The little girl lurking inside of me

Innocent play, Lewes Beach, DE

Today I realized I can be awfully good at holding grudges against people.  Sometimes I think, when did I turn 5 again??  But thank God there are people in my life who have patience with me during those times.  I'm thankful for my mom and sister even if we have our differences (I didn't forget the whole thankfulness thing! although I've been a slacker).

In other news, it's snowing...again.  Seriously??! I'm ready to wear skirts and tank tops now please.  No mas.

Raw words and wine

Lounging around Rittenhouse Square

I'm thankful for friends who know how to challenge and encourage me. Nothing beats having a much-needed heart-to-heart with a close friend. Unless it's a heart-to-heart over a nice bottle of red wine..ooh and cupcakes!

The NICU diaries

So I spent most of the day in the NICU today finding ways to reduce distractions so nurses make less errors. While desperately trying to stay awake that early in the morning, sipping my coffee and speaking with the nurses, I found out an interesting fact: Pertussis (also known as "whooping cough") has been on the rise especially in neonates this past year. I watched as nurses rushed in and out of a pertussis patient's room as his stats dropped and the patient was bagged to keep him breathing. Mind you, this was also the same room where the past two perfectly healthy full-term babies had died from whooping cough. The mom was emotional during rounds. Doctors admitted options were running out. It was all a bit heartbreaking to watch.

You'd think pertussis vaccinations in the 1940's would have nearly eliminated this disease but unfortuantely, it seems like it's still lurking around. Of course the highest incidents occur in infants less than 6 months but kids over 7 are also contracting this contagious disease as their vaccine wears off. All this made me think of how much we still need to understand in medicine. So with that said, I am thankful for this job because I've gotten so many opportunities and experiences that sure beats learning from a textbook.         

The dream team: introducing.... Batman, the Incredible Hulk, Aquaman, Captain America, Bumblebee and some other grey robot, My coworker and I collect action figures at our cubicles. We are very serious about it.

A Pouty Heart

My elementary school solar system diagram magnified, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Make sure you have people in your life that make you appreciate what you have in life, instead of making you envious of what you don't have. Lately my ungrateful heart has been quite pouty. I'm seeing what I don't have instead of all that I've been given. It is a combination of pride and envy and boy is it ugly. And God don't like ugly (this is actually a bestselling book according to my coworker). It's this funk that I'm in and with the new year, this is not where I wanted to be. Hence this week I plan to post the things that I am thankful for - one-by-one. If I don't, I might transform into a cold-hearted robot. Beep. Beep. Boop.