Posted on Jul 31, 2014 in
FEATURES
Mary Moore Sullivan
Photo by Nesossi Studios
By M.G. Angulo –
On May 31st, 2013, Mary Moore Sullivan’s world changed. For an excruciating moment, it stopped, and getting it revolving again was no easy feat.
Amid the scores of news reports that flooded local media, Sullivan learned one of her four children, 24 year-old Anne Sullivan, died along with three other fire fighters in what the Houston Fire Department called the deadliest fire in the 118 years of the department’s history.
Anne, a lively woman from Sugar Land who dreamed of being a fire fighter, had only been on the job for about a month before the fatal blaze. The news of her death was shared across the nation and hit hard for many family members, friends and supporters in Fort Bend County and beyond.
“I miss her so much,” Sullivan said. “She was my daughter and my best friend. She is missed by so many other people as well – those who knew her and those who didn’t know her but knew her story.”
Despite the deep and heavy loss eating away at her, Sullivan knew she had to continue living and putting one foot in front of the other. The typical tasks that filled her days were still there waiting to be completed, so Sullivan steeled herself against the pain and decided to keep moving forward – including returning to her dentist for a follow-up visit.
Two days prior to Anne’s death, Sullivan had a routine check-up with her dentist Dr. Samuel E. Cress who owns a practice in Sugar Land. Anne’s passing, however, put a hold on Sullivan returning for her follow-up appointment.
Several months later, when Sullivan decided to finally return to Dr. Cress, she was still mourning the loss of her daughter but doggedly determined to keep living. “I have three other wonderful children I needed to be a parent to,” Sullivan said.
Unbeknownst to her, this wasn’t going to be a typical follow-up visit. In fact, this appointment proved to be an important milestone to Sullivan’s road to recovery because Dr. Cress offered Sullivan the Elite Smile.
Elite Smile is essentially a high-quality porcelain restoration procedure that can customize a person’s smile. Stained, cracked, crooked, worn and decaying teeth can be transformed into a dazzling natural-looking Hollywood smile. “Dr. Cress told me, ‘There’s not a lot I can do for you – I can’t bring your daughter back, and I can’t take away your grief – but I can give you a beautiful smile,’” Sullivan said.
Sullivan, a woman who loves to laugh, smile and talk, admitted she was self-conscious about her teeth because of their deteriorating state. She was missing a tooth, another was dead, and she battled chronic pain and decay. “And I’m one of those people who brushes, flosses and keeps my regular dentist appointments,” Sullivan said. “I just have bad teeth.”
After two painless and simple Elite Smile procedures, Sullivan said she had another reason to continue to push forward. “After Anne’s death, I received cards from people I knew and people I didn’t know,” Sullivan said. “I got letters from people who Anne treated as an EMT who wanted me to know how Anne impacted their lives.”
Just like those cards, Dr. Cress’ offer is one that reminds Sullivan to keep living. “Our service men and women, both at home and abroad, are our heroes,” said Dr. Cress. “I can’t imagine a greater sacrifice than what Mary has endured in the loss of a child in the line of service. My goal was in some small way to help give Mary, a beautiful, vibrant woman, back her smile.”
“It was a huge gesture,” Sullivan said. “This was a kind thing for him to do, and I love my new chops. What’s really amazing is that Dr. Cress has only been my dentist for a year,” Sullivan added. “It’s not like I had been a patient of his for 20 years or something. He just heard about my loss and wanted to help in the only way he knew how.”
Dr. Cress’ gift wasn’t just about having a more captivating smile, though, Sullivan said. “What he did for me is helping me go on,” she said. “His gift was a reminder that I can’t give up on things now, that I have to continue living. To have someone be that nice to me means so much, and now that I have this beautiful smile, I’m trying to smile more.”
