IN LOVING MEMORY

             It is with great sadness that we have to announce that Lindsey Musing, our dental hygienist for two years, sadly passed away on Friday 27^th of January, after a short fight with pancreatic cancer. Diagnosed in late December she spent her final weeks in the company of her family and friends in relative peace and comfort. We are all devastated by the news and can find little solace at this most tragic time. Lindsey was an integral member of our team, a dedicated person to her job and patients, and we will all miss her greatly.

Her children, Louisa and Max, have organised a funeral service to be held at St Swithun’s Church in East Grinstead on the 24th February at 11:00 am, followed by a reception with light refreshments. The venue is:

Java and Jazz
The Square
Lewes Road
Forest Row
East Sussex
RH18 5ES

Anyone who wishes to pay their respects is very welcome to attend.

“Never Can Say Goodbye”

Dear Lindsey,

Although I only knew you for a few years, I always felt I’d known you for years and years. I felt so at ease in your company. You were so easy to talk to and a good listener.

So patient and calm. A gentle nature, a big heart and a radiant soul. I loved working along side you as a fellow hygienist, and enjoyed our chats on our country walks together. We had a common love of ” fresh air” and the simple things in life.

You fitted into our team so easily, it felt like you’d always been part of it for many years. We were all so sad that you lost your battle with cancer so suddenly. It seems so unfair. You will be greatly missed.

I will always remember you when I sit on our bench at lunchtime in the church gardens in the summer. I will picture your face and hear your voice in my head.

I may never see you again, but I will feel your presence. The warmth of the sun shining on my face, the light breeze cooling my skin and the little robin pecking at my crumbs.

I will know you are there my friend. I’m so very sorry I never got to say goodbye. I’m so sorry you’ll never get to see your children get married and see your grandchildren grow up.

You were taken too soon!!

Just remember, you were loved by so many and I feel privileged to have known you.

Never can say goodbye, so ….. See you around Lins.

Julie Toll

“In life you meet people that leave a mark on you. I have had the privilege of knowing Lindsey as a friend and colleague for about 10 years.

She had an innate calmness and serenity that made your blood pressure drop just being in her presence!

She had a great sense of humour and could always see the positive in everything and everyone.

She was dedicated and c o n s c i e n t i o u s professionally.

That’s why she had so many loyal patients.

Her dedication and love could be seen by how proud she was of her children Louisa and Max, who are a credit to her
 Losing her so suddenly has left us all shocked and deeply saddened as we’ll miss her. Our loss is also our gain as we had the privilege of having her in our lives.

Rest in peace Lindsey”.

Kate Cash

When Lindsey first approached me about joining our practice, we didn’t really need another hygienist. But, after having spoken to her for just a short while, I quickly realised that we did need a ‘Lindsey’.

Of her many virtues, I was struck by her incredibly calming influence. She never rushed, be it with the spoken word or in her actions. Perhaps this was a reflection of her training in the martial arts? I don’t know. But, what I do know is that speaking with Lindsey felt like time itself had slowed down.

Lindsey was, in so many ways, my inspiration. She was my rock. Her optimism and courage never wavered, even during the peak of her illness.

Meeting Lindsey was, for our practice and myself, one of life’s truly serendipitous moments. And, despite the fact that I only knew her for a relatively short while, it was long enough to make a difference.

Rest in peace Lins.

Jas Sandhu

I think it’s only fitting that I leave the last words to Lindsey (from a recent email)

herself:

Hi Jas,

Happy New Year to you, I hope you had a wonderful festive period.

I didn’t feel able to communicate over Christmas, I was warmly cocooned in a bubble of Christmas lights, lovely food smells, games,

laughter (which we did manage) and important family time.

I believe you know of the battle I have ahead of me. I will muster all the strength I have to beat this nasty thing inside me, and must

focus on myself for the immediate time.

I am devastated for my patients who followed me from St. James, they are more like friends after so long, and I know it isn’t anyone’s

fault but I feel bad for letting the practice down.

Love Lins

As you can see, our results for December do not
make for pleasant reading. I won’t offer any excuses,
but I do apologise, and I promise that we will make
every attempt to improve over the year.

Jas Sandhu

Lindsey

As you may know, Lindsey, our hygienist, hasn’t been well since her hip operation in
November. I know that many of you are missing her terribly and have wished her a
speedy recovery. As do we.

Some of you may have met our latest recruit: Amy Ridpath is a hygienist who joined us only a few weeks ago and is already receiving glowing reviews. In Amy’s words:

“Hello!
I’m Amy and have recently joined the practice as a dental hygienist. I will not only be working with you to help keep your mouth clean and healthy but I will endeavour to provide a pain-free personal experience for all my patients and ensure your hygiene appointment is enjoyable and as stress free as possible.

I live with my husband local to the practice and in my  spare time I enjoy exercising, cooking and travelling.

I am looking forward to meeting all my patients and
integrating into what is already a fantastic team at the high street dental practice.”

Amy

Our Charities
Thank you for taking part in our prize
Christmas hamper raffle. In total, we
raised £465 for Help for Heroes.

Every month, we make a contribution to a number of world-wide projects via
Buy 1 Give 1. Here’s a summary of where our contributions went for 2016:

• You’ve given 8 nourishing meals to families in need.
• You’ve provided 105 days of access to dental hygiene to people in need .
• You’ve provided 146 square meters of rainforest protection.
• You’ve given 2283 days of access to life-saving clean water to people in Africa.

We couldn’t have done this without support. Thank you helping us to make a
difference.

The Dental Mavericks

In 2010, I became aware of the plights of the Berber tribe in Morocco. This is a
community of about 50,000 people spread mostly amongst the Rif and Atlas mountains.
Because of the remoteness of their habitats, and their poverty, the vast majority of them
have never seen a dentist.

For them, particularly the young, dental pain was simply regarded as an unfortunate
symptom of their lifestyle. And, for a community whose sugar intake is very high, this
meant that toothache was a widespread and serious issue. In most cases, painful and
decayed teeth were left to ‘rot’. And, in times of desperation, some resorted to taking out
their own or their childrens’ teeth.

I was one of a group of seven people who decided to try and do something about that. So,
in September of 2010, we ventured forth on our inaugural trip to Morocco. Because of the
difficulties in obtaining the necessary paperwork, our journey wasn’t (and still isn’t) easy.
To be brutally honest, none of us knew if we would be successful.

Thus began the journey of The Dental Mavericks.

Fast forward to today and The Dental Mavericks has become a registered charity,
numbering several dozen volunteers from Europe, America and New Zealand amongst
our group. And we have been able to forge links and friendships with so many people –
from the heads of the communities we visit to the Moroccan minister of health.

As a Dental Maverick, 2016 was a particularly
special one for me. Firstly, back in February, I
was able to take Maggie, Debbie, Cilla and Sophie
from our practice on one of our trips. This was
the first time that anyone else from our practice
has travelled with me. I wanted them to come
with me and experience what I do whenever I
work in Morocco, and why I do it. From the ‘lows’
of seeing so many children in distress, to the
‘highs’ of seeing them smile and being hugged by
them once we’d rid them of pain. Our trips can
often be very daunting for first timers, but I was
really proud of how very well they coped.

Secondly, one of my own children joined me on our last two
trips. And, although she had no previous dental experience, I
hope you’ll forgive me for saying that she shone as my nurse.
Indeed, she’s now looking forward to our next trip this May.

And lastly, we made our first trip to Greece where we visited
several camps in Thessaloniki to care for the Syrian refugees.
I am very pleased to say that this has now become another of
our causes. In fact, we are now returning there every month
to continue our work.

So, why am I telling you this? It is to thank you. Over the years, so many of you have
donated to our cause and without your generous contributions, I doubt if we would have
been able to continue. From its inception, all Dental Mavericks pay for our own travel,
food and living expenses. This means that every penny of your donations go directly
towards where it is most needed:

To help treat the children in the Berber tribes and rid them of dental pain.

On behalf of all the Dental Mavericks and the children of Morocco, thank you.

Word of the month:

Thanks for reading and happy new year.