How do you summarize 16 years of life into a few minutes? Especially the life of a medically fragile child. I’m going to do my best. Our journey with UI Children’s Hospital began 16 years ago when our daughter Reagen was born. She was transferred to UI Children’s Hospital from our local hospital when she was three days old.…
Jennifer, It is not surprising that in the Hispanic community it is important for them to include their family with their healthcare decisions. Hispanics consider family to be the highest valued institution. In addition, the males of the family are the decision-makers and the authoritarian within the family. The mother’s role is focused on keeping a cohesion within the family. She may be able to influence decisions that are made, but is not the one to make the decision.…
My Knee Surgery First varsity basketball game, first quarter, 3:53 left on the clock. We were playing Ridgway at the time. On defense, everything was going great. I got a steal up the left hand side and I was pushing so hard ready to score the first 2 points of the game.…
Growing up, I had always believed that families operated on a balanced system set in place by a mother and a father. I never saw the man as the main provider of the household or the woman as the lesser counterpart. In my family, both my mother and father contributed to our family equally. I do not mean to say that both of my parents were bringing in equal paychecks, because that was not the case, I am saying that where one parent slacked in a certain area the other picked up for it. The balance was what kept my family together.…
They call them “Tap-taps,” the brightly painted open back trucks that transport passengers through the dusty streets of Haiti. A traveler taps the side of the vehicle to board, pays, rides and then taps to jump off at a desired destination. For one particular man who sat with his face covered by a towel, that destination was the Diegue clinic in Port-au-Prince. All I knew from intake was that this patient was here for a foot issue. I noticed the adult sitting uncomfortably, a towel wrapping his foot, as his eyes scanned around the room.…
When I view the world around me, I see darkness. I see broken people with hurting hearts hurting others. What I also see are Christians. Christians everywhere who are doing nothing to love and help the pained individuals surrounding them, while doing everything to promote prosperity in their own lives. Of course, not every Christian is like that, as I am not one of those Christians.…
Most little girls dream of being a ballerina when they grow up, I was the little girl who dreamed of medical school. Anyone who was brave enough to ask got my vehement no when asked if I thought that the college, subsequent medical school, and training would be too much school or that I would get bored. I decided very early that to be a doctor was one of the most exciting things that a person could chose to be and my fantastic pediatrician was the initial spark for this love of medicine. The care that I could see him exhibit in his daily operations as well as the ease at which he interacted with patients and parents alike inspired me. His knowledge was fascinating and I longed to have that level of understanding of the human body.…
An experience that had changed me for the better was when my mother had a stroke . I got my act straight not just for me but for her as well. The moment I thought I lost my mother had really got to me . I realized that without her I would be nothing , she had always been there for me . She was my best friend , the only person who knew everything about me.…
After graduation Penn got his surgery,which thankfully was a success. He is now in physical therapy on the road to recovery. He’s been doing so well that he even got accepted to Duke to play baseball like he had wanted. He surprised me at the dance studio with his acceptance letter with a light in his eyes I have never seen before. He is in a good place right now, I’m really glad he’s going to college after all.…
You saved my life. Now whether you believe me or not is up to you but hear me out. I was watching RAW a while back and I saw how much passion you had/have for wrestling and the WWE which made me want to learn how to wrestle. So cliché I know, but it's true.…
“A handful of moments I wished I could change, but I was carried away,” are the lyrics that remind a lot about myself. Growing up, and even about two years ago, I was insanely shy and did not talk much around people, friends, or family. The way I talked to people was in a timid, soft spoken way, which looking back, was awfully embarrassing. My friends and family would laugh at me because I could not talk well, and when I did talk, they acted as if I were a baby who just said its first words. With all of that nonsense going on, their idiotic response kind of made me not want to say anything anymore.…
My Life Changing Experience When I graduated high school, I knew one thing was for sure. I was done with school and there was no going back. Since I was a little girl, Singing and dancing is what I knew and what I was good at. I had an extreme passion for Disney and that’s exactly where I was headed.…
Men always feel that they should be the money maker and protector of the family while the nurturing and household works always goes to the women usually the wives’ tasks. The real issue is that women have…
Although there are still women today that depend on their husbands for all their needs. The reasoning may be cultural, generational, religious or economic. The ingrained belief that a husband provides for the family is still part of gender role…
An experience that changed my life was on May 19th, 2014, my brother’s death. It changed my life in a positive and negative way. You would think that death would devastate someone for the rest of their life, but my brother’s death actually changed my life. I’m not saying that his death didn’t have a negative effect on me, but it had more of a positive effect on me than anything. His death made me an introvert, think for myself, and see things differently.…