The Toughest Girl I Know

So Sandra was learning to read and things were going well for her, she has a stick to itiveness that certainly paid off in the long run.

She was a pretty girl in her early twenties but sh rarely smiled and when she did it was in a way that you couldn’t see her teeth…they were bad, really bad and she knew it so she dealt with it the best she could.  I mentioned several times that she really should get them fixed, that it would help her to make more money and all that.

I got a call one morning around 1030, she told me I would be proud because she was at the dentist and about to go home, I asked what she had done and she told me she had her teeth cleaned.  I asked if the ddentist didnt think there was more that should be done and she said yes but she couldnt afford it.  I asked if the dentist was still there and she said yes and I asked to speak to him, which turned out to be a her.

I asked what she recommended and she said that  Sandra had a lot of infection and needed some serious work, when I asked for an estimate she told me, a lot but that because Sandra was a single mother the state of Ohio would pay for the majority of it.  I figured since they had cheated her of an education it would be OK by me and I told the dentist that the  club would stand good for the rest of it.  I told her not to let Sandra leave until she had done all she could.

I got back on the phone with Sandra and explained that her dental work would be paid for one way or another and that she could pay the club back a dollar a week.  Her next response was that she couldnt afford the time of work, I told her I would make her the door girl or let her waitress or whatever she wanted to do until she was well enough to go back to dancing, I told her no excuses…DO IT.

The next time I saw her was around 6PM  she came in to the club, mouth full of cotton, face swollen and I felt bad.  The dentist and the dental assistant came with her saying that they had wanted to meet me because I was such a good boss.  The dentist told me that they had pulled 24 of Sandra’s teeth.

I couldn’t help but cringe, I remembered having my 4 wisdom teeth pulled, this girl was in the dentists chair all day long and had 24 teeth pulled.  I couldn’t help but feel bad, I figured ok this girl is gonna HATE me.

The dentist went on to explain how the infections, in many of the teeth were way up into her gums and that she really was in a life threatening situation.  They had left 3 or 4 teeth that they could salvage as anchor teeth for her dentures.

I asked the dentist how much I owed and she said that they had a budget for community service and that she felt this would qualify, I never got a bill.

Sandra couldn’t read but she was good enough at math that she could make change and read IDs and all so she did fine on the door, it took almost three months but she finally got her dentures.

I remember one day about 3 weeks after she came into my office and I asked, as I always did how it was going, she lit up and said I can eat ice cream again, I couldn’t before because it would hurt so bad but I had some today and it was great!  Thats when I knew she was gonna be ok with it.

She wrote me about a year later telling me how much she had hated me for talking her into staying but how it had changed her life and it was the best thing that ever happened to her and she thanked me profusely.  I wrote her back and told her I had little to do with it, the credit was hers because she had the guts to do what she knew needed to be done,  I was just the cheering section.

The end result of all of this, at least for me, was that its never too late to change your life for the better and that you can do anything you want to do, just suck it up and do it.  She has been an inspiration to me many times and hope that she can be for some of you, my readers, as well.

She is doing very well these days, she is soft spoken but well spoken and she has a beautiful smile to match the beautiful person.  I suspect she will read this and I hope she does, she should be proud of herself. I know I am proud of her.

Y’all remember that…24 teeth pulled in ONE DAY  thats brutal.