Teaching at the Dental School

I had the opportunity to teach at the dental school, as I do annually to the seniors.  They wanted me to instruct the senior dental students on the dentist’s role in treating obstructive sleep apnea.  I always love going down to the dental school to enlighten the students with aspects of dentistry which they may not have been exposed to.  My heart goes to all to the students as they are about to finish their training and education and going out into this world, treating patients.  The amount of knowledge and skills required are so extensive that when it comes to dentistry, the word “practice of dentistry” is a lifelong endeavor.

 

These dental students have no clue how bombarded they are going to get from commercial companies selling the products to treat obstructive sleep apnea and snoring.  These companies are very sophisticated and the way I want to help these new dentists, and my true desire, is to give them all the information they need to sort this out.  I told them that I am unable to train them in how to the treat their patients with obstructive sleep apnea and snoring in just one hour, however, I do have enough time to warn them not to treat without a proper diagnosis.  That it is my message with these students when I go down to the school.

 

The seniors have so many pressures that I am certain my one-hour has very little relevance to them, other than a break from their intense classes.  However, I make sure they have all the handouts and written information they need so that they can referred back to when they get out and start treating patients.  It is up to them to pursue the education to enhance their clinical abilities, and to either treat or refer these patients that have snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.

 

The response of the students is always interesting because I am teaching them the aspects of Dentistry that they have never heard before.  I truly believe that they had no clue that a Dentist could treat these disorders and the idea of treating sleep is fascinating to them.  I hope they are stimulated to learn more and to pursue education along these lines so that they can make difference in people’s lives.

 

God Bless,

Ron Prehn

 

Hurrican Ike – Part 2

My biggest surprise to this experience is the role electricity has in society.  Without electricity, good things happen and neighbors come out of their homes and start talking to each other and families are cooking together and doing stuff together and working together, but, also without electricity, there is no commerce, there is not income, our way of life is completely taken away.  There is no communication with the outside world and there are no conveniences of what we call normal life.  Our whole society is based on electricity.  I know there are societies in this world right now who do not have electricity in function normally; however, our society has become totally dependent on electricity to where they cannot function normal without it.  Suppose in time without electricity this society would adapt, but for the short term here this society is completely paralyzed.

 

This experience has brought our family close together as one would expect.  We are working for a common cause and that is food and taking care of each other and dividing up the choice.  When there is work to do, there is little time for boredom.  Our kids are active at church serving those who are less fortunate than us and they are receiving a blessing from that.  This is day three after the hurricane and I have frantically looking for a way to get my office open again.  There is no electricity even in the hospitals right now, so there are no places for me to see patients.  If we do not have electricity by this weekend, I may have to come up with another radical solution and perhaps the patients in another city, as a temporary measure until electricity is restored.

 

Where is God in a Hurricaine?  God does not use hurricanes to punish or to judge.  Hurricanes are a natural part of the global climate and has its purposes not only for the global climate, but also as a pretense to the good does the earth.  Therefore, God does love people, his greatest creation, and he is there as the storms hit.  While there is loss of life, the number of people that potentially could have been killed is incredibly enormous.  However, god spared all those people who would otherwise have been killed.  For those who survive there are and God is also with them as we have thought him with us.  He has walked with us.  Through this we will experience.  He has answered our prayers.  He has provided for us shelter and food and fuel and even the generous blessing of electricity with the generator that we have.  I see God in the people as they are helping other people representing him and his love to the people who are less fortunate and now are not able to help themselves.  I see the churches representing God as they bring in these helpless and hopeless people and provide a place for them and shelter and food and place to wash the clothes and keep the families together.

I see God in bringing the cold front into Houston at the beginning of September, which there should not be any.  We have never had a cold front come through this early and here it is just two days after hurricane, which is a blessing and has saved many-many lives in the Houston area.  I see God at work now more than I ever would on a normal day around here.  God is love and people love each other in a sacrificial type of love that God is represented on this earth and his community.  My only wish is that this could continue even after the crisis passes.

 

God Bless,

Dr. Ronald S. Prehn

 

Hurricane Ike – Part 1

Ike is in the Gulf of Mexico.  All off a sudden you find yourself keeping an eye on the weather channel and the news to see in hope what this hurricane is doing and more importantly where it is going to go.

 

As a storm approaches paths turn towards possibilities in both your personal, family areas and in my professional staff and patients’ areas of life.  In my patient area of life, I had to think of how to care for my patient in the event of a storm and aftermath and I do consider the safety of my staff to make sure they are with the families and Out Of Harm’s Way and I had to take care of the actual physical office in the event of power outage, broken windows, and things like that.  I had to make sure all the flowers were backed up properly in the off-site and I wanted to make sure everything is shut down because I know power surge is ruling all the computers.  As far as family life goes, I want to make sure the home is safe and we had enough food and fuel.  I had to check on my family Harm’s Way to make sure they are taken care of.  I had to get my mother-in-law who is on oxygen out of her apartment in to our home.

 

I was just amazed that how much work it takes to prepare for a storm of this magnitude.  I also observed people as they deal with the anxiety in the unknown.  Some were overly kind and some were overly rude.  There are those that were well prepared a long time in advance and then there are those who had just either procrastinated and did not think this was a serious situation or they are busy helping others prepare for the hurricane and they sacrifice their own safety and well being for them.

 

We had a direct hit from a category 2 almost 3 hurricane.  Where we live particularly still a strong category 2 by the time it was through our area.  The actual storm was frightening with the power of the wind.  Our house was boarded up though we could hear things hitting the house all night long such as branches and pinecones and even any debris that the wind could possibly pick up and stone at our house.  I went out on the back porch and just the wind strength was so strong that the drop in pressure drew me out on the porch.  The sound was like I was at the airport with the jets all around.  Rain was going horizontal.  That was an incredibly powerful experience and in that same instant I thought the grace of God and the protection that he provided for us in our home and their inability to prepare for the storm and keep her family safe.

 

The aftermath is an experience that I hope I never have to go through.  The hurricane was bad enough, but the aftermath is even worse.  It is long and drawn out for the simple fact that we live in a wooded area and the devastation of the trees destroyed all the electricity.  Thus the power greed for entire city of Houston was completely demolished.  There were over two million people without power and in our area there was no one.  This meant that the gas stations had gas, but no way to pump the pumps.  The grocery stores had food, but no way to even begin just to try to sell it without electricity.  There are no stores open anywhere, and no gas, no fuel, no ice except for the few that were prepared enough to have a generator on their own.  We are one of those fortunate few.  I brought my generator after Rita couple of years ago and had a storage ever since.

 

In observing society becoming more primitive, I have also observed both the goodness of people and the evil nature we have in us.  I saw the good in people and the way they share and help each other in this neighborhood area especially.  I shared my generator with all my neighbors and as a few got some from a friend up in Dallas, they started hooking up to each other and now there is conjoin between everybody’s houses over here.  I see people driving on the street helping other people and make it sure everybody is taking care of.  Then I see the evil in this man who came in to our church yesterday as we were out helping and stole everybody’s purses.  I saw evil in the people who try to cut line at the gas stations and I saw evil in the breakings of homes and businesses.  The evil nature in us is drawn and can actually guide our actions to a degree to even a normal person would look upon that is evil.

 

…Continued next week