CU Dental 2018 - 21
Kidding aside, Willie once confided
to Bill, who was in the fourth year
of dental school, that he had planted in
the soldier's mind the notion of returning
to school. "I thought that was really neat,"
Bill said. "I told him he might want to see
a graduation, so he's going to come to my
graduation."
Sure enough, early last Friday
morning, Willie boarded a bus near his
Denver apartment and rode to the CU
Anschutz Medical Campus to attend Bill's
graduation. He hadn't been to a graduation
since his own from high school some 40
years ago. When Bill said he was looking
forward to having his new friend meet his
family, Willie smiled, extended a hand for a
firm shake and said, "I want Bill to come to
my graduation, too."
Willie has his sights on becoming a
technician in heating, ventilation and air
conditioning (HVAC). He recently enrolled
in the HVAC program at Emily Griffith
Technical College in Denver.
Asked what he found inspiring
about Bill, Willie said, "I just think he's a
perfectionist. He's a good man."
PUTTING HIS LIFE BACK
TOGETHER
Willie performed a seven-year hitch in the
Army, serving in Korea and Japan and,
stateside, in Florida and California. He was
discharged in 1983, but soon fell into drug
abuse and homelessness. "The whole
thing," he said, shaking his head, "just a
few years after I got out of the service."
Gradually, he began to pay heed to
the few positive influences in his life. He
reconnected with a Lutheran pastor he'd
first met during a spell of living in California.
When the pastor moved to Wisconsin,
Willie followed and began seeking the
clergyman's counsel.
"He helped me kick drugs," Willie
said. "I needed that - I really did - because
I was heading down a bad street."
Things got even brighter when he
sought the help of his mother. "I was just
tired of how I was living, so I had to make
a change," he said. "I started to hang out
with my mom and going to church. I got
the hang of it."
About a year ago Willie made the
move to Colorado, where his sister lives.
Still, life was a struggle, as the veteran
didn't have a place to call his own. The
Bill Daniels Veteran Services Center
connected him to the Samaritan House,
a transitional housing facility. Willie was
riding the 16th Street Mall shuttle one day
when he bumped into Heidi Tyrrell, RDH,
assistant director and clinical instructor in
the dental school's Heroes Clinic.
"He was grinning ear to ear and
wearing a suit that was a little too big for
him," said Tyrrell, who also noticed that
Willie was in need of some dental work.
"He 'ma'amed' me and I said, 'Are you a
veteran?' He said yes and I handed him
my card."
That's how Willie ended up in a dental
chair with Bill as his care provider. Growing
up in Grand Junction, where he saw many
friends join the military, Bill has a built-in
respect for veterans and he felt honored to
care for Willie. "I treated him the way I treat
all my patients," Bill said. "He's a really
good guy, so it was easy."
With each visit, Willie's smile brightened
and his sense of accomplishment soared.
"One less thing to do," he said with another
big grin.
'COOL TO FEEL LIKE I WAS
HELPING'
Willie enjoys his job as a housekeeper at
the VA Medical Center in Denver. Besides
his recent enrollment in technical college,
he now has a permanent home, a new
girlfriend and a burgeoning sense of
security.
"I'm tired of living poor - I don't
want to keep living like that," said Willie,
sporting a U.S. Army hat and the everpresent Packers lanyard. "I feel good about
myself now."
Bill likes the idea of giving back to
veterans and said that of all the clinical
rotations during dental school, the Heroes
Clinic became his favorite. Willie was
even more special in that he is the clinic's
first Pathways 1 patient. "Folks in that
population are a little more at risk," Bill
said, "so it was cool to feel like I was really
helping somebody out."
Bill will return to Grand Junction with a
goal of eventually having his own practice.
His father is a dentist, and he plans to
join his dad's practice to learn the ropes
of daily dentistry while paying off student
loans.
Bill said his rotation in the Heroes
Clinic, especially his time with Willie, will
remind him of the very reason he aspired to
become a dentist - to help people. "I want
to do community service and whatever
I can to volunteer and give my time, so I
can provide care for people who can't
afford it," he said. "It's something I want to
continue and not lose sight of."
" Folks in that
population are a little
more at risk," Bill said,
"so it was cool to feel
like I was really helping
somebody out.
"
Army veteran, Willie
Peterson, attends the 2017
CU Dental DDS graduation
to cheer on his CU Heroes
Clinic providers, Bill Berguin
and Heidi Tyrrell.
DENTAL. INTEGRATED FOR HEALTH.
21
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CU Dental 2018
Tablet of Contents
CU Dental 2018 - Cover1
CU Dental 2018 - Cover2
CU Dental 2018 - Tablet of Contents
CU Dental 2018 - 2
CU Dental 2018 - 3
CU Dental 2018 - 4
CU Dental 2018 - 5
CU Dental 2018 - 6
CU Dental 2018 - 7
CU Dental 2018 - 8
CU Dental 2018 - 9
CU Dental 2018 - 10
CU Dental 2018 - 11
CU Dental 2018 - 12
CU Dental 2018 - 13
CU Dental 2018 - 14
CU Dental 2018 - 15
CU Dental 2018 - 16
CU Dental 2018 - 17
CU Dental 2018 - 18
CU Dental 2018 - 19
CU Dental 2018 - 20
CU Dental 2018 - 21
CU Dental 2018 - 22
CU Dental 2018 - 23
CU Dental 2018 - 24
CU Dental 2018 - 25
CU Dental 2018 - 26
CU Dental 2018 - 27
CU Dental 2018 - 28
CU Dental 2018 - 29
CU Dental 2018 - 30
CU Dental 2018 - 31
CU Dental 2018 - 32
CU Dental 2018 - Cover3
CU Dental 2018 - Cover4
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