Trust Me I'm a Doctor

Just Hangin Out

2007-10-03T22:40:00.000-05:00

I haven't written anything in a while because not much has happened in the clinic since I started on Sept 4. I have also been too tired to think let alone type out a blurb on my blog, which I knew would happen some day. Don't get me wrong I have been doing things, but I have come to find out that jumping in my car and dropping by someones house unannounced is not a good idea when everyone live 20-30 miles from me. But here is what has been going on I have been worshiping at Richland Hills Church of Christ and am on one of the praise teams, I have seen Cody Blair coach his 7th graders in a game for which I had to run the clock, I went to the Clash of Champions a match-up between Northwest High School of Miami, FL and Carroll High School of Southlake, TX and I've gone to a football practice run by Mark Gibson and his assistant Zach Garza.

Mondays,Wednesdays and Thursdays are my long days because I work from 9 am to 7pm which is good because I don't have to worry about traffic on the way home. Tuesdays and Fridays are better because I work from 7am to 1pm so little traffic both ways and who can complain about a 6 hour day. I have been living a fairly routine simple life during this rotation but I am enjoying myself.

"Through trials we'll grow together"

2007-08-19T22:37:00.001-05:00

I am writing this blog with heavy heart tonight. I learned earlier today that one of my siblings, my friend, and my brother was called home. Aaron Fry was a fun loving young man who I first met when he came to my house in Abilene with his sister. At the time he was not yet in college and I had no clue he would become one of the 50 siblings I would pledge. I was able to spend a great deal of time with him during our spring break campaign to Washington, D.C. and as he played Dance Dance Revolution at the house I lived in on College Drive. Aaron was a magnificent trumpet player and gifted vocalist. I will truly miss my boy.

Matt Saller, Me and Aaron

2 more weeks in the Permian Basin

2007-08-04T18:23:00.001-05:00

My time here in the Midland/Odessa area has been well spent. I got to spend some time with my family (the longest amount of time since I left for college in 2000). I was able to work in different facilities and learn what the real world of physical therapy is going to be like. I have witnessed one of the wettest Summer's in the history of the Permian Basin. Lastly I got to live rent free for about five months and celebrate my mom's birthday with her. Even though I have family ties in this area I would not want to live here to start my career. I've been asked at 2/3 of my rotations here if I was going to come back after I graduated, and at the place I am now the supervisor and a couple of the therapist continue to offer me bribes to stay here. I just laugh and let them know that I am not saying never, but moving back is not in my current plans.

I look forward to moving to the metroplex in a couple of weeks and spending the next four months with former roommates and college friends. What I don't look forward to is the drive to work through the Dallas/Fort Worth traffic. It is also going to be nice being that much closer to graduation and beginning my life as a real physical therapist (after passing the National Physical Therapy Examination) and making my own money. So those of you who currently live in the metroplex and read this blog I will be there in late August, give me a hollar.

Things I want to do while in Dallas/Fort Worth:
1) Watch Cody Blair coach football
2) See Garza on the sideline next to jr. high kids
3) Witness the phenomenon that is Coach Mark Rex Gibson

Happy 50th!!!!

2007-07-22T19:19:00.000-05:00

On July 23rd my mom will be celebrating her 50th birthday, we celebrated with a party on Saturday with food and dancing. For those of you who have not met my mom she is a wonderful and exciting lady who knows how to have a good time. People say I look like her and some even say I act like her and she says I act like my dad. I don't mind being compared to her because she is a beautiful lady with the personality to match.

So Happy Birthday MAMA!!!!

Me and my mom dancing at her party

No Title Would Really be Appropriate

2007-07-17T18:02:00.000-05:00

In my time as a student physical therapists I have encountered many fun characters, many of whom I have written about in my blog. Sadly none of my previous patients hold a candle to the lady I worked with today, ans she is not even my patient. Here is a brief history of why she is at the rehab hospital at which I work. This women weighs 300 plus pounds and she was admitted to the hospital for Chronic Illness Myopathy, which is a fancy way saying she has general weakness and cannot move by herself.

Amazingly enough today she was able to stand up with little help and slowly turn and sit down in a wheelchair and leave her room for the first time since she has been admitted. Other than the fact she weighs so much and she can't physically sit up alone, she also has another problem that makes it painful to sit up. The problem is that her uterus is prolapsed, meaning it is not on the inside anymore (if you want more info GOOGLE it). Imagine how uncomfortable it would be to have 300 pounds sitting on your stomach or any other part of you for that matter. You may be asking yourself, with the current medical technology why hasn't she gotten that fixed? The answer is simply she chose not too many years ago.

Her having this condition is not the only thing that makes her interesting though, it is the fact that she refers to that area as her "Ding Dong." I don't know about you but that is just funny to me and I can't help but laugh out loud every time she says it. She constantly says "I'm sitting on my ding dong", "watch out for my ding dong", and when we ask her to do something "as long as it doesn't hurt my ding dong."

Today at the end of her treatment she made a request that I thought I would never hear and hope I never hear again. She asked one of us (the 3 therapist in the room) if we would put oil on her ding dong. Apparently it had become dried out with all the moving and getting pushed up and down the hallway. At that point I looked at the other therapist, who are ladies, one of them walked out of the room to get the nurse the other just smiled, then I just turned away and started laughing. I am happy to say that I didn't have to put oil on her "ding dong", and my clinical instructor informed me that would never have to put oil on her "ding dong."

People like this make being in the health care profession fun and keep me writing in this blog.

Question of the Week

2007-07-15T21:49:00.001-05:00

This weekend I was at a wedding and as I do at most weddings I was thinking about how it will be when I get married. Then I began to wonder who would attend, other than those who are obligated, like family, and the people who are in the wedding. There are several factors that affect who is able to attend a wedding the two most important being date and location.
This line of thought led me to the following HYPOTHETICAL question, How many people would attend my wedding if it was some place exotic like THE MOON?

I realize there are several limitations to a wedding on the moon, but if you eliminate the cost issue and the face that going to space requires training and what not, would you come to my wedding.

These are the people who have RSVP 'd thus far:
Cris Carpenter
Alex LaBounty

So make your reservations and I'll see you on the BRIGHT side of the moon in the year 2050.

Those Three Magic Words

2007-07-05T21:22:00.000-05:00

For the next 6 weeks I will be working with people who have had strokes and one of the things that can occur when someone has a stroke they can lose the ability to express themselves. The loss of the ability to express oneself or to understand verbal instructions is known as aphasia. One of he people who I am treating is experiencing expressive aphasia and right hemiparesis (paralysis of the right side of the body).

What makes this lady so interesting is that when I first went to see her on Tuesday she only said three words "yes", "no" and "shit". When she is trying to give instruction or let you know how she is doing she simply says "yes yes yes, yes yes yes yes." On the other hand when she doesn't want to do something during treatment she tells me "no". When she is in pain or I ask your to do something she doesn't think she can do she says "shit", but she does it with a nice little smile on her face.

As this week has continued she has added the words push, don't, up, down, and the numbers one through twenty. It is the funniest thing when she counts because she can't begin counting until she hears me say one, and she continues fairly consecutively with some prompting and since we we stop the exercises at twenty she sometimes just skips right to twenty so she can be done.

I think I will enjoy this affiliation especially when I get into the swing of things and get to see my patients progress.

I hate Orientation

2007-07-02T16:38:00.000-05:00

Today was my first day at my new location and I spent a little less than 8 hours watching videos and filling out paper work. I had packet after packet of information from healthcare law to fire safety each of which was followed by a quiz. To make matters worse I was confined to a room that was relatively 8 feet by 8 feet with the HR lady checking in on my every 30 to 45 minutes to make sure I was doing alright. The up side to it all is I got a free lunch out of the whole thing and I was able to go home early. And to prove there efforts weren't in vain I will impart some of the wisdom I've gained upon the two to three people that read my blog.

1st Fire safety:
The first thing to remember during a fire is R.A.C.E.
Rescue
Alarm
Confine
Extinguish or Evacuate

There are 3 main types of fire extinguisher
Type A is for normal combustibles like paper and wood
Type B is for gasoline fires or fires caused by other flammable liquids
Type C is for electrical fires
There is also a fire extinguisher that is made for all three types of fires, so if you are going to by one I would suggest the one that can extinguish all three

The final thing to remember is P.A.S.S.
Pull the pin
Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire
Squeeze the trigger mechanism
Sweep nozzle so there is an equal distribution of extinguisher fluid

Now for Hazardous Materials
All facilities should have a Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) this is so you know what protective equipment you need to where when working with chemicals.
This book also lists boiling points, chemical that adversely react with whatever you are using and a physical description of the substance.

For everyone's sake I will stop there because I can't take anymore excitement and I know you can't take it either. I will keep you posted on what else is going on at my latest clinical site. Later all.

Not bad for a Colored Guy?

2007-06-15T19:24:00.000-05:00

This week has been a pretty rewarding week for me and it has reminded me why I entered the field of physical therapy. Over the course of the week I was able to treat people that were truely grateful that I was there to get them up and moving so they could return home. One of patients this week paid me one of the ultimate complement, he said that I had taken care of him better than anyone else at the hospital. It kind of amazes me that of all of the people that saw him on a regular basis my 20 minutes or so with him was the bright spot of his day. The funny thing about the whole situation is that the last two times I saw him all I did was stand him up and walk him into the restroom, and when he was done I walked in back to bed. I did help with the cleaning process just a bit, but I attempted to help him keep his dignity. I guess that listening to him and taking what he said into consideration was all it took make him feel like a person instead of a patient.

One of my other patients who I say only twice this week told another student physical therapist that I worked with that I was "not bad for a colored guy." I am not sure what that means but in the wake of Juneteenth I will take it as a complement. No matter how the complement is expressed it is good to know that my work in not in vain.

Physical Therapy...not just Sports Injuries

2007-06-11T20:05:00.000-05:00

It never fails that when I tell people that I am going to be a physical therapist they ask if I am going to work for a sports team. Time and time again I have to explain that physical therapy is not just about sports injuries. Today I am taking it upon myself to let everyone know about some of the less glamourized specialty areas of physical therapy.

The first is fairly obvious and for what we are known for that is rehabilitation of post-surgical and sports related injuries also know as orthopedic physical therapy. We also work with people who have neurological injuries such as stroke, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries. Women's health deals with issues of incontinence in women who may have just had children, and due to the traumatic nature of giving birth on certian areas of the female anatomy need to regain control of those muscles. Pediatric physical therapist take care of children who have been born with certian disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida and even children with autism. They work in schools to make sure that all of these children with special needs are able to get attention they need to achieve at the highest level. There are also therapists working in areas of ergonomics, gerentology, nursing homes,and long-term care.

Currently I am doing my affiliation at a hospital in my hometown in which I have done wound care and am currently treating inpatients, also known as acute care. In wound care, as talked about in my previous post, I saw wounds on legs, arms and many other areas on the body. Some healed nicely because the conditions were optimal for healing and others did not. Acute care is a far cry from outpatient physical therapy because you are treating people who are sick and could even die. In acute care, there are critical care patients who are on ventalators and have lines and hoses comming out of everywhere, and they are so deconditioned that sitting up on the side of the be for 10 minutes is a challenge. In the acute care setting you have to be familiar with all of the areas of specialty which makes some days very interesting.

So in summation, out of respect to all physical therapists in every specialty area don't reduce the field to soley sports and orthopedic injuires, because it is so much more.

WOUND CARE

2007-05-24T21:23:00.000-05:00

I have spent the last two weeks working in the hospital treating chronic and acute wounds. Some of them are fairly easy to deal with like bedsores, but others are not as easy to deal with like wounds in the perinium (area between the gluteus maximus and the pubic area) caused by abcesses that got infected. A few people have wounds that have occured due to illnesses that have made them bed ridden, but others have wounds caused by lifestyle choices like allowing someone to shoot cocaine into your buttocks.
Over the past couple of weeks I have been in some semi-uncomfortable and flat out gross situations and I am proud to say that I have handled most of them in a professional manner.
One of the toughest things about working in a hospital is realizing that many people are there dying. I see families of patients in the hall or in waiting rooms awaiting news from doctors concering their loved ones and was 5 minutes away from being present when one of my patients stopped breathing. She was revived and is stable now though, but know that I could be there next time sort of freaks me out. All in all I am enjoying my time and seeing a lot of interesting people. If you read this and want to hear about some of the stuff I've seen just call and ask.

Here are some pictures of types of stuff I get to see.

ROUGHNECKS and ROUGH SEX

2007-05-01T18:25:00.000-05:00

S: Today began just like any other day, but little did I know I would be given information today that could potentially save my life.

O: As I was doing my typical routine of treating my patients (or at least the "ONE" I had this morning) and occasionally checking the large gym to see if any pre-employment screens needed to be done. Low and behold just before lunch a group of guys in search of employment were anxiously awaiting to be seen by a physical therapist. One of these men had come into town from New York and was looking to become a rough neck in the oil field. I was not doing the screen on this particular guy, but I was listening in as another therapist was talking to him regarding his medical history. The exchange went something like this:

Therapist: So I see you have a scar and it says here that you had a spontaneous pneumothorax. How did this happen?

The Guy: Rough sex

Therapist: What?

The Guy: Rough sex

Those in ear shot laugh and even blush, some wondered if they used power tools or something.
The screen continues and as they complete it they start shooting the bull, and since the guy was from New York the question naturally arose what brings you to Texas?
His response was priceless: "More rough sex"

Therapist: Is the girl that did this from Texas

The Guy: Yes

Technician: Does she have a sister?

The Guy: Yes

At this point I leave the room laughing my head off and amazed that this guy would share this with a bunch of strangers. To top the entire thing off as he was leaving he offered to give me the girls sister's number.
I'll leave it up to your imagination to let you know if I took it .

O: I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. 3 days left at OPT and no two days are ever the same.

P: I'll present my in service tomorrow and see how that goes. FINISH STRONG

Belated Birthday Surprise

2007-04-26T21:22:00.000-05:00

S: For those of you who didn't know I had a birthday yesterday the 25th of April and it was pretty uneventful. Like most people in the real world I still had to do my job and I didn't tell many people at work so it wasn't that big of a deal anyhow.

O: I recieved birthday phone calls from Matt Saller, Cody Blair, Clay Chesser and Alex LaBounty. I got text messages for Robert McCall and Eric Hise. I went to eat at Red Lobster with my mom and since it was my birthday I got free chocolate cake, and don't worry there was singing involved too. The funny thing about the whole singing situation is, as most of you know, in most cases the entire wait staff gathers around your table to make a spectacle of the whole situation. I on the other hand had my waitress only serenading me with the happy birthday song, since all of the other waiter/waitresses were busy. I think this is even more embarrassing than having a group sing for two reasons 1) if it a group they can lack lusterly sing through the song and you can find the person who cares the least and look at them the entire time 2) When a solo is being sung to you it is kind of awkward to have to look into the eyes of a stranger singing you happy birthday. But today I got good post birthday surprise, I found out that I was getting paid for my time at the facility. Keeping in mind I was not expecting this at all, today as I sat at my desk my clinical instructor placed a W-4 in front of me and said fill this out so you can get paid. It took all I had not to jump up and click my heels. I maintained my composure and just completed the form and turned it in. I realize the check can be anywhere for $50 to $500, but what ever it is I will gladly accept it because it is unexpected.

A: I am ready to close out this week and begin the final stretch of this part of my journey. One more week in this facility and then I move on to the next challenge.

P: Keep working hard and enjoy the fact that in about 28 weeks people will be able to call me DOCTOR.

MOJO Spring Football

2007-04-24T07:03:00.000-05:00

S: I am happy today because I get to see something I haven't seen in about 7 years, and that is a Permian High Spring football practice. I was proud of the boys in black and white last season for doing something that hadn't been done since I was in high school and that is make the Texas High School playoffs. It make me even more proud to know that the didn't get in because of the expansion of the number of teams entering the playoffs, but because they were one of the best teams in the district. I am pumped to see what next season holds for the Panthers.

O: At work today I say 2 patients, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I also had 2 patients cancel on me which made for an even longer afternoon. I had another Spanish speaking pre-employment which one of the guys deliberately called me over to do knowing that I am horrible with Spanish. I also had a pretty good scare today because I lost some paperwork from two weeks ago and we had to search for it for an hour or so before I found it in one of the least likely places it would be in the entire facility, so a weight was lifted from my shoulders. Had I not found them I think I might have not passed the affiliation, may be not, but it felt like I would. After work I went out to spring practice and reflected back on the good old days of high school football, and being happy I wasn't having to go through that anymore.

A: It's going to be a great next couple weeks because I got some good news about my last day and that I will get to leave at NOON.

P:FINISH STRONG

It was an Interesting day

2007-04-19T19:43:00.000-05:00

S: I woke-up this morning at 5:30ish to get to work early so I could drive with one of the physical therapist to do a back clinic. Being up and at'em so early brought some important things to my attention such as: 1) donut places and Whataburger are the only things open before 7:00 am and 2) old retired guys look forward to meeting at these donut places to start their day.

O: When I got back to the clinic I didn't have many patients to see so the day was fairly uneventful except for two unforgettable people. The first was a young man who came to get a physical for his job, this guy was skinny and his pant were too big. The first thing I asked him to do is to take off his shirt and shoes, which is standard protocol. Low and behold that under his too big pants he is not wearing any underwear, which in his daily routine may not be a big deal. This is a problem in this situations because the physical required him to do activities that will cause him to sweat, which has to be uncomfortable, and it also requires him to bend to touch his toes to get range of motion measurements. Sadly enough this is not the first time someone has come to a pre-employment screen "commando", but a little modesty goes along way considering they are out in the open and ladies perform part of the physical. The next situation makes me want to go back to elementary, junior high and high school and pay attention in Spanish class. Being from Texas it is not uncommon to encounter people who only speak Spanish, but this is not a problem until you are attempting to give instructions to perform movements and the only people who can translate are laughing at you. I am trying to learn the terms that apply for this these screens but I don't use them enough to learn them.

O: So what I need to do is first of all send a memo to employers sending people for jobs asking them to tell these guys to wear underwear when they come or if they don't at least wear pants that fit. Secondly I need to go back to school or at least to a Spanish of physical therapist class so I communicate and possibly make more money.

P: Hope that tomorrow bring people who aren't going to flash me and speak fluent English.

Recap of the week that was

2007-04-13T23:48:00.000-05:00

S: This week marked the mid-term of my second clinical affiliation and thus the review of my performance thus far. I was constructively criticized on somethings I did wrong and complemented on things I had done well thus far. The biggest highlight or event of this week was a "flatulent" pre-employment screenee. While performing a routine evaluation that is done on several health individuals prior to going and working for various companies, the person I was evaluating began passing gas. This was not the one accidental slip while performing a task, but instead it was a stream of gas that came while he was standing still and I was writing measurements down 3 feet away form him. Lucky of me I had completed the portion of the examination that required me to have contact with the low back and buttock region, so I quickly pressed along maintaining a professional demeanor.

O: This week I got 2 new patients and continued treating the 4 patients I have acquired during my time there. I have also performed more pre-employment screens than I can count.

A: I am still surviving and the days are flying by and I feel that I have learned some valuable lessons this week and the previous 3 weeks as well.

P: Press on to the goal. Finish up in 3 weeks and continue my journey to graduation.

D. Collins, SPT

Today...Just like any other day

2007-04-11T22:48:00.000-05:00

S: I felt tired this morning waking up. I didn't really feel up to the challenge of work today, but the midterm evaluation was fresh on my mind so I had no choice but to suck it up.

O: I did a couple of pre-employment screens and those roughnecks always smell of sweat or cigarettes of a combination of both. Today's pateint treatments went well with no major complaints or making anyone cry. I had one new evaluation which was a knee patient who I thought was going to hit me for pulling on his knee. He didn't and I survived another day at OPT.

A: I think I am making good progress in becoming a good physical therapist, but I'm going for great. We'll see how that turns out.

P: Keep getting better everyday and never stop learning.

D. Collins, SPT

For those who read my blog

2007-04-10T22:17:00.000-05:00

For those of you who read this thing I am going to present information for the remainder of my clinical affiliations in a SOAP note format. For those of you who don't know what a SOAP note is it is a method of documentation employed by doctors and other health care providers to write out notes in a patient's chart. The "S" stands for "subjective", which is the feelings or complaints a patient expresses during a visit or any other information they provide. The "O" stands for "objective" or the things that take place during therapy and are measurable. The "A" is for "assessment" in this portion of the note the healthcare provider gets to express what he or she saw during therapy and whether of not the patient had any problems during treatment. The final section "P" is for "plan" which is pretty self explanatory, but I'll tell you anyway. In this section we write what we're going to do the following visit.

So my SOAP notes will go something like this:

S: I really am looking forward to work today because I get to see my favorite patient.

O: Today I treated said patient for 30 minutes and almost made he or she cry in the process. I didn't mean to but hey it happens.

A: The day went by fast and all was well. I am a little tired but it could be worse.

P: Wake-up go to work again and see what the day has in store.

D.Collins,SPT

That is about how it's going to go, some days will be more eventful than others so stay tuned to see what goes on in my life.

DR. HOUSE

2007-03-26T00:02:00.000-05:00

Those of you that know me know that I am kind of anal retentive at times and tend to point out flaws in situations that should possibly be left alone. But there is one thing that gets to me every time I see it and that is Dr. Gregory House, on the TV show HOUSE, walking incorrectly with his cane. I know most people who watch that show are amazed by the way House and his team of doctors figure out the rare or not so rare diseases that a patient is dying from. People may even tune in to listen to the witty remarks he make to his supervisor or how he belittles the patients he sees in the walk-in clinic. But I can't help to notice that he has his cane on the same side as his injured leg and he move the leg and the cane at the same time. Not to mention him limping as he walks, which defeats the purpose of having a cane, because the cane is suppose to prevent him from limping or walking too irregularly. I also would figure that all of the health professionals around him would help correct the problem, but I guess him limping around with a cane make for better television.

Don't get me wrong I still enjoy watching but that one thing remains on my mind.

TGIF

2007-03-23T21:26:00.000-05:00

Today is Friday and as I sit watching college basketball, at home alone and bored out of my mind, I can't help but think about what I used to do on Fridays as a youngster. As I reminisced about the good old days of the late 80s and early 90s I couldn't help but think about the wonderful line-up of shows that kept me entertained on Friday nights. I couldn't wait for 7:00 when TGIF would come on I could watch sitcoms for 2 hours straight. The interesting thing is that the episodes were only 30 minutes long at the time.

So today I give my tribute to the Original TGIF line-up, and can only hope this will bring the same nostalgic feeling to others as it has brought to me.

Perfect Strangers
Full House
Just the Ten of Us
Mr. Belvedere
(Family Matters and Step-by-Step added later)

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES

2007-03-20T22:07:00.000-05:00

A year ago I was half-way through may second semester of PT school and I was trying to recover from the spring break trip to California trip. Also this time last year was the point when I decided to start taking care of myself and stop being a "WIDE LOAD."

So I began a regimen that included stopping the consumption of Dr. Pepper, my favorite carbonated beverage at the time, working out on a daily basis, and eating at home more often. When I started out all I wanted to do was loose 25 lbs or so to match what I weighed when I began college. So I weighed in at my school at a whopping 256 lbs on March 20, 2006 and I rode a stationary bicycle for 15 minutes. I continued to work out daily and gradually lost 2 or 3 lbs a week.

I stopped recording my weight and workouts after a few weeks but I continued to work out on a regular basis, most of the time running by myself. Along the way other people encouraged me by running with me on occasion including Ryan Hise, Doug McFarlen, Matt Zimmerman, and Adam Manlove (for about 1/4 of a lap). When I weighed myself again officially November 29, 2006 I was down to 200 lbs which surpassed my goal so I decided to see how far I could go.

I think I have officially reached a point that I have bottomed out, plus I am tired of buying new clothes. So on today the anniversary of my new beginning I weigh 190 lbs, a grand total of 66 lbs lost, and I feel really good. I appreciate all the encouragement and the looks of amazement I get from people who have watched the transformation take place and who have not seen me in a while. Keep encouraging me so I can continue to maintain.

Worst thing about loosing weight:
Buying new clothes

Best thing about loosing weight:
LGN (or at least LBN)

Best comment received:
"We were watching the club video the other day...D you were fat." Jon Heintz

Sing Song 06 Sing Song 07

Back in Odessa

2007-03-18T18:58:00.000-05:00

After a 7 year hiatus I have returned to Odessa to live for a several months. I have been hear about six and a half hours already and I am thinking that this will be a long 5 months. I will be busy doing things beginning tomorrow but for now I am just sitting here in this chair waiting on you to see things my way (for those who don't realize those were lyrics to a song).

I begin my first 7 week clinical affiliation tomorrow and I am sort of worried I don't know anything. I have been going to class and listening for the past 2 years, but I haven't had the opportunity to put what I know into practice on a full time basis. Funny thing is I couldn't wait for this time to come and now that it is here I and a bit nervous. So for those who actually read this blog say a little prayer for me that I can recall what I have learned and not hurt people worse than they already are.

And CONGRATUALTIONS to CODY and EMILY BLAIR.

I am NOT a mechanic

2007-03-06T09:22:00.000-06:00

I realize how much working on a car really sucks yesterday as I proceeded to change my breaks and rotors.
Everything was going fine and dandy until the point I broke 2 studs off into the lug nuts they were screwed into. This complicated things greatly because I reached th point that I didn't want to change the rotors after all, but I had to remove everything anyway to replace the studs.

Here is a picture of my adventure in care maintainance.

THANK YOU

2007-02-19T11:23:00.000-06:00

This is a thank you to the people who have shaped my time here in Abilene and help make me a better man now than I was when I got here. This is not an all inclusive list by any means, but this is what I have come up with thus far:
The North 10th and Treadaway Church of Christ for being my church home and family.
The First-Year Program (Dr. Mattis, Eric, Jackie and Becky) for putting up with me year after year, Kendall Massey for allowing me to be the “D” chair. The members of Gamma Sigma Phi past and present for allowing me to be a member and to find me worthy of being an officer.

Then there are my roommates or should I say my brothers from other mothers:
Brent Couchman, Jason Webb, Clay Chesser, Dave Sessions, Cody Blair, Ryan Hise, Adam Manlove, and Doug McFarlen the group of people I got closer to than any others in my time here. I especially appreciate Cody Blair and Ryan Hise for putting up with me and sharing a room with me, which I realize at times was not easy. I love you guys and you both hold a special place in my life. Other people like Ben Grant, Eric Hise, Cal Benaglio, Matt Keathley, Mollie Mankins, Missy Mae Walters and Katey Earles have also contributed to this experience.

I may not get to tell them this very often, but let this be a record of my gratitude.

MLK Day

2007-01-15T00:01:00.000-06:00

Dr. Martin Luther King was a civil rights leader in the early 60’s who was killed for what he believed in. He was a man full of love for mankind and who felt all men/women are created equal and everyone should be treated as such. I would encourage you all to take the time during our remembrance of MLK to love someone that is different form you. I am not asking you to go out of your way entirely, but take a few steps out of your comfort zone and think of others before yourself.

Leaving Abilene...Soon

2007-01-13T21:09:00.000-06:00

In seven weeks I will be leaving the place I've called home for the past 6 years. This is important news because there was a point when many people thought I wouldn't, some still think I won't. Though I will have not yet graduated from the physical therapy program that I am in, I will be done with classroom work and will be doing clinical rotations. Since none of my rotations are in Abilene I'll be moving and will only be back to visit and graduate.

In my time here I've lived in 2 dorms, 5 houses and have had 16 roomates. The house I lived in the longest was the White House (1.5 years) and the longest I lived with any of my roommates was 2 years (but most I lived with a year or less). Of those roommates I shared a room with 5 of them. I know it was a blessing to be able to live with and learn from a wide variety of people and I feel all of them have helped shape who I am today.

There may be a time when I come back and live in Abilene and fulfill my ambitions of being a faculty member and club sponsor, but that time may be far away. So for now I will hold on to the memories of Abilene and ACU and cherish the time I have left to call it my home.