If I weren't going to be a pediatrician..

I would absolutely work in geriatrics! Here is an example why I also love old people. Other than their extreme cuteness...

82-year-old Miss America pulls gun on thieves

Basically, there were some guys scrapping her metal on her property, and she shot out their tire so that they couldn't leave until the police came. She was just on Jay Leno too, and she was just hilarious. Plus, the elderly have such amazing stories to tell. And they are cute. And apparently they kick butt when they are packin'.

Its so hard..... to say goodbye.....

Tonight was what will probably the last time my friends Chris and Aubrey and I ever go out to sushi together, at Kyoto, for a very long time. Friday night sushi is a tradition we started freshman year. Every Friday, (well pretty much every Friday, sometimes I went home, things were going on, etc.) we went to Northgate to the sushi place. We lived on northside so it was super convenient to get to, and it was a nice break from Sbisa. What started out as just us three, has grown to be a huge event, involving lots of planning and calling to make a time fit for everyone. But now today, we were back to the original three. I started school with these two, and it is so hard to see myself leaving them. Chris is going onto another job, Aubrey will stay at A&M, and I will be going off to Houston. I've really tried to not think about it because it is very hard for me to imagine leaving them. I'm incredibly excited to go to medical school, can't wait to get to Houston, but it is so sad to see us all going our separate ways. It didn't help that at the professional school dinner tonight, the speaker talked about how even though we are all going our separate ways to do big and great things, we shouldn't forget A&M and the amazing people that have helped us get where we are.

I won't. I will never forget my time at A&M. I loved my friends in high school, but I never liked high school. I LOVE TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY!!!!!! And I love my new college friends. I graduate in exactly two weeks. Then I'm done. I'm no longer an undergraduate. There are so many deep, powerful thoughts that I have that just won't come out on paper (errr..the screen). I wish I was better at expressing my feelings, but mostly this is for me I guess. If I could give any college advice, it would be to go somewhere you will love to be. You'll grow so much, learn so much, and have more fun than you'll ever imagine, all while still being a kid. Don't get caught up in the pre-med hype. Do what you love and it will all work out. It always does. So here's a sappy Aggie poem. I love it. It is outside the bonfire memorial here, and it really means a lot to me. Even though I won't be at A&M anymore, I will carry the Aggie spirit with me every day.

The Last Corps Trip

It was Judgment Day in Aggieland
And tenseness filled the air;
All knew there was a trip at hand,
But not a soul knew where.

Assembled on the drill field
Was the world-renowned Twelfth Man,
The entire fighting Aggie team
And the famous Aggie Band.

And out in front with Royal Guard
The reviewing party stood;
St. Peter and his angel staff
Were choosing bad from good.

First he surveyed the Aggie team
And in terms of an angel swore,
"By Jove, I do believe I've seen
This gallant group before.

I've seen them play since way back when,
And they've always had the grit;
I've seen 'em lose and I've seen 'em win
But I've never seen 'em quit.

No need for us to tarry here
Deciding upon their fates;
Tis plain as the halo on my head
That they've opened Heaven's gates."

And when the Twelfth Man heard this,
They let out a mighty yell
That echoed clear to Heaven
And shook the gates of Hell.

"And what group is this upon the side,"
St. Peter asked his aide,
"That swelled as if to burst with pride
When we our judgment made?"

"Why, sir, that's the Cadet Corps
That's known both far and wide
For backing up their fighting team
Whether they won lost or tied."

"Well, then," said St. Peter,
"It's very plain to me
That within the realms of Heaven
They should spend eternity.

And have the Texas Aggie Band
At once commence to play
For their fates too we must decide
Upon this crucial day."

And the drum major so hearing
Slowly raised his hand
And said, "Boys, let's play The Spirit
For the last time in Aggieland."

And the band poured forth the anthem,
In notes both bright and clear
And ten thousand Aggie voices
Sang the song they hold so dear.

And when the band had finished,
St. Peter wiped his eyes
And said, "It's not so hard to see
They're meant for Paradise."

And the colonel of the Cadet Corps said
As he stiffly took his stand,
"It's just another Corps Trip, boys,
We'll march in behind the band."

-By P.H. DuVal Jr. '51

Wowza!

Sooooo here I am, post biochem and medical terminology tests, and post advanced human genetics project, really ready to have fun!!! Woohoo!! Tonight we're having a reunion of the Fab 5, me and the four other girls who bonded over my study abroad trip. We are AH-mazing. I can't wait. We'll go have some good German koelsch beer at Fox and Hound. YAY. Hopefully I'll get back to blogging again soon. :)

Woooohoooo! I added a countdown! Get excited!

In the news....

So here are a couple news stories I thought were really good/cute/yay!

Back to Story - Help

Peru's 'miracle baby' walks on her own

Fri Apr 20, 10:13 PM ET

Peru's "miracle baby" walked around her nursery school yard Friday, ducking in and out of a plastic playhouse seven months after undergoing an operation to fully separate her fused legs.

Milagros Cerron, whose first name means "miracles" in Spanish, was born with a rare congenital defect known as sirenomelia, or "mermaid syndrome," which left her legs connected from her heels to her groin.

Dr. Luis Rubio, head of the medical team that separated Milagros' legs, invited reporters to see her progress on Friday. He said doctors have successfully reconstructed the child's hips, knees and ankles and that she is "doing well physically."

But Rubio said Milagros — who is called "the little mermaid" by Peruvians — will need another operation in about two years to reconstruct and repair her urinary and sexual organs.

"We've gotten past the first stage, but it's not the last," Rubio said. "There's a long way to go."

Milagros, who turns 3 years old next week, now takes ballet classes and runs around the playground with her classmates.

In June 2005 doctors successfully performed risky surgery to separate her legs to above her knees. The operation seven months ago was to separate the remaining four inches of fused tissue just below the groin.

Rubio has said Tiffany Yorks, a 17-year-old American, is the only other person known to have undergone successful surgery to correct the rare congenital defect, which occurs in one out of every 70,000 births and is almost always fatal within days of birth.

Milagros' family comes from a poor village in the Andes mountains but Lima's municipal government has agreed to pay for her medical care.

Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

How amazing is it that these doctors have given this beautiful little girl the ability to walk! I think it is just amazing. Plus the little girl is SUPER cute. Gosh I'm a sucker for kids. Love them!

Back to Story - Help

Parents of conjoined twins await surgery

By THOMAS J. SHEERAN, Associated Press WriterFri Apr 20, 4:45 PM ET

The parents of 3-year-old conjoined twins said Friday that they are worried but hopeful as they await high-risk surgery to separate their daughters.

"It's kind of an anxious time," the Rev. Alin Dogaru said in an interview with The Associated Press while sitting hand-in-hand with his wife, Claudia. "Of course we are concerned about their health," he said.

A team of up to 50 doctors and nurses will separate the 3-year-old girls in four stages over several weeks at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland. The surgeries are tentatively scheduled for late May.

Before the interview, Claudia Dogaru gently lifted up the girls — Anastasia in a blue dress was held in her mother's left arm and Tatiana with a pink dress in her mother's right arm — and placed them in a two-seat stroller.

The top of Tatiana's head is attached to the back of Anastasia's. Twins born joined at the head — called craniopagus twins — are extremely rare, occurring in about 1 in 2.5 million births.

Claudia Dogaru said she was facing the future with prayer.

"I will face every day at a time. I will pray," she said. "I cannot say what's going to happen tomorrow."

The twins, who were born in Rome, arrived in Cleveland several weeks ago after 2 1/2 years in Dallas.

Among the surgical risks are the possibility of brain damage, stroke or a fatal amount of blood loss.

Anastasia, the larger twin, also requires a kidney transplant; she has no kidney function and relies on Tatiana's kidneys.

___

On the Net:

World Craniofacial Foundation: http://www.worldcf.org

Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital: http://www.rainbowbabies.org

Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

I think the story of these twin girls is really neat. I saw a thing about them somewhere on TV, and it was about them while they were still in Dallas. The thing that hit me most was when their mother was talking about how nice the public in Dallas was to them. They had a scene at the grocery store where the manager asked if he could bring the girls balloons, and all these people coming up to them letting them know the girls and their family were in their prayers. It was all just so sweet, especially the mother's reaction to all the people. When it really hit me was when the twin's mother was saying how nice it was that the people in Texas were so nice, because when they left Italy (I think that is where they were), the girls were beginning to be ridiculed and pointed out by adults. ADULTS!!! Don't they know better?!?! How cruel can anyone be to make fun of two little girls who are conjoined at the head, with no fault of their own!! It was just terrible to hear, and it made me really happy that this family's first U.S. experience was with some good ol' Southern hospitality.

Anyways, I have a biochem test coming up so we'll see how this all goes. Gosh the senioritis is terrible.

Aggie Muster

Today is Aggie Muster, the day when we remember all Aggies who have passed away in the previous year. It hits home a little more this year because we will be remembering Robert Walker Best '06, who should have been joining me in entering medical school this fall. He passed away after several interviews, but much before acceptances were sent. It is just tragic to me that someone who could have been a really amazing doctor passed away in such a terrible accident.

Update: Ok I went to Muster and it was amazing. Our speaker was very inspirational. I think she was the best Muster speaker I've heard in my four years here at A&M. I only cried a little at the beginning, I said here, and was just very moved by the whole thing. Aggie traditions are great. It is like nowhere else on Earth I know.

Photos

This first picture is from the Japan Festival in Houston. It was mucho fun.

My roommate and I went to Brenham to this 50's diner. This is a sign that was in the restroom.

This is my boyfriend's dog. She is SO cute. And big. I love her a lot. I almost miss her more than the boyfriend. :) She is almost 100 pounds, and still growing. She is very skinny still (grrrr to her old owners) and it got cold (in April, very strange) so we went to get her fleece so I could make her a blanket and this is what the boyfriend picked. I need to buy her more pink things.....

Just to give you an idea of how big Bella is, here is is laying on the floor next to the boyfriend. He is normal sized :) (6 foot, 6'1", you know). She has a very cute pink collar that she isn't wearing in this picture. It is VERY cute. So cute you might explode. I measured her and I think she was 31" at the shoulder (which is the proper place to measure them I learned!)

Ok that is all the cuteness/funniness that I could squeeze out. I have a terrible bout of senioritis right now. It is AWFUL. Especially since I have a biochemistry test Tuesday.
I just thought I would put up a couple pics :) Pictures are always fun