Dear editor,
In keeping with the spirit of Christmas, I wish to tell you about two Comox Valley medical professionals, Dr. Mark Lawrence and Dr. Andreas Conradi, who have truly demonstrated the importance of charitable works.
To do this, I have to tell you about our friend Katelynn, who is a track and field star and attends Trinity Western University in Langley.
I met Katelynn a couple of years ago in Nanaimo through extended family.
At the time, Katelynn had become estranged from her own family and was having difficulty making ends meet. My extended family in Nanaimo provided some temporary room and board for Katelynn and we all got to know her very well.
We were all amazed at her perseverance through so many family and financial crises. Despite the negatives in her life, she remained a positive, upbeat person, and remains a nationally ranked race walker.
Through much adversity, she shines.
Through our relationship with Katelynn we discovered that she had serious teeth and jaw problems that were causing major health concerns and some cosmetic issues. We also learned that Katelynn had never been to a dentist in her entire life, some 20 years.
Financially, there was no way for Katelynn to obtain the dental procedures she required to live a normal life.
So, as Katelynn's "adopted" families, we decided to research what could be done to help Katelynn. In the Comox Valley, we reached out to Dr. Lawrence (Creative Orthodontics) and Dr. Conradi (oral and maxillofacial implant surgeon).
Our original goal was to approach them to get some of these procedures done at a reduced rate. It didn't work out quite that way — it worked out far better than we could have ever imagined.
To our great surprise, both doctors completed the consults and procedures completely free of charge. Katelynn had multiple teeth removed and had extensive braces put in.
For the next two years, Katelynn will visit Dr. Lawrence for complimentary followups to ensure her dental health is looked after.
Katelynn is eternally grateful and now she can concentrate on her studies and sports training; watch out for her in upcoming Olympics.
I wish to publicly thank Dr. Conradi and Dr. Lawrence for the compassion and care extended to Katelynn. I also wish to thank the Comox Medicine Shoppe for providing Katelynn with the necessary medication — all free of charge.
Roger Collin,
Comox