Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Blessed Beyond Measure

In times when we see and hear more bad news than good - when we wonder what in the world has happened to compassion and true generosity in our fellow man, we can every now and then hear of those who still put character and compassion as a priority in their lives.
I came across one such person yesterday.
I had to call an endodontist last week to make an appointment for a root canal - not something I was looking forward to, even though I'd been to this office before, and knew that the staff there were kind and compassionate towards my fears.
My first blessing came when I paid for the procedure before going in. They were giving me the same price as I paid last year, even though they'd gone up since. So I handed the receptionist cash, in the amount she had quoted me over the phone when making the appointment. She smiled and said, "Oh you get some back". I was like....."WHAAAAAAAAAT?" She said because I was paying cash, I got $100 of it back. Well that was totally unexpected, and made the pain in the pocketbook a little less severe....lol
When Dr. Sinopoli came in to take a gander at the tooth he was going to be working on and to numb the area, he left to go check on another patient while the anesthetic took affect. Before he stepped away though, he noticed that I was wearing my Army Parent pin, that Dude had sent to me last year when he was in basic training.
He inquired if I had a son or daughter currently serving, and I told him about my Dude, how he would be leaving in February for Iraq, and how I would get to go spend four family days with him prior to his deployment, and most importantly, how very proud of my son I am. He said, "Well you should be!"
He did my root canal, which wasn't as painful or traumatic of a procedure as I'd expected, and once again went to check on another patient while the dental assistant put a temporary filling in. He comes back to check her work and says, "Janelle, I have something for you". I had no idea what he was talking about.
He had two fifty dollar bills in his hand and said "This is for you". I said, "Thanks, but Kathy up front already gave me the discount for paying cash" and how appreciative I was.
Now here's where it REALLY gets good!
He put those fifties in my hand and said, "This has nothing to do with that - this hundred is from ME. When you go see your son before he is deployed, I want you to take him out to a really nice supper on me and to tell him THANK YOU for serving our country".
All I could do was ball like a baby - I never in my life would expect that from anyone, but especially my endodontist! I hugged him and told him that I pray God would bless him in every way for his kindness and compassionate heart.
I got out to the reception area where my sister Deb was waiting for me and she saw I was crying and was concerned that it was because I was hurting. I told her that Dr. Sinopoli just blew me away with a blessing I'd tell her about when we got to the car.
The receptionist asked me the same thing - "Are you OK Janelle?". I said I was, but was just overwhelmed at something Dr. Sinopoli had done for me.
All the girls in the reception area smiled and said that he had come out there and told them he was going to do that. They too, all wished me the best and to thank my precious son for his commitment to serve our country.

If you live in the central Florida area - Lake County in particular, and are in need of an endodontist, you need to call the office of Dr. Sinopoli in Clermont. He and his entire staff truly put the concerns, the fears and the anxieties of their patients as top priority, and do everything they can to make it as comfortable of a procedure as humanly possible.

Thank you Lord, that you pour out your blessings on us in so many ways - especially when we least expect it!

1 comment:

Carol Roll said...

What a wonderful story Janelle and stories like this need to get out when all around us is news that just breaks our hearts.