Just Keep Swimming....

So I missed yesterday, sorry. The power has been going on/off for the last couple of days. Hopefully it lasts long enough for me to get this up :D Things are going well. Today I spent the day at an orphanage teaching the nurses and caregivers some basic first aid skills, wound care, and care for burns. It was interesting to find out what types of things they'd been taught to do to stop bleeding or how to tell if a wound is infected. Most of them knew some of the basic principles. It was great to see how much they cared for the children and wanted to provide them with good care. This orphanage was amazing. It was beautiful. Most of the orphanages that we go to are run down, they're dirty, the children have wounds and sores, and their caregivers don't know how to care for them very well. This place was clean. They had wonderful staff who knew a great deal. The grounds were beautiful. They had good food and great buildings. It was so great to see an orphanage flourishing the way it was. I had a great time. Sometimes it's difficult for me because I am not able to see the fruits of my labors so to speak, I'm not able to see what kind of long term difference the things that I do make in these people's lives. But here it felt like we were teaching them things they would use and put into practice. It felt good.

Oh did I mention we didn't have water for 2 days? Not fun! And I finished my book and my nook doesn't work. I'm upset about that.

Tomorrow it's back to a community clinic for some very high blood pressures, indigestion, headaches and women who have been pregnant for 2 years. Will try to keep you updated!

And here we go...

So, I realize I'm not very detail oriented, so I'll try very hard to put more detail into these posts. However, you'll have to suffer through the ideas and contemplation that I also decide I must include :D

Yesterday (Sunday, March 27th) we went to church. It was a great experience just to relax and focus on the Savior and the gospel. Many wards meet in this particular building. There were three having meetings at the particular time we went. There is of course no air conditioning so it is quite warm. I realize all you lovely people in Utah/Wyoming are experiencing snow at this moment, haha sucks to be you! They also have no microphone or PA system, so it's very difficult to hear, and there are quite a lot of people. However, I was quite impressed at how quiet and reverent people were, focusing so much on hearing the speakers. After church we a couple of us relaxed by the pool, ah yes, the place we are staying does have a pool! Again, sorry all you people stuck with snow! Worked on my tan, got some reading done. Pretty fabulous. For dinner we went out to eat. We went to this restaurant called The View, quite fancy, quite pricey, not so much in American terms, but still on the higher side. Everything was in French/Creole, which of course I do not speak. Also, for those of you who know me, I have a tremendous amount of food allergies, of which can get me into serious problems. This kind of prevents me from trying new and exciting things. So I settled with pasta and a cheese sauce, it was good, but everyone else's looked much better. By now you're probably thinking, wait, I though she went there to do humanitarian work, sounds like she's playing! We're getting to that. This was sort of our "day off." It was very interesting though because this part of town that we went to was what you'd consider "upper scale." The streets were clear, people weren't living on the streets in tents, it didn't smell. Seeing such immense contrast is amazing. I suppose that you see this is the US too, but I suppose for me it was magnified.

Monday, March 28th

Getting down to business. Today I went with one of our groups to what we call an outreach clinic. This town that we went to was up in the mountains, about an hour from where our compound is. These people have limited access to any type of healthcare. We took two Haitian doctors with us, there were three nurses, a nutritionist, a social worker, and an aide, plus two wonderful interpreters. I had two primary jobs, the first was triaging, the second was reading the doctor's orders and "filling prescriptions". Basically a quick assessment of the patients chief complaint and associated symptoms and factors. It was difficult for me because I'm so used to being very thorough and being able to communicate with my patients. This is of course very difficult when you cannot speak the language, even with an interpreter. I wish very much that I could speak the language, that I could converse with these people much more. A majority of what we see is headaches, stomaches, generalized pain, sound familiar? We give out a great deal of OTC meds, tylenol, ibuprofen, antacids, vitamins. These people have outrageous blood pressures too. We were very limited this year with meds, especially prescription. There was one we were giving out that had been brought by a previous group, I don't even know what it was! I kind of feel like we're giving these people a temporary fix. A few days, maybe a couple of weeks worth of meds. Is it worth it? This is going to sound cheesy, but it gives much more meaning to Intermountain's "Healing For Life" mantra. Did I just use the word mantra Emily? Yikes. Anyhow, it was a long day filled with many emotions. I want to help these people. Sometimes it's difficult for me to see the good that it does. I hope that we helped them.

Haiti, Part Deux

After a very long day of traveling, here I sit, back in Port-Au-Prince Haiti. Quite surreal. It's amazing the difference that a year makes, but funny how it all feels familiar, as if I never left. The heat, the food, the people, the contrast. It's all so overwhelming. You look around and although you know that it's real, you don't want to believe it. You don't want to believe that this is the life millions of people lead. Living in tents, on the side of the "road." Poverty is a difficult concept to comprehend. I sit here with a great deal of anticipation and anxiety for the next 10 days. Excited to begin working on the several projects we've set for ourselves, but scared knowing that I have none of the familiarities of home. I have to rely on my own instincts, my knowledge, and my abilities, none of which have ever been my strong point. It's difficult for me not to internalize too much what I see and the many emotions I feel while I'm here. I know it will once again be an amazing experience.

'Cause The Hardest Part of This Is Leaving You

Brace yourself, I'm about to go into uncharted territories. For those of you who regularly read this blog you know I'm not much for pouring out my heart and being serious. I keep my intimate feelings buried deep, this includes my religious beliefs, and very rarely show that part of myself. For those of you who have never read this, you'll just have to take my word for it.

This semester I am in a New Testament class. We're required to complete assignments on the week's readings. We have our choice of assignments to complete. One of those choices is a blog post so here we are! While I was contemplating the reading this week it coincided with an event that has recently happened in my life and I'm going to try and integrate them as eloquently as possible and just run with it. Try and keep up.

John 1:1-14; 17:1-5

5 Truths about the Pre-mortal Jesus Christ

1. Christ was with God before the foundations of the world were laid.

2. He laid the foundations of our world.

3. He was foreordained to come to Earth to be our Savior.

4. He was the first spirit son in the premortality.

5. He was made flesh and sent to dwell with us.

5 Truths about the mortal existence of Jesus Christ

1. John was sent to testify and bear witness of Jesus Christ.

2. He was rejected by His own.

3. His mission was to bring about the eternal life of man.

4. He gave all glory to God.

5. He testified of God our Father.

Christ is referred to by many names throughout the scriptures. If you look in the bible dictionary there's an entry lists the instances and names by which Christ is referred in the scriptures. Here are a few....

1. Christ: in Greek this means the anointed; Jesus who is called Christ, is the firstborn of the Father in the Spirit, and the only begotten of the Father in the flesh.

2. Messiah: Aramaic meaning the anointed; denotes the king and deliverer whose coming the Jews were eagerly expecting

3. Jehovah: The covenant or proper name of the God of Israel; "unchangeable one," or "the eternal I AM"

4. Immanuel: God with us; sign of God's deliverance

5. The Word: messenger of the Covenant

While reading the above scripture references and contemplating the many names by which our Savior is known one thought continually entered my mind, eternity. Recently a friend of mine passed away after a long battle with testicular cancer. I met Brett at the hospital after he was first diagnosed. Through chemo treatments and hanging out we became friends. I think I was drawn to Brett by the sheer contrast in our personalities. Brett is one of the most optimistic people I have ever met, and those of you who know me well know I barely know the meaning of that word. Through everything his positive attitude and immense sense of humor shown through. He was also one of the most giving and caring people I've ever had the opportunity of knowing. I didn't know Brett for very long and didn't see him a lot in the past year, but I know that he influenced my life in ways I still don't know. It tore my heart a bit when I found out that he was terminal, and a great deal more when I learned of his passing. I've thought about it a lot over the past few weeks. It's difficult to try and wrap your head around the thought of such an amazing, not to mention young, person being taken from this earth. But while I am incredibly sad at the fact that I wasn't able to get to know Brett as much as I would have liked or spent as much time with him as I wanted to, I have comfort in my knowledge of my Savior and his plan. His plan is an eternal one and I have no doubt in my mind where Brett is right now. Even with the heartache that has come with Brett's passing it has reminded me of my testimony of my Savior and His plan. It has reminded me of the strength of my knowledge and reaffirmed those principles I know to be true and hold dear. Even though I hadn't seen Brett in awhile, I still feel the weight of this loss in my heart. But I know it's not the end, I know I'll see him again and that brings immense joy.

Get Some Now

Have you ever beheld the awesomeness that is the Olive Garden's pumpkin cheesecake? It is the best thing you could ever imagine x 100. I don't lie. Find out now.

Full of Love

DENVER.....I love Denver....I love the mountains.....I love the city.....I love the snow! Well, there was not any snow when I was there....but there will be soon! My love of Denver is not what took me there however. What other reason could you possibly have for going to Denver you must be asking yourself. A different kind of love...... I went to Denver to see the love of my life.....this man.....

I went to see him work his magic and make a mockery of that team called the Denver Broncos. This is indeed what he did. I will admit they have struggled this year, but seeing Peyton in action was a treat in itself. It was a fantastic game filled with much anxiety, mostly on my part. But at the end of the day, Peyton again delivered a happy ending :D

This was not the only awesomeness that was to be beheld in the Mile High City. The Denver Art Museum had a special exhibit. It was King Tutankhamun: The Golden King & the Great Pharaohs. It was an exhibit all about King Tut and the Pharaohs of Egypt. It was really spectacular. I loved every minute of it. We saw King Tut's gold sandals! This was my dad's favorite part. I love art museums. I love art.

Once again I must re-iterate...I love Denver...I love Peyton...I love art....this may have to become and ritual.....

You want it, you got it....

I've been accused of not keeping my faithful readers updated on the marvelous and continuous excitement that is my life. I will at this point attempt to rectify this situation.

School....I'm currently in my second semester well on my way to receiving my BSN. This is taking place through the wonderful academic instution known as BYU-Idaho (insert sarcasm here). They never cease to find ways to frustrate me and thwart my progress to achieving this milestone I have set out for. I fail to see how the Doctrine and Covenants class I took in Provo at Brigham Young University differs from the Doctrine and Covenants class offered at their fine institution. What religion are they teaching! Regardless of these setbacks I should be finished in April 2011. Go Carol!

Work....Work is....well....work. Simply put. My job has lately begun to feel like just that....a job. I'm searched within the depths of my consciousness for an answer as to what has changed, why do I feel so complacent, and why do I not enjoy where am I as I once did? It is not nursing, I love nursing, LOVE nursing. And it's not my co-workers, they are magnificent and I do believe they are 95% of why I am still where I am. I also have a very nice schedule, I work days, I only work 3 days and I often have several days off in a row. So what am I feeling? What am I missing? What am I searching for? I have an idea. I want more, I need for challenge, and not challenge in the sense that I get 5 patients all crying that they are experiencing the worse pain they've ever felt throughout the course of their 30+ years, yet the woman down the hall who gave birth to 12 children and now has a fractured vertebrae insists she is comfortable. No, not that kind of challenging. Challenging on my intellect, not my patience. So the search continues......

Social....well my social life consists of three groups....my co-workers....my sister...and those I meed when I go to the grocery store. Quite intriguing I know. This paragraph is short....as is the list of my social companions....

Travel....I have taken a few trips lately. Both to Colorado. The first was to the Grand Junction area to see family. I enjoyed some relaxing time spent with my quiet and reclusive grandparents whom I adore, my younger brother and my nephew who I do not see near enough of. The other was to Denver for a magnificent display of athletic competition. This adventure deserves it's own post and will come shortly, I cross my heart.

To my critics....here it is in all it's glory. News and excitement worthy of people magazine or TMZ....at least it's better than Jersey Shore right ;)