Well, after 16 years of education since high school graduation, I am less then 60 days away from my final (at least for now) graduation. In June I will finish my second fellowship and actually begin my career as an attending a Children's Minnesota, yes Minnesota. After 4 years in KC, I am moving back home. I am so excited to be returning to family and friends but will miss KC. It has been a crazy 4 years here and after not wanting to come, I am struggling with how to say good-bye to so many people.
As I do most summers, I participated in a few triathlons after my big trip to Asia but there was something different about one of them. At the Cedar Creek Triathlon, I met a famous boxer from KC who asked me about my Notre Dame Women's Boxing T-shirt I happened to be wearing. Tony and I chatted (before I knew who he really was) and I was convinced I should go back to boxing for a workout. A week later I went to Turner Boxing Academy and that has been one of the best decisions I made this year. My 9 months at the gym have been amazing. I have been reminded how much I loved boxing when I was in college, even though I never had an actual fight and how long 2 minutes are when you are actually sparring.
I was welcomed to TBA with open arms on my first day by Coach John. I have grown to love the young men and women at the gym like siblings. These "kids" have reminded me about not letting adversity get in the way of dreams. They work hard and have the biggest hearts. They have let me cover ringside events where I get the best seat in the house to cheer them on, sang a very out of tune happy birthday when I turned 23 or 24 as they reminded me I am only as old as I feel to and have become people I look forward to seeing with a smile every week at practice. The family extends beyond the boxers to the parents I have gotten to know and shared moments of anxiety when the TBA fighters are in the ring. It was been an honor to be the unofficial TBA team doctor, an official USA Boxing ringside physician and I am not sure how to say good-bye to these amazing kids. They have left a giant footprint on my heart and I will forever have fond memories of my time at TBA.
Monday, May 1, 2017
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Why I march
I realized with my crazy new schedule I have not posted in a long time. In the wake of a few awful days of work, I am taking to my blog to vent so please don't mind. As we are on the eve of the inauguration I am having conflicting feelings about what is going to happen. On Saturday I am planning on marching with my fellow women in Kansas City. I am not much of a political person but there are some serious issues that give me pause. As a pediatrician I feel that I need to help give a voice to all the children who can not vote and do not have a voice.
As a pediatric ED physician I see things that are hard to process. There is one case from the last few years that has stuck with me and is very relevant to life. I had a young patient who was shot and killed by gun violence. This innocent little angle did not take his first steps before he was killed. This case is not an isolated incident but something occurring in every pediatric ED around the country. While I agree with the second amendment and the right to bear arms, I can not stand by as our innocent children are killed for no reason. It is for these innocent children that I march.
In my time doing global health work I have seen many children who have suffered from vaccine preventable diseases due to lack of access to health care. Some countries do not have enough health care access for families to seek care, some do not have money for vaccines. No matter what the reason, these children have become the victims of something they are not responsible for. I fear that a person who does not believe in vaccines will be part of vaccine safety committee and this could have devastating consequences. We no longer see the ravages of polio, of iron lungs, of children having trouble walking, of children using braces. This is because we have a vaccine that prevents this. I have never seen a case of epiglottis because we have a vaccine that has caused a drastic decrease in the incidence. For this I am so thankful! I walk to make sure vaccines and health care are still available for children.
I have been lucky enough in my life to have friends of different races, religions and sexual orientations. Each of these people have helped to shape me into the person I am today. While some things may look different or feel different, we are genetically almost identical and share the same feeling and emotions. I am thankful I live in a country where you can praise what ever you believe in, in many states you can marry the person you love and you can be friends with anyone. I march for those that are different from me.
I could easily continue about the reasons that I march but in the end I march for children, I march for friends, I march for family, I march for women, I march for humanity.
As a pediatric ED physician I see things that are hard to process. There is one case from the last few years that has stuck with me and is very relevant to life. I had a young patient who was shot and killed by gun violence. This innocent little angle did not take his first steps before he was killed. This case is not an isolated incident but something occurring in every pediatric ED around the country. While I agree with the second amendment and the right to bear arms, I can not stand by as our innocent children are killed for no reason. It is for these innocent children that I march.
In my time doing global health work I have seen many children who have suffered from vaccine preventable diseases due to lack of access to health care. Some countries do not have enough health care access for families to seek care, some do not have money for vaccines. No matter what the reason, these children have become the victims of something they are not responsible for. I fear that a person who does not believe in vaccines will be part of vaccine safety committee and this could have devastating consequences. We no longer see the ravages of polio, of iron lungs, of children having trouble walking, of children using braces. This is because we have a vaccine that prevents this. I have never seen a case of epiglottis because we have a vaccine that has caused a drastic decrease in the incidence. For this I am so thankful! I walk to make sure vaccines and health care are still available for children.
I have been lucky enough in my life to have friends of different races, religions and sexual orientations. Each of these people have helped to shape me into the person I am today. While some things may look different or feel different, we are genetically almost identical and share the same feeling and emotions. I am thankful I live in a country where you can praise what ever you believe in, in many states you can marry the person you love and you can be friends with anyone. I march for those that are different from me.
I could easily continue about the reasons that I march but in the end I march for children, I march for friends, I march for family, I march for women, I march for humanity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)