Sunday, September 1, 2013

Sunday, September 1, 2013—Gp

          One of the Sister temple missionaries has been having what she thought was a bad toothache.  It had given her extreme pain six months ago when she and her husband were in the MTC.  She was treated by an Endodontist in Provo and it had felt better ever since then.  The Dentist said it had calcified roots and was difficult to treat.  
I suspected when the pains started again that she might have a fractured or perforated root [without the benefit of an x-ray] and to expect a possible extraction.  The dentist here could not see anything wrong and, to his credit, did not extract.  Her husband called me early this morning and said she was in extreme pain at times during the night.  After visiting with her, she appears to have classic symptoms of Trigeminal Neuralgia [one in 20,000 statistically].  
Of course, the 80-year-old couple is reluctant to pursue definitive diagnosis or treatment here.  Every time it has been bad she has asked her husband for a blessing and then felt better after receiving it.  
I’ve been asked by several people to play dentist here with no tools, equipment, license, or Rx privileges.  A blessing and faith are the most effective [but we can buy amoxicillin over the counter].
Brush and floss everyone!.
Love,

Dad

2 comments:

  1. That would be hard to know what to do and not have the tools to do it. Keep up the good work there. You are being great examples to your children and grandchildren. I'm sure it is not all fun and probably gets routine quite often, but we pray for you every day and hope you have at least one "reason to be here" moment every day.

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  2. That comment was Corey, this one is Kristie. I'm sure that even though you don't have the equipment to help, just sharing your knowledge and professional/trusted support is very helpful and helps them with their faith. Good job Dad

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