Monday, January 31, 2011

It’s always interesting to view things through the eyes of another.

Today, I broke away from work for several hours to meet up with a girlfriend who’s visiting from Canada. Over lunch and subsequently while walking around Downtown Disney before selecting a nice bench to park ourselves on, we spoke of the many differences between the United States and Canada.

We spoke of how Canada has managed to somewhat dodge the economical crisis we haven’t been as fortunate to avoid. We also compared how in Canada, you’re not allowed to write off any of your mortgage insurance, but how almost all medical-related items can be written off. Then she shocked me when she told me how plastic surgery is completely covered there.

Wow! Wonder why there isn’t a rush of US citizens scurrying to Canada to get nipped, tucked and made over?

But perhaps the biggest difference we shared was in regards to laws we have here in the US that protect children from being abused. She shared how, as a dental hygienist, it had bothered her to no end when it used to be allowed to use cruel techniques to knock out children who were undergoing dental work.

She told how, although she’s my age, during her time working as a hygienist, she had been appalled when dentists and their assistants would cup their hands over the mouths and nostrils of children who were frightened, crying out or generally squirming during procedures. Why? Well, to cut off their air supply to supposedly calm them.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And once the child had passed out from such, the staff would precede working on them.

Oh, my lord!

Dumbfounded and sure my girlfriend must have been kidding, it being too barbaric to imagine otherwise, I just stared at her, the wheels of my brain spinning on overdrive. Long seconds passed with her looking back at me, not putting my mind to ease as I’d hoped she would by telling me it was all a sick joke. Instead, she confirmed that had been the accepted and legal way to practice dental medicine with children in Canada until not too long ago when laws were written to protect their rights.

I couldn’t help but appreciate how, although she had been born and raised in Canada, she, herself, found the cut-off-the-air-supply-to-knock-them-out technique with kids disturbing on a base level. She told how the more she thought about it, the more repulsed she was by the accepted practice. I told her that here in the US, any such action would cost the doctor to lose their license, at the very least, and that criminal charges would likely be filed against them.

Although the conversation with my Canadian girlfriend ended many hours ago, I find it difficult to rid myself of the image she presented. To try to picture how anyone in their right mind, and until somewhat recent years, would consider choking off the air supply to a child a viable and acceptable manner in which to anesthetize them. Although we still have a long ways to go to fully protect the children here in the US, hearing that story made me especially proud of the strides we’ve made.

Indeed, it can be quite illuminating to view the divergences between countries.