SpunkerFLY Woman of the Month - January!

Song : You Gotta Walk That Lonesome Valley-  Pete Seeger  RIP i love you!!! thank you!! <3

Okay, so it's not my favorite place, but thanks to Dr. Andrea Botar it's not my least favorite either-I think. Still, I get antsy in the chair and although Dr. Botar is pure professional, (she doesn't attempt to chat you up while you have a wad of cotton and a suction in your mouth), I did get to asking her some questions during a root canal- hey why not.

I couldn't believe her story.  She came to New York when she was thirteen speaking limited english. Then without any fanfare or pity jumped right into her new life in an entirely different culture. Once establishing a dental practice after buying out a supposed reputable dentist, she has found herself succeeding against nearly impossible odds.

I am honored to have you on the blog and feature you as a Spunkerfly Woman of The Month.  

1.      Where did you grow up and how did you get to Long Island?

I was 13 when I came to this country from Romania (but of Hungarian ethnicity) with my parents, I guess basically I grew up in NY.

Why Long Island? After having practiced for many years in the city I felt as a mother I could stay closer to home if my new practice

Is close to my residence and my son’s school. I certainly didn’t want him to go to any school, I tried to pick a school with a good reputation and to find residence near it.   Commute just didn’t work for me. I want to spend whatever extra time I have with my son/family.

2.      Becoming a dentist is a long hard process what made you choose it? 

I was going to become a pediatrician. However, the more flexible hours and the fact that I didn’t have to spend years in a hospital made me think twice about becoming an MD. I also enjoy very much working with my hands. I love art and sculpting and dentistry

involves both. I got lucky, I got into the advanced 7 yrs NYU program at the last moment (1 week prior to deadline) I guess it was meant to be.

3.      You were hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, what happened? 

Go see Dr. Botar and your teeth won't look like this! 

Complete wipe out!!! I lost everything.  What’s even worse is that the insurance didn’t pay for anything and the landlord sued me for

The damages that the building suffered- and he won!!!  So now I pretty much worked all year for paying the bank note, the attorneys and the landlord!!!

4.      How has it been to rebuild your practice since?  I love your office it looks beautiful. Thanks.

It was difficult, God must have taken pity of me and said: here, this building is for your future business.  I’ll give you a little break…there was a large piece that covered it, the complete article is on our website www.botar.com. 

             Basically I had no other choice but to make it work and restart again, otherwise I would have lost the business as well. And my sanity.

                 I don’t think anybody really understands.  The government allocated millions of dollars are still locked up after more than a year has gone by

                 And only God knows when and if anything will come of it.   It’s very disheartening to say the least.

                 But you got to stay optimistic and keep going. Nothing is easy in life, especially if you want to be good at it.

5.      What challenges do you face being  working mom and commuting? 

I guess I am pretty lucky, only ½ hr one way from home to work. No trains, subways, buses needed. A car is enough.

Thanks Andrea!!! You are an awesome dentist and a remarkable woman. 

You can download a bunch of stuff from my website www.botar.com

And the article is on the website as well… so help yourself.

Thanks again for doing this for me, I wish a Happy New Year to you and your family.

Hugs, kisses, Andrea