news
Here in America, if you're watching TV, you're likely watching the "Help For Haiti Now" telethon which is on just about every channel.
CMT News:
Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief has announced the addition of new musical artists and celebrity participants to its lineup -- with Beyoncé in London, Madonna in New York City, and Haitian artist Emeline Michel in Los Angeles.
The telethon will air Friday (Jan. 22) at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Madonna, Beyoncé and Michel join the previously announced lineup: Wyclef Jean, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira and Sting (in New York City), Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, and a group performance by Keith Urban, Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow (in Los Angeles) and Coldplay and a group performance by Bono, the Edge, Jay-Z and Rihanna in London.
In addition to the musical performances, Wyclef Jean, George Clooney and CNN's Anderson Cooper will be joined by former President Bill Clinton, Ben Stiller, Brad Pitt, Chris Rock, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jon Stewart, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Nicole Kidman, Robert Pattinson, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hanks, Will Smith with Muhammad Ali and more than 100 of the biggest names in film, television and music.
Music performances from Hope for Haiti Now will be available for purchase and download at the iTunes Store. Beginning on Friday (Jan. 22), iTunes customers will be able to exclusively preorder both the Hope for Haiti Now full performance album ($7.99) and the full two-hour video telecast ($2.99). Preorders will be delivered in the days following the telethon. Individual audio performances will also be available for purchase and download for 99 cents each in the days following the telethon. Apple, the record labels and the artists will donate their share of the proceeds to Haiti relief funds managed by Hope for Haiti Now charities.
Hope for Haiti Now performances will also be available for purchase on AmazonMP3 and Rhapsody, with distribution provided by INgrooves. Proceeds from those purchases will also benefit Haiti relief funds managed by Hope for Haiti Now charities.
Hope for Haiti Now will benefit Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme, Yele Haiti Foundation, and the newly-formed Clinton Bush Haiti Foundation. Proceeds from Hope for Haiti Now will be split among each organization's individual funds for Haiti earthquake relief. With the exception of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, each partner organization was selected for its history of operation and collaboration within the NGO community in Haiti.
Hope for Haiti Now will air across ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, CMT, PBS, TNT, Showtime, COMEDY CENTRAL, Bravo, E! Entertainment, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, G4, CENTRIC, Current TV, Fuse, MLB Network, EPIX, Palladia, SoapNet, Style, Discovery Health, Planet Green, CNN en Español, HBO Latino, and Canadian networks including CBC Television, CTV, Global Television and MuchMusic.
In addition, the event will be live streamed online globally across sites including YouTube, Hulu, MySpace, Fancast, AOL, MSN.com, Yahoo, Bing.com, BET.com, CNN.com, CMT.com, MTV.com, VH1.com and Rhapsody and on mobile via Alltel, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and FloTV. Hope for Haiti Now will also air internationally on BET International, CNN International, National Geographic and MTV Networks International, which is available in 640 million homes worldwide. Hope for Haiti Now will be available non-exclusively to all terrestrial radio stations around the globe and Sirius XM Radio as a one-time-only radio broadcast via the MTV Radio Network and Westwood One.
Hope for Haiti Now will begin accepting donations Friday (Jan. 22) at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT via the following methods: Online: http://www.hopeforhaitinow.org Phone: (877) 99-HAITI Text: Text "GIVE" to 50555 Mail: Hope for Haiti Now Fund, Entertainment Industry Foundation, 1201 West 5th Street, Suite T-700, Los Angeles, CA 90017
You've all read the news, seen the photos, viewed the footage on the evening news. Haunting, absolutely devastatingly haunting. Read these journals by Dr. Mark Hyman for the Huffington Post if you want a raw, true account. Unbelievable, isn't it?
All the photos, the videos, they can be heavy, but then again, we know our God is touching these people in amazing ways. Unfortunately, some of us are apathetic - it's easy to ignore a disaster that hit miles and miles away - and others don't believe in hope for one reason or another, but beneath the dead bodies, orphaned children, and moonlight tears, there is this:
h o p e
Barely past a week ago, a small country woke up. The people began their daily routines. Perhaps like you and I did this morning? They went about their days. Most were in poverty, but they tried to make ends meet. Little did they know what the next few hours held for them: an earthquake, striking their entire country into ultimate devastation.
Who says that couldn't have happend to us? We wake up every day expecting a normal day. Unfortunately, disaster can, and does, strike. These beautiful people could have been us. They could have been you, me, our parents, friends, coworkers...
Let these images from LIFE speak for themselves. Click to see the image bigger so you can see every bit of desperation, charity, teamwork, hope, and defeat. (Yes, there are graphic images, but challenge yourself to come out of your comfort zone and really see what these people are going through.)
I know how so many of us feel hopeless when we see the magnitude of such a disaster, so many miles away. We're here, they're there. We can't bring water, help build housing, or carry orphans to orphanages in the US. We can't even hold them while they cry, wipe away their tears.
These global catastrophes really make my problems seem so small. My heart reaches out to these people, and below I'll list some ways I'm helping. I'd love it if you'd join me! We call can give up that cup of coffee or extra cute shoes. :) The best part? Everyone can help. A simple prayer could make a difference or save a life. If you want to donate money, it doesn't have to be a lot! Read this piece by Suze Ornman - Even your spare change can inspire someone else to give, to help these poor devastated people. A very good place to donate your money is Compassion International. They're a Christian group that connects me with my "adopted" (sponsored) daughter in Nicaragua. Millions of people, through Compassion, sponsor needy children in the most desolate areas. I've been with them for nearly a year, and this group is high up on those lists that rank how much of your money actually goes to charity (as in, not the CEO's bank account). Many of the sponsors had children in Haiti, so this is extra devastating to all of us. Some sponsors are without the children they've helped raise through donations that provided learning, clean food/water, safety, etc. Very sad.
Another site I'm really looking at is Hope for Haiti. It's a site where one woman's great idea turned into earning thousands of dollars for Haiti. Each post has something from a sponsor company (jewelry, gift certificate to their store, cosmetics, blog redesign, experiences, you name it) and each item has a raffle. Buy as many "raffle tickets" as you'd like, and you might win the item you want! All items are donated, and all profits go to Haiti. Who said one person couldn't change the world?
Please do something. Do many things, or do one thing. Say a prayer, or pray every day. Everything counts for these precious people. This could have happened to anyone...
It was bittersweet last week when I picked up the newspaper last week and saw this on the cover.
The dedicated, passionate doctor who saved my life is retiring, and for that, the world will suffer a great loss. However, it will also be a better place because of all he did during his practicing years through the children who live on because of his touch, the doctors and nurses who were honored to learn under his inspiration.
I only saw Dr. Stone once, but he still saved my life. In the most literal sense.
When, at barely 5 1/2,I was the medical mystery of the month, presenting with a myriad of serious and perplexing symptoms, it was Dr. Stone who made milestones in my case. He was the one who had the bravery to test a once-vivacious little girl for leukemia, the keen skills to relate her symptoms and test results to liver disease, and the wisdom to refer her family up to Cleveland.
He had the boldness to scold my father for asking if what I had was cancer right in front of his already-petrified, extraordinarily-alert daughter. He had the patience to help our family through the time, to bridge us to the next "step."
Looking back, I remember being in his office, scared out of my mind. I remember he and my parents telling me I was going to have to stay in the hospital right then, as in, Yes, kid, you just came here for a doctor visit, but we were just kidding. You're not going home! I remember having no idea what was going on, wondering why I was being poked and prodded and stuck in a cold, dreary room with Sesame Street (a "baby show") playing on the TV. I wondered why in the world this guy was doing all of this to me, oblivious that he was really doing the best for me.
Dr. Stone may not be associated with my happiest memories - far from it, in fact - but he is associated with my mental list of great doctors who truly care on all levels and won't take "unknown diagnosis" for an answer.
He truly loved his patients.
He saw the futures many other doctors would not have ever dreamed possible for us.
Pediatrician hangs up lab coat
Local doctor retires after 42 years of practice, leaves legacy of ‘unparalleled’ care
By Cheryl Powell, Beacon Journal medical writer; Published on Tuesday, May 26, 2009
No one ever calls Joe Ritz ''Joey.''
No one, that is, except Dr. Robert Stone.
Just as he does for many of his patients, Stone came up with a special nickname that only he uses for the 18-year-old Tallmadge resident who was born with a rare liver disorder.
Many times, Stone showed up unexpectedly at Akron Children's Hospital on his days off to check on Ritz. And on more than one occasion, he met Ritz in the emergency room or in the labs to check on his patient.
''He makes you feel special,'' Ritz said. ''He makes it real easy to talk to him. It's like talking to a grandfather more than a doctor. He makes the big hospital words seem like small kids' words.''
After 42 years and many nicknames, Stone, 72, recently retired from patient care at Pediatrics in Akron.
The Akron native is continuing his administrative role at Akron Children's, where he serves as associate chair for Community Affairs and as a member of the board of trustees and several committees.
But fellow doctors, hospital leaders, patients and their parents say Stone leaves behind a legacy of caring for children and their families with a level of personal dedication that's hard to match.
''His service and his leadership to Children's, quite honestly, in my mind, is unparalleled,'' said William Considine, president and chief executive of Akron Children's. ''We're a better place because of him, I can tell you that.
''You can't go to a grocery store, a drug store and even in the community without running into some family that has been cared for by Bob Stone.''
Special care
Many of the tens of thousands of children and families treated by Dr. Robert T. ''Bob'' Stone over the past four decades grew to see the highly regarded pediatrician as their friend.
Judi Carman of Green relied on Stone to help her care for five special-needs children adopted by her and her husband, Jeff.
Katie, or ''Katie Cakes,'' as Stone called her, was born with a rare genetic condition as well as serious medical problems caused by her birth mother's crack use.
The girl died when she was 4 1/2.
Carman's other adopted children, ranging in age from 24 to 11, have a host of severe medical and psychological problems.
Whenever she had a child in the hospital and needed to leave at night to care for her other children, Stone would call her first thing the next morning with a report.
''He always took those few minutes to update me and keep me posted and make me feel included in the care and also relaxed about what was happening that day,'' she said. ''His devotion to children and their medical care and their family just goes unsurpassed. You're working with a family, and he never forgets that.''
Confronting death
General pediatricians normally deal with birth and life, not death and dying.
Stone, however, opted to specialize in gastroenterology and cystic fibrosis at a time when the average survival for children with the incurable genetic disease was less than 10 years. (Today, the average life expectancy is closer to 40.)
During his first year of residency at Akron Children's, Stone came to appreciate the role of doctors in helping young patients and their families face life-threatening conditions and death.
That year, he helped take care of a girl who died from complications caused by lupus.
''I learned a lot from that, because it wasn't only dealing with her, it was helping a family struggle with what is every parent's worst nightmare,'' he said.
Stone said he always tried to approach his patients and their families with empathy, not sympathy.
''Whatever time you get, you'd like to make it as meaningful as possible for that child, that person, and that family,'' Stone said. ''You become a part of the extended family. You really do. You get involved.''
Coping with stress
Rochelle Stone, his wife of almost 50 years, said he did a good job of not bringing the stress of his work home with him.
''The joy of pediatric practice is to see kids grow and thrive and become adults and live a nice fruitful life,'' she said. ''If you're dealing with a chronic illness segment, you help a family deal with what they're going to have to deal with. It takes a person with great insight and understanding and sensitivity. While you help the family deal with it, you can't paint a rosy picture and not talk about what the reality is. That's a real gift that Bob does have.''
Over the years, she said, he would get ''down in the dumper'' at times when a patient wasn't doing as well as he had hoped.
''He would never say who the family was, but over a situation that went poorly,'' said Rochelle Stone, the past president of the Akron Children's Hospital Women's Board. ''If there was a patient of his who was a social friend of ours, I was always the last one who would know if their child was in the hospital. He was always careful about that. I think it was a way of keeping family life separate from office life, too. It was a way for him to be able to walk away from those tense situations than to have to live it over and over.''
Stone served as director of the hospital's cystic fibrosis clinic from 1972 until 1998, when he woke up in the middle of the night and thought: ''You know what? Thirty years of death and dying is enough.''
By that time, however, the lives of his patients were decades longer than when he started practice.
He'd moved from attending preschool graduations of patients who wouldn't live into their teens to attending high school graduations, college graduations and weddings.
''You start with something that's so grim and now it's upbeat,'' he said.
During his tenure, Stone was instrumental in bringing adult services to the cystic fibrosis clinic for patients who increasingly were surviving into their adulthood, said Dr. Gregory Omlor, director of the pulmonary division at Akron Children's.
He showed the same level of dedication to all his patients, Omlor said.
''He would be available to them at all hours of the day,'' Omlor said. ''He would come in on Sundays and see the patients. If there was a procedure that needed to be done and nobody else would do it, he would take the time to learn how to do the procedure so his patients could get the needed care.''
To honor his work, Stone's brother and sister-in-law, Don and Marcia, donated $300,000 in 1997 to the hospital's outpatient respiratory center, which now bears his name.
''It's really a nice legacy,'' he said.
'New chapter'
Stone admitted it wasn't easy to leave patient care behind.
''I obviously had mixed emotions about it,'' he said. ''My basic project over the last couple years was to help transition my patients.''
His wife said much like a veteran athlete, Stone ''decided to cut back from seeing patients at a time when he was still at the top of his game and before anyone asked him to step down.
''We're at a point now where we'd like to do more traveling and have less restrictions on our daily activities,'' she said.
Thankfully, his wife added with a laugh, he opted to retire when the weather was turning warmer and the golf courses were beckoning.
''It's a new chapter,'' Stone said. ''That's the way I'm looking at it.''
I've had jobs before, but this is different. This is the first time I'm actually being paid to act upon my nursing skills that after three full years of nursing school are definitely starting to accumulate. I figured now's a good time.... I start my 4th year in August (out of 5 total... yes I'm one of those who will be in nursing school forevvverrr!!) so I figured summer would be a good time to get a job underway. I'll try to sum it up.... :)
Last week: orientation week. So for three days only, I made a relatively large amount of money to sit on my butt from 7:45-4:30 daily to hear ramblings on OSCA, HIPAA, JCHAO, patient satisfaction, oh and yes - my favorite of the week - electrical safety! ;-) And Wednesday was nursing skills review. Fun. Nothing we didn't learn already in school, but hey, we did get free donuts too, so shall I complain? I think not. ;-)
So, I've kind of been lacking in the blog department lately, especially about all this fun job stuff, so let's back up to about a year ago...
The job recruiter at one of the local hospitals came to my school and I begged her for a job as a student nurse tech. (Not because I needed the money, simply because I'm way overly ambitious and love nursing! You knew that, silly!) She said as soon as my first clinicals were done, call her and she'd hire me. So I did. A few months ago.
Meanwhile, I was interviewing and shadowing at the local children's-only hospital. (Remember my post Angels Fighters + Miracles ? It's all in there) Long story short, I was going to work in the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) there, and on the day I shadowed, we had a rough day with three deaths including one little boy who started out at school, collapsed on the playground, made for a huge trauma scene in the PICU, and eventually, his little heart just couldn't go any longer. I thought I would be okay, but as the days went by, I realized that working on that kind of floor would just bring back too many memories of my childhood in that very same hospital. Either my scars aren't done healing, or they'll never be done healing - that's not the point. But for now, I have to be completely honest with myself and I know that accepting a position on that kind of floor would be extremely unwise on my part, just asking for cruel, emotional torment. So, thankfully, my interview at the original hospital with the recruiter I met at school went extremely well, I ended up interviewing for a couple floors, and to make a long story short, I'm now employed.
So what is a student nurse tech, you ask? Well, we are in the main "Nursing Department" and basically we can do most of what the RNs do except for meds, etc. - things that require the RN state licensure. There's definite rules on what we can/can't do, but once the nurses on the floor get to know us, they'll let us do just about anything. (One of my friends practices IV insertions on the RNs every night if the patients are sleeping and everything's under control, ha!) We get paid way more than the majority of other college students, I can assure you that, and we are actually getting experience that is directly related to our future careers. And guess what else? WE choose our own hours so it's conducive to our schooling, AND they pay us shift differential for anything after 2:30pm (until like 6 or 7am or something). But that's when we have class/clinical (usually) anyways, so they pay us extra to work when they know we'll most likely work anyways? Umm.... So why does it seem so great? Well, because of the nursing shortage, the hospital likes to sugar it up so when we graduate, they can say, "Remember all those free pens and water bottles we gave you? Oh yeah, and we paid you real nice? We let you pick all your own hours? Remember us? We like you. We gave you free parking. Come work here." All the hospitals do it now... how not-obvious of them.
But hey, I get an excuse to get cute, comfy scrubs - that aren't my school's white, starchy, embroidered uniform scrubs! - so do I care?? Nope. And I'm seriously making statements in my scrubs. No scary patterns here. I have the boot cut pants and the cute little tops in all my fave colors and prints that might even pass as "real clothes"... cute necklines, cute ties, some have eyelets and gathers and all kinds of stuff. Nope, nothing scary and cartoony here! If you ever end up at my hospital (and wouldn't you like to know - I'm not telling! HIPAA might come get me!) you def' can't miss me. I'm the most styling one around. Seriously.
So I spent the entire previous week filling out paperwork, doing random stuff and getting drug-screened and a physical at Employee Health, getting security checked and ID-badged at security, getting my free (yay!) parking pass..... And last week was two orientation lecture days plus a nursing orientation day.
I'm really excited to start working on the floor. It's a brand new neuro floor - just remodeled and we have all new staff, new director, new everything. And the nurse manager (the director) and I hit it off. When I came to meet with her over a month ago (the floor wasn't even open yet), she knew my name and told me how excited she was to finally meet me. She said she had looked through my portfolio and already knew she wanted to hire me. In fact, she went so far as to actually tell me she wanted to clone me. (Weird?) We didn't really talk about anything interview-ish, we immediately went into our hopes and dreams for the floor and the field and where both of us have been and would like to be. Our passions are very similar, and I know she was really impressed when I started sharing what I read in a journal article with her and she pulled that same article off of a pile on her desk. She pretty much told me it's her floor and she is making sure I am on it, and I love her energy and determination. I can tell she's one of those people who gets things done, and I am sure she's not afraid of trying new things, so I'm really excited to work with her. Before I left, she politely asked if she could ask me one little favor. Of course I didn't mind, so I told her of course, and she proceeded to ask if she could make a copy of a page from my nursing portfolio to hand out to every person she hires for the new floor. I had no idea why she'd want to do that, but then she showed me the page, and in my heart, I think I new why.
Basically, last semester we had to write Clinical Journal Entries for school, and my first entry of the semester inspired me to take out all the annoying school parts like "three specific semester goals" and other distracting parts for the assignment, just prune it down to an honest, open Why-I'm-In-Nursing piece. Click to see my post that includes last semester's Clinical Journal Entry #1 and the portfolio version is pretty much that, minus the first paragraph as well as the last 2-3 paragraphs. But back to this... sure enough, almo st two months later, Director was so excited to give every single employee on her floor a copy of that. What an honor. I hope it encourages someone to be a better nurse.
So with that, I begin my real floor nursing today - I have to shadow for 2 8hr shifts and then I'm on my own on my own floor. Normally I'd just be on my floor from the start, but since it's new, they're still acclimating the unit to patient use. So much going on that I'm way excited to share, but getting this post up in itself is an accomplishment (snaps for me!) so with that, I hope everyone is off to a great week! :)
Alltop is one of the best blog aggregation sites - they search the net to find "all the top" stuff around the net and compile it in one place, categorizing everything on different themed pages, each dedicated to different topics (think news, weddings, crafts, France, PHP, autos, seriously - they have it all!) Well, my news is... I'm now featured on Alltop's Twenty-Something's page!! It's kind of a big deal. And I'm honored.
Thanks Alltop. Welcome new friends. And preexisting friends? Go show Alltop some love. :) And have a FANTABULOUS 4th of July!!
NuRsiNg
Wow! What a week! It's been just beyond crazy over here. Most of the weekend, I worked on school projects that are coming due in the next month or so. Monday, our professor from Assessment was our "guest lecturer" and it was great. It was the pain/comfort lecture, and since she has a strong history in critical care, she was perfect. Sure beats that other grad student they've been sticking in there. For once this semester, we actually learned something in lecture. We *heart* Mrs. Yoost!!
And today is Wednesday, so that makes yesterday Tuesday, which is lab day, and no shocker here, we once again had a little too much fun. This week, we played GI Jeopardy. Mrs. Fox loves making us play games, so she totally got all into it. We even had the theme song music playing for Final Jeopardy. Nothing like a little game show action to go with intestines, stomas, and enemas! Next week is oxygen, and the following week is urine elimination. Then, it's our last week of lab already (well, before finals at least), and it's our big Care of the Dying Client lecture. That's always a tough subject. I think people would be amazed at how much there is to death.
gOoD sTuFf
I'm in NSCS (National Society of Collegiate Scholars), and we made the school paper for our book drive. I think it's kind of exciting. :) You can read it here. My mom and I literally filled my entire trunk full of books and donated them. It felt so good to be doing something to help out those less fortunate. Mom cleaned out Dad's office, so we found tons of books in there, and then we finally got rid of the A Beka books for the two years Nikki and I were homeschooled. Finally. Ha!
sCraPbOoKinG
Last night, Mom and I decided we'd go out for like an hour to dine at Bob Evans (mmm, soup!) and make a stop at Home Depot, but one thing led to another, and before I knew it, we were shopping. I read this really cool idea online of binding scrapbooking idea books so they can lay flat, and I have to say I think I'm going to do this a lot more often. My fiance has a big cutting machine at his work that can cut off the binding of a thick softcover idea book, and then I took the pages to Office Max and had them spiral bound for a few bucks. Definitely not bad... Look at these!
And in other scrapbooking news, check out Lisa Bearnon's Kit of the Month. I'm usually not totally into these, but this month's was seriously too cute to pass up. Overpriced... maybe.... but definitely too cute. Can't wait to play with all these goodies!
iDoL nEwS
Who is going home?? Dial Idol is predicting Ramiele, but it's pretty close. I'm still on Team Brooke, but last night, she definitely could have done better than she did. :(
tOdAy
Today has just been nuts. First of all, we're getting all the hardwood floors redone, and the whole downstairs is just a mess. They've sanded for 2 or 3 days now, and I guess they have to do all kinds of finishing. Which means we have to move out. Seriously...... is that not ridiculous?! I'm going to stay at my mom's best friend's house with Hayles, and Mom and Nikki are taking Ri up to my grandparents' condo since they're in Florida right now. Dad's still in Africa, so I guess that's one less family member who gets to move for a few days...
I got this random email from Emily at Boutique Cafe and apparently I won some kind of contest? They posted about these cute little first aid kits for kids, and as a nurse, I couldn't help but post and let them know how cute they were, and I guess my post won me two free kits! I'll definitely be keeping them in my car for when I have the boys and they get themselves into trouble.... which sometimes seems to be often. ;-)
Videochatting on iChat with my dearest fiance!! Gotta love Macs.... Look at this... Awww... Come home from Africa soon!!!!
Clinicals - that post is coming. Bet you'll never guess what I did today!!! ;-)
Tonight - my cousin is here... we're finishing up Evan Almighty (which is actually a lot better than I thought it would be!), then Idol in a few minutes. Duh.... Oh yes, and with pizza. And Cherry Coke. Yep, that's a must.
