My Blog http://www.drecooper.com/blog.html en-us Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:31:27 -0600 Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:31:27 -0600 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Officite Development Scripting Preparing for Belizehttp://www.drecooper.com/blog/post/preparing-for-belize.html Dr. Cooper will be going to Belize again on November 4th with 20 other dentists and physicians to provide dental and medical care in remote areas of the country.  This year she will be accompanied by her sister-in-law, Brenda, and her good friends Dr. Pat Kingston and her husband, Tom.  

We are busy packing our suitcases with supplies and making lists so nothing is forgotten.  This trip requires us to bring our own handpieces, sterilization, anesthetic, and restorative materials.  Throughout the year we have been requesting donations from dental manufacturers and suppliers.  We would like to thank the following companies for their incredible support:  Patterson Dental, Dental Health Products, 3M, Ultradent, Dentsply, SS White, Cosmedent, and Procter & Gamble.

Chrissie, our dental assistant has been busy filling the tackle boxes with all the burs and finishing materials needed for fillings and sealants.

Michele, our hygienist has been a huge help in getting all the fluoride varnish and toothbrushes we will need for our flouride campaign.

 

]]>Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:11:24 -0500Just About Readyhttp://www.drecooper.com/blog/post/just-about-ready.html

Dr Cooper spent Friday at the Mayo  Clinic for a physical exam and to visit the Travel Clinic for immunizations for the trip.  An oral typhoid vaccine was suggested along with the antimalaria drug, Malarone.  The volunteers will not be staying in a malaria zone, but all of the mainland has malaria, and they could be sent to many different locations next week.  The mosquitoes are biting!

]]>Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:43:33 -0500We made it!http://www.drecooper.com/blog/post/we-made-it.html It was a long day of travel.  We left MSP for Houston to meet up with half of the group from various other states.  We boarded in Houston and waited on the plane for 2 hours while they checked an oil leak.  When that was fixed another mechanical problem was noticed.  Finally we were allowed off the plane and fortunately they located another plane for us.  Our final flight on Tropic Air to Ambergris Caye was sure to be cancelled because they close all flights at 5:30.. We arrived at 7:20 to find Tropic Air had 2 small planes waiting for the 20 of us to get us to our destination.  Thank you Tropic Air!  I'm sure the brains behind this mission project, Dr Frank Whipps, had something to do with that. Tomorrow we will be checking out our equipment and getting our assignments for the week. I think Brenda is excited to see what this is all about.

 

 

]]>Sun, 06 Nov 2011 15:11:33 -0600Assigning Equipmenthttp://www.drecooper.com/blog/post/assigning-equipment.html Today we gathered on the beach for a beautiful prayer service facilitated by our director, Dr. Frank Whipps, with a few songs sung by a recording artist who is with us, and a testimonial of a personal life-changing experience by a member of the trip.

We gathered on the lawn to check out all portable chairs and the units that deliver bottled water and connections to the air source-scuba tanks.  My first unit was a mess, so they ended up giving me a brand new one.  Lucky me.

The afternoon was free to walk the beach and catch a little lunch in San Pedro.  My team will be sent to Biscayne in the morning on a 7:00 flight on Tropic Air.  We will be providing dentistry to the students and faculty in the school there, along with flouride treatments for everyone.We will catch a flight home and then return by air again the next day.  I am looking forward to having Brenda assist me this year. It was tough duty last year with no help.

 

]]>Sun, 06 Nov 2011 18:03:02 -0600We're Ready to Workhttp://www.drecooper.com/blog/post/were-ready-to-work.html We were picked up at 6:20 this morning and taken to Ambergris Caye airport for a Tropic Air flight to Belize City Municipal Airport. All our equipment was loaded and our 3 large suitcases with supplies. We were then transported by van to Biscayne, a small village about 45 miles away.  The hygienists on the team had the children brush their teeth outside and then they took them inside for a flouride treatment. They were screened for decay and then Brenda & I took care of the dentistry needed for the adults and some children.  There was a nice breeze, but it was HOT in the little room they supplied us.  We used air compressors at this site, which worked great, but for some reason we had NO suction, and that was hard.  A lot of situps to spit in a cup.  At the end of the day we packed up and took our flight back to meet the group in San Pedro to hear about everyone's experiences and to talk about the next day.  We have a new site tomorrow that we will fly out to again

 

 

]]>Mon, 07 Nov 2011 22:00:25 -0600Second Day and Getting Betterhttp://www.drecooper.com/blog/post/second-day-and-getting-better.html Today was a great day.  We were sent to a new site that is new to the Belize Mission Project.  When we arrived there were tons of children and adults waiting in line.  An incredible woman organized the community, going door to door to get us patients.  We saw many children and some adults, all with lots of decay and needing their teeth cleaned.  I did not see any previous dental work on anyone.  Brenda is a very hard worker, and we did everything we could, not stopping for lunch and getting really sweaty.  There was so much demand, we will fly back there tomorrow.  Once again, we met the rest of the group for dinner and compared notes with the dermatologists, nurses, and MDs on the trip. They are all doing great things. Tomorrow is hump day.  Hoping we don't run out of steam!

 

]]>Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:26:49 -0600More Work in Magnolia Heightshttp://www.drecooper.com/blog/post/more-work-in-magnolia-heights.html They were so happy with the work we did in Magnolia Heights with the school children they invited us to come back on Wednesday. Another day trip on Tropic Air.  Even on a mission trip in Belize consent forms are required, so coming back meant we were allowed to do much more.  We had a very satisfying day because we were able to fill a few teeth on each child and then seal everything else in sight and finish up with a flouride treatment.  Brenda and I did hundreds of sealants.  This is the best chance for these kids to save their teeth.  It is so common to see adults with missing 6 year molars, so hopefully we helped them avoid that.

 

]]>Fri, 11 Nov 2011 06:56:08 -0600Downtown Dentistryhttp://www.drecooper.com/blog/post/downtown-dentistry.html On Thursday our assignment was at the San Pedro Lion's Den open air pavilion. That meant we could sleep in a little and go to the 7:00 am devotion on the beach.  A Canadian dentist gave a testimony of her faith and what the mission trip has meant to her.

]]>Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:47:10 -0600Downtown Dentistry in San Pedrohttp://www.drecooper.com/blog/post/downtown-dentistry-in-san-pedro.html Today we were assigned to the San Pedro Lion's Club pavilion in downtown San Pedro in Ambergris Caye.  Six dentists set up their stations and worked on a first come first serve basis.  Even though the Belize Mission Project has been going to the "Lions Den" for 18 years, there is still plenty of dentistry to be done.  Patients were lined up in rows of folding chairs waiting patiently for their turn.  This year we were fortunate to have lab technicians to help with dentures.  They worked literally day and night to process dentures started on Monday and delivered today.  At 5:45 we packed up our supplies for the last time.  Tomorrow this site will be seeing patients and the rest of us will be getting equipment to the airport and working on the Rice and Beans project.

 

]]>Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:47:10 -0600Rice & Beanshttp://www.drecooper.com/blog/post/rice--beans.html On Friday as many dentists as possible went back to the Lion's Den for the morning.  The rest of us had plenty of work to do getting all the equipment ready to ship back to the USA, gathering our stats, and delivering rice & beans.  The "Rice & Beans" project was started a few years ago by a dental assistant from Idaho.  We all pool our money and purchase rice and beans in bulk from the mainland and divide it into bags enough to feed a family for a week.  On Ambergris Caye groceries are very expensive and a supermarket as we know it is nonexistent. We delivered the bags to the poorest community in all of Belize, San Mateo.  It is quite an experience to walk through that neighborhood.  The people were so appreciative.

 

]]>Sun, 13 Nov 2011 20:53:19 -0600Wrapping Uphttp://www.drecooper.com/blog/post/wrapping-up.html On Saturday morning we had our last devotion led by Bonnie Whipps and said our last good-byes.  We will all go back to our jobs and families with a better understanding of how fortunate we are and how much work there is yet to be done.  We will be sent a slideshow of all of our photos from 17 different sites in the country of Belize.  Just like most missions, we will take away much more than we gave.

Next stop:  PANAMA!  My daughter is in the Peace Corps in a remote area in the middle of Panama.  When we visit there I will take toothbrushes, flouride, and attempt to do some sealants without any dental equipment.  Although my daughter is on an environmental project, she does some education in the elementary school, so I will try to have her start a brushing program in the school on a daily basis and hopefully we can get the teachers to help us continue that.

 

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