*Things to remember*

This post is more for myself of things I want to remember... I've never really talked about my patients that I've had the pleasure of meeting. So I wanted to write down a few memories so I won't ever forget them. My family had to endure being my patients at first and of course they were all so much fun. On the other hand, there were those that came in as complete strangers, but left my chair as my new best friends... *My first pedo patient was an Adorable little girl. I LOVE kids so I was super excited to work on one and see how it went. I will never forget that day. It was the day I vowed to never work in a pedo office! As much as I adore kids, it was overwhelmingly hard keeping her under control/entertained/comfortable/keeping the suction and instruments out of my hair and face... The list goes on and on. But it WAS a good learning experience.. *I had the cutest old man (besides my grandpa's of course) that was a singer, and played every instrument known to man. We became the best of friends the second he sat in my chair. He even invited me to his concert he was playing in that weekend, so adorable..It was great listening to his stories and how life was back in, "the good ole' days". Sometimes it's great just to just sit back and listen to old people's stories. They definitely have some good ones... *I also had the pleasure of working with possibly the most impatient person on the planet. I think he forgot I was still in school. But he can't say I didn't warn him how long it would take! Let's just say that day ended in tears and a very upset protective husband... The BEST part of this story is one of my Clinical Instructors said,"ROZ I Heard you had a very rude patient who was verbally abusing you (he was saying this jokingly), and I bet you can't guess who was sitting right there? YEP the impatient verbally abusive patient) AWKWARD. Thanks Mutterer... *There was a cute lady who had a huge impact on me. She has two different types of cancer, diabetes, and many other health issues. It literally took me 2 hours to go through all of her medications and contraindications. But she had the most positive attitude and sweet little spirit. She taught me so much in those two little (little meaning 6 hour) appointments, and showed me through example that no matter what life throws at you, you can always be happy. She was so positive and encouraging, she will never be forgotten. *This story always makes me laugh... I had a Spanish girl who spoke very little English. I was taking her vitals and asked her to uncross her feet. As she was un-crossing them a HUGE STRING OF BLUE GUM just kept spreading between her two shoes. I was trying so hard not to bust out laughing! I felt so bad, but I felt even worse knowing it was probably my gum she stepped in! I have a very bad habit of spitting my gum out wherever I please.... *I call this story, "The Swinging Tooth". Here I was probing along the gingival margin and at tooth #14, I kid you not, I BARELY even touched this thing and his tooth was in a full on SWING! As creepy as it sounds I laughed in excitement and was like. "HOW IS THIS THING STILL IN HERE" We had a good laugh about it for a solid five minutes, and then EVERYONE had to come over and see the amazement for themselves, "The swinging tooth". It will forever be a mystery to us how this thing is still in there, but I'm so glad I was the one that found this rare gem. *Do you ever have those days when you're feeling sorry for yourself of how busy you are or blah blah blah? (I call those my selfish days, we all have them right?) Well I was having a day and of course I gave my patient the wrong directions to our school (typical Rozalynn moment) so he was super late and I was getting ancy.(Even though I was completely to blame) Then coming through the door was a young man in a wheelchair. I won't lie, I was REALLY nervous! I had never worked with a wheelchair patient before and I was stressin' about how I was going to get him in the radiology chair for x-rays, then into my operatory chair. But his sweet spirit was JUST what I needed that day. Every selfish feeling I had completely went away and all my efforts went into making sure he was comfortable and that he got the best care possible. Isn't that how it always goes tho? Heavenly Father always knows when and what I need... He had been in a terrible ATV accident (drunk driver) and was paralyzed instantly. WOW...sure made my problems seem completely insignificant. But he had the best sense of humor and positive attitude. I just have to share what he said to me. I was praising how well his teeth and gums were looking and what not and as we were sitting there joking and laughing, in the most sincere/joking way he looked at me and said, "You know what? I think the reason Heavenly Father put me in this wheelchair is because I was so perfect." In a way he was joking, but in another sense it was So amazing to see how OK he was with being paralyzed. He knew that Heavenly Father had put him there for a reason. I was so very blessed to make a new great friend and have him as a patient that day. I will never forget how much I learned from him... (I also couldn't resist asking him if he can drive himself, and he totally can! It made me happy he can still be independent and take care of himself.. amazing) *If you made it through all of these, way to go! haha I really just needed to write these people/thoughts down. There have been many more amazing patients that I've had, but these ones have been my favorites. I can't believe how much I've learned and grown from my Dental Hygiene School experience. I've never been through so many emotions. stress/love/hate/triumphs/laughs/cries/achievements/disappointments I could go on and on...My time is dwindling down to only two semesters and although I am excited to graduate and have a CAREER in the Real World, I'm also very sad to be leaving such a huge part of my life. But at least I still have these next two semesters to live it up and soak up as much information as I can and that my brain will allow. I seriously can't wait to start working on patients again, that's the greatest part about my job is working with people. I know it doesn't seem like Hygienist's do a lot, but we seriously do! I feel like I've helped so many different people, and they've helped me as well. One of these days I'm going to dedicate a post to ORAL HYGIENE and let the world know how important it is. I'm so grateful for all that I've learned, not only about oral hygiene and the body but about myself. I've done so many things I never thought I could do. I feel like after this experience I can conquer the world, maybe even have a kid! haha but I'm so grateful for the choice I made to become a Hygienist and I can't wait to share all the wonderful knowledge I've gained with all of my patients and everyone else willing to listen to it. If you have any Oral Health questions I would LOVE for you to share it with me and I would love even more to answer it for you... Sorry for this long SCHPEAL I just needed to write out all my thoughts I was having... Hope everyone has a Fabulous weekend.. I know I'll be enjoying this 70 degree SUNNY weather! much love