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Express-Star photo by Karen Brady Wish A Christmas wish has come true for Tiffany Daniel and her mother LaDonna Daniel. Tiffany wrote a letter to Harvest Baptist Church’s Christmas Wish Project asking them to help her mother with her teeth. As a result, Dr. Mark Mettry and denturist John Gentry not only pulled LaDonna’s ailing teeth, but also provided her with a new set of dentures, all at no cost. Shown are (left) John Gentry, Tiffany Daniel, LaDonna Daniel, Dr. Mark Mettry and Amy Willoughby of Harvest Baptist Church.
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Wish Come True
Girl’s Christmas wish comes true with dentist’s help
CHICKASHA - A teenage girl’s selfless Christmas wish has come true.
Rather than gifts for herself, 17-year-old Tiffany Daniel of Chickasha asked for something special for her mother that would not only ease her mother’s pain, but also had the potential to change her life.
In a letter to the Harvest Baptist Church Christmas Wish Project, Daniel wrote, “I’m writing this letter to try and get my mom help on her teeth...she has really bad teeth...so this Christmas I wish my mom could get her teeth pulled.”
On Tuesday, May 6, long after Christmas had come and gone, Tiffany’s wish came true - and then some.
Thanks to Chickasha dentist, Dr. Mark Mettry, and denturist, John Gentry, Tiffany’s mother LaDonna Daniel not only had her few remaining teeth removed, she is now the proud owner of a new set of dentures and a new smile.
Mettry began work on Daniel in January of this year, pulling her last 11 teeth.
“It would be nice to get her a set of dentures,” mused Orvie Mayall, a member of Mettry’s staff.
Coincidentally, John Gentry, a denturist for 33 years, walked into the office at that moment.
Mettry seized the opportunity.
“Here’s your chance to be a big shot. Want to make a set of free dentures?” he asked Gentry, who said yes.
“After I took the teeth out, I did surgery to accommodate the dentures, then we got back to making the dentures. It wasn’t just me, though. The whole office staff accomplished the goal,” Mettry said.
Daniel started losing her teeth when she was 17 years old, a problem that she says runs in her family.
“I was having digestive problems, headaches, vision problems and bad feelings, and it was hard to smile. I told myself ‘I’m not the only one in the world going through this and I’ve got to continue living,’” she said. “I was really relieved and happy and thankful to my daughter. Some kids don’t think about their parents. I was really scared - I’m a big coward on a lot of things - but I was ready for this.”
Tiffany, who read about Harvest Baptist Church’s Christmas Wish Project in the newspaper, decided to write and see if someone could help her mother.
“I got a call from Amy (Willoughby), and she said they were going to help my mom. When I told her she had a dentist appointment, I was happy to see her smile. I care a lot for my mom and I’d seen how hard it was for her to eat, plus the digestive problems and constant headaches.”
Today, LaDonna is looking forward to getting a job to help support her family and to supplement her disabled husband’s Social Security.
“I think my teeth were what kept me from having the energy to work,” she said. “But now I’ll be looking for a job.”
Amy Willoughby, who is one of the founders of the Christmas Wish Project in Chickasha, is excited about LaDonna’s good fortune.
“This is one of the neatest things so far. I did not expect in any way that they would volunteer to do this,” she said. “I am very happy about the way it all turned out.”
The Christmas Wish Project started in 2005, with 15 letters received the first year, mostly from single mothers asking for Christmas gifts for their children. In 2006 and 2007, the organization received 50 and 55 letters respectively. All donations to the project are gladly accepted and appreciated.
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Transformations
What comes to mind when you think of the word, “Transformation”?Do you have fantastic thoughts of people or things changing into something amazing for example, Clark Kent turning into Superman or Bruce Banner becoming the Incredible Hulk or possibly something a little more down to earth like a caterpillar miraculously changing into the beautiful butterfly?
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GRADY COUNTY FAIR RESULTS
Plants
Potted Plants
(Several varieties combined)
First: (Adult) Ann O'Bar
Second: (Adult) Joyce Riker
Third: (Adult) Jallane Link -
AROUND THE AREA
SEPTEMBER 2
Poetry Reading
• When: Sept. 2, 7 p.m.
• Where: Eduardo’s Mexican Restaurant, Private Room, 3127 S. 4th St., Chickasha
• Details: Featured Poet is Carol Hamilton, writer, storyteller and Poet Laureate of Oklahoma 1995-97Hamilton’s website is www.carolhamilton.org. There is no admission fee to attend the Poetry Reading, and refreshments are available for purchase. For more information, contact Rockford Johnson, 224-0160 or 317-7506. -
Duncan nips Chicks for straight-game win
Duncan got their eighth match win of the season Tuesday, beating Nancy Waters’ Lady Chicks in straight games at the Activity Center.
The Chicks looked like they had a little hangover from Monday night’s tough road loss at Tecumseh, coming out flat again and dropping their first two games by identical 25-17 scores.
They came out firing on all eight cylinders for game three, running out to a 15-9 lead on the strength of a 7-0 run with Shelby Crosley serving, but the Demons battled back to tie it late and the Chicks let it slip away, 25-21. -
STATE SPORTS BRIEFS
NORMAN (AP) — Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops has named walk-on Patrick O'Hara as the starting place-kicker for the seventh-ranked Sooners.
Stoops said on his radio show Tuesday night that O'Hara won the competition with Jimmy Stevens, freshman Michael Hunnicutt and redshirt freshman Bryce Easley. -
OSU's Gundy still learning on job
STILLWATER (AP) — Mike Gundy hasn't lost his love for dialing up the right play to keep Oklahoma State's offense purring along.
That passion, which he has called the most enjoyable part of his job as head coach, was bred into him as an offensive coordinator. And he is a former starting quarterback for the Cowboys. -
Whimsical metal work, jewelry part of big art show at USAO
A showing of whimsical metal work and jewelry is scheduled to be on display at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma during Helen’s Show Sept. 10-Oct 1.
The show will feature the work of USAO graduate Helen Shafer. The exhibition will be open daily during normal business hours in the Davis Hall Third Floor Art Gallery on the USAO campus. The show is free and open to the public. An opening reception is scheduled Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. in the gallery. -
High-speed chase lands 1 in jail
A high-speed motorcycle chase down Highway 81 last Wednesday landed a Ninnekah man in jail and a felony charge of eluding a police officer.
Court records show that James William Hutchins, 21, blew by Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Timothy Parrish at U.S. Highway 81 and County Road 1460 and was clocked going 144 miles per hour in a posted 70 miles per hour zone.
Parrish reported that he was sitting stationary at that location at about 3:45 p.m. on Aug. 25 when he observed a red motorcycle traveling southbound. He engaged his emergency lights and siren and pulled onto the roadway behind the Triumph motorcycle. -
5 inmates denied parole
Parole was recently denied for five Grady County inmates serving sentences with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
The following individuals were denied at the August Pardon and Parole Board meeting:
• Jeremiah Daniel Cline, who is serving a five-year sentence for distribution of a controlled dangerous substance and a five-year sentence for possession of a controlled dangerous substance, began his sentence in August 2008.
• Warren P. Diego, who is serving a 15-year sentence (10 years PTS) for lewd molestation, began his sentence in February 2009. -
Judge recuses herself from pharmacy case
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A state district judge has stepped aside from the first-degree murder trial of a pharmacist accused in the fatal shooting of an unconscious would-be robber.
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Transformations
