Better Than a Dentist

By Madeline Dyche

The woman was grinning from ear to ear.

But hours earlier, she told me, she had been disappointed to learn that she couldn’t receive a free tooth cleaning at the Pathway to Health mega clinic in the U.S. state of Texas.

Image © Pacific Press

The woman had joined a long line of people seeking health care and other services at the sprawling Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth on the first day of a three-day free mega clinic organized by Seventh-day Adventists. But when she reached the front of the line, she learned that no more dental openings were available for the day.

Hopes dashed, she began to turn away when a volunteer suggested that she chose another free service. She opted for a vision checkup.

After giving her blood pressure and other vital signs, a requirement for all patients, she sat down with an eye doctor.

The man looked at a printout of her vitals sign and asked a few questions. He thought something wasn’t quite right. Seeing a physician nearby, he asked for help.

The physician examined her, ordered a sonogram, and diagnosed the woman with hypothyroidism, an abnormally underactive thyroid gland. He asked whether the woman suffered common symptoms of the condition such as fatigue, irritability and depression, intolerance for cold, and weight gain.

“Yes, for six years!” the woman replied.

She had visited various doctors, but none had been able to diagnose her condition. Her medical insurance didn’t allow tests such as a sonogram, and she hadn’t been able to afford to pay for more than a medical consultation.

When I met the woman, she was leaving the Pathway to Health event. She told her story when Pathway to Health volunteers asked whether she was satisfied with her experience. I was able to empathize with her because I have hyperthyroidism, an overactive thyroid gland.

“I thought I was dying a few months ago”, I said. “I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Once I started taking medicine, I felt much better. The difference was like night and day. You will feel so much better once you get this problem regulated”.

The woman was all smiles.

“I came for a tooth cleaning, and I never would have found out what my real problem was if the dentist had seen me”, she said. “The way God worked this out has been such a blessing”.

Madeline Dyche, pictured, is a mother of two in Keene, Texas.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

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