The Difference Between Here and There: Starving for Hope

Working full time in an America ER again has brought to light a glaring difference from my work in Haiti last year. I was actually surprised at some of the things I've seen in the US that I thought were mainly in the third-world-- this fall, there's been scabies, lice, and even a case of malaria (that patient was from India and had recently moved to the US-- no worries, no outbreak of malaria that I know of in SC! :). I saw a few things in Haiti that surprised me, like type 2 diabetes. But by far the most prominent difference is the number of suicidal patients that I've seen. Haiti= 0. US= 4-5 per ER shift.
In Haiti, I knew several stories of attempted homicide in our small town-- usually from vindictive wives or family feuds. The method of choice tended to be poison from the jilted spouses or machetes for settling family vendettas. But I never saw a patient who was suicidal. Never.
In the US, sadly, I know of several stories in our small town of people who have committed suicide, and I see these patients with their eyes full of despair daily in my line of work. Yet, I do not personally know of anyone who has been murdered. Not one.
What is the difference?
In a country where people struggle daily to eek out a living and provide food for their families, does the very struggle to survive give people in Haiti purpose and hope? Does it give them a will to live? Is it the fact that they have family and loved ones to provide for that urges them to keep living daily? With such high infant mortality rates and low life expectancy, has death become such an accepted part of their life view that they savor their short time on earth while it lasts? Is there a stronger sense of faith and belief that there is more to life than what is seen that makes life worth living?
I don't know, but I wonder. Perhaps those issues are what drive well-fed, well-educated Americans to contemplate suicide.
Do many Americans lack purpose and hope? As we as a society get further away from manual labor to survive (growing our own food because we have to, or our income directly linked to what produce we can see in an outdoor market), I wonder if we tend to feel like our job is less vital, both to society in general and our family in particular. Do we feel less fulfilled in our paper-pushing jobs?
Is lack of strong family ties a factor? Perhaps in our increasingly isolated society, we have lost the strong sense of family (all 9 family members under one roof) that Haitians have. As we log more hours on facebook, twitter, and in front of the TV, have we lost our sense of flesh and blood community and connection?
Have we lost our view of God as a nation? Does the commonly accepted view that when we die we just disappear and cease from our struggles lure people to just end it all?
I dunno. I know that I don't have all the answers or understand all the reasons for homicide or suicide. But I do know that there is Hope. There is Love. There is Purpose and Life.
I believe the God of the universe created all things and has a purpose for each life. He has a Reason for creating each life and placing each one in his unique sphere of influence, both for work and in a family. I think that living in community, with your family and in a local Body of Christ (the church), fills the need for connecting that is in each of us. I believe that there is more to life than this one that we see. There is eternity after the end of this life, and it can be spent in ceaseless union with God through His Son's sacrifice on the cross. And because Jesus Christ rose from the dead and lives today, He is Life and can fill each of our days with Life.
Mother Teresa once said that there is more hunger for love and appreciate in this world than for bread. Please think of those you come across today-- the man who bags your groceries, the lady at your bank, your coworker at the desk next to you-- and consider their need for purpose and appreciation. Would your smile maybe share some hope with them? Could your compliment remind them that they are appreciated? Would it maybe open the door to share the love of Christ with them or lead to opportunities to talk about purpose? Could it maybe make a difference in their lives? Could we collectively decrease the suicide rate in the US?
I saw a lot of hunger in Haiti, and I knew many people who only eat once or twice a day. I think hunger is just as prevalent in the US, only in a much different form. Please consider sharing Love and Hope with the people that you see today; you may not know who is starving today.

Happy Belated Halloween!

We went to a swing dance dressed up as Iron Chef Clemson and The Secret Ingredient- Lobster! Hope that you had a safe and happy day too!

Marriage on a Budget

Hi, friends! David and I have been working on a new website called marriageonabudget.com and we're inviting you to come take a peek! We've realized that some of our ideas for budgeting and dates are a little unusual... okay, maybe even a little weird, but we've had a lot of fun, and wanted to share some of the ideas with you! Every Monday there's a post on money, every Wed. a date idea for the weekend, and Fridays have a fun assortment of ideas for marriage, family, and fun on a budget.
Hope to see you there!

Celebrate!

A friend of mine is reading through the Bible in a year and writing great devo's for parents along the way! While the parenting part does not apply to me, I love reading her stuff and have been super blessed and challenged by her observations. Last week, she wrote about the importance of celebrating your kids at: http://mom365word.blogspot.com/2011/10/genesis-21-23.html


I know she's doing an awesome job celebrating her kiddos, and her mom always did an amazing job of celebrating things in their family. I was over at their house a lot growing up, and some of my favorite memories with them involve funfetti cake to celebrate different life events (like my Feb. birthday in July because I lived abroad that year or cheesecake for getting an A on an exam). 


Well, I read the neatest verses today. God's throwing a party, and you're invited!!! How great is that?!
So I answered, "I'm coming.
      I read in your letter what you wrote about me,
   And I'm coming to the party
      you're throwing for me."
   That's when God's Word entered my life,
      became part of my very being.  
~Psalm 40:7-8, The Message



 I love how by accepting God's invitation to Heaven through His Son Jesus it is what allows God's Word to enter into our lives and become a part of our very being. And through that, Heaven and celebration become fused into our cells. God's joy and hope and parties sink into the core of who we are and flow out of us. He is our Father who celebrates that we are His, both in this life and in the one to come. Isn't it neat that God wants to make us party people? :)  

Our Weekend Project

Here's how we spent our weekend... Putting in laminate flooring in our townhouse (and learning how to do it as we went along!). 


Here's the living room before the Lowes got to it:

Ewww... dirty carpet...
Now you see it, now you don't! The carpet's gone:

On to the vapor barrier...

And a little cleaning up in the middle:

And the finished product-- Ta-Da!

Even the sun came out to see it! And then we got $75 massages that we only paid $30 for (I <3 living social deals!!! :). 


Hope that you had a great weekend too!

InQuickER = scariER

I recently noticed an intriguing button on the side bar of my facebook page. "Need an MD360?" it reads, "Wait at home – save your place online for your visit to XYZ urgent care center."


My interest piqued (and my medical mind horrified), I clicked on the link. It seems that now in some places you can pay a $25 fee and RESERVE your place in the waiting room of a local urgent care center or ER.The system is called InQuicker. When your reserved time comes up, you will be seen within 15 minutes. 


I can see how this would appeal to patients. My future patient's sick with the flu, he knows he'd love to be seen and have someone write him for some cough medicine (and probably a work excuse), and he'd rather wait at home in bed than in a crowded ER waiting room. It's nice that this person isn't spreading their contagious disease as much, but is it really the best system? 


I can totally see the draw for moms with small kids, or people who have trouble getting around, or the elderly who need to arrange for transportation anyways.


But isn't the Emergency Room for Emergencies? And if you have an Emergency, shouldn't you be seen as soon as possible, not just when you think you might be ready to be seen?


Like a patient I know of who had an abdominal aortic aneurysm that ruptured while she was seen in the ER who had a 4 day history of constipation, abdominal pain, and back pain? I'm so glad that she didn't reserve her ER visit time for tomorrow night at 9pm!!


Or what about the young guy with cold symptoms that started in the morning, then progress to confusion, petechiae, and altered mental status by that evening? What if he just thought it was a cold and he'll check in for 7am the next day? That's a meningitis that might get missed. 


Or I could tell you about many elderly patients who just have a "little headache" or a "little pain," and end up with some very serious conditions. It's scary to think about them waiting to be seen.


It's scary to think that you could plan out your emergency. If you're planning something, wouldn't it be good to plan a visit to the family doctor? Aren't appointments what one does to see the primary care doc? ER visits shouldn't be planned out. They're for Emergencies. 


I think InQuicker is a scary solution to shorten ER wait times. I think it has the potential to result in some really bad and scary patient outcomes. There's one more thing to be afraid of this Halloween!

Falling for Fall

I've always disliked fall. Weird, I know. Sad, I know. 


Winters always seemed fun to me. There's Christmas (Jesus' birthday, my favorite holiday!) and my b-day (also fun :). There's that crisp feeling in the air, and a good night's sleep as your nose is a lil chilly peeking out of the covers but the rest of you is snuggly warm under them. There's cozy clothes and cups of tea and white hot chocolate. And there's snowboarding and ice skating and... SNOW (if you don't live in the South :).


Then there's spring... with warmth and the scent of flowers dancing in the wind. There's warmer days and more sunshine. There are budding trees and kite-flying days. There are lazy afternoons where you can sprawl out on a porch swing and read for hours. There's the bittersweet contemplation of our Savior's sacrifice and the joyous celebration of His resurrection on Easter. 


Then summer comes! When I was in school, summers were the best part of the year! It meant freedom, and playing, and hanging out at the pool. Now it comes with frappacino's and sundresses and high heeled sandals. There's berry picking and pie-baking. It's all around delicious.


Then comes fall. When I was still in school, this time of year marched in accompanied with a huge blanket of dread. There were tests and assignments and demands. The leaves fall off the trees leaving them barren and spike-y. 


But with each passing year that I've been out of school, I fall a little more for FALL. There's pumpkin spice lattes and yummy pumpkin treats. There are funny fall festivals (the Pumpkintown Festival in Pumpkintown, SC, is a classic one!) and crazy corn mazes. God paints the trees glorious colors.


What's your favorite part of fall? I'm looking for more ways to fall for fall this year!