Attempting Ambition

This blog is dedicated to one of my best friends, Maggie Edwards. I hope you can find a good story to tell with that scar I left you - haha!  Scars are areas of fibrous tissue that replace normal skin after injury. A scar results from the biological process of wound repair in the skin and other tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a natural part of the healing process. With the exception of very minor lesions, every wound (e.g. after an accident, disease, or surgery) results in some degree of scarring. What do these areas of fibrous tissue say? After recently attending a drunken float trip and launching a sharp rock (accidentally) at my friend’s eye, I began to think about scars. The pathophysiology behind them is basic enough. You slice up your skin in some way and your body repairs it, but it never looks quite the same. I started to look at my own scars. Being a tomboy during my childhood, with some of those traits being carried with me into adulthood, I have plenty of st

It has been one month since I have returned from Kenya. I just finished the last of my chocolate from a layover in Switzerland and all of my mosquito bites have finally cleared up. I have had a negative tuberculosis test and no symptoms of malaria. The only thing that lingers, is a permanent place in my heart for the experience I endured. A permanent place for that humbling, heart-wrenching, incredible journey. The first week after I came back, I had no desire to speak about the trip. I didn't want to show photos, I hardly wanted to smile. I was in a very dark place of guilt, sadness and anger. I wanted nothing to do with my family and if Ben hadn't been so understanding, I think that my demeanor could have been grounds for divorce (haha). That first week, I cried nearly every day over nothing significant. I became enraged after Ben watered the flowers, flowers with no fruit or vegetables, no purpose. Flowers that drank more clean water in that ten seconds than a Kenyan chil

Your name is Liz! I fathomed even having the energy or emotional capacity to write this post. I still do not believe words will do this experience justice. Today was the first clinic day in the Slums of Niarobi,  Kenya. Baba Dogo to be specific. This isn't the worst slum, in fact, it is actually a hell of a lot nicer than the others we will be seeing, as I'm told. We loaded up the vans with our medical supplies, got on our high American horses and road in like knights in shining armor. It is true, we help these people a great deal to the extent our supplies allow, but their lives would go on despite us not being there today. One fungal infection would have continued to be an annoying itch, one skin ulcer would cause a young HIV mother pain for another day, and one case of Malaria would go untreated. By no means am I saying that we didn't do good things today. Hell, we busted our asses, stepped out of our comfort zones and treated the poor, undernourished, & uncl

Most of my blogs are written with the intent to inspire...over the next two weeks I can't promise I will have the energy to wrap it all up in a nice to-the-point blog that has deep meaning brought out by my experience in Kenya. For the next two weeks you will be looking for the meaning and I will simply be keeping you all updated. We arrived in Kenya Monday 4/29. You could feel the rich African culture the moment you stepped off the plane. Driving to our hostel was an experience as well, so many people walking to work, selling newspapers in the middle of the highway, women with baskets carried on their heads. We then began to unpack our luggage and get settled. We met the people we will be working with and then began sorting and organizing our medical supplies for our clinics. The atmosphere while sorting through the supplies had an energy that I have never felt before. Future nurses and doctors collaborating on the best possible organization techniques to sustain six, 10-12hr

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world."- Mister Rogers With the recent bombing in Boston, and my pending trip to Kenya, I felt this post was fitting.  These helpers are not fearless. The fear is pushed aside as their strength and compassion for human life break through. You will find these selfless citizens running directly into disaster, instead of away. They are the helpers that Mr. Roger's mother was speaking about.   The people of Boston went through an unimaginable tragedy that will not soon be forgotten. The fear in the runners and spectators was fierce, I'm sure. Three dead and more than 170 injured. " Patrick and Jessica Downes were married

Sometimes when I am feeling like I need to write, for whatever reason, I think of things that can impact others. This post is slightly different. Recently I read an article about "writing to yourself, for yourself". The idea is that writing to a younger version (you pick the age, usually young teen years) of yourself can stimulate a sense of understanding and control in ones life. Here it goes. Dear 13 year old  Liz, I am 22 and I am you. Yes, you make it through this awkward stage of being severely taller than EVERYONE in your class. That awful bang trim you gave yourself does grow back. You also never really learn to whistle or cook.   Here are some points you should understand well. On education: This is something that is currently the most important thing to me (older you). Currently you are going to school because you are required to. You do enjoy learning-even if waking up in the morning is tough sometimes. Your thirst for knowledge doesn't go away. You wil