After brainstorming with friends, painting bookshelves, creating pillars, and adding A LOT of toulle,  Sorrisi Décor made its event debut at the Women, Wine, and Wow event in the Kent Showare Center on Friday, May 8^th.  Hundreds of women came from the surrounding area to visit the booths, have appetizers (although they ran out awfully quick) and a glass of wine, watch presentations, and enjoy an evening with friends.  I was blessed to have the official help of my friend Stacy Walker, and the unofficial help of many girlfriends walking around with their Sorrisi bags telling everyone about “these great pillows they just had to see!”   Great feedback, good sales, and a fun evening with friends – overall, a pretty fun night!

Our dental team arrived in the town of Tominan, Mali after working the previous week in the city of San. We knew the need continued to be great and we had four days to treat as many patients as we could before returning home.

Villagers soon gathered and we learned one lady walked 15 miles to seek treatment for a painful tooth. Soon a patient was called and it was apparent that the man had a severe abscess and that it was draining from the inside to the outside of his cheek. Dr. Bill Melby from Molalla, Oregon and assistants Becky Dickinson and Kathi Karnosh immediately began treating the infection. The man was Kalifa Kone’ from the village of Kiribara and we learned he had been suffering for two years with abscessed teeth.

Dr. Melby realized how serious his condition was and knew that without help, Kalifa might not have long to live. Much of the infection was drained, but it was important for Kalifa to return morning and night for additional treatment.

On our last day Becky Dickinson, an oral surgery assistant from Huntersville, North Carolina instructed Kalifa’s wife on how to care for the effected area and explained to her the importance of taking the prescribed antibiotics. Kathi Karnosh gave toothbrushes to his wife for their seven children and through an interpreter explained the importance of oral hygiene.

At a goodbye ceremony,The pastor of the local church assured us that Kalifa’s health would be monitored and that the congregation would pray for his recovery. Most gratifying of all however, was the heartfelt thanks and smile from Kalifa and his wife as we shook hands and waved goodbye.

It all began late one night as I was lying on the floor, desperately hoping that my 8 year old wouldn’t look over the side of his bed to see the tooth fairy looking an awful lot like his pajama-clad mother.  For those of you who are parents, you have probably been there yourself.  My son had lost his tooth, and then had done such a fabulous job hiding it under his pillow that even combining efforts with my husband didn’t lead to success in discovering his pearly white.  Instead, we were quite successful in causing enough commotion to bring our son to a very alert and curious state – which was when my husband made a quick exit and I hit the deck.  I was there for a full 20 minutes.

You can imagine many things in a still 20 minutes, such as . . . “we should create a fun and special place, a designated place, to put such treasures as a lost tooth.”  In fact, I was busy creating pillows for nieces and nephews for the upcoming holiday, why not create a pillow – one that would match each of their interests, and would incorporate a pocket for the lost tooth and deposited money?

With the upcoming holidays I had also been reflecting on my many blessings, as well as how many there were in need.  One particular area of need that was heavy on my heart were the recently adopted orphans I had worked with that were too embarrassed to smile because of the deplorable state of their teeth.   Nutritional deficits, lack of hygiene and access to dental care had taken their toll – and at the happiest time of the year, these little ones were trying not to smile.   What could I do that might help, even a little bit, to bring back their smiles?

That’s when Sorrisi Décor was born.  To take my intuition as a mom, my love for creativity and design, and my hearts desire to take away pain and bring back a smile – wrap it into one big idea, and you have Sorrisi Décor.

When you’re a parent, 20 still minutes is quite a gift!

As Sorrisi is able to send teams to Liberia and Mali, we will include blogs from the volunteers that make it all happen. We can’t wait to find out what the donations from Sorrisi will be able to accomplish in these regions, here the stories of the locals, and the experiences of the volunteers. Can you imagine practicing dentistry in an outside tent, limited water and electricity, and a suitcase of supplies – all the while being surrounded with the locals watching your every move? Soon you’ll be able to hear firsthand what the purchase of your cute pillow is accomplishing half way around the world!