“Wah gwaan”, or “What’s up”, in the Jamaican Patwah language.

Where do I even begin to describe how incredible this experience was? Let’s start from the beginning with the not so fun part of the story! Our team was originally scheduled to depart on October 1, 2016, but mother nature had something else in store for us. Hurricane Matthew’s path was headed straight for the Caribbean Islands, including Jamaica. This unfortunately delayed our program; however, the hurricane did not stop us from getting to Jamaica. We finally arrived to Jamaica on October 5, 2016. Our team was inspired, motivated and ready to hit the ground running since we lost out on a few days of our original schedule. As soon as we checked into our beautiful resort, we began unpacking the supplies that we had shipped out months prior. We spent hours sorting, organizing, and packing supplies up for the next few days of work ahead of us.

Let me just say this….our team of students, Doctor and Mrs. Krueger and those who volunteered with Great Shapes Inc. were all fantastic. We all have big hearts and wanted to help every single person we possibly could. We would work 12 to 14 hours every day. The working conditions of the clinics were not what we are used to at SPC, or any place in the U.S., for that matter. We worked in unfinished buildings, with no air conditioning, with limited supplies and equipment. Typically we would work through lunch, with little breaks for water, snacks, or bathroom breaks. This was not because we weren’t able or allowed to, it was by choice. We wanted to see as many patients we could in the short amount of time that we had.

I wish I could sit here and type out every story I was told by my patients. I could literally spend hours talking about each patient that I treated. There is no doubt that each and every patient that I treated had an impact on my life; but there was one patient in particular that touched my heart and impacted my life and future career as a dental hygienist. This patient happened to be the very last patient that I would treat during this study abroad experience. He sat in my chair and I asked him all of the same questions that I had asked all of my previous patients. How are you feeling? When was the last time you have been seen by a dentist? Are you from the surrounding area? He began to answer my questions, but his answers were not what I expected to hear. He went on to tell me that he was 56 years old; had been waiting for 3 days to be seen at this particular clinic and woke up hours early to get to the clinic so he could be one of the first in line, and even though he was one of the first people, he still waited all day before being seen. When I finally called his name, he began thanking me. He then told me that this was his first time he had ever been seen by any dental professional. He told me that he had been waiting years to be seen by a dentist.

I did an assessment of my patient and quickly realized that he had more demanding needs than just a cleaning; he needed surgical extractions of multiple teeth. At that point, I knew that I had to be an advocate for him. After finishing his cleaning,  I convinced one of the dentists to do these extractions for him. It was already late in the evening and we were already working hours past what we had planned on working. With him being one of the last patients, we started to run out of supplies, clean instruments, and even gloves. Although the dentist was extremely hesitant to do the extractions with what was left of the instruments, I begged her to do it, because I knew that this man had been waiting for hours and hours, days and days, years and years to be seen. She finally decided to go with it and I assisted with the extractions. At the end of the appointment, the man sat up, gave me a hug and said that we were meant to cross one another’s paths. He said he knew that God had planned for him to be my last patient, and that I was meant to be there to be the one to help him. I cried tears of happiness and joy for this man. I was happy that I could be his first interaction with a dental team, and that it was positive for him. He will forever have a special place in my heart and I am happy to know that I was just as impactful in his life, as he was in mine.

Overall, this experience was incredible and life-changing. I see myself as being part of these special opportunities for the rest of my life. It changed the person I am, and the hygienist that I am going to be. I am forever grateful for such an amazing opportunity and cannot thank enough SPC International, Mrs. Krueger, Mrs. Tonner, and all of those who made it possible for our team to be part of this project. I will never forget the amazing stories, experiences, and memories made. One Love!

Soon come back (“See you later”),

Brittany Simpson