Hope

And so the school year came to an end just as quickly as it began. I haven’t kept up with the whole blogging thing that much and I apologize to those of you, if any of you, read this. It’s hard to believe that I am going to be a junior already. It seems like just yesterday I was writing about the trials and tribulations of freshman year. Now we are on to bigger and brighter things.
So as you can see in the box on the left hand side, I have St. Jude as my hope. Well I have an announcement to make. It turns out that I will be working at St. Jude this summer. I will be assisting a research lab there by running the polymerase chain reactions for them. While it is something that some may consider minuscule, I think it is a great opportunity. I do not currently have a start date established but I am hoping to hear something soon!
So, I do have something to write about related to volunteer experience, but I should make announcement number two first. I have been appointed as the site coordinator for all volunteering students at the local hospital for my school. It’s a pretty big deal and a lot of work so I have a co-coordinator to help me out. And before I really get into this thing, I have one more announcement. I am thinking that I am going to write a few fictional short pieces that are somehow medically related for fun. I have decided to minor in english so I feel that this would be a good way to practice. And now it’s story time...

For the past few months I have helped the nurses and doctors with many patients. I’ve observed skin grafts, wiped away poop, gave baths, aided in wound care, and other things that we do not have to discuss. However, my favorite part is when a patient gets to go home. While I have not been there when they leave, I always make sure and ask about the patients if I do not see them. This is a huge risk because any number of things could happen within a week. My worst fear is that they will tell me that they didn’t make it. But it does happen and we must accept that fact if we want to be doctors.
There was one patient in particular who I was able to help with throughout the entire duration of my volunteer experience and their stay at the hospital. They had been in an explosion and the first time I worked with her is when I was told to wash her hair, which I discussed in an earlier post. I was able to watch her improve every week I returned. I watched her painfully push through to survive and tried to be comforting when things were difficult. There were times when we thought that she wouldn’t make it. There were times I felt like she would never leave the unit. But she was strong and she pushed through and one day when I returned I didn’t see her.
Worried, I asked a nurse about her. She had left and was now in the physical therapy stages. I was incredibly happy and felt an accomplishment that I have never felt before. I had actually helped this woman to live, even if I did very small things, I helped. I helped save someones life. It’s strange to even think about it in that way. I wish her the very best of luck. She is engaged to be married and I hope that someday soon, she will walk down the aisle in a wedding dress and start a whole new life.
It’s funny because the whole experience played out like a book. In the beginning it was scary, unfamiliar, and chaotic. As weeks went on I learned new things, gained invaluable experience, and really thought about this as my career. In the end I had a happy ending. Everyone was able to go home at the end of the day, taking with them something they would never forget. While happy endings aren’t always guaranteed, we can only hope for the best, and its this hope that I find inspiring, and a driving force in my want of a medical career. I want to be able to help people, to change the lives of others, and to make the world brighter once person at a time.