Nido de Aguilas: Santiago, Chile. It had been a week since I'd gotten the news that I was moving schools and that I would be leaving my friends forever to move to a quiet country in the middle of Europe: Switzerland. I silently sat in my designated chair, waiting for my last day to begin.…
Never have I woken up faster than getting a phone call at 1am saying, “I need you STAT to H4104!” Racing from the call room to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, I had a million thoughts running through my head. Why is the RN calling me STAT? Is the patient coding? Is the intra-aortic balloon pump I am responsible for not functioning? When I arrive, the patient’s pressures were spiraling downward and the surgeon said he must go back down for surgery. Adrenaline pumping through my veins, I realized this was not an emergency simulation I had been taught – this was real. As soon as we reach the OR, the patient went asystole. Immediately, anesthesia started injecting medications, the OR staff lined up to do compressions and I managed the balloon pump; we…
What is a legacy? Lin Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton described it as “planting seeds in a garden you never get to see”. In a similar way, the Broadway musical, In The Heights, sings about continuing what is passed down to you because one day it may be gone. One song in particular titled, “Paciencia y Fe” inspires me to work as hard as I can just like Abuela Claudia did when she immigrated from Cuba. The Broadway hits’ harmonies and melodies have instilled in me a sense of hope for the future, where I can continue a family legacy.…
Alex, and that tree. I’ve lived in two completely different places. For the greater part of my life, in Ecuador, and for the last 4 years, in California. Moving away from the place that I spent my entire life at, has really changed me. I had to leave all of the people I love and everyone I ever knew, and move to a strange place where I had no one except my mom, dad, and brother. Moving to California made me become a new person, a different person than who I was in Ecuador. In the following Vignettes I talk about what has made me into who I was in Ecuador, and what made me into what I am today. I talk a lot about the trip to California, and the first few months here because it was a very traumatic experience for me that pains me to think about even to this day. I’ll always miss the person I was in Ecuador, even if I don’t remember who I was. But I will always love the person that I am today and will continue to better myself and live the best life…
On September 16, 2011, I attended a training session/lunch and learn for Valley Regional Imaging. They came to me job to show the new computer technology that we will soon have access to from our clinic. Instead of them faxing us results, we would be able to go on the computer and see our own results. The meeting was held in one of our board rooms. The room was dimly lit with a huge projection screen in the middle. The table was huge with big comfy leather chairs surrounding in. The board room was away from normal patient activity so it was very quiet. The room was actually very cold so I had to leave and get my jacket.…
The Dominican Republic, known for its beautiful beaches and balmy weather, was the last place I ever imagined I would find myself in this past summer vacation. On this week long trip, it wasn't for the warm ocean waves or the traditional Dominican cuisine I was called to, I was called to serve the beautiful Dominican people. On the third day of the trip, instead of heading out to the worksite where we had been pouring the concrete footers of a plastics and water filter factory, I opted to travel with a group to the childrens' cancer ward in Santiago and visit the patients. We started out our visit by performing a few dances we had taught our vacation bible school and handing out fun little gift we had brought with us. We played ball with some…
Other personal experiences include two of my siblings, both served in Iraq, who were exposed to enemy gunfire while serving. I lost my grandmother eight years ago, who was my rock in every possible way. My grandmother was diagnosed with Leukemia, which she kept from everyone in my family until two months before her death. I believe family stress developed due to her sudden death. Aside from family stress, I personally struggled with my grandmother’s death, who reflected as a woman with great strength and lots of wisdom; who also taught me values, honesty, and community. Further, five years later, in the year 2009, I lost another family member to gunshot violence, who was shot in the head and died instantly; this family member was also…
With my heart beating out of my chest, the only thing I could think of was that I did not want to die in Mexico. It was a warm sunny day as we started our ATV adventure outside of the comforts and security of the resort walls. There were 6 of us and we planned to take turns driving. When it was our turn, we could go anywhere we could get the machine. The rental guy was nice enough to loan us his personal iPod, as the machine had a stereo. The iPod was filled with Mexican music of all sorts. How fitting, we realized. What would a Mexican adventure be without the music?…
I was unable to walk and thus was carried to the office. There I waited for my dad to come and take me to the doctor. That is where my long road of doctors, X-rays, MRIs, and physical therapy started. When I walked into my first physical therapy appointment, I was nervous but I was relieved when I recognized…
A dozen squealing, laughing little girls tugged my arms, legs and hands. They were so excited to show me their bedroom. Meeting all the orphans at the Colima, Mexico orphanage was very overwhelming and very emotional. At first, I felt very out of place, like seeing grass during a Michigan winter. All these kids surrounding me right now have no families and have nobody to love them. These kids were all beautiful in their own way and really knew how to make you smile without even trying.They were like flowers in a rundown parking lot. Beautiful but with a dark, sad background. Everytime they looked at you, you could see the excitement in their eyes.…
While medical care was available growing up, there were financial or situational periods where it was not necessarily accessible. I am from a single parent family. My mother moved in with my grandparents after her divorce and works two full time jobs to help provide for my brother, grandparents, and I. Since my father went to jail and my grandfather passed, we have had to make many adjustments financially. This was the case due to my father not providing payments for child support for the time he was incarcerated nor occasional months prior. There has also been a complication with my mother and I having our identity stolen, which has created additional problems when applying for governmental aid throughout my undergraduate years. I worked…
The next day at lunch was buzzing. Everyone was talking about my home run and our big win, but that wasn't the biggest thing on everyone's tongue.…
This organization helps cancer patients find needed bone marrow donors. Finding donors are very difficult and finding matches are even more unlikely. This event made me realize how fortunate I was. I began volunteering more regularly with the same organization as well as places such as Food-share and a retirement home with residents who have memory loss. SAM and the retirement home mattered the most to me because I have close relatives who have schizophrenia and have died from cancer. Volunteering with these organizations made me realize how fortunate I was and inspired me to keep striving. This gave me a new perspective on life and I became more optimistic and outgoing. In addition to volunteering, I found a job, I began weightlifting, and I became much more social. In changing the way I think, I learned that life continues and that I still have time to improve myself.…
Cancer can make a change in anyone’s life. It has been in my life for as long as I can remember. Many of my family members have had several different types of cancer and have lost their battle, but the one that impacted my life the most was the recent loss of my best friend. My friend’s name was Elke, and she battled brain cancer for almost 10 years. She was only declared in remission a couple times, it just kept coming back, and the last time the doctors said that there were no less than 11 tumors. This brain cancer took her away from so many people who loved her so much, including me. Watching my friend go through her cancer battle affected me in so many ways including making me more aware of my own health, my role as a caregiver has been expanded, and she inspired me to appreciate what I have and be thankful.…
There are a lot of tough diseases in the world but the most common one is cancer. It's a disease that attacks the body cells dangerously by spreading inside the body destroying the immune system. It's also known as a malignant tumor that stops the the cell growth and invade the whole body. It's a serious disease that considered as the main reason of death for humans. However many people had survived it. It can be cured if it was discovered earlier. Lately research has proved that there are some people who survived it. It’s a fatal disease that everyone must be aware of it.…