any length of time. She insists that they need this test. I said, he can’t bite down on the black clip, because his mentality won’t let him do it. He will bite it then let go, which is what he did over and over. I finally got more steamed, as she continued this farce! I said, you are going to have a bigger problem on your hand, than you have now, if he falls to the ground, and the chin guard and plastic piece cause him to hurt his neck or head as he is falling. You have to realize that this battle of getting him to stand and stand still was now going on for twenty minutes. I think if she looked at me straight on, she would see the steam coming from my nostrils and ears. She finally gave up and went and talked with another tech. I could hear her telling the other person, that she didn’t know how to deal with this, and she needed help. Well, good for her, at least she admitted she could not do this, and she needed help. The other tech opened a closet door and pulled out a wheelchair. They got Al in it and started the whole process over again. While getting him adjusted exactly right, the machine that she lifts and lowers for adjustment, hits him in the knee, with his finger on his knee it pinches slightly. She then raises it quickly to get it off of him, and it goes high enough to knock him in the chin. I am speechless by now, wondering where this tech got her schooling. After several times of still telling him to sit still, the test is taken and complete. She wheels him then into the room where he is to wait for the dentist, asking me if he needs help to get out of the wheelchair. I said, you are standing right there beside him, you can help him. She does this and leaves us to wait and out the door she goes. We were probably the talk of the social office, but I don’t care. I am not going to let anyone treat Al with less than dignity. The dentist comes in and tells us that the prior dentist wants him sedated and that three teeth are to come out, one on top and two on the bottom, all on the same side, and that by taking this brand new x-ray, if it showed any more bad teeth, the prior dentist wanted this dentist to remove them. I said, let’s talk about this a moment. I tell him Al has no dental insurance, and we will take out the three teeth that we are definitely aware of that are causing him pain, but we are not going to do anymore at this time, because he has no insurance and this is going to be expensive. I hate to put a dollar on his mouth, but I have to. He said, your choice. He never did say that he saw any other bad teeth besides the three that we knew about from the other dentist, so I am going to assume there weren’t any others. He lets us go and we go out to receptionist to schedule his appointment for extraction. She schedules it for two weeks away. I asked her if she has ever had a sore tooth. She said yes, and explains about the painful ordeal. I told her that because of the failure of the prior dentist not taking x-rays, it caused a week’s delay there, and then realizing the prior dentist didn’t want to take out more than one tooth at a time, it caused two more weeks delay getting to this new appointment here, and now you want to wait two more weeks. How do you think Al is feeling with this continued pain? She said nothing, and changed the appointment to next Tuesday, May 8th. All the time we spent there, Al was shaking like a dog shaking water off. His tremors were so bad because of nerves. He had been crying the whole time, from just the instructions he had been given over and over. His mind can not keep up and comprehend so much in so little time given. He became confused over how many teeth had to be pulled, thinking the dentist said four, instead of three. He was a mess, a big shaking, crying mess. She thanks us for coming and hands me the appointment card and says by the way, this will cost $1137.00! We will need half when he arrives next week, since he has no insurance. She and I smile at each other and I bid her a good afternoon. She then turns back to her work she was doing. We left with our appointment, and he cried all the way home. He kept telling me he didn’t understand why he had to go back next week, and why he had to go without food and water after midnight before his extraction. I could not settle him down no matter what I said, and I had to concentrate on my driving to keep us safe, but I could not get home fast enough. He went straight to his room, and shut his door most of the way, signalling to me he was going to take his nap. Through the baby monitor out here I could hear his constant grumble. Now more time has passed and all is quiet. For now, he does not have to think about what is to come.
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