So it is the Chinese Year of the Rat, as of Feb 23rd.  I guess each Chinese year is assigned an animal representative.  Legend has it that an emperor once invited birds, reptiles and rodents to appear before him.  The order in which they approached determined their placement in the recurring cycle of years.  The rat came up first, and the pig (2007’s symbol) came last.  Rat years are supposed to bring prosperity and a strong economy, while children born during the year exhibit courage, leadership and curiosity.  We think its a fun legend especially since this year is starting out strong for us and our new Dental R.A.T. is here! 

Our new wireless unit is here and we are finally caught up on our backorders!  Unfortunately it took longer than we expected and we appologize for that.  But, it is better than planned!  We have an adjustable mouse speed and audio for those that want to hear the numbers as they are entered.  The audio comes right out of the computer or if a headset is plugged into the computer speakers.   And right now there are two colors, the lilac or black.  We are planning to make more colored covers to match the offices.  The top cover peels back and can be replaced:)  Its such a fun little unit:) 

We have been busy traveling to all the trade shows this winter- WOW!!  We’ve been to Boston, Chicago, Utah and Idaho and we are heading to Georgia for the Hinman.  It’s been so fun with all the buzz about our new wireless Dental R.A.T. 2.0!  It should be a fun Year of the Rat:) 

College is back in session in most areas.  We are excited they are up and running as we are helping several hygiene schools get the new technology of the Dental R.A.T.’s.  The common problem with most colleges was the funding for computers and software in the clinics, so we have been helping them get the whole technology package if they need it (at no cost to them).  We just think its so important for the students to be up to date on all the new technology so its not such a huge learning curve when they graduate.  Its so fun to get to work with the colleges and train the faculty and students!  At first I’ll admit I felt like a student going back to visit my college, but its getting easier:) 

If you know of a college that you think would be interested in new computerized technology and Dental R.A.T.’s just  email us at info@dentalrat.com.   We also have been letting the students give back to their colleges when they graduate.  We give them a special price and then donate $100 back to their college when their office buys a Dental R.A.T.!

We are heading to SanFransisco next week for the ADA,  so if you are there come by and visit us at booth #6748!  We will be showcasing our new model!!!  

I know its been a while since I’ve written, I’ll try & be better; but lately I’ve had a few bumps in the road!  Right now I’m sitting on a gorgeous lake in the mountains of Idaho & I’m so thankful to be able to be here!  Even if I don’t feel a jerk at the other end of my fishing pole its a great day!  Its so nice to feel the sunshine & be with family and friends; considering last week I was in the critical care unit at the Mayo Clinic!

I went in for a fairly simple procedure on my heart & ended up with a life threatening complication.  I’d had this procedure done a couple other times & it hadn’t taken care of it so my cardiologist sent me to the Mayo Clinic where I could be treated by the best of the best & the best equipment.  I had VT (ventricular tachycardia) which meant that for no apparent reason my heart would race to sometimes 250 beats per minute & often for hours like that- very exhausting & scary!  The Dr’s can treat it with radiofrequency ablation, where they run a line inside your heart & burn the bad areas causing this issue.  After doing this procedure twice we fet like my issue was on the outside of my heart & there are only a couple Dr’s that do this, that’s why I was at the Mayo Clinic.  What an incredible place, Rochester Minnesota!  Presidents have been treated there, I was in great hands!   To me it felt like the same procedure, injecting medications into my blood stream to stress my heart and that good ol burning sensation, I was wide awake & after 11 hours I was pooped!  As I was falling asleep they woke me up to tell me that my blood test showed I was internally bleeding & they took me back into surgery.  They could tell it was from the liver but couldn’t tell enough to fix it, they figured they hit an artery in my liver which was a risk going to the outside of the heart.  So I had two days of blood transfusions & boy was I thankful for those people that took the time & effort to donate blood!  On the 4th day they were going to take me back into surgery to try & stop the bleeding again as my abdomin had puffed out to about 8mo pregnant!  That morning I had felt so many prayers & God & I had a long chat & so I asked the Dr’s to check my blood level again because I believed I’d clotted on my own & could possibly avoid going back in.  Thankfully I had stopped & was on my way to recovery!  So now- tons of red meat and green leafy vegis to get my blood up!  Try getting red meat on the cardiac critical care unit:)  I’m still weak; but getting back to normal and so thankful to be here!  I was so excited to get back to the Dental R.A.T. and so thankful to have such an awesome staff to keep everything going!  I really appreciated all the cards & thoughts & prayers from so many people- they work!!