#WednesdaysWithHenry: Day 4

#WednesdaysWithHenry: The dentist appointment.

January 7, 2016 Henry is going to go see the dentist for an exam, for the first time in 22 years.

Let’s backup to the night before. I happened to mention on Facebook that I would be heading back downtown in the morning to take Henry to go see a dentist. The dentist is Dr. Ramin Ghassemi and a wonderful friend of mine made this appointment necessary by asking for a favor.

I received a text from my friend Mike asking me to go talk to her husband Bobby in the morning; he’s the owner of the Shell Station where Henry Kelley and I first met on December 2nd. When I arrived around 8:30 he casually said to me, “It’s a great thing that you’re doing for Henry.” He then handed me a large amount of cash and said, “This is to keep our friend warm and dry.”

I’m just the person hanging out with Henry. It’s a great thing that a lot of people are doing for Henry, a guy who was a complete stranger, just another person on the street, trying to make each day better than the one before. We’re all doing this together and it’s a pretty kick ass team.

So, Thursday morning I met Henry in the lobby of 500 West Hotel. Mind you he’s just had his first night inside, warm, dry, safe and he was able to take a shower for the first time in months. When the elevator door opened I just smiled and high fived Henry. “You clean up pretty good Henry” was all I could think to say at that moment but just looking at him I knew how much he was beginning to transform. He smiled and said, “Why I think I’m going to have to agree with you Kari.” and off we went.

When we arrived at Dr. Ghessemi’s office the receptionist could not have been nicer. She told Henry it was great to see him and handed us some paperwork to fill out. I sensed his hesitation and asked if he’d like me to write in the answers and he told me that he would “very much appreciate that”. Henry’s an extremely polite man and that’s one of the qualities about him that I really enjoy.

The next step was to get some x-rays taken and Jessica let Henry know that they would be taking 18 pictures but it would be done quickly. While that was going on Dr. Ghessemi introduced himself to me and asked me to tell him the story behind this moment…. then he was ready to examine Henry.

Without making Henry feel embarrassed or ashamed in anyway Dr. Ghessemi told Henry that his tartar problem was substantial and that he really needed a deep cleaning and his gums taken care of. Then he looked at Jessica, the adorable dental hygienist who had taken the x-rays and said, “I’m going to clean his teeth, I’m going to do it myself, right now.” Then he looked down at Henry in the chair and said, “You’re going to get the V.I.P. treatment today my friend, are you ready?”

For anyone who goes to the dentist to get their teeth cleaned it can sometimes be a scary and sometimes painful experience. Imagine what it would be like if you had not been in 22 years, and by the way, he hadn’t had a toothbrush in a very long time before purchasing one at Target 2 weeks before.

To say that Henry was a trooper is an understatement. As I sat across the room I watched him grip the armrest a few times, fold and unfold his legs at the ankles and sometimes let out just a small noise. The Dr. would give him breaks, ask if he was okay and each time he either called him “brother”, “friend” or “buddy”.

I really wish that I would have taken some before pictures because the results after when the top row of teeth were cleaned was absolutely incredible. I did shoot video during the break we took after the top row was done, it’s on YouTube and it’s pretty funny. That night Henry watched it then said casually, “I’m a good looking guy.”

At one point it became obvious that Henry may need a minute so Dr. Ghessemi said, “I think that we’ll take a couple minutes.” Henry looked at Jessica and then the Dr. and just asked, “How are you guys doing? Are you ok?.” I told Henry I thought the break was actually for his benefit and he smiled and said, “I appreciate that.”

All in all, the amount of time that Henry was in the chair was four hours. Dr. Ghessemi complemented Henry and told him that under any other circumstances the amount of work that he had to do to clean his teeth and gums properly would have been done over 4 or 5 appointments.

He let Henry know that he still has a baby tooth and Henry asked if it should be pulled. “No, it just adds to your charm.” Was the reply, and Henry smiled, he hadn’t smiled too often before this. Henry inquired about his “gap” and asked if a tooth could be put in there. Again, his gap adds to his charm.

Friends of mine, Cathey Greenfield and Cheryl McKirnan, had expressed an interest in taking care of Henry’s dental work. Dr. Ghessemi let Henry know that his teeth were actually not in too bad of shape and that some minimal things would need to be done and he’s going to email me with that information so we can take it from there. He then went on to say that he loved what was going on with Henry and wanted to be a part of it and told Henry that this visit was on him. It was his pleasure to help Henry out.

There were hugs all around then Jessica and Dr. Ghessemi were kind enough to pose for a picture with Henry so he could show off his new smile.

I asked Henry if he wanted to go grab a bite to eat, maybe some soup. He just reached over, touched my hand and said, “You’ve done more for me in this short amount of time than I could have ever imagined. You probably have things to do, I’ll just go home and take a nap.” Then he said, “Go home, I like the sound of that.”

The rain began a little as I dropped him off at the door and once again he expressed his gratitude. Henry hasn’t realized yet that I’m getting just as much out of this as he is and based on the day, so did Dr. Ghessemi. He had said to us as we left, “I want in on this journey.”

Every day and conversation with Henry has humor. I love it. When he first sat down in the chair at the dentist office he looked across the room at me and asked, “Are you nervous?”

The journey continues, I’m blessed that you’re all going on it with us.