Sunday, December 05, 1999
Ky. man's smile might shine more brightly
BY OWEN FINDSEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Eldon Brown
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Eldon Brown doesn't eat pork chops any more.
“No,” he says. “No more pork chops. What happened was this past August, they fixed pork chops at the place where we eat, and I bit down on a bone, and my teeth came out.”
For Mr. Brown, a metally retarded 40 year-old, a broken dental plate is a big disappointment, especially because the broken teeth are in front and very visible when he smiles.
“Eldon is very social,” said Lisa Conner, a friend. “He loves to be around people.” For years he had decayed front teeth, and when he got his new teeth “He was so proud, he smiled at everyone,” Ms. Conner said.
For years Mr. Brown lived in a group home in Northern Kentucky, but now he's living in Sparta, Ky., at Valley Haven, a personal care home. He works in nearby Carrollton, in a packaging plant.
“We don't make brake shoes but we pack shoes,” he said. I like that job. I like those people. I have a lot of friends there.”
When he's not working, though, he finds small-town life boring.
“There's not much to do down here. There are no dances down here. I like to dance.
“What I do, is I like to sit outside at the picnic table and talk to people. I listen to the radio. TV is too boring to watch all day, so I lay on my bed and listen to my radio. I like Northern Kentucky better. I miss that place.”
He recalls the dances that the social agencies hold in Northern Kentucky. “I like to dance a lot. I go to a dance and I dance with a lot of people. I miss the dances a lot.”
Mr. Brown's needs are simple. He needs winter clothes, and he needs glasses. “I've been seeing double forever,” he says. His medical coverage will take care of that, but his broken teeth have been ruled a cosmetic and not a medical problem, and so are not covered.
Someday, he hopes to move to a home in a community where there are social programs, especially dances. And he hopes that when he does, he'll be able to smile with new teeth.
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