I had a wild day at work today. The class wouldn’t be quite, but I survived.

I went to the Health Center at CSUN afterwards to try to get new prescriptions, but it was too complicated. I need to see a counselor if I want them to give me the prozac.

Since I’ll be taking some time off of school I’ll sign with Kaiser soon. New year.

After that I met with my professor and was proud of not crying!

Then off for a drink at the Replay with a classmate to celebrate the end of the year. Good day!

I had a great Thanksgiving with my family this year.  I am officially going to be an aunt in 3 days, so my sister-in-law wasn’t allowed to leave home, so me and the rest of my family went to them.  I can only think of one or two times in my entire life when we have not had Thanksgiving at my parents has with 5,000 people and children present.  And those times, we just moved Thanksgiving and the 5,000 to my grandfather’s house who just lives a couple miles up the road.  So, for all of us to people a couple hours away from home and totalling only 8 people (and 6 dogs was very different, but it was nice.  It was very odd to see mom cook such small quantities of food though.  I very much enjoyed the smallness of it though.  It was very relaxing and we all just enjoyed each other’s company.  I’m pretty sure we are all ready to meet little Brooklyn too!

Also, as an update, the baby shower for our young pregnant girl at TDC was absolutely amazing.  It made both the girl and her mom cry.  I wanted to cry when I saw all of the gifts that were there for her.  They had to get a 12 passenger van and a police escort to be able to get everything home.  The other wonderful thing was seeing the amazing changes in the girl in her mom since that horrible day when I confirmed what they both already knew – that she was pregnant.  The girl was so flat that day; didn’t cry or say anything.  Her mom was obviously disappoint, angry, afraid, and upset.  At the shower, the girl was glowing.  Her friends and family came to support her and her mother was there with her as well.  It was so wonderful to see.  She was told that she would be taken care of and she was . . . much more beyond just what she needed.

Needless to say, December will be baby month.  Robert will bring his new little girl home.  The girl from the shower will have her baby, and I will become an aunt – all before Christmas.  It should be exciting times.

Love.

Black Lagoon Products is announcing a new latex webbed glove. I have had the opportunity to work with Roy, owner and inventor of DarkFin Gloves. He is great to work with and incredibly enthusiastic about his product. He developed the idea of these gloves over ten years ago and is thrilled to have finally perfected them! He found that there were several products out in the market that were designed to help you swim faster and train harder in the water, but the neoprene material made the wearer lose dexterity. Roy’s unique material allows for durability, comfort, and full movement for the user. By cross-marketing the product for not only tri-athletes and swimmers in training, but also for divers, skydivers, and as a hydro-therapy tool, Roy has been able to maximize the use of his product on many levels.

He came to the studio first for basic product shots on a white background for the website, however he needed to have the gloves photographed in action! Last Friday, we went down to Ft. Sanders Health and Fitness Center and jumped right in. My son-in-law, Matthew, and assistant, Danielle, helped out by modeling for me. We had such a good time seeing these unique gloves cut through the water. They truly do propel you forward rapidly and the unique webbed design trains the swimmer to hold their fingers closed against the resistance of the water. Roy even put together a short video from the day, a parody of the gloves against the ‘evil cankerpotomus.‘ You can find many instructional and informational videos about the gloves on DarkFin’s website or on youtube. Keep an eye out for all the exciting things that are to come with this new product!

Here is the video with the ‘Evil Cankerpotomus’

Photography By Sabrina

Again, I have been such a poor blogger.  I’ve had to limit my stories about my patients a bit and so it has made it harder for me to write.  I love telling stories.

I do have a couple really fun stories that I can share.

Do you remember a while back, I had a young 16-year-old girl who came in for a school physical and we found out that she was several months pregnant?  Well, her baby is due in mid-December.   She and her mom and the father of the baby are all doing very well.   They have been plugged in to the Dream Center and they have taken exceptional care of them.  They are having a baby shower for her and her baby tomorrow which I am so excited about.  I feel like someone in my family is having a baby.  I had the best time picking out gifts for her!

Also, Robert and Leland finally got their travel papers to go get their little girl, Mimi, from China.  They are flying out to go get her as I write this.  I am so excited for that little girl.  She has no idea how much work and effort has been put in to her little life and what magnificent changes are about to come her way.  It is such a beautiful picture.  I can’t wait to meet her.

Finally, last week was a particularly hard week for me at work.  During that time, I was thinking about what things I like most about my job and I thought I would share them here.  They are in no particular order but are things that I really enjoy most about being at CHC.

1.  Our boarding home patients

2.  Getting to know and become friends with our wonderful volunteers

3.  Our great staff

4.  Seeing peoples’ lives changed through the work of the health and dream centers

5.  All of our counseling office staff

6.  Our dentist

7.  Seeing desparate people find hope

8.  My great students

9.  Having my family pop in for visits

10. The hope and possibility of all that is to come.

I love you all and thank you so much for all of your support.  If I don’t write again before next week, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

My sincerest love.

Ew. Ow. Shots. Ew.

At this point, Swine Flu (or H1N1 if we want to be politically correct) has been branded into our consciousness. It seems like we can’t go anywhere without seeing a poster or a commercial telling us to protect ourselves. Suddenly the lessons we learned in grammar school are being made into multi-million dollar ad campaigns. “Wash your hands! Cover your mouth when you cough!”

It’s a little ridiculous how much everyone is freaking out. Then again, whenever I see someone sneeze I run in the other direction in fear that I will soon sprout a tail and oink all the way to the emergency room. So am I avoiding this swine flu like the plague? Hell yes. But when it comes to the vaccine, I’m not as sure.

I want to be as protected as possible, but I also don’t want to throw myself under the bus by injecting this mysterious killer into my blood stream. I talk to one person and feel like it’s the best thing since sliced bread, then the next minute someone else has me convinced that I would be making the worse mistake of my life.

It’s painfully clear: I’m torn.

Love It

Isn’t this what everyone has been praying for? Since this thing emerged we’ve been sitting with fingers crossed in our surgical masks and rubber gloves while researchers searched for a vaccine to prevent it, and now it’s finally here. Research also says that college students are at the highest risk for serious infection and even with those Purell bottles in every lecture hall/classroom/dorm on campus, it seems stupid to even consider not getting the vaccine. Why wouldn’t I protect myself if given the chance? Plus, I can get it super cheap (if not for free) at my school’s health center. It really seems like a no-brainer.

Loathe It

Okay, I’ve heard one too many horror stories and I’m not having it. Some people have had horrible reactions to the vaccine; others have been infected and gotten really sick afterward. I’m trying to avoid this virus at all costs, so it seems pretty stupid to willingly let someone inject it into my body. Plus I hate needles with a passion (especially when they are filled with the Swine) so it seems like a better deal to  just go hang out in the health center next to Sniffy McSniffles, inhale some of whatever he’s got and hope my body fights it off and gets stronger. Plus, I’ve never gotten the flu shot before and have always managed to come out of flu season unscathed, so why start now?

What do you guys think? Yay or neigh oink for the Swine Flu vaccine?

Hey all. Longer update to follow after the Harvest Dinner this Wednesday. For now, check out these pictures I snapped with my cell phone of campus during sunset. Beautiful Maine:

The end of October is usually dedicated to creepy masks and scary old movies. But this year, it seemed to me that we were distracted. Everyone was more afraid of Swine Flu than Paranormal Activity. I honestly am not afraid and there are a lot of people on this campus that agree with me.

Swine Flu Stuffed Animal From GiantMicrobes.com

I decided to poll people about their fears of the H1N1 virus. My results, people just seem to be a little more cautious. One girl said that she’d never get the shot because she doesn’t trust it just yet. Her way of fighting the virus? Lysoling and Purelling her entire world. She carries a bottle of Purell in her bag and uses it whenever she’s out of class or leaves a SINC site. I do practically the same thing when I leave the SINC sites. So many people use those keyboards and mouses. I’d rather not think of what can be growing on them.

(My roommate swears the Swine flu shot is a government ploy. But that’s another story…)

Purell Advertisement

Another student who had symptoms of the virus went to the infirmary for medication. She was told to either go home (like her home in Queens) or she will have to be quarantined. Really? It’s the flu, not the plaque. It’s the change of seasons from hot to cold. Our bodies aren’t used to it and they sometimes take a toll. Some just more than others.

I’ve never gotten a flu shot and I don’t intend on ever getting one. Especially one that only took a few months to develop. And I would never take one unless I absolutely needed one.

Take a look at this video about a woman who got a flu shot that sparked a neurological disorder.

I know at least 5 people that had swine flu (my little cousin who was 8 years old at the time included). They are all alive and well. Yes, they went through a week of hell….But we’ve all been through finals week haven’t we?

That’s about what I have felt like I’ve had to say for the past couple of weeks.  I haven’t been a good blogger because I really can’t think of much to say; that and I didn’t really want to take the time to sit and write

Since, I did write last I had my little lake vacation.  I have never stayed anywhere alone like that.  I stayed down a lonely dirt road in a little house at the back of a slu with literally no one around.  I did see one fisherman in a boat come in the slu.  I had no cell phone coverage, no internet, and some fuzzy t.v.  It was a drastic change from my normal life of constantly taking care of people, documenting on the computer, and responding the mass of phone calls.  So, I read, and took a nap, and watched a movie, and slept, and read, and tried to canoe (I was in a two man canoe with a skulling paddle and it was quite windy out.  Despite having my dog in the canoe, I didn’t have enough weight for such a large canoe and the wind kept blowing me in circles.  I just spun around like I was on a merry-go-round.  That’s one advantage to having no one around – or not.  I found the whole thing quite funny and no one was there to laugh with me), read some, took another nap, went on a walk, watched another movie, slept, went on another walk, and then got very, very  bored.  It was good.  I haven’t been that bored in a long, long time.  Even though that part wasn’t fun, I was very well rested.

I came back to work and it was just as I had left it – which is not really surprising but sometimes I am naive and I imagine things will be different.  We now have almost 1200 patients under our care and are continually having to change and stretch as we grow more quickly than we imaged.   We are planning a “Christmas party” soon to catch our kids up on their vaccinations (too which our dentist replied “That’s the worst Christmas present ever!”  I hadn’t thought of it that way but it is pretty terrible   We are going to have a Christmas tree and hot chocolate and give shots.  Maybe we should have someone dress up in green and be the Grinch – they can administer all the shots and then we can advocate reading by giving everyone their very own copy of When the Grinch Stole Christmas.  I am kidding of course but it is an odd combination but a great idea!

I don’t have a good quote of the week this time.  I did laugh in one patient’s face but it was because she kept making up lie after lie after lie about why she hadn’t done what I told her.  I finally just laughed and told her that I was just trying to help her be healthy and she didn’t have to do anything I told her.  Then she started telling the truth.  Along those same lines, I have had a bit of an epiphany this week.  I have seen much more clearly this week how disarming kindness can be.  People still flat out lie to me but the longer I am patient and kind to the people I see, the more of themselves they are willing to share with me.  It makes sense but sometimes it is so hard.

Also, we do have a big need if you or someone you know can help us.  We need volunteer bilingual spanish translators.  Yesterday afternoon, I had 3 spanish speaking patients.  My spanish has gotten so much better.  I can understand most everything that is being said but I still have such a hard time speaking, especially when it come time to teach/instruct the patients about their self care.  We desparately need people to help us so that we can serve more and more of the spanish speaking population.  If you know of anyone or if you want to volunteer, email info@christhealthcenter.org.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and weekend. 

My sincerest love.

Since I was a slacker last week, and didn’t want to write, I am a little back-logged in my head with stories.  There is a whole lot of good going on at CHC/TDC.  Here is some of what I know.

*I’ve been asked to limit my details/change some details to “protect the innocent” so these are completely made up names.  If I use your name, it’s because I’ve run out of names in my head, or I think it is funny to use your name *

So, update #1 – A, our young girl that wanted to abort her baby that I wrote about a few weeks ago, is now going and getting her prenatal care at one of the doctors offices in town.  I haven’t seen here but was able to talk to her on the phone and she is doing very well.

As an aside, RRR posted on his facebook page about the number of young girls from the neighborhood that are getting pregnant at such young ages.  There were a slu of posts following that of people who wanted to help.  I am so excited!  These girls need someone to help guide them along as they become mothers and continue to have navigate being a teenager and learning about themselves.  We will see what comes of  that.

Now for update #2.  Several weeks ago, B, came in wanting medical help.  I realized that, like A, he needed someone to step in to his life and help him also.  He got hooked up with TIL and now is planning to continue his education and pursue dreams that he has had since he was a child.

Last week, I met C and got the exact same impression from him as I did from B.  I hooked him up with TDC and he was beside himself.  He has been trying really hard to stay out of trouble but lacked any real guidance.  It was like I gave him the best Christmas present ever! and all I did was walk him over to the next building.  We will have to see what comes of that one too.

So, finally, after months and months and months of talk, the dentist office and pharmacy are going to open the last week of October.  I believe them this time too.  Our patients are so excited about have reduced cost dental care and medications.  Both of these are going to be meeting huge needs, especially for our adult patients.

Also, for those of you that don’t know, I have had several people ask if they are allowed to come to our dentist or to see me or RRR if they have insurance . . . and the answer is YES!  It actually helps us a lot to see insured patients – it balances are very reduced prices that our poorest patients pay.

Finally, thanks to RRR and L, I get to be off on Monday and go stay at the lake (somewhere   I can’t wait.  I desperately need to get away and have a break.  It is supposed to be sunny with a high in the 50s in this weekend.  There couldn’t be more perfect weather.  Thank you! thank you! those of you that helped me get to do this!

Much love my dear sweet friends.

Not to over exaggerate, but today will go down in history as Keri’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. I started the day at 8:00 am, which for me, would be equivalent to a normal person’s 3:00 am (I don’t do mornings very well). At 8 am, I got to experience getting my first cavity filled-and it was a 2 for 1 bonus! Because of the Novocain, this lead to an entire day of face numbness, drooling, cheek biting and strange looks from people as I walked around with half my face numb and the other half normal. Since the appointment was with my regular dentist in Salem, I now had an hour drive ahead of me.

When I returned to Eugene, I decided I should probably get my “little cough” checked out. Luckily, I was able to get an appointment at the campus Health Center within 24 hours. It turned out that my “little cough” was pneumonia. The doctor gave me clearance to attend class, but told me to “take it easy” for the next week. Strange as it sounds, having to “take it easy” was worse to hear then the pneumonia diagnosis. Does she not understand that “taking it easy” is impossible for a college student? I felt obligated to cut out all social activities for the rest of the week and spend my spare time in isolation and hibernation mode.

Since the doctor so kindly gave me clearance to go to class, I left the Health Center and proceeded to sit through four hours of class and then a group meeting. Though this time, I proceeded to bite my lip trying to eat lunch, spill coffee on my white shirt, forget a homework assignment in my printer at home, and trip walking up the stairs (scattering all the contents of my purse on the floor). It was one of those days where everything that could have gone wrong went wrong.

On a positive note, I stood in line next to campus celebrity Nate Costa (an Oregon quarterback) at Subway. I debated talking to him, even something simple like “great game this weekend”. I then realized half my face was still numb and that I was drooling a little bit. I quickly changed my mind.
On a normal Tuesday, I would end my day with my 2 hour Alpha Kappa Psi weekly meeting. I decided to head home instead (I justified it was Doctor’s orders). After microwaved leftovers for dinner, I did 20 minutes of homework before calling it a night.

Was this the worst day of my life? No. But was it a “Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”? I would say so!

…Now if you will excuse me, I have a cup of hot cocoa, an old movie and my warm bed calling my name.

Do you remember picture pages?  I don’t know what in the world made me remember that!  I didn’t really want to write this week so I thought I would copy Time and publish “This week in pictures.”

I began the week with a baby shower for my sister-in-law and a birthday party for my brother with my entire family.

Then this little man FINALLY decided to grace us with his presence.

Then I finally got to meet this sweet little girl.  We are going to be hanging out much more now!

And alas, the quote of the week: (I have no idea who T. Magic is but we will just call them the author of this quote

“I am not a negative person.  I am a positive person.  I am positive that I am absolutely miserable.”

We had a great week at the health center and dream center; we have a lot of growing and much more impact.  Again, it is hard but good.

Much love my friends.

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 633

“Pailin: Valuable gem ore in Pailin is facing depletion at present, because wicked merchants are using machinery to aggressively extract large amounts of gems, while expert officials said that they did not know anything, but now they will take action.

“According to officials of the province, merchants deploy machinery to extract gems at two sites at the Phnom Teuk Chenh region in Teuk Chenh village, Stung Kach commune, Sala Krao district, Pailin. According to that source, there are two groups of merchants who use gem sieving machinery to extract large amounts of gems in that region. The Stung Kach commune chief, Mr. Kang Chheng, told Koh Santepheap via telephone in the morning of 7 October 2009 that he did not know that merchants are extracting large amounts of gem in an area under his control by using such machinery. This commune chief said that he is at present busy with checking the election voter name lists. Therefore, he has not gone to check the sites where merchants are extracting gems.

“But an official, who asked not to be named, said that the two groups of merchants have been running their operations for many years, and they always move to every place in Pailin to explore and extract gems. But they set up also permanent sites at the Phnom Teuk Chenh region since January 2009. Among the two merchant groups, one is controlled by Sreng Kong Sri, and this man lets Dy, called Ta Sak Sar, lead the group, but who is controlling the other group is not known. The same source said that the authorities should not say that they knew nothing about the use of the machineries and the merchants who actively explore gem, because they have operated for many years, and if there were no permissions from the authorities or from expert officials, how could those merchants have done so?

“Regarding the above issue, the head of the Department of Industry, Mines, and Energy of the Province, Mr. Ea Hoeun, told Koh Santepheap in the morning of 7 October 2009 that before, he had known that there were really merchants who extract gems, adding ‘But we summoned and told them to stop their operations, and to remove all machineries a few days ago already.’ Anyway, according to citizens living in the Phnom Teuk Chenh region, in the morning of 7 October 2009, all machinery was not yet removed, but it was just seen that the operations were suspended, simply because those merchants had been informed to remain quiet temporarily to see the situation. It is believed that the operations will start again after there is green light from expert officials.

“It should be noted that many types of gem ore in Pailin, especially in the town, were almost totally exhausted by Siamese [Thai] merchants during the wartime in Cambodia. However, Mr. Ea Hoeun claimed that there still might be 50% of valuable gems remaining, except in the area of the town itself, where there is little left.

“In the morning of 7 October 2009, Koh Santepheap could not reach the two groups of merchants for comment via telephone. Commune officials said that they had all switched off their phones.” Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6773, 8.10.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Thursday, 8 October 2009

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #305, 8.10.2009

• The European Union Granted More Than US$7 Million for Livestock Programs in Cambodia from 2005 to 2010
• The Director of a Health Center Cursed Journalists [and human rights officials] when They Asked about a Dead Patient [whose body was put in a room together with other patients for many hours], and about Electricity Cut-Offs [Poipet]
• Cambodia Will Investigate Alleged Organ Transplants and Human Trafficking [Agnes Chan - 陳美齡 and 陈美龄- Chén Měilíng; in Japanese: アグネス・チャン - a Hong Kong-born singer and a Good Will Ambassador of the Japan Committee of UNICEF, was quoted by the Japan Times as saying that in Cambodia, some babies are sold for adoption or for organ transplants for Yen 5,000 - approx. US$56, while some teenagers are bought for labor or for marriage for less than Yen 10,000 - approx. US$112]

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2066, 8.10.2009

• The Company That Has Sufficient Qualifications and Offers Much Benefit to Cambodia Will Win the Bidding to Explore Oil in Region 4
• The United States of America Helps Train Officials of the Cambodian Mine Action Center [and grants US$200,000]

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #504, 8.10.2009

• [The president of the National Assembly] Mr. Heng Samrin Said that Ms. Mu Sochua Has the Right to Express Her Opinion at the National Assembly [he said that some journalists and radio stations misunderstand that Ms. Mu Sochua would be absent because she does not have immunity, but actually, she has her other rights as a parliamentarian]
• Twenty One Police Generals [over the age of 60] Were Sent into Retirement
• Calmette Hospital Charged Money from an A/H1N1 Swine Flu Patient [claimed the family of an A/H1N1 patient who died recently, after Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Minster of Heath, Mr. Mam Bunheng, had announced that all A/H1N1 patients will be treated free of charge]

Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6773, 8.10.2009

• There Is Concern about Gem Depletion while Pailin Expert Official Claimed 50% Still Remain
• Worldwide Petroleum Services [not easy to identify on the Internet] Is Interested in Exploring Oil in Region 4 [in the Cambodian sea]
• Samdech Euv [former King] and Samdech Mae [former Queen] Donate US$50,000 to the Cambodian Red Cross [to assist citizens suffering from typhoons and floods]

Phnom Penh Post, Vol.1, #21, 8.10.2009

• Six High Ranking Officials [the president of the Senate, Mr. Chea Sim, the president of the National Assembly, Mr. Heng Samrin, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Hor Namhong, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Keat Chhon, and two more senators] Are Summoned by a Foreign Investigating Judge to Testify over Case 2 at the Khmer Rouge Trial
• An Article to Protect Underage People Was Adopted
• The Price of Rubber Increased by 37% within the Last Nine Months [from US$1,419 per tonne in January to US$1,950 in October 2009]
• The Philippines Needs Aid of US$74 Million [for about one million people who suffer from typhoons and floods]

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5015, 8.10.2009

• Samdech Euv [former King] Wants to Die as Soon as Possible [he said that living too long is difficult]
• Five People Died of Drowning on the Same Day [Kompong Cham]

Sereypheap Thmey, Vol.17, #1803, 8.10.2009

• [Illegal] Football Betting Is Thriving like Mushrooms after [Prime Minister] Hun Sen Ordered the Cambosix [gambling] Company to Close

Have a look at the last editorial – you can access it directly from the main page of the Mirror.
And please recommend us also to your colleagues and friends.

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Since I have written, last the seasons have officially changed.  Apparently the weather, at least here, decided it would change with the official date and it has been beautifully cool and sunny here.  How much I have much the sunshine! and it is back with all of its glory and with gorgeous days.  I am loving it.

It seems changes are a theme these days.  At CHC, we have no officially been open for 6 months and we are quickly approaching a total of 1,000 patients under our care.  It has called for much thought, adjustments, and change; thoughts of how things can be done better and differently and how to continue to provide the best medical care possible to a rapidly growing number of people.

The Dream Center continues to become more of a pivotal part of the neighborhood.  It is now hosting classes for women on how to heal and become whole.  There are more Saturday activities for the kids in the neighborhood.  Sav-a-life is training volunteers to help us with our pregnant mothers.  There were also some young white students down at the dream center and they ran into the Woodlawn football team – these kids all met out and now are all meeting together!  I’m sure there is much more going on over there than I know about.  It is just exciting to hear about it all.

I could share story after story each week, I’m sure.  The one that stands out most to me this week is a teenage girl that I saw last week.  She started cutting at age 12, had a child at 15, was arrested for meth at 17, and is now 19.  She has had such a remarkable (and not in a good way) life so far.  I saw her last week and she seemed to be so uninterested in what I was saying.  I actually don’t even remember why she came in.  I talked to our counselors about her before she left.  She was completely opposed to seeing them.  They gave me a book on cutting to give to her, which I did but I don’t think I assumed she wouldn’t read it but I never thought she actually would either.  She showed back up this week and was much more present.  We talked some more but every time we would change to some sort of substantial conversation, she would look like she was about to cry, and she would shut down.  I had completely forgotten about the cutting book and she brought it up.  She told me that she really enjoyed it and then saw someone with “fresh marks” and she gave the book to them to read.  I was completely caught off guard.   Then had brought me a small gift.  I had no idea that any sort of impression was made at all at her first visit, but she was like a blossoming flower at this second visit.  I am very excited about seeing her again now.  I gave her some more reading and she is coming back to see me again in a few weeks.  It is just a blaring reminder that we have no idea what sort of impact is going to be made with anyone, regardless of how they respond.  I will keep you all updated about her.

And finally, the quote of the week.  I am seeing this very obese young man who has both mental and psychological problems.  He is the sweetest guy though.  Currently, he has no true chronic medical problems aside from being overweight.  I talked to him at the last visit about walking some.  He said he would so on this visit I asked him if he had been walking and he said, “Actually, I did go on a walk yesterday.  I walked around the block to Krystal.”   I just laughed . . . at least it is a start.

Much love my friends.

We have continued working in the health center in the district of La Florida like also in the CRS, San Rafael. Thank God we have had good results because the people come to us requesting our brochures and spiritual counseling. 

So on the 19th I got a concussion, as a result I was given a prescription for Naproxen 500mg.  since I have been taking it I have been experiencing some side effects.  Some of the most recent and I feel sever are headaches, and last night a mood swing I started crying for no reason what so ever.  I felt compelled to call both my father and mother to see if everything was fine with them.  I’m going to the campus health center today after my 10AM class to try and figure out what I should do.  I hope nothing is seriously wrong…

An article in the most recent issue of The Ithacan covering flu shots on campus was exceptionally misleading with its information. While none of the information was outright false, the article talks about the flu shots being given this week, and then goes on to discuss the H1N1 virus, which is not covered by the flu shot being offered.

The first sentence reads, “As seasonal flu shots are being administered this week at Ithaca College, 99 determined cases of the H1N1virus- commonly known as swine flu- have been reported since the beginning of the semester at the college…”

While both of these facts are true, the H1N1 virus and the flu shots being administered this week are not related. The flu shots issued this week only are for the seasonal flu only. It is true that students are being urged to get the vaccination against the regular flu and that more attention is being put on flu vaccinations in light of the H1N1 outbreaks, the article does not make a clear enough distinction that this particular flu shot will not protect against swine flu.

Simply referring to the flu shots as “seasonal” is not enough if the writers are then going to continue to talk about the H1N1 virus in the same article. In the readers mind, the two may seem related and it would be very easy to mistake these flu shots for swine flu shots. Also, most of the data and statistics given in the article referred only to swine flu.

It seems as though The Ithacan has used a hot topic to make an otherwise mundane article longer and more interesting, but without providing the facts in a clear enough fashion to readers.

For more information on the seasonal flu shots visit: Free Seasonal Flu Vaccination for IC Students

For more information on swine flu visit: Health Center Swine Flu page

-Nicole

So, I’ve finally made it back but I need a moment.  I saw this picture this morning and am in love.  Fall will be here next week.  It is one of my most favorite things to be outside on a cool sunny day, all snuggled up, with the sun in my face, reading a good book.  Could that moment have been captured any better?  It makes me happy just to see it. 

So, now on to the real post  and I will start all over.

Now, a beautful photo in anticipation of fall.  Despite all my talk, fall is my least favorite season, but it certainly is beautiful.

We have had a good couple of weeks at the health center.  We have also had a ton of visitors recently.  It has been good because many of these people are either providing services to help us function better, or they are partners in the area that also see our patients.  Its been good to put faces to names and build relationships with the medical community in the city and with our other partners in the region.

I have two great quotes of the week and then a wonderful story of our partnership with the Dream Center.

First, I was talking to an older, very well educated, white lady yesterday.  She came in complaining of basically panic attacks.  She told me it was the worst thing that had happened to her since she “had to shoot my horse in it head.”  I accidentally started laughing with that one.  It was just completely not remotely how I imagined her describing her panic attacks.  Then she proceded to cry and tell me about how she killed her horse.  I immediately was serious again because she was not joking but it was so funny.

Also, I was talking to a lady over the phone last night about her lab results and her son’s lab results and then I saw in their charts that they both had appointments with us today at 10.  She then procedes to tell me, “I don’t know if _____ will be able to make it tomorrow.  He’s in jail, but his dad is going to pick him up tomorrow at 8 so nevermind, he will probably be able to make it.”  Nevermind the “in jail” part.  He will be there for his appointment.  (For mom who I know will read this one day:)  :  He is a sweet mentally retarded guy that goes around and picks up cans and someone called the police because he was on private property.  I’m ok)

Finally, one of our more difficult and rewarding stories.  About two weeks ago now, I had a 16 year old girl come in with her mom for a school physical.  Her mom wanted me to do a pregnancy test because she said her daughter was “gaining weight even though she is running.”  I talked to the girl and did the pregnancy test that her mom requested and then  went in and did her exam.  I came out and the pregnancy test was positive.  I did another one and it was positive.  My heart sank.  I went and told Robert.  He told me that he would help me if I wanted but to also get the dream center involved to help this girl.  I went in and told the girl and her mom that she was pregnant and the mom lost it.  She was angry, disappointed, sad, and scared all whirled up in to one moment and she let her daughter know.  I had Lisa, from the Dream Center, come in and talk to them with me.  The little girl did nothing.  She didn’t smile, cry, frown, flinch, or say a word.  It was more disturbing than the mother because she literally did nothing.  That went on for literally close to an hour.  I was able to get the girl an ultrasound that day thanks to Dr. Nate and Dr. Campbell.  I told the girl, who I realized after hearing the mom had lied to me about when she acutally got pregnant, that I needed to know when she really got pregnant to help the doctors help her.  She told me, “I think April.”  Again, my heart just sank.  They didn’t have transportation so Lisa, who has a Miata, took the girl and her mom, in my car to see Dr. Campbell.  They did the ultrasound and she was about 18 1/2 wks along.  I haven’t seen them since then, but every day since that day, the girl has come and brought her friends to the Dream Center to do their homework.  Lisa and Dr. Record went to the schools open house and saw her.  The mom is  now supportive and the baby’s father and his family are supportive and helping financially.  Best of all, Lisa says, the girl is a completely different person and that she has come alive.  She talks and laughs and is acting like a teenager.  She gets to go back to Dr. Campbell one more time for a follow-up ultrasound and then she will start seeing her regular OB doctor.  The Dream Center is planning to help this family through all of this.  This is exactly why I wanted to do what I am doing!

Much love!

I feel like this picture is a great representation of how Woodlawn feels about itself.  It makes me angry too.

I was talking with someone last week and her children had gone with a camp to Woodlawn to pick up trash.  They were told several times throughout the day to “Just put it down.  It’ll be there again tomorrow.”

I don’t know how many times I have been told that what I am doing is basically a lost cause; that these people feel entitled to health care, that they can never be taught to come to appointments on time, that they can’t . . . . and it will never . . . .

Monday, there was a fight just outside the health center.  It was terrible.   I remember people fighting in high school, but I had forgotten about the sound it makes when someone in just railing on someone else.  There were people everywhere watching this fight.  All of them were in school uniforms meaning all of them were still just kids!  Later that night, when I left work, the policeman that watches us as we come and go said those kids had gone and gotten guns and were after each other now.  Again, I was so angry.  These kids were going to try and kill each other over somethine incredibly stupid I am sure.

Everyone on the outside believes that no one in Woodlawn can change.  For whatever reason, people in Woodlawn believe that nothing will ever change.  THIS IS A LIE!!!

I have been asked by several of my patients if I “will be there” when they need to come back or “when I am leaving”?  Right now, no one is going anywhere.  We are in this for the long haul. 

A friend of mine has a plaque in her sons’ bathroom that I love.  It is an old proverb.  It says “Mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow.”  This is true for Woodlawn as well.  We are simply planting the seeds and hoping and watching (not wishing) for mighty oaks. 

I know, without any doubt, that change and growth, is possible in Woodlawn.  Just one tiny acorn at a time.

Much love my friends.

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We had a really good week at the health center this week.  I am getting much more comfortable doing my new job.  Robert is also starting to be able to see more and more patients.  We have a little system or two in place, which I am sure are subject to change next week but we are beginning to develop a little bit of a flow   Its nice. 

I do have some good stories from this week.  Some funny, some good, and some sad but encouraging.  Enjoy.

Thursday, Robert got an urgent call from the high school.  They have not been able to have a football team for several years.  Its so sad to me because sports were such a big part of my life growing up and in a lot of ways, they are completely inaccessible to these kids.  But, this year there will be a football team.  In classic Christ Health Center style, Robert got a call from the school on Thursday that the entire football team needed physicals to be able to  play their first game on Friday   So, the entire team shows up, and Robert called another physician friend, and they got the entire football team seen.  It was fun yesterday driving in to work because the kids wear uniforms to school, black pants and white polos, and yesterday mixed in, were a few football jerseys and black pants.  Change is in the air!!  I’ll have to get back to you to let you know how they did last night.  It almost doesn’t matter though.  I am just thrilled that they are developing their football program again.

Currently, we are still doing free pregnancy testing.  I had a young girl come in this week and her sister thought she needed a pregnancy test.  I started talking to the girl alone and found out that she has had as many sexual partners as she is old, that she had been treated two weeks prior to her visit with us for an STD in the ER, had had sex again since having her STD, and then she told Robert that more than half of the guys she had sex with “truly loved her.”  My heart broke for her.  We spent a lot of time with her and now Truth In Love is going to help us out with her.  She is actually excited about seeing them.  I am cautiously looking forward to see what changes happen in her life.

I also had a lady come in to see me this week that had a colostomy.  I won’t go in to too much detail because most people get grossed out by this sort of thing, but I good comparison would be to say that getting colostomy supplies is like trying to find a woman a good bathing suit.  Its hard!  She comes to me needing new supplies but she doesn’t know the size or kind of anything she is wearing.  So, I decide maybe I can call her supply company and see what she has been getting.  I asked asked her what their number is and she spouts of quickly “1-800-999-9999.”  So I go and I dial the number and I hear “Welcome to the singles hotline.  Are you looking . . . .” and I hang up.  So, I look at the number and dial it again, “Welcome to the singles hotline.  Are you looking . . . .”  At this point, I am starting to think this is funny because this little old lady just very quickly, without looking it up, gave me a singles hotline number.  So, I am thinking this lady is lonely and is hanging out on the singles hotline but I decided to give it another shot and ask her what the number was again.  And she says “1-888-999-9999″ (istead of 1-800 . . .).  So, I told her what she had done.  She just laughed.  I asked her if she was looking for a special friend

Also, this week, we had a dental sales rep, who had had people over over the weekend and had extra food left over.  He decided that he would bring lunch over to our parking lot.  It was so fun.  He set up chair and we sat outside and ate and people from the neighborhood just started showing up for the free food.  We just sat and talked.  Some people simply came and got food and left.  Others, sat and talked with us and told us what they needed and how much they appreciated the health center and dream center.  A GED class may come of that day from one lady’s expressed need.   I really enjoyed that.

Finally, we have hired two new people.  Lindsey Pimentel, who I wrote about a while ago, left to start school again so a huge hole was left that needed to be filled.  We hired two of our most faithful nurse volunteers, Karen and Sirena,  to job share a MA/nurse position.  I am so excited because I enjoy working with both of them.  They are completely different from each other but they both do such a good job.  I am excited about having them come be a part of our little growing team.

Finally, look at what I got to do this past weekend!  Could anything be more fun?  I got to spend time with some of my dearest old friends and meet some of their children for the very first time.  It was such a wonderful trip.

Much love my friends!

I guess I haven’t blogged in a while. Partially because my mother was supposed to look at my last blog to see my new fabric ( she didn’t want to read anything else), partially because I haven’t known what to say, and I’m not really sure  of another reason.

The other day, I went to the clinic to get my yearly exam and renew my birth control prescription. I walked in, it was empty, which was unusual. I leapt through every step, right up until I got to the doctor part……and the doctor wasn’t in for another hour and a half. So I waited and read my book, and everything seemed to go well. When the doctor was finished, she stood up, and said to me “Well, sometimes this happens. You might want to deal with that”, and promptly left the room. When I got up, blood was EVERYWHERE. Like… not the average kind of menstrual blood. But bleeding like all hell. God, I was so scared, but I dealt with it, did what I could, and took the long bus back to the west end, before I called Cowboy and broke down. He left work immediately to come get me, and although him being there did nothing for the actual issue, he made me feel better. I dont know what happened, I’m not sure I want to. I’m just happy that it’s over.

Alongside that event, Cowboy decided that he was indeed going to go to school for his usual two months for December and January to work on his apprenticeship.  He called me up from work one day, and blurted “Can I go back to school?”  I was a little shocked and slightly confused, especially considering he was coming home for lunch about 5 minutes from then. We talked about it, and his mom generously offered to pay for his tuition.

So all that’s left is dealing with the difference in cash flow for two months. It’ll be tight, but I’m sure we’ll make it. Being “the woman”, this means that I’ll be worrying and worrying and freaking out and being concerned until this is all over. I try to not do it, honestly I do. It’s just SO HARD. I feel often like I have to worry for Cowboy and myself because he refuses to. Sometimes I feel like I don’t know how to not worry, like it’s just a part of me and it’ll never change. That worries me a bit. I don’t want to be one of those women who just can’t calm the fuck down and live for the current day.