Texas woman travels more than 1,000 miles for Remote Area Medical Clinic at Manatee Technical College
MANATEE -- Traveling more than 1,000 miles for dental work may seem outrageous to some, but Courtney Foster said it was her only option.
Foster, 30, a single mom, was the third person to arrive Friday at Manatee Technical College y to wait in line for the Remote Area Medical clinic, which will provide free medical, dental and vision services to anyone in need.
The Texas resident made the trip from the small town of Timpson about 70 miles from Shreveport, La., to have a doctor look at her teeth. Family and friends donated airline miles to fly her to Bradenton where her mother lives.
For years, because of broken teeth from car accidents and wearing braces for a long time, Foster suffered multiple infections in her mouth and migraines resulting from untreated conditions. She used to work in the oil and gas industry and said, even when she was employed, she had a hard time paying for needed dental.
"Dental insurance caps out at about $1,500 per year," Foster said.
When she got a quote for her necessary dental work, it came to a financially debilitating $12,000.
"It's like a car in your mouth," Foster said.
She's unemployed and qualifies for Medicaid, but doesn't quite qualify for the services she needs.
"They told me the only way to get it done is if the infection spread to my heart," Foster said.
Dental issues have caused other health problems. Foster said she regularly "pops" ibuprofen to relieve the pain and it has spurred the development of ulcers. She doesn't know exactly what kind of dental work she'll need, but Foster hopes she'll be able to save some of her teeth.
"But I'm happily grateful for anything they can do," she said.
Sam Park, a RAM volunteer, said the night-before turnout is tamer than he's used to seeing. About 15 people were sleeping in their cars or camped out and talking with other waiting patients by 8 p.m.
"Usually we see about 200 to 300 people out here by this time," Park said.
His nighttime duty typically consists of keeping people from cheating and slipping into a better spot in line, but the small group gathered at MTC wasn't posing problems. Instead, he handed red light-up parking batons to patients to play act as an air traffic controller or Darth Vader.
"Everyone has been really nice. Nobody has been acting crazy," said Gail Robinson, a 59-year-old Sarasota resident who was first in line for a 3 a.m. ticket to RAM.
Robinson is Park's hero because when he left to take a two-hour break, other RAM volunteers left, too. Robinson directed arriving patients to the right parking area and kept the small, waiting group in an orderly fashion.
"She's my hero for the day," Park said.
Janelle O'Dea, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow her on Twitter@jayohday.
This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Texas woman travels more than 1,000 miles for Remote Area Medical Clinic at Manatee Technical College ."