New Beginnings

I promise a post about my incredible adventure in Ecuador is coming soon. I need about a week of solitude to process my thoughts and figure out how to articulate them in a way that does it justice. It's hard to capture such deep and rich emotions into something as tangible as words, but I'll do my best. Stay tuned...

In other news, today was my first day of peds oncology at Children's Hospital. I loved it! Oncology is something I've always been interested in, but I never thought I'd want to work with kids in a nursing setting. I absolutely love kids but there is something terrifying about being responsible for their health. Anyways, I'm on the hem/onc floor in one of the most beautiful hospitals I've ever seen. Having spent some time there with a friend this summer, it was cool to return as a quasi employee and see it from a different light. I had a variety of patients today, got to hold an adorable bubbly baby, and had the opportunity to witness many manifestations of resilience from some incredible kids. Most notably was an 18 year old girl, her head shiny and bare from numerous chemo treatments and her mood less than thrilled to be back in the hospital after a relapse. She was in a double room, sharing with a baby also undergoing treatment. The parents of the baby stepped out for lunch and the baby was sobbing, so the girl wheeled her IV pole over to the baby and picked him up. I walked in to see her cradling the child, telling him how beautiful he was and how strong he was, encouraging him to stay fierce and that he'd survive. The image of these two beautiful children and the encouragement and comfort each provided to each other was something absolutely powerful to witness. It hit me pretty hard and I slowly retreated out of the room, recognizing the power of that moment and not wanting to interrupt. I left the day encouraged and excited for the possibilities that will come from this quarter! It will be a challenge, for sure, but an experience I'm looking forward to.

Again, stay tuned for an Ecua-update,
R-