Two years ago one of our Visiting Faculty experienced the unthinkable, the loss of a child, a young adult of infinite potential in her second year as a dental student.

Both of her parents are dentists, and you may be able to understand why I drew an immediate parallel. While I can never even begin to contemplate the experience that Richard and Sara have lived through since May of 2010, just the parallel creates a feeling I have never experienced as I consider the "what if." Just the thought leaves me frozen and afraid.

Sara and Richard have taken a pain I cannot imagine and created a movement to protect others from what took their daughter away from them, blood clots. The Michigan Dental Association dedicated an issue of the MDA Journal (PDF) to their crusade and I am asking you to read their story and the stories of two other Michigan dentists who experienced first-hand the life threatening problem that Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism represent.

Included in the journal is an informational segment from the National Blood Clot Alliance and a related article regarding how we (dentists) can help our patients who are taking anti-coagulants for these and other medical reasons.

If all of us pass this information to others we can create awareness, and as you read the stories you will understand why that is exactly what Anna's family has made her legacy. Thank you for helping them build it.

Please pass along the following link to your friends, patients and colleagues: MDA Journal Special Issue (PDF).


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