Guatemala Revisited....If Only

So, this time last year I would be sitting in a circle with about 30 other students, professors and community professionals all interested in social justice, humanitarian work abroad and changing the way we view the world and the people in it, in a gated compound in Zacapa, Guatemala talking, playing cards, swatting away vicious mosquitos and reminiscing about the day we just had going into the city to see a pediatric nutrition center and the city dump.

At the dump where we handed out food to people that lived in the dump

About an hour ago, this time last year those same 30 people and I were probably all wiping the tears from our faces after handing out rice water and bread to the people that had been forced to move from their villages and relocate to the city's dump to live.

Kids at the nutrition center playing with latex gloves used at the medical clinics

About this time 2 years ago, I was leaning on the shoulder of the man who is now my fiance during a similar meeting described above. On this day 2 years ago, a not-so-different group of like-minded students and professors started the week long service endeavor with the traditional Sunday excursion to a nutrition clinic where we were introduced to Adiel. Adiel was a 13 year old boy who weight 22 lbs at the time we saw him. He was confined to a bed because he didn't have the strength to lift his weight against gravity. It was 2 years ago today that Stephen, my fiance, followed me, alone, onto the bomberos bus to talk with me, cry with me and be a shoulder to lean on, a friend to sit with and someone to eventually fall in love with (Refer to the tab "Crazy in Love" and "How we Met").

Adiel; 13 years old and 22 lbs

The thing is, I've been a part of the annual university trip to Guatemala for the past 2 spring breaks. It's all I've really known and part of what I would call a turning point in my life. And well, tomorrow officially starts my spring break and I'm sitting at home in my bed, in my huge room, in my comfortable house, typing on a laptop, drinking purified water and realizing how weird it is to know that several of my friends and favorite people are all in Guatemala right now, in a big circle crying with each other and holding each other after experiencing "la basura" and the nutrition center.

Stephen and one of the boys.. oh they loved the big "gringos"

It feels surreal to be on the "outside" this year, to not be with them, to be sitting at home and knowing that they are there and I am here...

A Day at the Capital... and the Dentist

Yesterday was the state's advocacy day for physical therapists. So being a physical therapy student with with lots of involved professors, we took the day off from classes and headed down to Frankfort for the afternoon. Our goals were to make a presence (we had students from Bellarmine, University of Kentucky and PTA students from Somerset as well as practicing physical therapists). We wanted to talk to our personal legislators and enlighten them on what physical therapy is and the value in our practice act as well as the importance of allowing physical therapists to have practicing autonomy.

The capitol, however, yesterday it was rather dreary, cold and snowy!

In Kentucky, we do have direct access, meaning a patient can bypass their doctor and come directly to a physical therapist and be evaluated and treated-sounds great right!? Not so much-while technically this can happen, unless the patient is loaded and capable of paying for the intervention, they're out of luck because insurance won't cover direct access treatments.

Classmates working hard to represent physical therapy in the capital building.

Also there are several health care providers billing for physical therapy when in fact a physical therapist is not performing the services. Athletic trainers and chiropractors are among those repeatedly billing for physical therapy despite the fact they are not physical therapists. So our goal in Frankfort was to get the legislators on our side and let them know that we are a force, we are a profession with a practice act and with unique knowledge and skills that can benefit the community.

On a side note, while eating a Sierra Turkey sandwich at Panera prior to getting to the capitol, one of my bridges became dislodged :( Soooo sad. So I didn't get to spend nearly as much time at the capitol as I would have liked and way too much time at the dentist. But it's all good now, so I'm happy bout that and really proud of my classmates who made an impact at the capitol.

Something Blue...

So one of the unofficial themes of the wedding is "something blue." We're getting married in October so I've fought with myself over the color scheme for months! When I think of a fall wedding I immediately think of those traditional fall colors: burnt oranges, browns, deep reds, etc... While those colors are beautiful and part of the reason the autumn landscape is my favorite, those are just not my favorite colors. Stephen and I constantly playfully argue over future bedding choices and home decor because he loves warm colors, the rich reds and browns (which is ironic considering how much he sweats and hates the heat), whereas I on the otherhand, love, love, love, blues and greens and browns. So while I entertained the idea of a traditional "fall" wedding I ultimately decided to go with my gut and incorporate mostly blues, browns and some green in the decor. I went ahead and made an inspiration board to see what my theme would look like. I must say, I'm pretty pleased with it!