Jason's Adventure to Jamaica

So here is Jason to give you more of his exciting experiences that takes 2-3 hours to read: This spring break I tore my self apart from the family to head off to do free dental work in Jamaica. Now, I want to make it clear that I went to Jamaica to do exactly that, to help those in need (and secondly- that it was located in Jamaica). Now I also want to clarify that I did try to get Jodie to come, but unfortunately they had a maximum amount of volunteers, they could not accept any spouses.

The dental mission trip was put on by the Christian Dental Society. 18 Dental students; 2 Dentists; 2 Dental Assistants attended. One of the dentists has 7 different clinics on the island and comes to the different clinics 4 times a year.

Living arrangements were 3 beach side villas and 1 non-beachfront villa(unfortunately for the 1st year dental students) a half a mile up the road.

From Monday-Thursday our daily routine was as follows:

Wake up-whenever

Brunch - 10:00am

Devotions - 10:50 am

Dental Clinic 11:00 - 6:00 pm

Dinner 7:00 pm

Do whatever - till you go to bed. (But for many of us we were too tired to do much of anything after dinner.)

When we got to the clinic the Pastor (the dental building was built as an addition to a church) would lead the morning in a prayer and then we would begin seeing patients. The pastor had a list of names of people that had come as early as 3:00am to get there and would read their names as we told her what we were ready for.

Each day we were assigned to either do Cleanings, Drilling & Fillings, Extractions, or Sterilization but by the end of the day, we all were doing extractions because there were so many people in need of them.

We had most of the supplies we generally use in a normal clinic, so these people had adequate anesthesia and we had adequate protection.

A couple of firsts for me:

1. I got to extract some teeth (27 to be exact)


2. I had the opportunity to do some dental surgery (if the root was the only thing left, we would have to go in and get it...)


3. And thus got to learn how to do sutures for the first time.


4. Being referred to as "Doctor" (probably because i am not yet a doctor, but it still felt good).

These people were so grateful! Even though some of the procedures were tough, they always left with a smile. Some of these people have had aches that have been bothering them for months or even years. We are the only dental help that are available to them.

One of the frustrations was understanding the language. Sometimes their accents would be so thick, I had to get one of the Dentists over to translate..."He says he wants a toothbrush"..."Oh"

To help them understand us, we had to use some of their terminology. For example:

To say, i'm going to give you some anesthesia so that this doesn't hurt... would be -- "I'm gonna give you some cocaine so you're not hot."

Does it hurt or is it numb? -- Is it hot or is it heavy?

So what is bothering you today -- So what's been jukin' you now?

The last day at the clinic I brought out some magic for the kids that would usually come out to see us leave. They absolutely loved it!

The market - after everyone has gone home.

Our last day Friday was a free day. We all choose to go on a crocodile river excursion. Some of the locals took us on this exotic boat ride where WE ACTUALLY SAW CROCODILES!!!! At least I was excited about it.

Half way up the river, there was a place to rope swing in...we made sure there were no crocs around.

And afterward, we stopped in the ocean by a place called the Pelican Bar where we could come pretty close to where pelicans love to feed (sorry no pictures of that). We found some pretty cool stuff.

Now the important question that has yet to be addressed is:

HOW in the world did I go to Jamaica and not get burned or even any color at all?!?!?!?

Sacrifice... While everyone else was playing in the rays in the morning, I was relaxin' in the cabana. That and SPF 50 baby! It was either that or coming home a "Red Mexican." Which can be pretty painful... for me and for those who look at me (evidence from a previous experience).

It was an amazing experience. I hope to be able to do this after I have my own practice. That way I can bring my wife.

ONE LOVE, ONE HEART, LETS GET TOGETHER AND FEEL ALL RIGHT

-Bob Marley

Dress up

This is the kind of post that involves both pictures and stories that my children might be mad at me later for sharing. But they are too good not to share. Both of them like to dress up. Which is strange to me because neither of them are too happy when it comes to getting dressed for the day or for bed. Which is why today Addie wore the following to the store today: green hoodie, pink polka dot pajama pants, one pink boot and one brown boot. Sorry I didn't get a picture of it, but she probably ingrained it into several bystanders' memories when she pinched her finger in the straps of the cart and let a very loud, prolonged scream.
Anyway, this first picture shows Andres in his favorite jacket. I'm pretty sure it's because it's so cozy and comfy (it's fleece). I won't say much more to embarrass the future 16 year-old Andres, but it was not my idea to put it on him, nor was it Addie's.

He didn't want to take it off and he actually fell asleep in it. The next day we all got sick, so he probably wanted something warmer on. And how could you blame him? He sure does look cozy!

This was the outfit that Addie completed that day while Andres was asleep. In case you were wondering: Yes, pink is very in right now.

I gave Addie a girl scout cookie. She decided she didn't want it. Being the nice sister that she is, she gave the whole chocolate-covered cookie to her brother. So nice of her. He sure enjoyed it. So did his clothes and the wall behind him. What a cheese!

Addie might hate me later, but really this is one of the less incriminating pictures of this outfit. She put on plaid shorts backwards with a cardigan that is supposed to fit like that because you're supposed to wear something under it (which she did not want to do) and in this picture Jason is helping her put on the skirt that finishes off many of her outfits these days.

Goofy kids

It's been fun to see how goofy both our kids are. Their goofiness is, of course, not surprising. But it has been interesting to see how different their goofiness is. They also have been playing well together at times, which is fun to watch and makes my life a bit simpler. I love getting to watch these guys and just wonder how they come up with some of these ideas.

Enjoying a little milk in the morning. Addie with her princess cup and Andres with a cars cup (he doesn't really care yet, though).

A trip in the car is always an adventure. No, really. I never know if they are going to be perfectly fine and content (which is most of the time) or if they will randomly cry inconsolably for the entire 30 minute trip. Here's some of what we do to entertain ourselves. We happened to go to Sams Club the day that Megamind came out and they were giving these masks away - SCORE! Addie loved it! And Andres always loves a good book (even one that is upside down).

CRAZY!!:

STICKERS!!

Playing Snow White. Andres was a little confused. When I said "give her a kiss", he thought I said "Climb in and sit on her head"

What can I say?, he likes glasses.