A day with the girls - shopping and finding some good end of season deals.
Sweet potato fries and ice cream - terribly tasty. It's the weekend. Time to celebrate!
Dinner with the family complete with Moscato wine - one of my favorites - its good, sweet, and cheaply priced.
Then a campfire in our backyard. Watching the flames dance is therapeutic. Something about burning resonates with me as I listen to the symphony of crickets under the night sky.
Roasting marshmallows for s'mores
The summer days of 2012 are numbered. I want to soak them up. At the same time, I'm eager for fall. Autumn is one of my favorite seasons. I love the fiery leaves and the chill in the air that makes you snuggle up in a sweater and jeans. I love warm drinks - hot apple cider and cocoa. Times are changing.
Showing posts with label Summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Summer. Show all posts
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Rainy days
After one of the worst summer droughts in state history, we've finally been getting some rain.
Dragging myself out of bed on a dark, rainy morning to go in to the hospital isn't easy. I'd love to stay curled up under my covers. Ah the elusive thing known as motivation. While it is tough getting out of bed, it's tough not collapsing into bed at the end of the day bypassing things like doing my studying and homework and suturing practice.
I feel somewhat reassured when I hear my Doc has also crashed on the couch at the end of a long day. It's not just me that is overcome with what seems like perpetual fatigue. I try to get enough sleep, but am never refreshed. That's why I need coffee. Like the grass perking up after a storm, I tend to gain more life after a warm cup of joe. A vacation would be better, but there's no time. I enjoy the fact that this program is condensed - 2 years isn't a very long time from start to finish, but sometimes it would be nice to have more recovery room to try to relax from the stress.
Dragging myself out of bed on a dark, rainy morning to go in to the hospital isn't easy. I'd love to stay curled up under my covers. Ah the elusive thing known as motivation. While it is tough getting out of bed, it's tough not collapsing into bed at the end of the day bypassing things like doing my studying and homework and suturing practice.
I feel somewhat reassured when I hear my Doc has also crashed on the couch at the end of a long day. It's not just me that is overcome with what seems like perpetual fatigue. I try to get enough sleep, but am never refreshed. That's why I need coffee. Like the grass perking up after a storm, I tend to gain more life after a warm cup of joe. A vacation would be better, but there's no time. I enjoy the fact that this program is condensed - 2 years isn't a very long time from start to finish, but sometimes it would be nice to have more recovery room to try to relax from the stress.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Surviving...
This was a long day. It was particularly stressful because of a big case involving 2 surgeons on a woman with breast cancer. She underwent a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction. As she said, "not how I wanted to have a boob job." We also saw several other patients for various ailments - some just as threatening to life/well-being.
It was crowded around the operating table with both general and plastic surgeons working simultaneously on the lady from each side. I was in on the action. Because of the amount of work being done, it took a while - probably 3 hours. It didn't quite go as planned - but everything turned out fine in the end. Lymph node biopsies needed to be taken and a port was placed in lieu of chemotherapy treatment. That's 3 hours of standing still -working in a small sterile field, wearing a lead apron for protection from the radiation used from x-ray imaging - trying to focus on everything going on and hopefully learning something during my first ever mastectomy over lunch. By the end I could hardly think straight to be able to tie knots for drain placement. Fortunately the surgeon was nice enough to show me what he wanted. With his tutorial, I managed to get it done. It can be discouraging to watch these professionals who make it look so easy - like second nature - and compare it to my own flustered, clumsy fingers under pressure.
While I know it's necessary to treat the disease and the patient wanted aggressive treatment so she hopefully will not ever have to deal with breast cancer again, the things done in surgery to completely remove tissue seem a little barbaric. Maybe it's something surgeons just get used to. But for me, there's still something a bit surreal about being scrubbed in for an OR case. I stand there and am literally holding living tissue in my hands, watching blood oozing (or squirting) from surgical areas that we are working on. It's amazing.
Working in healthcare makes me pray. When you see cases like this woman lying open and exposed in front of you knowing she is hoping to God this surgery goes well and helps her become a cancer survivor, you want to do the best you can. That only takes you so far and faith comes in. We want a miracle.
Friday was my first back to campus day since starting rotations. It involved an exam, meetings, paperwork, and a presentation. After a day I just had in surgery, I was glad to have a break, though a bit disgruntled that I missed a whole day of surgical learning opportunities for an unpleasant exam. It was nice to see my classmates again and compare some stories from our experiences so far. I'm also excited about the plane tickets purchased for my next international adventure coming up.
The rest of the weekend was busy with a wedding in Madison Saturday followed by a Brewer game on Sunday. Carpe diem! I have to capitalize on fun when I can to make the stressful student days more bearable. While there wasn't a baseball victory, not much says summer like tailgating in the hot sun.
It was crowded around the operating table with both general and plastic surgeons working simultaneously on the lady from each side. I was in on the action. Because of the amount of work being done, it took a while - probably 3 hours. It didn't quite go as planned - but everything turned out fine in the end. Lymph node biopsies needed to be taken and a port was placed in lieu of chemotherapy treatment. That's 3 hours of standing still -working in a small sterile field, wearing a lead apron for protection from the radiation used from x-ray imaging - trying to focus on everything going on and hopefully learning something during my first ever mastectomy over lunch. By the end I could hardly think straight to be able to tie knots for drain placement. Fortunately the surgeon was nice enough to show me what he wanted. With his tutorial, I managed to get it done. It can be discouraging to watch these professionals who make it look so easy - like second nature - and compare it to my own flustered, clumsy fingers under pressure.
While I know it's necessary to treat the disease and the patient wanted aggressive treatment so she hopefully will not ever have to deal with breast cancer again, the things done in surgery to completely remove tissue seem a little barbaric. Maybe it's something surgeons just get used to. But for me, there's still something a bit surreal about being scrubbed in for an OR case. I stand there and am literally holding living tissue in my hands, watching blood oozing (or squirting) from surgical areas that we are working on. It's amazing.
Working in healthcare makes me pray. When you see cases like this woman lying open and exposed in front of you knowing she is hoping to God this surgery goes well and helps her become a cancer survivor, you want to do the best you can. That only takes you so far and faith comes in. We want a miracle.
Friday was my first back to campus day since starting rotations. It involved an exam, meetings, paperwork, and a presentation. After a day I just had in surgery, I was glad to have a break, though a bit disgruntled that I missed a whole day of surgical learning opportunities for an unpleasant exam. It was nice to see my classmates again and compare some stories from our experiences so far. I'm also excited about the plane tickets purchased for my next international adventure coming up.
The rest of the weekend was busy with a wedding in Madison Saturday followed by a Brewer game on Sunday. Carpe diem! I have to capitalize on fun when I can to make the stressful student days more bearable. While there wasn't a baseball victory, not much says summer like tailgating in the hot sun.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Spewing Thoughts on "The Next Step"
Allow me to bring you up to speed on how this came about:
At Urbana (summarized in previous entry), we were encouraged to fill out commitment cards outlining how we were going to serve God in the future. I have mine and looked at it again recently to see what I had said. Turns out I committed to "serve in global or cross-cultural missions for 1-3 years outside North America." I didn't realize then how soon that would become a reality.
Early next year, I plan to move to La Plata, Argentina for two years to do missions work on a college campus with The Navigators. There is a really cool story of how I reached that place. That decision-making process extended over 6 months.
This past fall I had the itch to go abroad. I wanted to use my Spanish. I feel strongly that I should use this degree I've acquired. I encountered a child at church who only spoke Spanish and was able to do some translating to help her feel more comfortable in a strange, big place. I was thrilled that my knowledge could help someone. Anyway I began exploring overseas opportunities. There were too many to choose from! I decided to stick with The Navigators--an organization that I am very familiar with. I trust them and agree with their vision. They have helped me to thrive in my college years. And they had something in Argentina that caught my eye.
I took steps in that direction. Eventually, I got in touch with the staff there. We spent an hour on the phone over winter break and I felt like I connected with them instantly. It's pretty rare for me to feel that way about someone I've never met. I was so excited about what they were doing. That wasn't enough. I didn't want to go by myself. A few prospective teammates fell through along the way. Then to my surprise, a friend of mine expressed interest. I never would have imagined that I would do this with someone I already knew. But that didn't do it for me either. I had started to talk myself out of it. Two years seemed like a big commitment. I didn't want to go that far away to a place I have never been to, leaving everything and everyone familiar behind. Eventually I realized that those reasons were because of fear and that wasn't a good excuse. Fear paralyzes. I don't want fear to stop me from living. Still, I wanted certainty that Argentina was where I was supposed to be. I prayed that God would direct me clearly. I wanted him to speak to me. He did.
I opened up my Bible to Hebrews chapter 11. The first verse said, "Now faith is being sure of what we have hoped for and certain of things unseen." I spent some time meditating on what I was hoping for out of the next stage of my life. I am hoping to grow and mature through using my talents and being challenged by new experiences. I am hoping to help others find the hope, joy, and purpose of life that I have, for starters. The last part of the verse made it clear that I could be confident that even though I have never seen Argentina, I have a desire to go there. That day I also read a passage that talked about fear and stated that I have no reason to be afraid. Finally, I decided that was enough assurance and filled out my application. Not too long after that I was accepted with my teammate. That's basically the story that begins this adventure.
In order to do what I'm doing, I need to raise money. It's kind of scary especially with the state of the economy these days. I don't like asking for help to begin with, being conditioned to be independent, so asking people for financial support is not easy. I know that it will be beneficial doing it this way though. There will be times in the Southern hemisphere when I will be discouraged and homesick, but I will remember that I have dozens of people truly invested in what I am doing to keep me going.
I am so appreciative of people who are generously and faithfully supporting me with financial gifts and prayer! I can't thank them all enough for the encouragement they are to me.
At Urbana (summarized in previous entry), we were encouraged to fill out commitment cards outlining how we were going to serve God in the future. I have mine and looked at it again recently to see what I had said. Turns out I committed to "serve in global or cross-cultural missions for 1-3 years outside North America." I didn't realize then how soon that would become a reality.
Early next year, I plan to move to La Plata, Argentina for two years to do missions work on a college campus with The Navigators. There is a really cool story of how I reached that place. That decision-making process extended over 6 months.
This past fall I had the itch to go abroad. I wanted to use my Spanish. I feel strongly that I should use this degree I've acquired. I encountered a child at church who only spoke Spanish and was able to do some translating to help her feel more comfortable in a strange, big place. I was thrilled that my knowledge could help someone. Anyway I began exploring overseas opportunities. There were too many to choose from! I decided to stick with The Navigators--an organization that I am very familiar with. I trust them and agree with their vision. They have helped me to thrive in my college years. And they had something in Argentina that caught my eye.
I took steps in that direction. Eventually, I got in touch with the staff there. We spent an hour on the phone over winter break and I felt like I connected with them instantly. It's pretty rare for me to feel that way about someone I've never met. I was so excited about what they were doing. That wasn't enough. I didn't want to go by myself. A few prospective teammates fell through along the way. Then to my surprise, a friend of mine expressed interest. I never would have imagined that I would do this with someone I already knew. But that didn't do it for me either. I had started to talk myself out of it. Two years seemed like a big commitment. I didn't want to go that far away to a place I have never been to, leaving everything and everyone familiar behind. Eventually I realized that those reasons were because of fear and that wasn't a good excuse. Fear paralyzes. I don't want fear to stop me from living. Still, I wanted certainty that Argentina was where I was supposed to be. I prayed that God would direct me clearly. I wanted him to speak to me. He did.
I opened up my Bible to Hebrews chapter 11. The first verse said, "Now faith is being sure of what we have hoped for and certain of things unseen." I spent some time meditating on what I was hoping for out of the next stage of my life. I am hoping to grow and mature through using my talents and being challenged by new experiences. I am hoping to help others find the hope, joy, and purpose of life that I have, for starters. The last part of the verse made it clear that I could be confident that even though I have never seen Argentina, I have a desire to go there. That day I also read a passage that talked about fear and stated that I have no reason to be afraid. Finally, I decided that was enough assurance and filled out my application. Not too long after that I was accepted with my teammate. That's basically the story that begins this adventure.
In order to do what I'm doing, I need to raise money. It's kind of scary especially with the state of the economy these days. I don't like asking for help to begin with, being conditioned to be independent, so asking people for financial support is not easy. I know that it will be beneficial doing it this way though. There will be times in the Southern hemisphere when I will be discouraged and homesick, but I will remember that I have dozens of people truly invested in what I am doing to keep me going.
I am so appreciative of people who are generously and faithfully supporting me with financial gifts and prayer! I can't thank them all enough for the encouragement they are to me.
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