OKMOM 2011

So I missed out on the first Snowpocalypse last week as I was out of town road tripping with one of my fraternity brothers helping him move up to Washington. That trip was the epitome of a blog-worthy adventure. So with the moving van breaking down 4 times, being stranded in Colorado, eating at the only Denny's in the world with a closed kitchen, moving an entire moving van worth of furniture/belongings in ~ -20 degree temperatures, paying ~ $450 more than what I had expected, and missing a full day of work - it definitely remains my most memorable trip.

Of course that's not the end of it. Oh no, no, no. We need to play catch up, dear reader. Arriving back home around midnight, I took a cab directly to the hotel where I would be staying for the weekend. First off, that was an odd feeling to take a cab to a hotel in a city where I actually reside. The reason for this was the 2nd annual Oklahoma Mission of Mercy taking place in downtown OKC. I had no idea how I was going to survive the next full day on less than 3 hours of sleep. After slinking out of bed ~ 3:30 am and braving the freezing cold winds to venture across the street to the convention center to help set up. I'll tell you what though. It was so amazing. I love OKMOM and what it represents for dentistry. It's something I can't help but geek out about because I had such a wonderful time. It definitely made up for everything earlier in the week. Being able to be a part of something so worthwhile and so meaningful spoke volumes to me. It was a preview of what's to come in my career and I couldn't be more excited.


So for the first day, I spent a bit of time on the ODF's mobile dental unity processing x-rays but for the most part, I ended up assisting in restorative. I actually ended up running into quite a few friends from the dental college and assisted two DS4s all day long. It had been a while since I had seen or spoken to a few of them so the day was full of congratulations and warm wishes. I also ran into friends from the dental hygiene program as well as faculty and staff who had interviewed me! I felt so thrilled and honored to be a part of the dental community playing whatever role I possible could. It simply reinforced the fact that being in the dental field can provide so many opportunities to give back to the community. I loved seeing dentists who I had shadowed and who I had worked with walking the floors. I had the opportunity to speak with entire dental teams, assistants, office managers, supply reps who all were volunteering their time and doing so with such great vigor and passion.

I ended up manning the mobile dental unit for the next day taking pannos and processing/developing more x-rays. Lots of x-rays. It wasn't as hands-on and I didn't get much patient exposure if at all but it was all worthwhile.

I averaged about 3 - 4 hours of sleep Friday and Saturday evening. I worked both the morning (5am - 11 am) and afternoon shifts (11 am - 5pm). I didn't regret a second of it. Huge shout out to the staff of the ODA, ODF, and the Delta Dental of Oklahoma for all their long hours and hard work putting on such an amazing event.

And PS. my house flooded. So much for looking forward to a good night's rest in my own bed.