7.07.2012
The waiting game. Where is your hope?
The time after the PANCE test and before the results can be a roller coaster of emotions. The days leading up to the test can be taxing too.
1.13.2011
30
I’m thirty. True, only one more day older than I was yesterday, however this year is somewhat of a benchmark in my life. My first 10 years is becoming hazy to put it gently. However, through the fog and pollution I can remember a few details.
I was 8 when I first heard the word Cancer. It’s funny; it’s very clear and distinct. I was playing with a fisher price train set in the kitchen when my parents wanted to sit me down to talk about the “C” word… and so, the crazy story of faith and hope and love began in my life.
As I reflect back on the last 30 years of my personal inventory, I have a huge variety of love and hate, death and life, good decisions and poor decisions, times when I followed the rules and times when I broke the rules. To share a few; when I was 13, the year was 1994, my dad was gone to run errands and I was the man left to rule the house. I thought it would be a good idea to build a fire and “grill out” over the open flame. The only problem, it was raining. “Not a problem for me” I said to myself, being the problem solver I was. I decided to build the open flame under the enclosed garage. Needless to say, the house nearly burned down. This was one of the first times I had made a poor decision and instead of strong belt to my back side, my dad issued a different kind of discipline, I heard the phrase, “I’m disappointed in you.” Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be the last time I heard those words or saw this look from my Dad. In the midst of the disappointment, I also heard encouragement and joy from my dad’s voice. Rewind to 6th grade, I think I was 10, I attend a private school. At the end of the year, there was an awards ceremony to acknowledge the Honor roll and different academic achievements through the past year. One of the biggest awards was the Christian Character Award. To my surprise I was elected among my peers and teachers to carry this title. My Family was proud, I was surprised. “I was so surprised but I clearly remember the joy and pride from my whole family.”
Quick Hits from my memory:
I have driven four brand new cars off the show room floor and have had a car payment every month since I was 16 (Not happy about this!). While having this responsibility, my first job was as a grocery store bagger earning $3.75 an hour then a shoe salesman for Footaction pulling down $5.15 an hour. I fell for a get rich quick scheme of “packing envelopes” and lost $24.00. From there I took a job as painter for $7.00 an hour. In high school I was Vice President of FCA and the following year President of FCA. I played basketball on the JV team until my senior year. I once was called up to play on the Varsity over Thanksgiving break, but never made it into the game. (I have the local paper to prove this point!) I have played in 250+ soccer games since the age of 8. I once donated my entire life savings, ($200) when I was 11, to a missionary that spoke at our church. I have been on TV 4 times; 3 of which I was at the Texas Rangers game with a painted “G” on my chest. I was the ‘G’ of Gonzo. The 4th time I was at a local Krispy Kreme grand opening, where I camped out all night to get a year supply of donuts. I have had credit card debt that topped $6000, I also experienced the joy and pain of paying off the credit card company, (school debt is another story!). I have been in enrolled in college, both undergrad and graduate school, at least part time, for the last 11 years.
I have also experienced loss in my life. I have lost two grandparents and both parents. I have seen the last breath of one grandparent and also of my Dad. After watching death settle in, I was reminded just how close death is to life. It has affected me deeply and changed my outlook on life.
I have loved and been loved. There have been many girls growing up to taught me about love and to them I am thankful. However, for me it was love at “second sight” (the first time there was a weird hat covering up her face) when I laid eyes on my wife. Of course, she needed some convincing that I was her knight in shining armor, but eventually she gave in and I married above my level. It’s been three and half years and I have seen true A’hava love. She is a woman with an amazing work ethic, passion for life and truly loves with a selfless love that can only come from deep foundations of faith.
One of my favorite Old Testament biblical stories is when Joshua is leading the people out of the desert, but in order to do so they must cross over the Jordan River which at the time was in a flood stage. As the story goes, they cross over on dry land and God directs Joshua to lead the people in building a alter of stones, from the river bed, to serve as a sign of where God showed up and lead His people into the promise land. The last 30 years for me have been full of surprises— some good and some bad. My first half of life is approaching the end and I must say it was not an easy road to travel. I experienced great pain and loss, it’s been real and it’s been extremely hard. However, looking back at these times of loss, I always remember and see my altar where God Provided. God has not forgotten and today I remember his mighty work. I’m not sure of what future joys or trials are awaiting me, but of this I am sure; God is good and He is enough.
I was 8 when I first heard the word Cancer. It’s funny; it’s very clear and distinct. I was playing with a fisher price train set in the kitchen when my parents wanted to sit me down to talk about the “C” word… and so, the crazy story of faith and hope and love began in my life.
As I reflect back on the last 30 years of my personal inventory, I have a huge variety of love and hate, death and life, good decisions and poor decisions, times when I followed the rules and times when I broke the rules. To share a few; when I was 13, the year was 1994, my dad was gone to run errands and I was the man left to rule the house. I thought it would be a good idea to build a fire and “grill out” over the open flame. The only problem, it was raining. “Not a problem for me” I said to myself, being the problem solver I was. I decided to build the open flame under the enclosed garage. Needless to say, the house nearly burned down. This was one of the first times I had made a poor decision and instead of strong belt to my back side, my dad issued a different kind of discipline, I heard the phrase, “I’m disappointed in you.” Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be the last time I heard those words or saw this look from my Dad. In the midst of the disappointment, I also heard encouragement and joy from my dad’s voice. Rewind to 6th grade, I think I was 10, I attend a private school. At the end of the year, there was an awards ceremony to acknowledge the Honor roll and different academic achievements through the past year. One of the biggest awards was the Christian Character Award. To my surprise I was elected among my peers and teachers to carry this title. My Family was proud, I was surprised. “I was so surprised but I clearly remember the joy and pride from my whole family.”
Quick Hits from my memory:
I have driven four brand new cars off the show room floor and have had a car payment every month since I was 16 (Not happy about this!). While having this responsibility, my first job was as a grocery store bagger earning $3.75 an hour then a shoe salesman for Footaction pulling down $5.15 an hour. I fell for a get rich quick scheme of “packing envelopes” and lost $24.00. From there I took a job as painter for $7.00 an hour. In high school I was Vice President of FCA and the following year President of FCA. I played basketball on the JV team until my senior year. I once was called up to play on the Varsity over Thanksgiving break, but never made it into the game. (I have the local paper to prove this point!) I have played in 250+ soccer games since the age of 8. I once donated my entire life savings, ($200) when I was 11, to a missionary that spoke at our church. I have been on TV 4 times; 3 of which I was at the Texas Rangers game with a painted “G” on my chest. I was the ‘G’ of Gonzo. The 4th time I was at a local Krispy Kreme grand opening, where I camped out all night to get a year supply of donuts. I have had credit card debt that topped $6000, I also experienced the joy and pain of paying off the credit card company, (school debt is another story!). I have been in enrolled in college, both undergrad and graduate school, at least part time, for the last 11 years.
I have also experienced loss in my life. I have lost two grandparents and both parents. I have seen the last breath of one grandparent and also of my Dad. After watching death settle in, I was reminded just how close death is to life. It has affected me deeply and changed my outlook on life.
I have loved and been loved. There have been many girls growing up to taught me about love and to them I am thankful. However, for me it was love at “second sight” (the first time there was a weird hat covering up her face) when I laid eyes on my wife. Of course, she needed some convincing that I was her knight in shining armor, but eventually she gave in and I married above my level. It’s been three and half years and I have seen true A’hava love. She is a woman with an amazing work ethic, passion for life and truly loves with a selfless love that can only come from deep foundations of faith.
One of my favorite Old Testament biblical stories is when Joshua is leading the people out of the desert, but in order to do so they must cross over the Jordan River which at the time was in a flood stage. As the story goes, they cross over on dry land and God directs Joshua to lead the people in building a alter of stones, from the river bed, to serve as a sign of where God showed up and lead His people into the promise land. The last 30 years for me have been full of surprises— some good and some bad. My first half of life is approaching the end and I must say it was not an easy road to travel. I experienced great pain and loss, it’s been real and it’s been extremely hard. However, looking back at these times of loss, I always remember and see my altar where God Provided. God has not forgotten and today I remember his mighty work. I’m not sure of what future joys or trials are awaiting me, but of this I am sure; God is good and He is enough.
11.06.2010
Changes
Healthcare in America is changing. As the title implies, prevention should be at the heart of the industry. However, as we are all aware, there is more money to be made in treatment than prevention. With the current administration push to change the medical landscape, there is a need to trim down the excess and streamline the processes. Prevention is crucial to the overall plan for providing quality healthcare to the masses. Part of prevention is having a triage system in place to allocate the limited resources at the practitioner disposal. This system for us must begin now, during our PA education. The key is to know and understand current guidelines for the most common disorders, be aware of the guidelines for screenings and immunization and be able to acknowledge and understand the population of patients we are treating. Every patient which we see should be counseled against high risk activity; things like smoking, excessive alcohol intake and limited physical activity. This can be a challenge as it takes valuable time on all fronts. Educating and promoting prevention starts today.
However, as I am sure you are aware; with change comes conflict. As PA’s, we will be unleashed on seasoned PA’s and Physician’s who see no real end and no real solutions to the challenges our healthcare system faces. I believe this will be the most difficult challenge we will face. In addition to preparing to identify the high risk patients and knowing the screening guidelines, knowing how to educate and communicate to our supervising physicians the need for sound epidemiology (yeah, I said it) and being able to incorporate the data into treatment plans will be of utmost importance and potentially hardship. Hopefully, I am wrong. It is our call and our duty to carry the flag of prevention and wave it with proudly, while seeing each new day as an opportunity to usher the tide of change.
Ultimately, having said all this; to quote one of my colleagues, “…what hope do we have of helping them (or ourselves) to make those "therapeutic lifestyle changes"…?” In the end, the responsibility falls to the individual. Our current society is one of that delay’s responsibility until, all too often, it is too late. That’s why prevention must begin today. Hopefully, each of our small voices can be a ripple in creating a huge wave of change.
However, as I am sure you are aware; with change comes conflict. As PA’s, we will be unleashed on seasoned PA’s and Physician’s who see no real end and no real solutions to the challenges our healthcare system faces. I believe this will be the most difficult challenge we will face. In addition to preparing to identify the high risk patients and knowing the screening guidelines, knowing how to educate and communicate to our supervising physicians the need for sound epidemiology (yeah, I said it) and being able to incorporate the data into treatment plans will be of utmost importance and potentially hardship. Hopefully, I am wrong. It is our call and our duty to carry the flag of prevention and wave it with proudly, while seeing each new day as an opportunity to usher the tide of change.
Ultimately, having said all this; to quote one of my colleagues, “…what hope do we have of helping them (or ourselves) to make those "therapeutic lifestyle changes"…?” In the end, the responsibility falls to the individual. Our current society is one of that delay’s responsibility until, all too often, it is too late. That’s why prevention must begin today. Hopefully, each of our small voices can be a ripple in creating a huge wave of change.
12.04.2009
Prayer for today
Creator of all things, true source of light and wisdom, origin of all being,
Graciously let a ray of your light penetrate into the darkness of my understanding.
Take from me the double darkness in which I have been born, an obscurity of sin and ignorance.
Give me a keen understanding, a retentive memory, and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations and the ability to express myself with thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning, direct the progress and help in the completion.
I ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
St. Thomas Aquinas
Graciously let a ray of your light penetrate into the darkness of my understanding.
Take from me the double darkness in which I have been born, an obscurity of sin and ignorance.
Give me a keen understanding, a retentive memory, and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations and the ability to express myself with thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning, direct the progress and help in the completion.
I ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
St. Thomas Aquinas
6.24.2009
It's Offical
It's Official. As of November 12, 2008, I am a student of the University of North Texas Health Science Center PA class of 2012.
In just 33 short days, I will be began a new chapter in my life. I will be starting, with 53 other students at UNTHSC, my PA education. For now, I am very excited and am looking forward to the challenge ahead. With each passing day I can feel my anxiety level increase and eagerly await the opportunities the coming months will bring.
My Vision for this Blog is to discuss various topics about my adventures of my PA education and eventually my PA career. Every Day P.A. will be a outlet and possibly a venue for discussion about the many topics concerning PA school and Health Care in America.
In just 33 short days, I will be began a new chapter in my life. I will be starting, with 53 other students at UNTHSC, my PA education. For now, I am very excited and am looking forward to the challenge ahead. With each passing day I can feel my anxiety level increase and eagerly await the opportunities the coming months will bring.
My Vision for this Blog is to discuss various topics about my adventures of my PA education and eventually my PA career. Every Day P.A. will be a outlet and possibly a venue for discussion about the many topics concerning PA school and Health Care in America.
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