Save the last dance for me?


Mr Gerald Schraa had been my patient for twenty years. He was elderly when started with me and he always let me know that my fees were too high and he had to work too hard to pay my bills. "Do you know how many bolts of cloth I have to sell to pay for a crown?". Still I could tell he was fond of me and the feeling was mutual.

One year, he needed a lot of work and he balked at my treatment plan. I sent him for a second opinion to a prosthodontist I respected. After a couple of weeks he returned and told me the other dentist was "out of his mind" and that he liked my treatment plan better. He later told me that I was a "good boy" ( forty years old at the time) and I had done of good job of caring for his mouth. He told me he was my "Dutch Uncle". For those of you not aware of the meaning, a Dutch Uncle is a "person giving firm but benevolent advice".

Another  ten years went by and one day Mr Schraa showed up with a bottle of champagne and no appointment. I asked him "What's the occasion?" and he told us that it was his 80tn birthday and he had no one left in NYC to celebrate with. He had decided to move back to Holland where he still had some friends ( and healthcare, dentistry included was less expensive!). I guess my dutch uncle wanted to say goodbye before he left the USA.

I haven't heard from him since that day, but I hope his move turned out well. Writing this post and remembering our relationship, has  made me realize how much I miss my dutch uncle.









from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2017/07/save-last-dance-for-me.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

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