U R Found

     It was a hospital straight out of a horror story. The musty, sickly air wafted out as soon as you opened one of the old double doors.  Walking in, the temperature instantly rose ten degrees and seemed somehow thicker and harder to breath.  The walls were like the old gymnasium walls of the 40s, sweating with condensation as the air conditioning struggled futilely against the summer heat.  The aroma of death and dying pervaded the atmosphere.  Unlike most hospitals there was little activity, and the place was eerily quiet.  The staff went about their business with a morose somewhat subdued sense of purpose.  This place is where I found myself in 1989, the VA Hospital in north Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

     The area I was in, patients where four to a room.  All veterans, all men, mostly injured during the Vietnam conflict 20 years before.  Alone and suffering from all manner of illnesses, I was there to help them in a seemingly insignificant way, by giving them teeth and a smile. Today’s visit was a new patient to me.   Upon entering the ward to which he was living I was handed a thick very discolored and well used chart.   I went to the room where I was directed and found my new friend in a wheelchair waiting for my arrival. 

     He was gaunt, unshaven, unkempt and seemingly unbathed in about a week.  The hospital gown draped over his thin frame like a dirty sheet over a piece of old furniture.  A sweet uncomforting smell exuded from his pores which is often associated with the severe diabetic.  His left leg was amputated below his knee and his right leg was amputated a good twelve inches above his knee. The stumps proudly not covered by the hospital gown.  The most notable thing about him was that through the scraggly, mostly gray, wiry beard he was smiling ear to ear. His sunken cheeks and lips pulled tight over his obviously edentulous mouth.  He was elated to see me.

     As is the norm, I began by taking his history, both personal and medical.  While speaking to him, I found him sharp, alert, extremely aware of his situation, gracious and grateful for all the help the system was providing him.  I learned that his obvious injuries happened while on active duty.  I also learned that he had no family to speak of, never had visitors and was dealing with a medical history that included diabetes, glaucoma, liver disease and cancer just to name a few.  On his extensive written medical questionnaire, I saw one condition that stood out that I had never heard of.

“Occulorectinitis”

I looked up at him and said it questioningly out loud “Occulorectinitis”?

Ever so seriously, he explained to me, as if to a child.

  “That’s when the nerves of your eyes get crossed with the nerves of your asshole and it gives you a shitty outlook on life.”

Then he smiled that toothless grin and winked at me.

     I couldn’t help but laugh out loud and think, “My God, this man has nothing and he’s cracking jokes at me.  We formed an instant friendship and through many more stories and several adventures to be told later, I made him a great smile and helped him to eat and chew and live life just a little bit better.  It was at this moment that I recognized the need. I also recognized that I couldn’t do it alone.

     Changing the world health system became my mission.  This idea has evolved over my entire career. In 1987 I stepped into the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine to begin my education in dentistry and indeed, the world of public service. I was not naïve to public service. As an EMT, Lifeguard and hospital volunteer I had a lot of exposure to the need and the hardship brought on by life’s sometimes cruel circumstances. However, once at the school, I was actually able to very directly affect, control and guide the treatment which could literally change a person’s life.

     Again, the problem is I’m just one person.  The need is great, the problems are real.  The people are incredible.  They are worth everything we can give and more.

      Thirty years later I’m finally in a position to create something that will change the lives of patients like him and to extend a helping hand to all those people who, through life circumstance. Or the ovarian lottery, are not able to get the basic medical/dental care they deserve.

    Now is the time to act.  With the start of this foundation in Pittsburgh, my goal is to help the community at large to provide care for not only veterans but also to all those in need of simple dental care.  We will begin with Dental and then network and expand our resources to medical and health. We will create a network throughout the city and surrounding counties to provide a bridge between those in need to those that can and are willing to help.  My personal goal is to form something that can be adopted by every city in the states and indeed the world.  My email is urfoundpittsburgh@gmail.com. Tomorrow it will be   urfound”your city”@ …. That is my belief.  That is my goal.  That is my mission.

“I CAN And more importantly YOU CAN!”