LAWTON Okla_ People from all
over the state flooded Lawton's
Great Plains Coliseum today. It was the
first day of Oklahoma's
mission of mercy, a program that provides free dental care.
1,900
volunteers, including dental professionals, are using more than 130 chairs to
care for everyone and anyone, regardless of age or ability to pay. Over 1,000
patients filed through the coliseum to get their free dental care Friday, but most
of the people who waited all day said the services are well worth the wait.
It took nearly
10 hours for Jeannette Felan of Altus
to reach a dental chair.
"We just
sat around and talked and joked all night to strangers, pretty much,” Felan
said. “It was fun!"
Spending her
time proved to be more entertaining and less costly than spending her money.
"I went to
every dentist in Altus,”
Felan said. “You know, $1,500 to $1,800 is kind of hard to come up with when
you have three kids.”
That price had
been keeping her from getting the root canal and filling she's needed for 6
months. Luckily for her, people like Dr. Phoebe Brown decided to come to Lawton and put their
talents to good use.
"I feel
like we have a gift to give to other people,” Brown said, “And not many people
can give that."
Dr. Brown is a
dentist in Edmond
and a teacher at the OU Dental School. She was one of the professionals put in
charge of fillings.
"I have
seen a lot of cases where there was a lot of cavity and we treated that,” Brown
said. “Some of them were cases where we made them look better, and others were
to just give them more function back."
When our 7News
team arrived, Jeannette Felan had already gotten the root canal and was just
being seated for her filling. She said she was delighted to put the health of
her teeth in Dr. Brown's capable hands.
"I'm
pretty happy,” Felan said. “I am not crying because I am sad. I am crying
because I am happy, and I appreciate it. It makes you feel good that people
still care and are willing to do things like this for people like me, who can't
afford stuff like that."
Dr. Brown said she was so excited to be a part of Mission of Mercy, she couldn't sleep
last night. She said stories like Jeanette's leave her feeling energized at the
end of two very long days. The Oklahoma Mission of Mercy plans on seeing 1,000
more patients Saturday. The line will re-open again Friday night at 8:00, but
they won't start treating patients again until 5:00 AM Saturday.
People began lining up for Mission of Mercy's Free dental clinic
