AN UNEXPTECTED BLAST FROM THE PAST���COINCIDENCE OR MORE?
A couple weeks ago, I had a pleasant surprise, and a month before book release made it even more special. One of my father���s former patients from his dental practice of decades ago found and read a story I wrote in back in 2006,
A Lucky Man
, a precursor to my novel. The piece was awarded honorable mention for nonfiction in the annual contest for the Preservation Foundation.
This patient of my dad posted the story on a Facebook page, ���I grew up in Northboro, Massachusetts.��� Click on the highlighted link to view the post, which generated a storm of memories and testimonials from my dad���s patients, amazingly, 25 years after he retired! My family and I are touched over the praise and heartfelt thanks. And none of his patients knew of my dad���s journey from a village in Puerto Rico to his dental practice in Massachusetts. Every one of them was astounded to learn about his story and his struggles. One thing they shared: they all miss their favorite dentist.
I was his dental assistant during the summers of the latter part of high school and college in the late 70s and early 80s and the comments don���t surprise me. One patient wrote how he sent his assistant to pick her up for an appointment when she was in terrible pain and I remember Dad driving a patient to see a oral surgeon in Worcester, Mass, when the man didn���t own a car. My father did some revolutionary procedures in his practice. He made hypnosis tapes for people to listen to help them stop smoking. We plugged in a padded, heated massage pad for the back of the dental chair, and I brought in my turntable and played classical and folk music for patients to listen to with headphones. Pachelbel and Judy Collins were my favorites. Dad employed some eastern medicine: he placed a cotton ball on some patients��� earlobes with a close pin to stimulate the dental analgesia point. After working in Puerto Rico, he opened his practice in Northborough in 1959 and told patients, ���You are now part of my family!��� He treated whole families, witnessing children grow up and treating their children. He made house calls and when someone couldn���t pay, he bartered for services, such as landscaping. When he retired in 1990, many of his patents cried. He was truly a ���family dentist���.
Thank you, Kathy Wallace Boyd, for sharing a wonderful tribute.
Ram��n Le��n in dental school, 1953.
This patient of my dad posted the story on a Facebook page, ���I grew up in Northboro, Massachusetts.��� Click on the highlighted link to view the post, which generated a storm of memories and testimonials from my dad���s patients, amazingly, 25 years after he retired! My family and I are touched over the praise and heartfelt thanks. And none of his patients knew of my dad���s journey from a village in Puerto Rico to his dental practice in Massachusetts. Every one of them was astounded to learn about his story and his struggles. One thing they shared: they all miss their favorite dentist.
I was his dental assistant during the summers of the latter part of high school and college in the late 70s and early 80s and the comments don���t surprise me. One patient wrote how he sent his assistant to pick her up for an appointment when she was in terrible pain and I remember Dad driving a patient to see a oral surgeon in Worcester, Mass, when the man didn���t own a car. My father did some revolutionary procedures in his practice. He made hypnosis tapes for people to listen to help them stop smoking. We plugged in a padded, heated massage pad for the back of the dental chair, and I brought in my turntable and played classical and folk music for patients to listen to with headphones. Pachelbel and Judy Collins were my favorites. Dad employed some eastern medicine: he placed a cotton ball on some patients��� earlobes with a close pin to stimulate the dental analgesia point. After working in Puerto Rico, he opened his practice in Northborough in 1959 and told patients, ���You are now part of my family!��� He treated whole families, witnessing children grow up and treating their children. He made house calls and when someone couldn���t pay, he bartered for services, such as landscaping. When he retired in 1990, many of his patents cried. He was truly a ���family dentist���.
Thank you, Kathy Wallace Boyd, for sharing a wonderful tribute.
Ram��n Le��n in dental school, 1953.
No comments have been added yet.
