tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68191899159051202712024-03-05T06:02:40.260-08:00From Medical Student to Medicine ResidentWe made it through medical school, residency in South Carolina and we're starting our next adventure- Hem Onc Fellowship! We have a precious little girl and are enjoying this wild adventure on our path to being done with medical education. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-9395535179474427332017-08-20T19:10:00.001-07:002017-08-20T19:24:53.461-07:00What we've been up to!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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It's been a month since my last post and I wanted to give you a brief update about what we've been up to! It's not in chronological order but touches upon almost everything we've done. Enjoy reading and thanks for following!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">We took an unexpected trip to Lewisburg a few weeks back. Although the circumstances of our visit were beyond sad, we were thankful to be able to hug dear friends/friend and to spend some time on the farm. Lillie loved visiting with people, throwing the ball for my parents dog (who has since gone to heaven) and eating ice cream at the Freeze! Our travel day and flights home were rough but after many hours in the Philadelphia airport, we finally made it home. Lillie (and I) were so happy to see her Daddy.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The other week we went out to the Kentucky Horse Park with our neighbors. On Mondays they have a walking/running club that meets out there. We walked the 5K route which honestly was amazing. You walk through horse barns, around grazing fields and there are horses everywhere! It was beautiful out there and I was absolutely amazed at the facilities there. Currently, the <a aria-controls="js_f6" aria-describedby="js_f7" aria-haspopup="true" class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/event.php?id=162836844264077&extragetparams=%7B%22source%22%3A22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22%5B%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22timeline%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22surface%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A%5B%5D%7D%5D%22%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%2C%22fref%22%3A%22mentions%22%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/events/162836844264077/?acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22%5B%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22timeline%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22surface%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A%5B%5D%7D%5D%22%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%7D&source=22&action_history=%5B%7B%22surface%22%3A%22timeline%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22surface%22%2C%22extra_data%22%3A%5B%5D%7D%5D&has_source=1&fref=mentions" id="js_f8" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;">2017 USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship</a> is being held there. The Rolex is held there every year and countless other Equine Events. Lillie loved pointing out the horses during our walk around the complex. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Waiting lists for Daycare continue to be a thing of mystery for us. Right now I am staying home with Lillie and although it is very different from our previous life in Greenville, I am loving every second with my girl. I see the rewards in both being a working parent and a stay-at-home parent. My time with her remains so special and I love how much of it I am able to soak up everyday. It's incredible watching how she changes and grows. We paint, dance, go for walks, go to the library for story time, play outside, read books, take naps and so much more. When I was working I felt that I was really able to contribute and support my family financially. My salary sustained our family since Richard and I got married. When I was working, I soaked up my time with Lillie, my limited time with Richard and felt proud when I was able to cook a dinner. Life in our house is different now but we're rocking and rolling. Lillie is growing and thriving, she hasn't been sick since mid-May and I'm able to be there for Richard as he has begun this fellowship journey. I am thankful for this time at home while we continue to adjust to our new life.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">During our days, Lillie and I go on walks and outings. Our neighbors across the street have been out of town basically since we moved in and they have an amazing garden. We told the neighbors that we'd check in on the garden to make sure it didn't dry out with this summer heat. Lillie and I enjoy going over there and watering everything. She really loves playing in water and laughs with such happiness when I spray her with the hose. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Last weekend Richard and I went on our 1st outing without Lillie. Our high school aged neighbor babysat Lillie while we were out. We drove up for Frankfurt to go fishing on the North Elkhorn. There are many types of fish, including smallmouth bass. I love fishing for Smallies and have since I was in Grad School in the NRV. It was sunny and beautiful out. We both caught a handful of fish but loved how beautiful and scenic the new creek was.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">We got a water table!!!! Lillie loves water so much that we went out to the KMART closing sale and snagged one. Between that and her bubble machine, girlfriend is loving the time outside.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZ8OXXQ0Fk8uggi1sToRAOPs5UTTAlE8LTBnIcqrW43tPu323NOj6vpIVLhyphenhypheniSij4mCYLLdufZoL2TwYBCh2SRASQm7VZKOUnNEq3SG956lroSbK4_miTg455wjH58WMFEKeDfykoY_4G/s1600/20170722_091410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZ8OXXQ0Fk8uggi1sToRAOPs5UTTAlE8LTBnIcqrW43tPu323NOj6vpIVLhyphenhypheniSij4mCYLLdufZoL2TwYBCh2SRASQm7VZKOUnNEq3SG956lroSbK4_miTg455wjH58WMFEKeDfykoY_4G/s400/20170722_091410.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Greta, Kara and Michael came for a quick visit! One of the best parts about being here in Kentucky is that Lillie's cousin is less than 5 hours away. We went to Keenland and got to see all of the horses. It was amazing to see how much both girls have changed since the last time that they were together. They're both so adorable and incredibly smart! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Please keep Richard in your thoughts on Tuesday as he will be taking his Internal Medicine Boards. After that, Fellowship really begins! UK has been so great about giving him plenty of study time and because of that, Lillie and I have gotten used to having him home at normal hours. I think those days are numbered now. He will also begin his night call shifts soon, but this time he can do them from home!! We are loving our new home and although we miss our Greenville home and friends, we couldn't be happier that we've landed in such a fun place. If you still need our address, please shoot me a message. We'd love to have people come visit us and everyone raves about how incredible fall is here. PLUS, the horses run at Keenland in October! Until next time...</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-53594002201266582442017-07-13T13:10:00.000-07:002017-07-13T13:15:25.140-07:00Granddaddy and Grandma Mellie come to visit<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowVS_WjD3JPn1VOR_FeMB9un_W1vBPdsLvDhFZmH-9JiKV7wZ6slPYRaaQumwqA3S15DLPB6KP153Kcap-w-3591dm1cM0NP7iPe0MOzSmsT4m2CRlxn69E9e8SdGWFRwa-0Gu7AS3_o8/s1600/19756507_10155531847748035_4606614097607530929_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowVS_WjD3JPn1VOR_FeMB9un_W1vBPdsLvDhFZmH-9JiKV7wZ6slPYRaaQumwqA3S15DLPB6KP153Kcap-w-3591dm1cM0NP7iPe0MOzSmsT4m2CRlxn69E9e8SdGWFRwa-0Gu7AS3_o8/s320/19756507_10155531847748035_4606614097607530929_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>Lee and Melanie came into town last weekend and graciously were willing to be our first house guests. We worked hard to get the main living areas of the house ready for visitors (don't go up to the master suite though). Although we've been in Lexington for a few weeks, that time has been spent getting the house organized. We have not really explored or ventured around town in any capacity.<br />
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We went out to Keenland to watch the houses "train". It was so fun to be back at Keenland and this time it was basically empty. We walked right up to the track and watched the horses run. After watching and exploring a bit, we walked down to the <a href="https://www.keeneland.com/discover/track-kitchen" target="_blank">track kitchen</a> . On our way down there we got to see the horses being walked and groomed. A few of the caretakers came over to the fence so we could pet and see the horses up close. Lillie loved it and so did all of us! We will be be doing this again and next time we'll head to watch the horses earlier. They're such amazing creatures!<br />
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We did a lot of driving around in horse country and just seeing the sights. In this moment, Lillie was very fussy and we were trying to drive home. Lee and Melanie tried "fake sleeping" to entice her to close her own eyes. Obviously it didn't work, but it was pretty funny!<br />
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On Saturday after nap time, we headed out to Crank and Boom Ice Cream. Our neighbor has been an awesome supplier for all of our ice cream needs. We went out there and all got a scoop. It is delicious and is on our must list for people who come to town. Richard LOVES the strawberry and I have yet to find a flavor that I don't like. Melanie got the Caramel and I think really enjoyed it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdq26_tyXU-RqTaX-wrlqG_PZH3UAs2jUvBedi_PCLtm-4ohFJiORYPtE7tbfdKDaXr8pbYQ0Wrgf32RWAR3QKRbcgUfbdHbn2uYAjAWUQ0U45gljk8COBu2vV3Y4gYhHrP99qsUljjRd/s1600/20170709_192432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdq26_tyXU-RqTaX-wrlqG_PZH3UAs2jUvBedi_PCLtm-4ohFJiORYPtE7tbfdKDaXr8pbYQ0Wrgf32RWAR3QKRbcgUfbdHbn2uYAjAWUQ0U45gljk8COBu2vV3Y4gYhHrP99qsUljjRd/s320/20170709_192432.jpg" width="179" /></a>Melanie got the bath time routine down pat while she was here! Lillie LOVES bath time and when she's ready to start the wind down process she will even walk over to the bathroom door. That is our clue that she's ready for bath time. and ultimately bed time. She and Melanie had fun and Melanie even brought her a new duck toy for the occasion!</div>
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We had a lot of fun showing Richard's parents around our new city. We appreciate their willingness to be our first victims/ house guests. We are falling more in love with our fun new city. We cannot wait to explore and learn about all that Lexington has to offer! We are looking forward to more visitors, learning more about horses, maybe kind of start liking bourbon and learn to love everything UK. Come help us explore!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-59221469122440751912017-07-12T08:14:00.003-07:002017-07-12T08:19:23.967-07:00Finding Our New House<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNvgk_yDx_RQln_1D6kkTcQd30YPpjmG2bS5OrmEbj2Z0wjaYcWtvdRHwrVXU_98alUUivfYvRcNiC5dbFcXltYnQIMBhOxXKRJ2TR_kGthlmGfsUttjrimCW0aEHyZvho5K9h9k-nStEI/s1600/20170703_161855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNvgk_yDx_RQln_1D6kkTcQd30YPpjmG2bS5OrmEbj2Z0wjaYcWtvdRHwrVXU_98alUUivfYvRcNiC5dbFcXltYnQIMBhOxXKRJ2TR_kGthlmGfsUttjrimCW0aEHyZvho5K9h9k-nStEI/s320/20170703_161855.jpg" width="180" /></a>I wanted to share with some of you the story about how we found our precious little house. We found out in December that we would be relocating to Lexington. We immediately began using every possible online house search possible, we set up meeting with a realtor that we suggested to us by our friends and the hunt was on. Lexington has a real estate market that rivals Greenville. A house comes on the market and in less than 7 hours it is gone. We made the trek to Lexington ( 6+ hours) with Lillie about 4 times in the next 4 months. Often times with Richard's schedule we would go up Saturday morning, look at houses late Saturday and early Sunday morning and drive back Sunday. We were exhausted and so defeated by the whole process. When our Greenville house went under contract, we were frantic to find something that would line up with our timing but more importantly Richard's start date at the hospital.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helping mama unpack</td></tr>
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Back sometime this winter, I was added to a Facebook group of Lexington Moms. I put out a desperate plea sharing that we were coming up, looking for a house and listed all of the specs we were looking for, the price range and the area of town we were living in. I asked the Lexington Moms to let me know if anyone was getting ready to put their house on the market and were willing to let us get a 1st look. I was flooded with messages from folks. The moment I got a message with pictures and a message from the previous owner, I knew this house was it! Richard immediately loved it too. We drove to Lexington and were graciously welcomed into the house for a look. It was just what we were hoping for, less than 2 miles from the hospital and in our price range. It had the old house charm that we love (the house was built in 1925). We made an offer the next day and were thrilled when they accepted. When we met the owners, we felt as if we had made some new friends.<br />
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We love our new house and are so glad it worked out how it did. When Richard was in orientation for work, he met people who shared that they had tried countless times to find a house but they were stuck renting because of the fast turnover. We really lucked out and are excited about our new adventure in this sweet little tudor home.<br />
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Let me know if you need our new address and know that we have already had our first round of visitors (Lee and Melanie). Kara, Michael and sweet Greta are next on the visiting list and we cannot wait to have the cousins reunited after not seeing one another a year! Know that there is an open invitation to our friends and family. We'd love to have people come visit and help us explore our new city. As always, thanks for reading and following our adventure! </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-23769916472108174262017-06-27T20:33:00.004-07:002017-06-28T16:59:09.651-07:00Adventures of Nomads....<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOGtR701xqsKGh9zmQZoyi6Mtxvh96-NZISDOXwD7ee5XIsohTDYvrwFacZc5DNRjgr0D0qmfouXIZYs4zndxgog0LtpCliGF3yHMetgpfBlsJoQCR8Y9Y1SSFvZfQiC_9kK0mhchk7v_m/s1600/20170526_145428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOGtR701xqsKGh9zmQZoyi6Mtxvh96-NZISDOXwD7ee5XIsohTDYvrwFacZc5DNRjgr0D0qmfouXIZYs4zndxgog0LtpCliGF3yHMetgpfBlsJoQCR8Y9Y1SSFvZfQiC_9kK0mhchk7v_m/s320/20170526_145428.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOOmiDwmzRHeIZBRh-Zy9p3SyfdL6hCpbfs4uWmVmuyN11ddKwvCtedo0MnGNhxUAm4rKR77mQhe2_dT5VTtiLF7lk7ALYR5GALIU0WsslMAbWgjqCcER5-J6uyKB1VGpDtqjuJw44Lwp/s1600/20170527_192649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOOmiDwmzRHeIZBRh-Zy9p3SyfdL6hCpbfs4uWmVmuyN11ddKwvCtedo0MnGNhxUAm4rKR77mQhe2_dT5VTtiLF7lk7ALYR5GALIU0WsslMAbWgjqCcER5-J6uyKB1VGpDtqjuJw44Lwp/s320/20170527_192649.jpg" width="180" /></a>On May 25th, we left our empty house and said goodbye to being Greenville residents. I cannot believe that 5 years of living in such an amazing city flew by that quickly. It was sad and I'll admit that I cried much more than I expected to. We said goodbye to Lillie's wonderful teachers at ARBC and hit the road onto the next chapter on our road to Lexington. This time however, we headed south to the beach. We stayed at a Wyndham resort and loved our special time together. We played in the sand. Lillie made friends with EVERYONE and both mama and dada became reacquainted with aspects of their childhood that once meant so much. Richard loved the water and I worked hard on a "drippy castle" and pond area of Lillie to relax in. It was our first vacation as a family of three and our first trip alone since April of 2014. We've vowed that it will not be that long before it happens again. </div>
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After leaving Myrtle Beach, we went to Charleston for just a few days. Nothing really special to report during our time there.Lillie and Luka both were such wonderful travelers. Being 17 months old and having to sleep in a pack and play for almost 3 weeks was a challenge. Before leaving Greenville, Lillie was sleeping through the night like a champ. She rarely woke and would sleep 7:30-7:30 without disruption. Being a nomad changed that a bit. Without a rocking chair to soothe her, Lillie ended up in our bed. She loves snuggling at night and enjoyed this a lot more than we realized.</div>
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We headed back to Greenville for Richard's big day! On June 2nd, Richard officially graduated from his residency program. Being the house staff president, he ended up giving a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIp5wwoeCtA" target="_blank">speech</a>. I was so proud and Lillie was beyond thrilled with her daddy's achievements. It still is amazing to me that 3 years have flown by since he got the nice long white coat. He loves GHS so much and they have been such an incredible family to us. They have loved us, supported us, celebrated with us all that life has blessed us with over the past 3 years. We will cherish our wonderful residency family for the rest of our years. I know that we will meet some wonderful people in Lexington and I know we will have more extended family, but the GHS residents, attendings, program staff and everyone else involved in the program are top notch. Already, we are planning visits with people. </div>
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Speaking of our GHS family, lets talk about the spouses and how amazing <i>my </i>"support group" is. As much as people outside of this lifestyle want to relate or encourage, it is almost impossible to do so. Only a special group of spouses understand what it's like to see your spouses leave at 5 am and watch them arrive home at 9:30 pm, complete orders via phone or computer for another hour, go to bed and get up and do it all over again. When my dear friend <a href="http://whitehouseredroof.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Kara</a> found out that we had to come back to Greenville for graduation and for Richard's board review class, she immediately offered to house us. It was so special and wonderful to spend time together before we left the city for good. Kara (and her husband Ryan) have 2 beautiful children, Carolina and Duncan. Lillie falls right in-between both of them age wise. When I first met Kara, she and I were both talking about someday having kiddos. After struggling with infertility, they pursued adoption and were very quickly blessed with Caroline. Shortly after Kara found out she was pregnant and in May 2016, Duncan arrived. As I drove away from Kara and her sweet miracles, I couldn't help but think about the progress and changes that we've supported one another though. Growing our families, surviving being a residency spouse together and loving our sweet children together.What incredible blessings we have been given in 3 years. I am so thankful for Kara, Ryan, Caroline and Duncan. I know that as the years go by and the adventures continue that the Paulk family will remain near and dear to our heart. Kara and I often talk about our girls going to summer camp together and I cannot wait to watch them grow up.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lillie & Caroline dancing to Raffia</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging at Aunt JJ's</td></tr>
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Our next home was with my wonderful college Bff and her husband. Spending time with my best friend before leaving town was so special. We were lucky enough to live just 1 mile from her for the past 2 years and although I don't think I'll ever get this lucky again, I am so glad we had this time. Jesse and I met on our freshman hall in 2006 and it was immediate friendship. She was been there through everything and I am so thankful I got some one-on-one time with her before moving away from South Carolina. Lillie loves her to pieces and watching Aunt JJ love on Lillie makes my heart so happy. Jesse is more kind and loving than I can express. Richard's graduation had been on my birthday and those events overshadowed my 30th birthday. Jesse called my favorite spa, set up a massage and watched the baby while I went and had "me" time. How thoughtful of a friend is that? I am so lucky to have such an incredible best friend and miss being near her. I will say JJ and Trey trey are planning on coming for a visit sometime soon!<br />
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Our final "home" was Walt Disney World. After driving away from Greenville (yes, I was crying), we headed to Lexington. We had just over a week before closing on our new house and it just so happened that we were due for our awesome #BruceDisneyVacay . After our initial flight from Lexington was cancelled, we finally made it to Disney on Monday the 12th. We spent great time with Grandma and Grandpa and enjoyed every moment. I don't think my parents have had such a relaxing trip in their whole lives. While at Disney, we met a few characters, ate some wonderful food, laughed and enjoyed our "magical" time. Lillie was yet again a trooper, she met Donald Duck without being scared, ate well, tolerated going to 4 different parks and everyone we met gushed over her. On our last trip to Disney in 2015, we shared a special time with my parents and told them that I was pregnant ( just 5 weeks). That made it even more special to know that we brought our sweet 17 month old along with us. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-29854225333231939602017-04-23T12:40:00.001-07:002017-04-23T12:47:12.487-07:00Our lasts in Greenville...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiua8oQ3sZuXs3AqNBpP8HnHJw4X6Mo7NPSCzTYKJdUFmUJ6R5_JtTSvCQJIT1U63kGnOr07crSbhSHuUBQbOMBWwBUvArOk_f3YD9FqnKKp1kbUC_aOFBFVls5FEmdQQhurNPXXBs9taV3/s1600/20170421_201407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiua8oQ3sZuXs3AqNBpP8HnHJw4X6Mo7NPSCzTYKJdUFmUJ6R5_JtTSvCQJIT1U63kGnOr07crSbhSHuUBQbOMBWwBUvArOk_f3YD9FqnKKp1kbUC_aOFBFVls5FEmdQQhurNPXXBs9taV3/s320/20170421_201407.jpg" width="240" /></a>Time is flying by and with only a few more weeks before we will be leaving our home and our town, we are trying to to the best of our ability to soak up everything. We are going out to eat at our favorite places, walking around Falls Park, walking through Mast General Store, visiting with our friends and making as many memories as possible. We have so many exciting opportunities to create new memories ahead of us but we are just enjoying the last bit of time we have in Greenville.<br />
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Friday Night, Richard and I left Lillie with her favorite babysitter. We went to a fancy dinner and had drinks after. We walked all around downtown and talked about how much the town has changed in the 5 years that we've lived here. Downtown in unrecognizable in some parts and is just booming. When we moved here, the West End was dark and you did not really go down there except for maybe a Greenville Drive baseball game. Now it is just crawling with people, new bars, new stores and the next "hip" spot. We joked that should we ever come back to Greenville- to visit or live that we won't recognize anything about it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Falls Park- Greenville, SC</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coop Crawl/Bad Hair day for me</td></tr>
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Saturday we went to the North Main area of town for the "Coop Crawl". Urban Chickens have been a very popular thing in town. When we lived on Faris Road, our old neighbors (and friends who now live in Lexington) had chickens. We thought it was such a wild concept but thoroughly enjoyed eating the eggs. Well, the fad has exploded since then. We traveled from house to house and saw the various types of chickens and each unique coop. It was fun and made us once again want Chickens. Lillie was pretty tired and didn't know what to think. Everyone who welcomed us into their backyards were so kind and truly love these chickens. One lady shared that if she leaves her kitchen door open that one of her "girls" will help herself inside and check out the kitchen. Imagine that!!<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">We love this awesome town and will miss so much about it. We are so thankful for the friendships that we've made with everyone in town. Everyone has supported us and our marriage, they've supported Richards Career, they've let us borrow their cars to move things or get mulch, they were gracious and loving when Lillie was born and continue to be an incredible part of our family. This upcoming Wednesday I will be attending a "goodbye" dinner for my Side-By-Side bible study (a ministry for medical spouses) and it hurts my heart a little bit to be saying goodbye to these women who have walked with me for 3 years through this journey. Hopefully there will be no tears but if there are, I am sure it will be the first of many. We are trying very hard to soak up time with our friends and hopefully we will be able to do so. We cannot express how special you are and how </span>thankful we are that God placed you in our lives. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-34451338818314556952017-04-19T08:17:00.002-07:002017-04-19T08:17:18.650-07:00Fellowship Follow-up<br />
My friend Kara started blogging again after a long absence and I took that as my cue to make some time for it too. Check our her blog here--<a href="http://whitehouseredroof.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">White House Red Roof</a> .<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What the email we received looked like</td></tr>
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The last time I wrote we were preparing to apply for the Fellowship application process. Now months later, we are preparing to move for Fellowship. In July we applied to 56 programs for a Hematology/Oncology Fellowship. Shortly after his application was submitted, the craziness began. Over the next 3-4 months, Richard traveled non-stop around the East Coast to interview at about 10 programs. We were lucky enough to hear from about 16 total programs, but interviewing at 10 programs was insane (time wise and financially) that we had made the decision to only interview at 10. He was gone multiple nights a week for that 3-4 month time frame and our family time was extremely limited. BUT it was all worth it. On December 7th, at Noon- we found out that Richard had matched at the <b><u><span style="color: blue;">University of Kentucky</span></u></b>. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Keenland horse race in Lexington, KY</td></tr>
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We were thrilled to finally have our location and a little more known about the future of our family. As a family we had traveled to Kentucky for the interview (and twice since finding out). Our dear friends and old neighbors from Greenville now live there and graciously welcomed us for the weekend so that we could learn about the city and explore a little bit with their guidance. We thought Lexington was a great town and surprisingly seemed like a bigger version of Greenville with horses.<br />
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We will be moving there sometime in the next month or two and Richard will officially begin July 1st. We truly feel like we are being called to Lexington for a reason and are excited to relocate. We are excited about the possibilities that Lexington will bring for our little family and the time to explore in a completely new area of the country for both of us.<br />
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Richard is nervous about the unknowns of what Fellowship will be like but Lillie and I have every faith that he'll be amazing and successful. As of right now, I will be staying home with Lillie until she can get into a daycare and I can start the job hunt. On December 8th, I put her on a waiting list and the daycare still has no idea when she'll be able to start.We don't have a place to live yet but are going to look next week as a family. The right house will happen for us. Our home in Greenville is under contract after less than a weekend of being on the market and we will leave the house officially mid-May. We love our house and our dear friends here in Greenville. We are sad to leave all of these wonderful and precious things/people behind but phones work 2 ways and it won't be goodbye, just see you later. My sweet bible study friends are already planning their trip to Lexington!<br />
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Life right now is very busy and our time is limited with so much to do before we leave South Carolina. Somehow a million events are happening in May and right now Richard's hospital schedule leaves us with a 36 hour window to drive to Kentucky (6 hours), tour houses and drive back home. Please think of us and send good thoughts as we try to wrap everything up and find our new home. As always, thanks for reading and following!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-50337893713868320832016-07-11T07:36:00.001-07:002016-07-13T10:12:34.461-07:00Another 3 years?? Maybe<br />
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This month Richard is officially in his FINAL year of residency. It is amazing to me that time is flying by so quickly. It seems like just yesterday that we had matched at GHS and were getting settled into our new house. Now, we are starting on the 3rd and final year of residency. This year Richard is the top dog. He's come so far in his knowledge and throughout the course of his time at GHS, he has decided that he has an interest in going further into his medical training.<br />
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Richard has a passion and interest in Hematology/Oncology (Cancer and blood disorders). His intern year he started sharing how much he enjoyed it and that he thought possibly he would be interested in a fellowship. Well, the time has come for us to pursue that interest. Hem Onc is one of the most competitive fellowships for internal medicine with 1/6 people getting accepted. There are a lot of extremely competitive programs across the country and many associated with big name schools. Unlike residency, there aren't any small community based programs so the stakes are much higher. Richard has worked hard to beef up his CV and has more research. He has asked some wonderful physicians to do letters of recommendations for him. On Friday we will once again hit "submit"in ERAS and say lots of prayers. We have selected many programs across the country and hopefully, will be hearing from them soon. If the programs like your application enough, you will be one of the lucky ones to get an interview.<br />
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<u><b>The timeline of Fellowship events:</b></u><br />
- July 15th applications are due<br />
- August-October is Interview Season<br />
- December is Fellowship Match Day<br />
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Should Richard match, we will be looking at another 3 years in a location TBD. We would be moving and selling our house in June of 2017.We are keeping our fingers crossed and saying lots of prayers for Richard (and our family). He will be so wonderful as a Hem Onc Doctor and I know that he will touch so many lives. I pray that these programs all want interviews with Dr. O'Neal, but I know that with such competitive odds that we are going to be thankful for any interview that we do get. I have complete confidence that regardless of the outcome this year that Richard will someday be a Hem Onc Doctor. <br />
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Please keep Richard in your thoughts, send him good vibes and prayers that he does not get discouraged or overwhelmed with such a competitive application process. Pray for lots of interviews! We are excited about the possibility of another adventure in a new place and hope that we can visit people during the interview season. As always thank you for following our adventure.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-42287512524787655672016-07-08T10:03:00.000-07:002016-07-08T10:08:59.335-07:00A Mamas Fears<br />
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Since Lillie's birth Richard and I are constantly being told how "beautiful" she is. Yes, we think she's the most beautiful baby in the world but as I read things in the news or hear stories about things that horrible things that happen to people in our world I very seriously worry about my child's future.<br />
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I sat down with a lady (co-worker) the other day who shared with me a sad story relating to her daughter and a sexual assault situation at her high school. This young woman is stunning and has been since infancy. She was attacked by another student in her class and the school district is not doing anything to protect this girl or punish the young man. This mother was in tears as she spoke about it and about her 14 year old being in counseling for something so traumatic. It broke my heart.<br />
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For years now I have been aware of the sex trafficking issues in South Carolina. There are people who prey on beautiful children or people that they can lure into enslavement. This is a very serious problem in the world and is in our own backyard. <br />
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This year there have been more violent hate crimes against the various minority groups than I ever remember happening in my lifetime. Never in 2016 would imagine that such hate for a population of people could exist. It is tragic and unjust what is happening in the African-American community and I pray daily that we will get to a point where skin color, religion or sexual orientation will not lump an individual into a category.<br />
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Lillie is 1/2 Colombian and 1/2 White. At this point, she looks more Colombian. In my own lifetime, people have made racist and ignorant comments towards me. "I don't speak your language" and "I was going to ask you for towels" are just two examples. I am beyond proud of my heritage and my skin tone. I wear a Colombian bracelet everyday and proudly share my heritage with people who ask "where are you from" (which means what's your ethnicity).<br />
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Richard and I don't know what Lillie will look like as she grows up (maybe she'll eventually favor him more) but I do worry for her. I worry that people will remain ignorant and racist. I worry that she will be targeted for many reasons or that she will be discriminated against. Any situation that involves the safety of ones child or of human injustices is terrifying but for me as the mother of a "beautiful" (and bi-racial) baby scares me for her future. I really hope she has an awkward stage until she's 80. Braces, pimples, horrible glasses- you name it and I hope she gets it. Most of all, I hope and pray for a safer world with more equality for all people<br />
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Please Pray for a world with accepting people, pray for a world with less hate and pray for the safety of individuals.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-56731935799651159302016-05-02T07:22:00.001-07:002016-05-02T07:22:58.362-07:005 love languages... while being married to a resident<br />
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At work this past week, our Chaplain gave us the 5 love languages test to help us identify our own love language. Although I had already guessed which love language categories I fall under, it was nice to see it in person. After taking the test, I ranked highest in <a href="http://www.5lovelanguages.com/2009/02/acts-of-service/" target="_blank">Acts of Service</a> and <a href="http://www.5lovelanguages.com/2009/01/speaking-the-love-language-of-quality-time/" target="_blank">Quality Time</a>. These are the things that have always and will always be important to me. Having someone help around the house or spend good one-on-one time with me is essential. We are in a hard phase of life right now with residency that makes both of these things difficult in our marriage. Richard is swamped and overwhelmed by residency and the hospital is his "mistress" as I call it. It is hard for him on his bad months to even get sleep let alone help around the house or to spend time with us without his cell phone beeping with pages from a nurse at the hospital or something residency related. Richard's love languages are absolutely not the same as mine and I know that without him having to even take the test. Working with one another to address the way we feel loved is often hard when many months we are like 2 passing ships in the night. Richard cherishes 5 minutes of hand holding or cuddles on the couch in addition to words of affirmation. I know that he struggles to function between his duty as a husband and father along with his career goals. Encouragement , praise and understanding keep him motivated.<br />
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Being married to a resident is so rewarding in so many ways. Watching him grow and become an incredible doctor has always been and will always be a joy. Many years ago (almost 8) when we first started dating, he told me of his dream to become a physician. I promised Richard then that I would bring him coffee late at night during his journey to become a doctor. Little did I know for Richard that would really mean bringing a bag of spree and a regular coke. Growing up I witnessed the challenges and incredible strength that my parents had (have) related to my fathers own career as an ENT. It is so hard to explain this journey unless you've lived it or are living in it. It's hard to explain to our friends and family who don't have any knowledge of this journey or process what it's like for us. Yes, this is normal and part of the journey, but still doesn't make it any easier. We struggle to hold onto the little time together as a family and savor every minute the 3 of us have alone. I knew that the journey would be a long and challenging one but that there would be many rewards along the way. Living it daily is financially challenging, often isolating and lonely, but on days that he comes home and shared something incredible that happened that day make it worth it. He is becoming an incredible doctor and has such a God given talent for taking care of patients and families. At home, Lillie and I cheer for him from a far and wait to catch a glimpse of his handsome face.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIaJSBZ1B6h1oNNFNBU7gyhIjX7d_WmLwOWNymtYXiwjFMBf8EfT12TwOmeXhSquhkogTwDXDvQg3jDsDxRLWpcB4JOxFFz7XGJbdTRXcL1D684TCt1KE9nX3-HBCKWrGZD47DS4RjrlTO/s1600/20160501_124516.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIaJSBZ1B6h1oNNFNBU7gyhIjX7d_WmLwOWNymtYXiwjFMBf8EfT12TwOmeXhSquhkogTwDXDvQg3jDsDxRLWpcB4JOxFFz7XGJbdTRXcL1D684TCt1KE9nX3-HBCKWrGZD47DS4RjrlTO/s640/20160501_124516.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard recovering from ICU nights and Lillie during nap time. Few moments that they can snuggle</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-32290506425234759632016-04-13T08:19:00.001-07:002016-04-13T08:19:13.766-07:00Pictures that chart Lillies growth over 12 weeks of maternity leaveI was thinking the other day about how far Lillie has come since birth and went back to to look at pictures of how much our baby has changed. When we brought her home she was 5 lbs. At our last pediatric visit in February, she was just below 10 lbs. Today I think she is somewhere near 11/12 lbs. At the end of April we will go back to the pediatrician and I cannot wait to see how far she has come since February. It's amazing how much she changed even in my 12 weeks of leave. Enjoy these pictures<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhW9IYnupX5-UGEnlKDFl89wSo1vnaRkjMuOfuNNUKN4mtHaEiW6v4-aBFh1DWSGoUMAS-IeI9bPGPWY4DUEUljT5ffdqR9lfk1uDfRNQhkt0Y1WN7YJLf2ZMqg9wGt07Jn-_7GWMTZEYm/s1600/20151231_025901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhW9IYnupX5-UGEnlKDFl89wSo1vnaRkjMuOfuNNUKN4mtHaEiW6v4-aBFh1DWSGoUMAS-IeI9bPGPWY4DUEUljT5ffdqR9lfk1uDfRNQhkt0Y1WN7YJLf2ZMqg9wGt07Jn-_7GWMTZEYm/s640/20151231_025901.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1 day old</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 week pediatric visit</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1 month old</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5NDQi3Tkvom7R8l4IlZgmOCaA-Fzn8cw4SUSMfZA2FeV7kxkhGrQV3MAcMxP035FuEhHEbimdso5n8lQTMQhPdow3WqyrJXzMvuz3x0iL137YTGm655SmHS_naTh9of57yoTx8SkfjWB/s1600/20160302_142013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5NDQi3Tkvom7R8l4IlZgmOCaA-Fzn8cw4SUSMfZA2FeV7kxkhGrQV3MAcMxP035FuEhHEbimdso5n8lQTMQhPdow3WqyrJXzMvuz3x0iL137YTGm655SmHS_naTh9of57yoTx8SkfjWB/s640/20160302_142013.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 months old</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0LGxg0IQwSOUC9FrxXMvo2LpmPpeqhgyR4rOCxnkcf1WfMI-vWewoWpmbYu1afPNVmhi7EJl2hQHUyC8pZtdcmfN5F__LvBMBCyO3zWJoxakZpWH0JzdQrw07oDFcE2rKlwmbQO57qnfN/s1600/20160325_085800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0LGxg0IQwSOUC9FrxXMvo2LpmPpeqhgyR4rOCxnkcf1WfMI-vWewoWpmbYu1afPNVmhi7EJl2hQHUyC8pZtdcmfN5F__LvBMBCyO3zWJoxakZpWH0JzdQrw07oDFcE2rKlwmbQO57qnfN/s640/20160325_085800.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">last day of maternity leave</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-64833486402374343362016-03-23T09:57:00.000-07:002016-04-07T05:22:08.716-07:00Back Blogging: It's a baby girl<div dir="ltr">
Our due date to welcome Baby O into the world was January 16th, 2016 but for the last few months of my pregnancy I had a fear of going early. At birth, I weighed 5 lbs and I spoke with the OBYGN about that being due to prenatal nutrition or if my birth mother went into early labor. I spoke with him about how that would impact my own delivery. He assured me that it was not factor in my own situation.</div>
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Lets back up to the week of Christmas. While at work in Anderson, my car transmission died. I was stuck 45 minutes from home and wound up having to call a tow truck to bring me and my Nissan back to Greenville. While riding in the tow truck, I suddenly was VERY aware of my babys head. The truck was very shaky and I honestly felt like I was sitting on top of the baby. It was a horrible feeling and I started texting Richard. I was worried that the baby was so low that labor would happen any minute in the tow truck. I tried my best to hover over the seat and lift my rear end up so that the sharp pains and discomfort would ease up. Well we finally made it back to Greenville and no problems. After that ride however, I began to have those same sharp pains while sitting down. I often had to get up from sitting because of them. This went on for a few days. We celebrated Christmas at our house with the entire O'Neal family. It was lovely to have everyone here and we were so thankful that everyone drove to be with us since we were stuck within a certain proximity of the hospital.</div>
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Since Richard had the week of Christmas off, it was his job to cover for the residents who had the week of New Years off. Beginning Sunday the 27th I had a strange feeling it would be just around the corner before this baby arrived. The bags were already in my car and I had everything set. Sunday I spoke to Richard and urged him to have a conversation on Monday with his attending physician about an In-case of Emergency plan for coverage. I believe my exact words were "Richard this baby is coming- you need to have a plan in place". Sunday night, I began my bloody show. My wonderful OBGYN friend said when I talked to her that it sounded like things were moving. I went to work Monday and still had that horrible feeling looming over me that this would happen very soon. I moved all my visits that were spread out that week to Monday and saw everyone. I went home and we had a normal night. I asked Richard to give my lower back a rub because it was aching a little bit. Just for kicks before bed I read the Labor and Delivery chapter of my book. In there is said "you might want to cover the mattress with something incase your water breaks while you're asleep". In my mind, I thought "Noted: will accomplish tomorrow". Richard was asleep and I quickly drifted off too (10:30 pm). At 12:30 I woke to a "POP" and a slight gush of fluid. I softly said "Richard.... Richard..", but Mr. Soundsleeper didn't stir. Finally I had to yell his name a little bit. "Richard- I think my water just broke". Richard leaped out of our bed so quickly it was funny. We had NO idea what we needed to do to get to the hospital. I took a shower while Richard contacted the hospital to see and then I made him get a shower before we left. Poor Luka was so freaked out by all of our frantic behavior at 1 am. We contacted my best friend and asked her to take care of him in the morning (they live a mile down the road) so we knew he'd be in good hands. We made it to the hospital triage by 1:30 am.</div>
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I won't go into details about the experience but by 3:30 I was 4ish centimeters and ready to go to Labor and Delivery. All of the nurses we encountered in the journey were wonderful and it was such a wonderful experience. At this point I called my parents to let them know I was in labor and being admitted. My sister, her husband and my brand new niece had just arrived in PA for a visit plus, my parents were throwing a huge NYE party on Saturday. I am certain none of them went back to bed after that phone call! I had my epidural placed and sent Richard on his way to go round on his patients. Around 9 ish the doctor came to check me and determined I was a "good 9 cm". He asked the nurse to have this giant egg/yoga ball type thing placed between my legs to allow babys head to come a bit further down. At 10:30 he came back to check again and said it "looked great and wouldn't be long" he also asked the nurse to do some practice pushes with me. Well, we did about 3 practice pushes and the doctor had to come back because her head was right there. There was a total of about 15 minutes of pushing before I was told to stop. I was too focused to understand Richard when he told me the baby had its cord wrapped twice around its neck (this hit me the next day). I was able to push again and before I knew it the Doctor said " OK Dad, tell mom what we have". Richard said "it's a girl " and he immediately began to cry. I was too concerned about him that I didn't even cry (for all of you who know me -this is a shocker). Waiting on finding out the gender was amazing and so magical. I honestly don't think we'd ever find out after that experience. It was too perfect</div>
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Our baby girl was born on December 29th, 2015. She weighed 5 lbs 8 oz and was 19 inches long. </div>
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Richards family arrived at the hospital within the hour of her birth and were the 1st people to see her. Melanie purchased premie clothes which later were a huge help as our baby wore those for about the 1st month because she was so small. The next few days in the hospital were very busy but everyone we encountered were amazing. There wasn't a lot of sleep being had at those nights in part because she didn't sleep but mostly because I couldn't not stop staring at the miracle that we had created. </div>
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We came home on NYE and how perfect that was too. In 2008 on NYE after months of "talking" , Richard and I finally put a title to our relationship. In 2015, we brought our baby Lillie Jean O'Neal home. </div>
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While in the hospital I had the lactation consultants on speed dial and our mom/baby nurses were amazing. There were a lot of feeding and latching problems initially so our girl dropped down to 5 lbs while in the hospital. It was an extremely stressful first week monitoring her and trying to make sure she was getting enough, adjusting to no sleep and not to mention the healing that was very slowly occurring from childbirth. We had 2 pediatric appointments too. Needless to say we were overwhelmed but having my parents here that first weekend was incredible. They ran errands for baby items while we bonded as a family. My mom stayed to help and single handedly organized my life and took care of us with food and clean laundry. I cannot sing her praises enough. <br />
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It was amazing for us the immediate love we felt for her. Richard put it best when he said that he immediately felt so important to someone so little. We have a very important role in her life and it's amazing how that clicked so immediately with both of us. We love our precious girl and are honored God has chosen us to raise her. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-33738921009072314242015-10-30T05:34:00.000-07:002015-10-30T07:00:23.017-07:00Happy Fall, Ya'll! <br />
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It's been a while since I've had the opportunity to write about how things are progressing in this pregnancy and life. Since the end of August, I have not had a single free weekend due to insanely busy activities and therefore the blogging has decreased. Over the past few months, we have had multiple weddings in various locations, an anatomy scan, a baby shower in Lewisburg, a lot of growth in the stomach, a birthday party in Charleston, the purchasing of maternity clothes, a day fishing trip, the creation of baby registries and even a Bachlorette weekend. Richard and I are counting down the next 2 weeks in anticipation of when we will gain our weekends back until the baby arrives (although his next rotation will mean that he works weekends once again). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-TiwgcpAR4FY9Atnso_e6QJjjWslp04sTxeIjuRTHLVQ3CBocrx9YgW3s4hMRTluOlYyZ8MCartelrtJYKQ4ZgfDWGTypK79sfoVEiGccio0XgbDexhtysK5gUGA1xFUfYfaXB1EqQWBs/s1600/IMG_20150831_100428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-TiwgcpAR4FY9Atnso_e6QJjjWslp04sTxeIjuRTHLVQ3CBocrx9YgW3s4hMRTluOlYyZ8MCartelrtJYKQ4ZgfDWGTypK79sfoVEiGccio0XgbDexhtysK5gUGA1xFUfYfaXB1EqQWBs/s200/IMG_20150831_100428.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgraIOjIjFDvUhaq5dF97uDZKJJ4CTvWIBicdmu8gVWo1NzebEBPUz6ttrz4762W2227I1Nqa17FQwel4504o4RR8qubq67WVHYUNWt25nfNGjRZDCTpTZg7uw8Fi6kaSQ5CNqtYeste0-2/s1600/IMG_6954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgraIOjIjFDvUhaq5dF97uDZKJJ4CTvWIBicdmu8gVWo1NzebEBPUz6ttrz4762W2227I1Nqa17FQwel4504o4RR8qubq67WVHYUNWt25nfNGjRZDCTpTZg7uw8Fi6kaSQ5CNqtYeste0-2/s200/IMG_6954.jpg" width="200" /></a>The Anatomy Scan was on August 26th and it was amazing to see the growth/development from our initial ultrasound to this particular scan. Everything looked textbook on the baby and although he or she did NOT want to be disturbed, we were still able to see how perfect our little miracle is already. We remained strong and both turned our heads when the tech looked at the gender. We are so excited for the big moment in January when we find out Boy or Girl! From the moment I found out that I was pregnant, I thought that it was girl. After seeing the 3D ultrasound picture, my opinion changed to boy. Today, months after the ultrasound, I am back to thinking girl. Whenever Richard and I talk gender he never has thoughts or opinions. Regardless of the baby being a boy or girl, the one thing that we care about is the health of the baby. We want a healthy baby. Please continue to have good thoughts and pray for everything to remain healthy.<br />
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Our Nursery is still a work in progress... All of the painting is done and as of recently, the crib is put together. Richard was so excited to be able to put the crib together that the day it arrived, he put it together. We are attempting a travel/world theme for the nursery and are excited to see how it progresses over the final months of the pregnancy.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">At the beginning of October, I flew to Lewisburg for a wonderful baby shower. </span><span style="text-align: center;">It was a small group </span>of women and included some of the most important people in my life. Brooke & <span style="text-align: center;">Justin flew up from New Orleans to surprise me, Jerri, Liz and Mel came from Buffalo/NYC and my Aunt Jan and Uncle Bob drove up from TN. It was wonderful to celebrate Baby O'Neal with so many important people I was overwhelmed by the the amount of love and support given by everyone towards Baby O'Neal (and us). All the people who traveled far for the shower, everyone who came the shower and brought gifts for the baby touched my heart in ways I will never be able to express. Our house is filling up with baby items and I love that each gift comes from such wonderful people. </span><span style="text-align: center;">Soon we will have another one in Rock Hill surrounded by Richard's family and friends. It will be a beautiful event and I am positive that once again, the outpour of love will be amazing.</span><br />
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Sometimes I think back to the days of our long distance relationship and I see numerous parallels to that time and our current life in residency. The parallels in both phases of our relationship are these: Weekends together are sacred and rare, there is no way every task you have to accomplish will get finished, get used to independence because often we are both off doing separate activities in different cities and keeping your phone charged is essential because texting/phone conversations sometimes is the only way we get to check in with one another.<br />
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Being married to a resident and starting a family with one is no easy task. For example, while most women have their husbands along for each prenatal doctors visit, Richard has only been able to attend 2. Richard will only have 1 week off (including Labor & Delivery) before he returns to work. Should the baby come late, the days in which he'll have "normal" work hours will diminish (rotations change early February and again he'll be working 90 hrs a week). I am mentally trying to prepare myself for the challenges associated with adjusting to life with new baby but also how life with a resident husband <i>and </i>a new baby will be. I will admit that the future terrifies me and I pray everyday that I have the strength inside to do a lot of solo parenting while Richard finishes his training. I know so many women have done this before and are currently do this, but these future hurdles more than anything related to pregnancy or childbirth gives me anxiety. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjzeoZll_uMW48ay_wkBaxZZSNlWdbBfee8P8gb7WcAJ5HKhPOIK_8Hgm_ucbX7ooffEPZbW0yiKIDXeCvWCHtmfkUsR-gfhslkpW9vOh3_Ee4_q478UI3LEQWyeHJ-RhE33_GcXuBbV2/s1600/IMG_20151029_211329.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjzeoZll_uMW48ay_wkBaxZZSNlWdbBfee8P8gb7WcAJ5HKhPOIK_8Hgm_ucbX7ooffEPZbW0yiKIDXeCvWCHtmfkUsR-gfhslkpW9vOh3_Ee4_q478UI3LEQWyeHJ-RhE33_GcXuBbV2/s320/IMG_20151029_211329.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luka loving on the baby while the baby kicks him</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Being in the 3rd trimester, we are now in the home stretch! Baby moves constantly these days and loves to have dance parties all night long. I am struggling to find a sleeping position that keeps the both of us comfortable. I can tell you that already, this baby is demanding and likes to makes him or herself known (especially at 2 am). We're anxious for January, but also hoping time slows down a little but so that we can finish everything in preparation for the baby. I am now seeing my OBGYN every 2 weeks and eventually I'll be going weekly. By the time the holidays get here, my travel will be restricted so that "in-case" something happens that I will be near the hospital. It is hard to believe that January is just around the corner and soon we will be able to love on this little one.<br />
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I cannot thank those of you who regularly check in with me enough. It is so encouraging to get a message or email that asks how I'm doing or how baby is doing. It truly means the world that people think about me and this adventure enough to reach out. As always, thank you for your support, your encouragement and your well wishes. Time is flying by and January will be here in just a few months. Until then we are awaiting the arrival of our niece or nephew who is due in the next few weeks, Richard will begin Critical Care (one of the hardest rotations during residency), we are trying to finish all baby related projects and still enjoy some time with one another. Hopefully it won't be so long before the next update, but who knows. As always, thanks for reading and supporting us on this adventure!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-85200983851443391172015-08-13T07:30:00.001-07:002015-08-13T07:30:30.840-07:00Adoption and Baby O'Neal<br />
For many varying reasons, adoption has been a recent topic of conversation with people in my life. Adoption, as those of you who know me is an important topic that is near and dear to my heart. It is the reason I am a social worker and it is the reason that I have the beautiful life that I do. In 1987, a young woman made the hardest decision that she possibly could have... she left her newborn infant at the hospital to be given a better chance at life. It is something that I don't dwell on or think about with the exception of rare moments where I am so thankful for that incredibly difficult decision. I cannot imagine the feelings that she must have felt leaving her baby someplace with people she didn't know with only the hope that I would be able to thrive in my new life (something I believe she knew that she could not provide).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FmepHAjOKtwhWXGHSaAAzIAfXpJrr21plIxgkRQBMQB4NHPowlsYSp-vbj2epeZulpF7RRJDnD9TRaqWfV-VeHDJlBZ3-pBILRTr0M-8VrY74UNVpH9ZWvAKKyvmFNvWCaAL1onJQbot/s1600/.facebook_1439226452696.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FmepHAjOKtwhWXGHSaAAzIAfXpJrr21plIxgkRQBMQB4NHPowlsYSp-vbj2epeZulpF7RRJDnD9TRaqWfV-VeHDJlBZ3-pBILRTr0M-8VrY74UNVpH9ZWvAKKyvmFNvWCaAL1onJQbot/s400/.facebook_1439226452696.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with my awesome parents and Mercedes (the founder of FANA)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My recent conversations with various people in regards to adoption have mostly been about the struggles that adopted children often face due to their individual struggles with abandonment, cultural identify or feeling that they aren't complete in some way or just don't belong. I have known a number of adopted children who fit somewhere along this spectrum or who are struggling with their identity (or have struggled) but I have also known people who are understanding of their early life circumstances and are not searching for closure beyond what is available in their current lives. There will always children who vary on this spectrum and their life circumstances will absolutely play into these feelings. I've talked with my mom countless times about why I have never struggled with wanting to know who my birth mother is or why I was abandoned or any of the other countless questions that adopted children have. In my own case, there was never the possibility of finding my birth mother because she never provided documentation with her name and I was actually abandoned (no papers were signed to terminate her parental rights). Beginning as far back as I can remember, adoption was always an open topic of conversation (should I want it to be), my parents both encouraged/supported my involvement in <a href="http://www.familiesoffana.org/colombia/fana/" target="_blank">FANA</a> (my orphanage) and my interest in the Colombian culture. These are the things I attribute to my understanding and acceptance of my early life circumstances (plus I have a really awesome family that I am thankful for).<br />
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There are people that I continue encounter in my life who are fixated on my adoption or the fact that I "am an orphan". I will be absolutely honest when I say I really really dislike the word "Orphan", I might even say that I hate the word. I understand that the bible, journal articles and many adoption program use this word but as an adopted child I find extremely offensive, negative and it attaches a stigma to me that is only relevant for the first 9 months of my life (due to circumstances that I could not control). I am not an orphan as I have 2 wonderful parents who raised me. Mercedes, the founder of my orphanage spoke about her love of uniting "families with a child" not "children with a family". She looked at the adopting parents as the ones who were missing something that would make their hearts complete. I love this perspective and philosophy because there are needs being filled on both side of the adoption.. It is not just children in need of a family or parents. We have dear friends who are currently in pursuit of making their family complete through the process of adoption and it has made me reflect on a lot of these things (in addition to my conversations with other people). I am so excited for them and this incredible adventure that they are bravely starting. It is an adventure in search of making their hearts full, making their family feel more complete and most importantly it is a journey about being able to love a beautiful child. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOBt70-M0XKlFNTo_-wJiwVgTg5X6PxlaGCeAgDd7M1kDB553LrrMZoqvldrA3gBgFBfmGKzQNgVWLpUShUu9cos6GIncRnPQ7FuGToNqxeGQiW3gCECs8TpyU0yg_HcjvCa9tMzeasf9h/s1600/adotion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOBt70-M0XKlFNTo_-wJiwVgTg5X6PxlaGCeAgDd7M1kDB553LrrMZoqvldrA3gBgFBfmGKzQNgVWLpUShUu9cos6GIncRnPQ7FuGToNqxeGQiW3gCECs8TpyU0yg_HcjvCa9tMzeasf9h/s1600/adotion.jpg" /></a><br />
Our awesome wedding photographer wrote a beautiful book, which I pre-ordered prior to its publication date in June of 2012. It is called, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/You-are-Special-Little-One/dp/1620241951/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439225760&sr=8-1&keywords=you+are+so+special+little+one" target="_blank">You are so Special, Little One</a> and it talks about the special process of adoption. It is the story of a young adopted child who is asking her mother questions related to her own adoption story. I absolutely recommend it to those of you with little kids, who know someone with an adopted child, if you have an adopted child or for those of you who maybe just love adoption.<br />
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As Richard and I prepare to have our own journey into parenthood, I can't help but think about my adoption. For most people, having a child that looks like you is a concept that one might not even think about. For me, it is an amazing and mind blowing reality of what will come with the birth of our child. When we become parents, it will be the the first time in my entire life that I am going to have someone that looks like me in some way. It might just be my nose or my dark eyes and hair but it will be someone who is genetically related to me. I will be able to look at my newborn picture and compare it to this baby's newborn picture and hopefully (unless it takes 100% after Richard), there will be similarities. Now I know this may seem like a normal concept to those of you who have someone in your life that you're biologically related to, but for me it takes my excitement for this baby to a new level... a more emotional/meaningful level. Richard and I continue to be thrilled about this journey. We are thankful for each and every life event that has brought us to where we are at point; especially my adoption and everything involved with it. I am thankful for the decision my birth mother made but more importantly I am forever blessed by the choice my parents made when they decided to expand their family.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-65005634759551925682015-08-06T18:39:00.001-07:002015-08-06T19:35:59.901-07:00O'Neal Summer<br>
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It’s hard to believe that August is here. Where did the past
3 months go? Richard and I have had a
fairly busy summer in addition to our big news. We’ve done some traveling and
had a great time in all of the places we’ve been. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><b><u><span style="font-size: large;">May</span></u></b></i></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_O1IVOQc12kkDCBLDGNdhVm1pnzhQ-OpdWnIDCQrFJad0ECxlQIoZjAdQ5ilfLAi70AelGH9I6zWNFdvq0k1WN-7RZwkPQ2p-pislBtrSInzB8OgIkYJ5QWnhOoUE2yaKJmot-Gyniwk/s1600/IMG_20150530_080949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_O1IVOQc12kkDCBLDGNdhVm1pnzhQ-OpdWnIDCQrFJad0ECxlQIoZjAdQ5ilfLAi70AelGH9I6zWNFdvq0k1WN-7RZwkPQ2p-pislBtrSInzB8OgIkYJ5QWnhOoUE2yaKJmot-Gyniwk/s320/IMG_20150530_080949.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
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May was pretty busy for both of us with work. Richard’s
schedule was jam packed and at my office we had a lot of admissions plus more
home patients. We attended a wedding of
a sorority sister and went to Disney World with my family. The wedding was beautiful with lots of familiar
faces. Disney (as always) was a blast. Our first night there, we had dinner
plans at one of our favorite restaurants. It was there that we told my family
about our big news. My dad had a birthday coming up, in addition to father’s
day so we brought him a birthday gift. My sister is expecting a baby as well,
so on the very top of the bag, we gave
him a mickey mouse onesie. We said that is for “baby Blankenheim” and they
thought it was adorable. My Dad commented on there being other things in the
bag and I told him to read the card first. The card was for
“Grandparents-to-be” and inside we had written “surprise…when it rains, it
pours”. Below that card was an
additional onesie for a newborn. He held
up both of the outfits and everyone was very excited. People in the restaurant
had been watching us through the windows and one girl asked me if we were
having twins! It was a perfect spot (one that means a lot to my family) for us
to share such exciting news with them. Absolutely this was one for Bruce family
history books. It was a wonderful trip and the parks weren’t crowded yet. The only struggle was that as an “expectant
mother” your rides are limited. I made friends with quite a few moms-to-be in
little sitting areas while we all waited for our family members who were on the
rides. We ate so much good food and rode
almost everything we wanted to (minus the Rockin Roller-Coaster which was shut
down). It's hard to believe that on our next trip to Disney, there there will be 2 little Bruce grandchildren in tow. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><u>June</u></i></b></span></h3>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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June was not as busy as the majority of things that we
had scheduled had to be cancelled due to the awful 1st trimester fatigue. I didn’t move from
the couch most weekends in June as even little things exhausted me. Richard did
a great job taking over dinners and encouraging me to sleep as much as I felt
that I needed. In very early June, we were able to tell Richard’s parents about
our big news. As a little boy, Richard had a Mickey Mouse fishing rod, so we
bought Richard’s Dad a Mickey Mouse fishing rod and give it to him. We told
lots of Richard’s family within the same 24 hours as everyone lives in Rock Hill and
we wanted to be able to tell as many people in person as possible. We were so
happy that we had that opportunity to tell everyone in person and share in the
excitement with them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><i>July</i></u></b></span></h3>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZlU3xTn_0bGvNUaaC_iEFbg-peOrR6WWJCi91r-Cl_BEUR5KnNZ76J3wimXDifdLpuS9iuCR6v3HgEzl4q14xJEx79Af2D0wo-X2qMS61rQ3zAifaGVWIEjjcmT-PopaVSERrKU8dPgX/s1600/20150711_202804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZlU3xTn_0bGvNUaaC_iEFbg-peOrR6WWJCi91r-Cl_BEUR5KnNZ76J3wimXDifdLpuS9iuCR6v3HgEzl4q14xJEx79Af2D0wo-X2qMS61rQ3zAifaGVWIEjjcmT-PopaVSERrKU8dPgX/s320/20150711_202804.jpg" width="180"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2CdX7rIxB5HyOaAMPUmerybt4DD7UBBAddMer5s9Z84RCC0rZrOsYFSYJn8HF-qbKGUx89mg7AEmEYeNqRxNzuW7ASYqF6df0AFs3Iuq7Oj0xfr4piVOxb7oXbgdNj7sFGsfw2bMK6ehK/s1600/20150711_201758.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2CdX7rIxB5HyOaAMPUmerybt4DD7UBBAddMer5s9Z84RCC0rZrOsYFSYJn8HF-qbKGUx89mg7AEmEYeNqRxNzuW7ASYqF6df0AFs3Iuq7Oj0xfr4piVOxb7oXbgdNj7sFGsfw2bMK6ehK/s320/20150711_201758.jpg" width="180"></a>Over the 4<sup>th</sup> of July weekend, we had some very
close family friends visit for the weekend. Noah (the son) was the ring bearer
in our wedding and since 2012 has grown so much. Dylan (his sister) is also so
big and they loved the idea of us having a baby...or as she said it “a little
cousin”. They brought sweet baby gifts that they had taken time to pick out
with purpose and they were so excited for us to open them. It really warmed my
heart. The following weekend, my best
friend got married. It was extremely hot in Charleston for the wedding
week/weekend but that didn’t bother anyone associated with the group. Seeing
her in her wedding dress with a huge smile on her face brought me so much joy.
Brooke is someone that I have known for over 20 years and consider a sister. I loved
being there to witness her beautiful marriage to an awesome guy.<o:p></o:p><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLYw6i6LzTbIy7ET5KO650se_mcZiRrBdFIcLtdfoCpT3fSbemdTV6EXCCmyoUQSP4EZH5YOE33DxzWVzEtCaNGizZCXF-PLvzSHF_psj2ZMO8n7cviocsjq1hJxeqStS3fmCFOT36OMlB/s1600/20150725_170608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLYw6i6LzTbIy7ET5KO650se_mcZiRrBdFIcLtdfoCpT3fSbemdTV6EXCCmyoUQSP4EZH5YOE33DxzWVzEtCaNGizZCXF-PLvzSHF_psj2ZMO8n7cviocsjq1hJxeqStS3fmCFOT36OMlB/s320/20150725_170608.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZgElJay9agvNL0bC1U3aQeOomC6nWUSTHf3i6iy22xkepfvOlPzH2WkPLVoW_MUi3JHgez13RGbpgJ-Y-vS5RCkwzoiXQZIj5CKcVgTkw2ZS2Sp57eWsE-IL_7ydZBE0Ah1oH3C9-0FRV/s1600/20150725_203957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZgElJay9agvNL0bC1U3aQeOomC6nWUSTHf3i6iy22xkepfvOlPzH2WkPLVoW_MUi3JHgez13RGbpgJ-Y-vS5RCkwzoiXQZIj5CKcVgTkw2ZS2Sp57eWsE-IL_7ydZBE0Ah1oH3C9-0FRV/s200/20150725_203957.jpg" width="112"></a>Finally, we ended the month by going to Lewisburg for a very
quick weekend (Drove ½ way Thursday, arrived Friday and drove home Sunday). A dear friend from middle and high school got
married. The groom is Irish and his family came from Ireland for the week. It
was so fun to finally meet the groom, to meet his sweet family, to see a real
Irish blessing (in Gaelic), see the bride marry her special guy and to visit with friends from high school that I
have not seen in forever. It was the
first time in about 2 years that we had gotten to visit Lewisburg and it was
great to be able to spend time walking around my parent’s property and seeing
the sights of the small town. Luka absolutely loved running around such a big
property and having free reign of the farm. It confirmed with us that someday
we’d love to get a nice piece of property that our family and animals can run
around on. <o:p></o:p><br>
<br></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfk0azeOW16TxU_1iLnyOijwIuo8ftn2Kz0pmsqPfEYK7noVaFZKET-yLExtdSVUkEHy1GnL8ZTmffroocoZna2OVy-FqheumjXKeuDfX0JYHyFb1ahEUqvH3q-3e3YQqLnMdidltO9B3/s1600/20150724_161717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfk0azeOW16TxU_1iLnyOijwIuo8ftn2Kz0pmsqPfEYK7noVaFZKET-yLExtdSVUkEHy1GnL8ZTmffroocoZna2OVy-FqheumjXKeuDfX0JYHyFb1ahEUqvH3q-3e3YQqLnMdidltO9B3/s320/20150724_161717.jpg" width="180"></a></div>
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Upon arrival home, Richard and I quickly went to bed because
his alarm was set to go off at 430 am. The relaxing elective month had come to
an end and the busy hospital month was beginning. Richard became an upper-level
resident in July and on his new rotation is responsible for teaching and looking
after the interns who began July 1. We
enjoyed our busy summer months and loved getting the chance to celebrate so
many great things with our friends and family. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-32609034956397056152015-07-23T09:51:00.001-07:002015-07-23T09:52:34.226-07:00O'Neal News<br />
Well after a bit of an absence from the blogging scene, I'm stepping back into it! Since my last post in May, lots of things have changed. About a week after my last post Richard and I found out that in January, we will become parents! First trimester has now come and gone. Overall, it was easy but the main struggle was the fatigue. There were a few weeks when I was so exhausted that I'd sleep every second that I could. I'd try to sneak home early and sleep until dinner time and then I would force Richard to go to bed early (really I'd fall asleep and he'd watch tv). No morning sickness though -- hallelujah!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T2_s02jIXeI/VaZdTV-lbpI/AAAAAAAAcuQ/kPLtDbAg68E/s1600/1780.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T2_s02jIXeI/VaZdTV-lbpI/AAAAAAAAcuQ/kPLtDbAg68E/s400/1780.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">10 week ultrasound </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We had our first doctors appointment/ultrasound at 10 weeks. It may be the most incredible thing that I have ever seen/heard. What a life altering moment to hear your baby's heart beat and see the little growing human on the tv. I immediately cried and Richard said that he was just so in "awe" that he didn't know how to react. USCSOM teaches its students extensively on ultrasound (it's something they pride themselves on) and so Richard has spent a lot of time seeing similar ultrasounds. It amazed me to see how speechless and awe struck he was, but I guess that it is very different when it's your child.<br />
<br />
Both of our families are very excited about this addition. We told them each pretty early into the pregnancy, so I imagine both sides are thrilled to be able to talk with everyone about it now! We are beginning to do the necessary prep work for the house and financially. Richard has been booted from his big closet and is moving excess items out of the 3rd bedroom (If anyone needs a dresser and bedside table let me know). We are starting to put together the list of items that we'll buy or register for but it's amazing how much stuff there truly is. Weeding through the excess to have the basic list of essentials is a huge task.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHJTn0VpOP0aUA8sxzZ-Ymq4kkr31TCsqlX5BV3cDIQdq9Gkt87TTQ5XPFlHPtqGz8ZqsEpLMkmq-E9JxGXZiUdITwgQzzeG_P1GW3dbBF0KIKPxJJymwdndt-NVYI0TqJTY1asukbhVr/s1600/PART_1435193195307_.IMG_20150624_204611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHJTn0VpOP0aUA8sxzZ-Ymq4kkr31TCsqlX5BV3cDIQdq9Gkt87TTQ5XPFlHPtqGz8ZqsEpLMkmq-E9JxGXZiUdITwgQzzeG_P1GW3dbBF0KIKPxJJymwdndt-NVYI0TqJTY1asukbhVr/s320/PART_1435193195307_.IMG_20150624_204611.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard and his silly face</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This week I decided to be proactive in searching for a daycare because I had heard things in Greenville fill up quickly. Well thank goodness I did! The hospital daycare has a waiting list of over a year.. I called another one who very nicely told me "we hope to have you placed in a classroom by the 2 year old age group". <b style="color: red;">WHAT?! </b>That phone call proved to me what sort of insanity is occurring in the Greenville infant daycare system. After frantically emailing and calling places, I found the last spot in a daycare beginning May 2016. My baby has barely had its gender developed and I am already late on setting up a daycare option?! So the lessons that I'm sharing with my local friends are 1.) Open an infant daycare and you'll have plenty of business and 2.) if you are even entertaining the thought of having children (even 2 yrs out) that you should look into daycare. I am just thankful that we found a great place with a wonderful reputation in the community and that although it starts in May and not April (when maternity leave would end should everything go as planned) that we have a plan. We will be on the hunt for a good nanny of some sort for the 1st few weeks until May 1st when the space becomes available.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMaVIS5a39ksWL_uv6upLE8Q0uLJfOdGKVqAm4W12jt8-2BE8KXvnKG3Nhm_UTnDa2vwJ_oLsVqPPxqpUeJnpnmdcWqqVcy7OT8LF8KcV9oSnNN4t9cKzZIYwT8RK1t7YOWEYozC7wx0p/s1600/Screenshot_2015-07-23-11-33-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMaVIS5a39ksWL_uv6upLE8Q0uLJfOdGKVqAm4W12jt8-2BE8KXvnKG3Nhm_UTnDa2vwJ_oLsVqPPxqpUeJnpnmdcWqqVcy7OT8LF8KcV9oSnNN4t9cKzZIYwT8RK1t7YOWEYozC7wx0p/s320/Screenshot_2015-07-23-11-33-01.png" width="203" /></a><br />
It is amazing how immediately after seeing that "positive" come up on a pregnancy test how your mind changes and the focus shifts. We still have many months to go but regardless of the amount time we have, I don't think we will ever be fully prepared. Sometime next month we will have our anatomy scan and will get another glimpse at the baby. This is normally when gender would be determined, but we are going "old school" and will find out around January 16th when she or he arrives. Until then I am thankful for the ease of everything so far and continue to pray that everything stays that way as this pregnancy progresses. It's hard to believe I'm already 15 weeks on Saturday.<br />
<br />
<br />
We cannot say enough about how overwhelmed we were by the countless people who liked and commented on the Facebook post. 406 likes and 122 comments- WOW. Thank you, thank you! We are feeling love from people all over the world and cannot say enough about how much it means to us. Thank you for supporting us, for loving us, for already loving our little one and for starting this new phase of life with us! We are excited about everything pregnancy and parenthood have in store for us!<br />
<br />
P.S. We've done a lot of things since the last entry and I will soon write another update sharing pictures from some of the trips/outings that we've had in the past 3 months.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-37772671952464393232015-05-07T18:36:00.002-07:002015-05-08T05:25:02.365-07:00Lets get together.. yeah yeah yeah<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: right;">
<b style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">“Time
is the most valuable thing a man can spend " </b><i style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;"><b> </b></i></div>
<i style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;"><b><div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="text-align: justify;"> -</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">T</span></b></i></span><i style="line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">heophrastus</span></b></i></div>
</b></i></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: left;">
April came, went and already we are speeding through May. Can
anyone make time stand still for little bit? These months where Richard is
present and accounted for are so awesome. We get to have dinner together as
much as we want, we get to lay in the hammock, piddle in the yard, watch Game
Of Thrones or snuggle with our puppy— TOGETHER! </div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1q7zRlPezJm8Q3sirf4v2XsHPdJJBei2LNvXx5up-p4mLrzh6nznEaCMl3u0zQJokz2xckcAX_GzDZNcoZKBa3YNK0tye_wmKalnIReRqXlBmvATZv_YZVqcwmHguj7L9zq4jalTl5GR/s1600/IMG_20150502_205633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1q7zRlPezJm8Q3sirf4v2XsHPdJJBei2LNvXx5up-p4mLrzh6nznEaCMl3u0zQJokz2xckcAX_GzDZNcoZKBa3YNK0tye_wmKalnIReRqXlBmvATZv_YZVqcwmHguj7L9zq4jalTl5GR/s200/IMG_20150502_205633.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kentucky Derby Party May 2 2015</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8KI6a8yozhp6-p_HUJByhCz3wUzZQuZ50K240IpaBzqmQYE0cA7Z4_uR_ZR6ch1LhYfblUZdOn7z5yAx58QR-_MSYzNtS-OHgC-TZYlRulvZlkTIMfC8nvpibQYK61WWwPXg8IzfQsy1/s1600/Screenshot_2014-05-19-12-51-51-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8KI6a8yozhp6-p_HUJByhCz3wUzZQuZ50K240IpaBzqmQYE0cA7Z4_uR_ZR6ch1LhYfblUZdOn7z5yAx58QR-_MSYzNtS-OHgC-TZYlRulvZlkTIMfC8nvpibQYK61WWwPXg8IzfQsy1/s200/Screenshot_2014-05-19-12-51-51-1.png" width="158" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medical School Graduation 2014</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Time is such a precious gift. The time we spend together
during “good months” is great but
sometimes it is exhausting. Not because we spend too much time together but
because we are constantly going and doing. His months of electives are so rare
that we feel the need to visit with people, go out and do things in Greenville or attend family functions and
because of that, our quality time together suffers. We didn’t have a single
weekend together last month that we weren’t “overbooked” with events. This is a topic of conversation that Richard and I have recently been talking a lot about… we pride ourselves on being
available to spend time with important people in our lives but are trying to
learn how to be a little more selfish about our time together. Learning how to say “no” is difficult and we
both have guilt about it when we actually do say it. In a perfect
world, there would be more elective months with free weekends, but at least for
the next few years that is not an option. So learning how to not overbook
ourselves is our new goal together. We love and appreciate all of the wonderful people in our support system, but we need to continue to grow together during this journey. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYgUdguckWphpbW16eA1c5wrUMgPvzpfKPzfgKTkwmXy8_-oslzuS92iKLWVK1sFxlo1vlSn2T6_4Zy9_q1xpF6Q_cSk9wYWi8XV-bcirBVDxgl5cIGOGti5DNcOexIKzUet1tPkKcJLEc/s1600/IMG_20150331_111635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYgUdguckWphpbW16eA1c5wrUMgPvzpfKPzfgKTkwmXy8_-oslzuS92iKLWVK1sFxlo1vlSn2T6_4Zy9_q1xpF6Q_cSk9wYWi8XV-bcirBVDxgl5cIGOGti5DNcOexIKzUet1tPkKcJLEc/s200/IMG_20150331_111635.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luka</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Believe it or not, intern year is rapidly coming to a close.
This week last year, we were celebrating
his medical school graduation. It amazes me that a full year has come and gone
already. Beginning <o:p></o:p><br />
in July, Richard will
no longer be the low man on the totem pole. He will have more responsibilities,
will be held more accountable for things (don’t know how that’s possible but it
is) and his hours will be different than intern year. I’m not banking on it
being any better than intern year but I don’t think it could be any worse. In this life, we have to take the positives
and run with them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpbgU0qtdObBudpGkuGbUihqhjXVZLVmQYFQWJKWbts6EKpYOaaJcCYOkdDezaMpPoVhkW7l2CK88ekQuJzsT898bzZpLq8IScWOQibtz9KB6l9hz6RhV2yVyqt49I3OK0lEeRXpBDLUTu/s1600/IMG_20150425_090448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpbgU0qtdObBudpGkuGbUihqhjXVZLVmQYFQWJKWbts6EKpYOaaJcCYOkdDezaMpPoVhkW7l2CK88ekQuJzsT898bzZpLq8IScWOQibtz9KB6l9hz6RhV2yVyqt49I3OK0lEeRXpBDLUTu/s200/IMG_20150425_090448.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard cutting my Shanmama's yard<br />
in Denver at the end of April</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are still waiting
for his schedule for the next year of residency. Every day (jokingly) I ask
him, “do you have your schedule yet”? Every day he answers “no”. This has been a
frustrating experience because there are things going on in the next year in
our life that we are trying to attend (together)… we’ve got weddings and family
things that he would like to attend and we still have no clue. We have a big wedding in July and now we are within the required 60 day time frame for requesting off (should it be an
elective month) and he has no clue if it’s even a possibility. I am unsure of how many electives he'll have in the upcoming year, but I hope there are lots of them and that they are spread out. It is amazing how much of a difference a "good month" aka elective rotation can make for Richard, for me and for us. I love seeing him smile, laugh and just enjoy his outside of the hospital life. Richard does love his 90 hour a week months in the hospital and he learns so much during that time, but sometimes we need a respite for rejuvenation purposes.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAy6z1qKG13i5eQdO9VVgAAllRCaFcUqxezMbz9Gr8ucEQZvX5LSkf8w7wrhLlxlBu_MjxZpEnC4ujhds8XzvMVpnaYj9wcjDeXvC1Uz4MJoVpsR6ElBQ12kEKFSxdf_t277FenX77k9c/s1600/IMG_20150420_071121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAy6z1qKG13i5eQdO9VVgAAllRCaFcUqxezMbz9Gr8ucEQZvX5LSkf8w7wrhLlxlBu_MjxZpEnC4ujhds8XzvMVpnaYj9wcjDeXvC1Uz4MJoVpsR6ElBQ12kEKFSxdf_t277FenX77k9c/s200/IMG_20150420_071121.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard wearing his birthday bow tie from<br />
his grandma!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the end of May Richard will be taking his Step 3 Board
Exams. Every night he spends some time going over questions and trying to
prepare for this big important exam. Should Richard have a desire to do a
fellowship, doing well on this test is essential. Please keep him in your thoughts/prayers this month
as he prepares and sits for this 2 days exam. At the end of the month we head to Disney for the final weekend of this elective month. June 1st begins a busy month and immediately jumps into him staying at the hospital for nights. Guess Luka will be getting used to the bed again! <br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
As always, thank you for following us on this adventure. Richard loves his work at GHS and as his wife it brings me so much joy to know that he is pursuing a career that makes him happy. Thank you for tolerating the unknown of what each month will bring and for remaining unwavering in your support. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-9352333979877845952015-04-13T13:36:00.003-07:002015-04-13T13:48:36.730-07:00"A Social Gathering"<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"> </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 19.007999420166px; line-height: 36px; text-align: start;">“There’s not a word yet for old friends who’ve just met” - Jim Henson</b></h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzUXdtPxojBrYElBB-xN8NplhogxgCGZ4jGyJbVTxqRknVa9AW2B_D6zvMS5ioD1VA3umNxKcQHcXItOFQdOLaN-Yaqe1YxQDneY2p25757OY8zEbHmBjNoa1RH4AbWHQqvd-SC_-77aGI/s1600/2015-04-12_05-28-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzUXdtPxojBrYElBB-xN8NplhogxgCGZ4jGyJbVTxqRknVa9AW2B_D6zvMS5ioD1VA3umNxKcQHcXItOFQdOLaN-Yaqe1YxQDneY2p25757OY8zEbHmBjNoa1RH4AbWHQqvd-SC_-77aGI/s1600/2015-04-12_05-28-13.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birthday Boy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
As many of you know. Richard's birthday is Saturday the 18th and as I was considering what to do for his birthday, I really struggled. What do you get for a guy who doesn't have a lot of free time for hobbies? For a guy who hasn't expressed a desire for any gifts? For a guy whose schedule wouldn't permit an excursion or outing? Richard very rarely gets any opportunity to sit, laugh, visit and enjoy himself with friends. He struggles with working on his friendships and relationships because of his schedule limitations and that has been one of our 2015 resolutions (both individually and as a couple). So, I threw him a birthday party or as he called it "A Social Gathering".<br />
<br />
<span style="text-align: center;">We cooked out, had a few yard games, we laughed, had a fire with smores (people burned their HIPAA documents) and we truly just enjoyed ourselves. It was so fun to see Richard carrying on with some of the best people we know. </span><br />
<br />
While we've lived in Greenville and over the past year, we have met so many wonderful people. These are the type of people who you've just met and there isn't any sort of awkward "get to know you period". You enjoy the same things, you are in similar phases of life, you come from relatable backgrounds and for some reason it just works. You click. While some of these relationships are still new and growing, we feel lucky to have met them and look forward to many more memories.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMGSoLXfefnkQ2lKxdVAkKPpJb59y1LOC5PJnvzfIwdAECi6BLoMdNSKRKWHDqZYFAKSqmgYQWriAGgT4JsFum5j2hLigUOGoG7eITvLqXoNf2TBjPk7YnwpYXW18ZZvDB5843cVbgWNQ/s1600/16931437998_d7412e24f0_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMGSoLXfefnkQ2lKxdVAkKPpJb59y1LOC5PJnvzfIwdAECi6BLoMdNSKRKWHDqZYFAKSqmgYQWriAGgT4JsFum5j2hLigUOGoG7eITvLqXoNf2TBjPk7YnwpYXW18ZZvDB5843cVbgWNQ/s1600/16931437998_d7412e24f0_o.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wonderful friends!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfmuRrgGW1-68o7ZnaglKW31qwyFzAylT0dDbzEDlwpmQVH5Nr15D6zdXftE6PSUy1PeX5by5XvDpkOeEfNGnjbRaYwOxXsHMS5-OSn9mX1_yQdI-MxjjwixS7LtgxbrpYav8m-e8QdY3_/s1600/16933054779_152df999ed_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfmuRrgGW1-68o7ZnaglKW31qwyFzAylT0dDbzEDlwpmQVH5Nr15D6zdXftE6PSUy1PeX5by5XvDpkOeEfNGnjbRaYwOxXsHMS5-OSn9mX1_yQdI-MxjjwixS7LtgxbrpYav8m-e8QdY3_/s1600/16933054779_152df999ed_o.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryan & Craig (Med Peds Residents)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We also had a few old friends that were there too. I made a point to invite my favorite Wofford Terriers. Blake and Jonathan (Richard's buddies from college who were in our wedding) came up for the weekend. Being around the three of them reminds me so much of the time spent at Wofford. They laugh and carry on just like they used to and despite the craziness of all of our lives, they are such great friends to one another. These are two of my absolute favorite guys in the world and I love being with them (almost as much as Richard does). It's so fun to see how things have changed in our lives. Jonathan is working on a PhD at University of Georgia and Blake is about to graduate from USC School of Medicine. We are so lucky to have these great guys in our lives and savor the limited time we get as a group.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkB7IQRiMw_fnMRJ3EDDydGG3h998-9owqCQVFgV0cZ0adZsxDMKo8s_RHDHYuAA9llag4kb2lYh90NEjwJiXVQSf7v9-zNVTZlX6b1nCO2UeOSMkw6cfAxpxdkWgb8amxAfukJDbOmK0/s1600/FB_IMG_1428585406384.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkB7IQRiMw_fnMRJ3EDDydGG3h998-9owqCQVFgV0cZ0adZsxDMKo8s_RHDHYuAA9llag4kb2lYh90NEjwJiXVQSf7v9-zNVTZlX6b1nCO2UeOSMkw6cfAxpxdkWgb8amxAfukJDbOmK0/s1600/FB_IMG_1428585406384.jpg" height="200" width="177" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard's 21st birthday</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0BDXyVmiDwSXsAJM4f3taC2HjsMMHVVlSxWCkPSpLyFEKdJNkeJg6ln8rT19CvCgMRPThYdOmxTgvF9OxHVUU7rKLuZJa40wxrsMeyr0nJhyBNldYdWoOCwU9_w6rSy6fXg6dLe5kCrRy/s1600/IMG_20150412_194546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0BDXyVmiDwSXsAJM4f3taC2HjsMMHVVlSxWCkPSpLyFEKdJNkeJg6ln8rT19CvCgMRPThYdOmxTgvF9OxHVUU7rKLuZJa40wxrsMeyr0nJhyBNldYdWoOCwU9_w6rSy6fXg6dLe5kCrRy/s1600/IMG_20150412_194546.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard's 27th birthday</td></tr>
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As we continue to celebrate his birthday week, we will be playing trivia a couple nights this week with some awesome people and on Friday we are headed to Rock Hill to visit with family. It's hard to believe that in 2009, I helped Richard celebrate his 21st birthday and this week he will celebrate his 27th! It's amazing how time flies and things in life change.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Happy Birthday to Doctor O'Neal! </i></span></div>
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Thank goodness Richard is finished with this last rotation. Today I finally began to see signs that my <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0v78BVhFPR-8dCAAFdafjKR1KCwC2u_fQo-sKZlwS8sLxPFvlJ53nGtdGGUUYgR2L41YOyUUulkyDsKAD8icEw3y5mv_aBOWVskVO4p4XU5hQ_BlBJLK9x-Xh6biatwysUHKihNg4ADS/s1600/photo+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0v78BVhFPR-8dCAAFdafjKR1KCwC2u_fQo-sKZlwS8sLxPFvlJ53nGtdGGUUYgR2L41YOyUUulkyDsKAD8icEw3y5mv_aBOWVskVO4p4XU5hQ_BlBJLK9x-Xh6biatwysUHKihNg4ADS/s1600/photo+(2).JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selfies helped me see him </td></tr>
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sweet husband was still alive inside of his exhausted frame. The past month has flown by (as it seems each month does) but for both of us, the months end was welcomed with open arms. Throughout the month, Richard's alarm chimed everyday around 3:15 am or 3:30 and he was out the door before I could even recover from his alarm going off. He would come home on average around 7 pm. Of course, there are were a few days when he came home around 6:15 but more often this rotation there were later days. He would come home pale and exhausted having worked so hard to do his best for the patients. Richard is 100% of the time a more positive, peppy and encouraging individual than myself and this month it was hard to see him so tired from his hospital life. The cause: lots of difficult cases, challenging patients/families and the constant need to give 200% to every case. When he walked into the house last night after work, he had a look of relief on his face that he (we) had survived what he considers his worst month yet.<br />
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Richard is on an elective rotation now and he was home by 5:30 tonight. Hurray!!!! He smiled, laughed, cooked me a great dinner and for the first time in 30ish days, he did not have dictations or computer documentation to do post dinner.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIxFr_9YFYy7yn-fB1diK7Dd5EVwM2mcXw6IBlEjk5ejoE5LzsULsJB3cfMgbCnm7VcjzKLCJB8FuApj1dgOGPYVhrA6K7hkuE53F1arf7ZpFvvepF7F6_7DCfF2OlaEH4TiopF-xpJ8r/s1600/IMG_20150321_191209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIxFr_9YFYy7yn-fB1diK7Dd5EVwM2mcXw6IBlEjk5ejoE5LzsULsJB3cfMgbCnm7VcjzKLCJB8FuApj1dgOGPYVhrA6K7hkuE53F1arf7ZpFvvepF7F6_7DCfF2OlaEH4TiopF-xpJ8r/s1600/IMG_20150321_191209.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At a wedding in New Orleans<br />
with my best friend, Brooke.</td></tr>
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Due to the craziness of the past month and Richard's schedule permitting only 1 day off a week (which never coincided with my weekends off), we basically lived separate lives for the month. I did an insane amount of traveling for various reasons (bridal shower, conference and wedding) and work had me much busier than it has in a while. It was so nice to finally come home last weekend and know that I would be sleeping in my own bed without interruption for a while.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHR2YtFJKmIuoaCfjI_rxOYMiMxIedN3lcUHOYYu8boqwtGJw3UcmDtFW6gQqUaoLPtdJMf_wNrSLaJzxMxrff3TyGkiwtm4jCZfVJpQXIxYeV0_w2Df6vR7Xcll7ElxAE1q9oJ4TJCrJA/s1600/IMG_7820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHR2YtFJKmIuoaCfjI_rxOYMiMxIedN3lcUHOYYu8boqwtGJw3UcmDtFW6gQqUaoLPtdJMf_wNrSLaJzxMxrff3TyGkiwtm4jCZfVJpQXIxYeV0_w2Df6vR7Xcll7ElxAE1q9oJ4TJCrJA/s1600/IMG_7820.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard's Greenhouse</td></tr>
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With the little bit of daylight that Richard has seen, he's spent a lot of time piddling around our garden. He has worked hard to get things ready so that we'll have lots of vegetables to eat this summer. Out of the blue we had a random night of freezing temperatures (after our plants were in the ground) and Richard created a little green house that seems to have protected our plants very well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkIf71bsITTomE2yudoRIdbW5G2_p-GMU28FLqTV0uILRCjDi33Ot2_IyxD2gc2MkwE6pBULaH0kWOivHFRJL9HdbWiAqbJqVHCmoq1LX2PgalkRmRRl2DQAjq_q7Inyx7hHCyafa-LJHR/s1600/20150331_130034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkIf71bsITTomE2yudoRIdbW5G2_p-GMU28FLqTV0uILRCjDi33Ot2_IyxD2gc2MkwE6pBULaH0kWOivHFRJL9HdbWiAqbJqVHCmoq1LX2PgalkRmRRl2DQAjq_q7Inyx7hHCyafa-LJHR/s1600/20150331_130034.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luka is loving the warm weather </td></tr>
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This month we don't have anything too wild and crazy planned. Richard has his birthday in a little over a week. We will be celebrating his 27th year of life with family and friends in a few different ways. We will also be making a quick trip to Denver to visit with my 91 year old grandmother and a few family members that live there. Both of my parents and my aunts will be visiting as well. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SYM1gwx7WpQ/VTEPFwIngUI/AAAAAAAAZ0U/wLXAXryg2iM/s1600/photo%2B(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SYM1gwx7WpQ/VTEPFwIngUI/AAAAAAAAZ0U/wLXAXryg2iM/s1600/photo%2B%281%29.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Garden</td></tr>
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This is our first spring in the house and we love coming home to see what new plants have bloomed in the yard. It is so fun to see what the previous owners planted and working in the yard brings us a lot of happiness. In the book that I am reading as part of my Side-by-Side bible study or what I commonly call "my support group", we are continuing to read <a href="http://prescriptionforthedoctorswife.com/" target="_blank">Prescription for the Doctor's Wife</a>. In our most recent chapter, the author shares a quote that hangs in her home and it reads, " Bloom where you are planted." Seeing all the beautiful <br />
flowers blooming, this quote has been my mantra since reading it.<br />
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As things are always up in the air with this crazy lifestyle that we're in, Richard and I are truly blooming. He had an incredible review come in last night that spoke about his compassion and his truly wonderful ability to care for patients. He is blossoming at the hospital in ways that I cannot see daily, but when I do hear it I am overwhelmed with pride for him. I finally truly feel that I'm "blooming" in my relationships with people here in Greenville and that I am developing that much needed support system. And together, we are blooming in our ability to survive bad months of not seeing one another and supporting one another throughout this journey. Thank you for helping us "bloom" with your love and support. We are truly grateful to our friends and family as we navigate these unknown territories.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ds8wtpN-Cts/VTEPGQ_oLMI/AAAAAAAAZ0c/yFLS3-wvaAw/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ds8wtpN-Cts/VTEPGQ_oLMI/AAAAAAAAZ0c/yFLS3-wvaAw/s1600/photo.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tulips "blooming" in our yard</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-66311788629040484672015-03-15T13:48:00.000-07:002015-03-15T13:48:17.667-07:00February: The Wintery blur <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7Z8WXw5FDx5MFv6woMOI9ZsIrXn1xbwAvhqrODbbwce0HvfjKhLmGkweaJ9XovrFGbFN2Ei2TZQpwfN6L1M6T3bIrfrM88RA_zL5YZ9khbYtvVPdElLx4FlXXAy3RRdBY4OkLWov7AY_/s1600/20150224_111429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7Z8WXw5FDx5MFv6woMOI9ZsIrXn1xbwAvhqrODbbwce0HvfjKhLmGkweaJ9XovrFGbFN2Ei2TZQpwfN6L1M6T3bIrfrM88RA_zL5YZ9khbYtvVPdElLx4FlXXAy3RRdBY4OkLWov7AY_/s1600/20150224_111429.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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Spring is finally beginning to show its beautiful face here
in Greenville. After a cold and occasionally snowy winter, there are signs all
around us that it is almost over.
February was a blur of a month and March is quickly passing us by. Richard was on a geriatric rotation for the
month of February and after a few rough months with very little quality time
together, we were able to enjoy time with one another (and very often many
friends/family). <o:p></o:p></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAb3CMghTqZPUaStAcucWGhXjma8a005SxOk4XFyddp6Kk-eySfKgKf3XoZmpPEoSIwJNRTKEiyhnYbAWUCOut30BfvDqcEwTnbiOtT-_AKdQKVq8v_u_5DZpheAZDyDCuj8KG6sNlsBk8/s1600/IMG_20150311_193025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAb3CMghTqZPUaStAcucWGhXjma8a005SxOk4XFyddp6Kk-eySfKgKf3XoZmpPEoSIwJNRTKEiyhnYbAWUCOut30BfvDqcEwTnbiOtT-_AKdQKVq8v_u_5DZpheAZDyDCuj8KG6sNlsBk8/s1600/IMG_20150311_193025.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a><br />
Richard’s first free weekend of the month we had my parents,
my aunt & uncle plus some hilarious friends come visit for a fun
weekend. We saw Wicked and ate some
wonderful food around town. The following weekend, my bff from childhood came
for a quick weekend and we got to see Jason Mraz in concert at the Peace
Center. Poor Richard came down with an
awful stomach bug just as Brooke was leaving. It was pitiful to see him so sick
but thankfully it was only a 36 hour bug and before I knew it he was requesting
a hotdog for lunch! The next weekend we
headed to Rock Hill for a visit with Richard’s family where we got to spend
good quality time with all of the grandparents, his aunt and uncle, his brother
Rob and of course his parents. Our final
weekend we got to spend some good time with one another but yet again we were
busy. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8oVenL_Tvpm7V1gc6ygk6q97UZ8g6WbE2TcszlSU1g5Di66gH4-c-1Z7Kl02M0_epE-cZEsYilZl66gkTpGN9MWYYUisKbHuNytVUN4vSlhcasVY_6NT-byTO0cubtLmStOthsmVAi_f/s1600/20150213_194557.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8oVenL_Tvpm7V1gc6ygk6q97UZ8g6WbE2TcszlSU1g5Di66gH4-c-1Z7Kl02M0_epE-cZEsYilZl66gkTpGN9MWYYUisKbHuNytVUN4vSlhcasVY_6NT-byTO0cubtLmStOthsmVAi_f/s1600/20150213_194557.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix8YQnvXUvSgkbD_QeRiZfvRECDA3OSBUaeI5S9i3r2uZhyphenhyphenZ9Sdu_yNu__53jf2MKb4lQyO1pKSOoew67qatm75-XYFLBXG35dnvGKVRGdE2Rlc7P1uim38PRtCiQ-O8hJtZqzyAoYqAl3/s1600/IMG_20150220_162532+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix8YQnvXUvSgkbD_QeRiZfvRECDA3OSBUaeI5S9i3r2uZhyphenhyphenZ9Sdu_yNu__53jf2MKb4lQyO1pKSOoew67qatm75-XYFLBXG35dnvGKVRGdE2Rlc7P1uim38PRtCiQ-O8hJtZqzyAoYqAl3/s1600/IMG_20150220_162532+(1).jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
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The month flew by so quickly and we honestly only had 1 day
of just us working in the yard/ doing nothing but being able to spend time with
important people was worth everything! Richard’s elective rotations are so few
and far between that when he has weekends free we feel the need to go see and
visit with people we never have the opportunity to check in with otherwise. As
of Monday (3/9) the 3:45 am alarm clock is once again going off and Richard
heads into the hospital for long days. This month he will have 1 day off a week
(all week days this month) and will be working roughly 80 hours a week. As he kissed
me goodbye Monday morning, I jokingly said “see you next month” but there is
some truth to the statement. Luckily
this rotation isn’t nearly as bad as some of the others that he has had and we
will be able to enjoy dinners together at night. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj67juS-zhY3iI9eE5BI9hjo5u7I5ygRKV3UZSvTOwgXiJrjamb8ZjL1mgYvU4L9Shib5CmX0bRAFm4bduQWZJPBgfRLDUPqRy4iv4WfjANDQf52e0wn2Dk57lHPxgOs4NSb8cPBAHD7AZE/s1600/20150305_073836.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj67juS-zhY3iI9eE5BI9hjo5u7I5ygRKV3UZSvTOwgXiJrjamb8ZjL1mgYvU4L9Shib5CmX0bRAFm4bduQWZJPBgfRLDUPqRy4iv4WfjANDQf52e0wn2Dk57lHPxgOs4NSb8cPBAHD7AZE/s1600/20150305_073836.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKJ6-EufHIsfZ79u5G01PdVk3pzDcQOrnOfDGkl2kZY3rIrjzNU-g_z6fLWQOG7tR_w8WHjm_5z1c477Q42nmpEU1LAbo6Pb31XPkEPMxvGparig1IMeX6ZpOZzCOrVcLPXxLXyHdPQAt/s1600/20150228_144136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKJ6-EufHIsfZ79u5G01PdVk3pzDcQOrnOfDGkl2kZY3rIrjzNU-g_z6fLWQOG7tR_w8WHjm_5z1c477Q42nmpEU1LAbo6Pb31XPkEPMxvGparig1IMeX6ZpOZzCOrVcLPXxLXyHdPQAt/s1600/20150228_144136.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>In this past rotation we both made an effort to reach out
and get involved more with the church that we attend. We attended a community
group (week night bible study/ Sunday school class) and met a lot of wonderful
people. I've also joined a group of women whose husbands are also physicians. We've got a spectrum of ages from resident wives to women who are seasoned veterans in this life style. It's been a wonderful support and has been very insightful about so many topics. I've enjoyed meeting a few of the other resident spouses and developing friendships with these awesome women. It has been very rewarding for both us to get involved in various groups and it has made use feel more connected to Greenville in an entirely different way. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
We absolutely loved having so many people come visit us in February and hope that this trend will continue throughout 2015. Richard will finish this next bad month in time for his birthday and then we'll have back to back elective rotations in April and May! Thank you for those of you who support us, call to check in on us, send us letters, who love us and remain constants in our lives. We could not get through this difficult intern year without you. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-19601771467704496202015-01-29T12:46:00.001-08:002015-01-29T12:46:54.327-08:00A New Year's update on Dr. O'Neal and our life<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LTv6Eixi4f-RGIPrZDiYJ6sojdS80j9Fp3308j2HQCeVrCSRDcz7jdqqu676RUoTgDwjPDNzNlVAoQGMa6Ihs6hw7NoPyGZl3rop_9q85KUOkUUxsrJfS-jRxmkFQjl84PDgo_Fsno0H/s1600/20141224_133144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3s8U0bAaihcFGbe9UxmQRD-r6f0iQL-kO4RksllO7nfUCov9f9LqUSto0QgyTe0aKUNoX-KkIEOLWgiBJlJGqfnXOkXysDTG1mUFJ4RU2jKwSyAXf_N1WHCdosK3Pj1pMDprmQb5Tg82/s1600/20141227_135433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3s8U0bAaihcFGbe9UxmQRD-r6f0iQL-kO4RksllO7nfUCov9f9LqUSto0QgyTe0aKUNoX-KkIEOLWgiBJlJGqfnXOkXysDTG1mUFJ4RU2jKwSyAXf_N1WHCdosK3Pj1pMDprmQb5Tg82/s1600/20141227_135433.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We have officially survived the 6 month mark with intern
year-<b> Hallelujah</b>. It is a wonderful feeling to know that we’re half way through
surviving the most brutal year of Richard’s residency. Since the beginning of residency, Richard has
come home with both wonderful and sad stories, my favorite ones being where he
did something incredible on the patients behalf. He has such a wonderful
passion for helping people and doing what is right for both the patient and family.
I love seeing him passionate about things and passionate about his work at the
hospital. If he was not in love with his work, then being a resident spouse
would be a much harder job. The long
hours plus the limited time that he and I get together is emotionally
exhaust</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ing at times. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For example, yesterday Richard left the house at 4:30 am
and he walked in the door at 9. After eating together for 15/20 minutes he
spent the next 1.5 – 2 hours doing dictations.
At 11:30 he finally came to bed and left the house at the same time
again today. Days or weeks where this is the norm become frustrating and emotionally
draining. I am amazed that his body
allows him to keep functioning. I’ll be honest that we are both counting down
the days until this insane rotation is over.
February will be a wonderful respite after 2 insane months with limited
quality time together (with the exception of Christmas week).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LTv6Eixi4f-RGIPrZDiYJ6sojdS80j9Fp3308j2HQCeVrCSRDcz7jdqqu676RUoTgDwjPDNzNlVAoQGMa6Ihs6hw7NoPyGZl3rop_9q85KUOkUUxsrJfS-jRxmkFQjl84PDgo_Fsno0H/s1600/20141224_133144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LTv6Eixi4f-RGIPrZDiYJ6sojdS80j9Fp3308j2HQCeVrCSRDcz7jdqqu676RUoTgDwjPDNzNlVAoQGMa6Ihs6hw7NoPyGZl3rop_9q85KUOkUUxsrJfS-jRxmkFQjl84PDgo_Fsno0H/s1600/20141224_133144.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />Richard and I had the opportunity to spend some of the
holidays with family. We ventured up to Rock Hill for Thanksgiving and spent a
week on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai with my family for Christmas. Hawaii was
the first time in December that we had spent any amount of time together and we
truly haven’t had that since. The other week I was able to sneak away from the
office to do computer work at home and it happened that Richard had a lighter
caseload too. I was able to meet him at the hospital for some Chick-fil-A. Like a flash he came whirling into the dining
area. I swear it was like a superhero with a cape how quickly he was moving and
how his white coat flew in the air behind him. It was remarkable to see my Doctor in his work
environment and see how much he thrives in it. It was so fun and I loved every
minute we spent together during that little lunch date.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63n6iCdowN7lkqi9L_VSzpSoXBb9u12gx_55jnnkfWObddS6dreBjAZUpQAV2NWHgZ7TEmEc2nHAApCttvLeNS35epS9ASa4eLb6mvZaeV_vSVZI0AqvAxVzLXhcAgBuRry0-SJwoGhl_/s1600/20150109_150507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63n6iCdowN7lkqi9L_VSzpSoXBb9u12gx_55jnnkfWObddS6dreBjAZUpQAV2NWHgZ7TEmEc2nHAApCttvLeNS35epS9ASa4eLb6mvZaeV_vSVZI0AqvAxVzLXhcAgBuRry0-SJwoGhl_/s1600/20150109_150507.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Other than Richard’s 90 hour weeks at the hospital and lack
of sleep, he is doing wonderfully. He is loved by everyone at the
hospital and he makes me so proud everyday.
Our pup, Luka is doing very well. His doggy rest was lifted right after
Christmas and in May they will do blood tests to make sure that his heart worms
are officially gone. While on bed rest and prednisone, he put on a bit
of weight. He loves having the freedom to run around again and is slimming down.
My work is really keeping me busy (2 of the upstate social workers have left
the company) and I feel like I’m running around with my head cut off. Over the past few months I have started getting out and doing
more things. I find that it’s healthier for me as a spouse to get out and do
things that keep me busy. Instead of sitting at home pining for my sweet
husband. I’ve become an advisor for my college sorority and am so happy to have
Delta Zeta back in my life. The girls
are wonderful to work with, it’s fun and it keeps me busy. I have been going to
church more (sans Richard) and have signed up to join a dinner group through
church. I spend time with a couple of the residents wives and have enjoyed
developing friendships with women who understand the challenges associated with
being married to a resident. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The past 6
months have been an incredible growing time for him, for me and for us as a
couple. Everyday has its challenges but who doesn’t face those in life? In
marriage? In work? I am so happy to
support him and see him take more steps towards becoming an incredible
physician. Thank you for all of those who support us , think about us and love
us. Please come visit us in our awesome
city (we have a guest room). We are both confident that 2015 has a lot in store for us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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When Richard and I moved to Greenville in 2012 we quickly
fell in love with this awesome town. It is a beautiful town set beside the
foothills of the mountains. There is so much to do, a vibrant downtown,
incredible hikes close by and many other wonderful attributes. After a few
months we began talking about the possibility of staying for residency and if
that didn't happen, we had hopes of one day returning to raise a family in this
town. As time approached for us to pick a number 1 for residency, it was a no
brainier for us. After match day we began the daunting task of looking to
possibly find a house. We met with a lender and began to Zillow every night
before finding a Realtor. We stumbled across a small number of houses that we
liked and even put in an offer on one. That house was not meant to be and fell
through right before we left for Italy. We decided that we wouldn't think about
it until after our trip. We returned from Italy with a renewed energy and
picked out 5 houses to see later in the week. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Back-story:</b> Before
our trip to Italy we had seen a house that we loved and on the day we went back
for a second look the house was already under contract. The man had brought the
house and had completely flipped it. Before we left for Italy I had looked up
online who the owner of the home was and through the county website found that
had had purchased a 2<sup>nd</sup> property. We were so impressed by what he had done with
the other house that we wanted to see his 2<sup>nd</sup> property.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwZjVFOD0nXub7aW14cw8A827Z9HmBL64XIVZyBYWksAUleZDAIo-H82YHAehTzXB9RdS8gI2brvbonheTjo0gM7ml3izjH44Hk-BVAek00p9HGR9YmY6GMwLt8osym8sAmYgHlUHd8X4/s1600/IMG_20140615_155350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwZjVFOD0nXub7aW14cw8A827Z9HmBL64XIVZyBYWksAUleZDAIo-H82YHAehTzXB9RdS8gI2brvbonheTjo0gM7ml3izjH44Hk-BVAek00p9HGR9YmY6GMwLt8osym8sAmYgHlUHd8X4/s1600/IMG_20140615_155350.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a><b>Jump back to present
day:</b> Right after we got back from Italy,while I was at work, Richard was driving around looking at the homes
that we were to see the next day. He just so happened to go to the street where
the man’s second home was. In front of the house was a For Sale By Owner sign.
Richard called the man and he stated that the contractor would be there today
and that we could stop in for a look around 5. We quickly contacted our Realtor
and at 5 we went. The house was wonderful! It had been completely gutted and
had been given new life. No more wood paneling or green shag carpet. The house was updated and immediately clicked
with us. We put in an offer that night and were under contract by morning. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRulzZjY7TmFgRH0hO3ROnKWKypUo1b5A1eHdxprdNkWQ_pLu17SWWEoI6oWq7muWSNfcSeYr5D5e1Ay5f1xKlA-GOLN1_giSHinmhntawmqXVtrXhJxOjkV-1arV6RWfWH_8F3dx3lil4/s1600/20140614_113414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRulzZjY7TmFgRH0hO3ROnKWKypUo1b5A1eHdxprdNkWQ_pLu17SWWEoI6oWq7muWSNfcSeYr5D5e1Ay5f1xKlA-GOLN1_giSHinmhntawmqXVtrXhJxOjkV-1arV6RWfWH_8F3dx3lil4/s1600/20140614_113414.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
The timing couldn't have been any more perfect. Our lease was up on
our rental property and although it’s been a wonderful little first house for
us, we were ready to make something our own and begin the next phase of our
life. The entire process was fairly
smoothly with the exception a few little hick ups. We closed at 11:30am on the 30<sup>th</sup>
and the movers arrived at 2 (for anyone in the upstate needing movers- Tiger Moving did an incredible job). We had to be completely out by the 31<sup>st</sup>
so the new renters could be in. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjafzS4y2BbuhDL2_VEDp78ZtLuJkWpPQrZACR4YL7qTIoLEepWWR3xTVO4XdO1OMpwrtN4JCHV5emx6SaUbt19IVvO0ULEaEdPAGh22XY-Rxl_ZoD1dyZDlaUOfO7MBXTsTexxElM-DP1b/s1600/20140531_175645.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjafzS4y2BbuhDL2_VEDp78ZtLuJkWpPQrZACR4YL7qTIoLEepWWR3xTVO4XdO1OMpwrtN4JCHV5emx6SaUbt19IVvO0ULEaEdPAGh22XY-Rxl_ZoD1dyZDlaUOfO7MBXTsTexxElM-DP1b/s1600/20140531_175645.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a>After returning from Chicago to a house almost entirely full of boxes, we are slowly making headway. Richard has been a wonderful "Mr. Mom" going through and unpacking while I'm at work. We spend the evenings together out in the yard with Luka running around in the background. We have a lot of little projects that we hope to do while in the home and are enjoying having a place to call our own.<br />
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Please let me know if you need our address. I plan to send out a note with our new address for those important friends and family in our lives. We also have graduation and birthday thank you notes that we need to send and will once we find our cards in the box room ( I promise they will be sent out ASAP). Thank you for being on this adventure with us and know that we are very thankful to have you in our lives.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-12661335183012770482014-05-19T19:42:00.001-07:002014-05-19T19:54:51.950-07:00Introducing, Dr. O'Neal<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizs49AyljVo2BxPx9uzCNw0S_pVOwtuahXI-0Q_SD7r8yMysQRHt1BKj1LcyE4Zpqulw64q0IS2S5x4v59muCKnKbj6CwKsKjmMMcONbnvxXy8EsNdmC-hXMFwAf9CGpfWQRIpvFYdhJgM/s1600/Screenshot_2014-05-19-12-51-07-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizs49AyljVo2BxPx9uzCNw0S_pVOwtuahXI-0Q_SD7r8yMysQRHt1BKj1LcyE4Zpqulw64q0IS2S5x4v59muCKnKbj6CwKsKjmMMcONbnvxXy8EsNdmC-hXMFwAf9CGpfWQRIpvFYdhJgM/s1600/Screenshot_2014-05-19-12-51-07-1.png" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
On May 9<sup>th</sup>, Richard along with his classmates graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. Four years of very hard work, an ungodly amount of loan money, countless tests, 2 horrible board exams, lots of hours in the classroom and hospital finally brought us to this day. Both of our families came together for the first time since our wedding and it was pretty incredible. We have one awesome family and I was really reminded of that last weekend.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhfPUf4zTMez7nPOGrphKgUNoRU9LbR1It3Ro4tC_8jlD0R9hChyHLeLL6g48UEJN_AQ7QkTJsx79Pi13BX26WGgl3iMTujwAhfP9ycD10QAi1FWtQF8j00CaExF3Yh3FLw1Kkph3aubIH/s1600/Screenshot_2014-05-19-12-51-51-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhfPUf4zTMez7nPOGrphKgUNoRU9LbR1It3Ro4tC_8jlD0R9hChyHLeLL6g48UEJN_AQ7QkTJsx79Pi13BX26WGgl3iMTujwAhfP9ycD10QAi1FWtQF8j00CaExF3Yh3FLw1Kkph3aubIH/s1600/Screenshot_2014-05-19-12-51-51-1.png" height="320" width="252" /></a></div>
Being with Richard as he prepared to graduate brought so many emotions to my mind and heart. I’ve been with Richard for almost 6 years and since the moment I met him, this has been his dream. We struggled through dating while he studied for and took his MCAT, we waited with anticipation when he submitted applications to medical school, I cried when he got accepted to USCSOM and we stood together as he adventured through medical school.<br />
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Richards’s graduation ceremony was a beautiful thing. I had so much pride for my husband as he entered that room, got hooded as Dr. O’Neal and took his Hippocratic Oath as a doctor of medicine. The speakers were wonderful and I maintained my composure throughout the entire thing until his classmate spoke. Richard’s classmate eloquently spoke about his wife and the support she has given him. He cried while thanking her and this made my own flood gates open.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-0JZ-vD0iiz75l3Z6pgqQpfgQOYBs88ymOaje6OMKH-PkovpX6Ltf23pALGvzTF1RfS4-YGo-agnga-MpbnvFYKOwNVnug9Xu-FMn6l3hiBNgcWCUp4hwkKRD1j-qtsA1psYaB4jdRbC/s1600/20140509_133654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-0JZ-vD0iiz75l3Z6pgqQpfgQOYBs88ymOaje6OMKH-PkovpX6Ltf23pALGvzTF1RfS4-YGo-agnga-MpbnvFYKOwNVnug9Xu-FMn6l3hiBNgcWCUp4hwkKRD1j-qtsA1psYaB4jdRbC/s1600/20140509_133654.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>Being the spouse of a student is a role that can easily be overlooked. Being married to a medical student (or any form of student) is incredibly trying. As a spouse you are responsible for being the full financial supporter for your family, you must be accepting of the student loan debt that you inherit with marriage, and you must be the emotional supporter when he comes home after an awful day-- all while helping keep your lives together. At lunch, Richard’s grandma told me “you’ve earned part of that degree” and those words meant more to me than I can say. I am so proud of what he has accomplished in medical school, I am proud of myself for rolling with the punches and proud of what we as a couple have accomplished together.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEUma9PJ64IliPDv7fd_fB4gCwzoqpCYpfH_PFlSAF81MTXsIJkoHWtvr00JTW5GONy62SPFwZvAqSzauCyTPBBebLw-pUIY6DGImkHbr23ekrDJYBs9gbQRgO2-vvHnNNqM5lRaYl57H_/s1600/Screenshot_2014-05-19-12-50-28-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEUma9PJ64IliPDv7fd_fB4gCwzoqpCYpfH_PFlSAF81MTXsIJkoHWtvr00JTW5GONy62SPFwZvAqSzauCyTPBBebLw-pUIY6DGImkHbr23ekrDJYBs9gbQRgO2-vvHnNNqM5lRaYl57H_/s1600/Screenshot_2014-05-19-12-50-28-1.png" height="200" width="126" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXQWkfX4rfBRsxvo3rLBHJGAY3F7Pb1H5bJf-q-cz9YMnBx-sSApQvcvMXyfvHLdQxXIOHHwXsULCQujbhLy5aDP-2dP5rJTutWIP3t5t4BVxKBmQRk-GEhTnh_cfK2hHfAauxonYtCYgY/s1600/20140509_153508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXQWkfX4rfBRsxvo3rLBHJGAY3F7Pb1H5bJf-q-cz9YMnBx-sSApQvcvMXyfvHLdQxXIOHHwXsULCQujbhLy5aDP-2dP5rJTutWIP3t5t4BVxKBmQRk-GEhTnh_cfK2hHfAauxonYtCYgY/s1600/20140509_153508.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXQWkfX4rfBRsxvo3rLBHJGAY3F7Pb1H5bJf-q-cz9YMnBx-sSApQvcvMXyfvHLdQxXIOHHwXsULCQujbhLy5aDP-2dP5rJTutWIP3t5t4BVxKBmQRk-GEhTnh_cfK2hHfAauxonYtCYgY/s1600/20140509_153508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizs49AyljVo2BxPx9uzCNw0S_pVOwtuahXI-0Q_SD7r8yMysQRHt1BKj1LcyE4Zpqulw64q0IS2S5x4v59muCKnKbj6CwKsKjmMMcONbnvxXy8EsNdmC-hXMFwAf9CGpfWQRIpvFYdhJgM/s1600/Screenshot_2014-05-19-12-51-07-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;">After the ceremony I was able to hug Richard and tell him how proud of him I am. Seeing him in his green gown with the new title Dr. O’Neal was remarkable. Being with Richard and seeing him finally achieve his dream is emotionally overwhelming. He is going be one heck of a Doctor and he is going to touch the lives of so many people. His passion for medicine and desire to heal people is both intoxicating and contagious. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;">This is just the beginning of our journey and although we are in for a bumpier road with residency, it is a wonderful feeling to know that we are one step closer to the final destination. We are so lucky to have our friends and family who have been there throughout this journey. Your support means more to us than we can express. Although you may not see very much of us together (Richard will have very little time off during residency) over the next few years, know that we are so thankful to have you in our lives. </span>
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With today being Richard's LAST day of Medical School, I find that we are beginning to have a lot of discussions about loan repayment. Loan repayment is very intimidating and as it begins to creep up on us, I felt the need to discuss a little bit of it.<br />
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When I share my life with people their response always is "it'll be worth it one day because he will be making tons of money" or the "big bucks". This sort of comment really ruffles my feathers but I often take this as a moment for education. What so many people don't realize is the free time that doctors give up, the short leash that the hospital puts them on or the amount of debt that young doctors are in and how long it will take them to get out of the <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;"><b>red</b></span></span>. Doctors do all of these things because they are passionate about medicine, passionate about caring for people and passionate about educating them.They are able to looked beyond the ever increasing dollar amount that continues grow and plague their lives simultaneously. They do this in order to achieve their dreams.<br />
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In speaking with multiple medical students, it is very common for them to have accrued somewhere around 200,000 dollars in debt. Following their graduation from medical school, these new doctors will be starting their residency programs where on average the salary is 48-50,000 dollars a year. For most, this does not include the costs for any benefits. It also does not include, living expenses, car insurance or any other "real life" expenses. Six months following their graduation, medical students will have to begin paying on these student loans with a significant amount of interest on top of the 200,000 dollars (+ 30,000 dollars in interest).<br />
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Over the next 10 years, we will devote a large portion of our monthly income to paying off this debt. I have been blessed with an incredible job that over the last 2 years has allowed us to take out only the necessary money for tuition and not worry about living expenses. Richard and I have talked about how fortunate we are to be in a position where we can do this as a couple with two salaries. One salary to keep ourselves a float and the other to pay off loans. It is a terrifying to think that very soon we will begin paying on all of this debt and that this will be a huge part of our lives until <b><span style="color: red;">2024</span></b>!<br />
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The salary of a doctor is not what it once was due to cutbacks and reimbursements. The days of private practice are over and this next generation of doctors has been told to "expect to work for a hospital".<br />
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The dream of becoming a doctor, a dentist, a veterinarian, a lawyer and many other professions all come with a hefty price: DEBT.<br />
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A few months back, I came across an article that did an awesome job discussing this subject. I urge you to read this if you haven't already. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/went-230-000-debt-become-135821351.html<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-63560922931057292302014-03-24T06:21:00.002-07:002014-03-24T12:11:03.951-07:00Match Day Results<br />
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Well Match Day came and went like a tornado... It was the most intense experience that we've gone through in some time. Sitting there next to Richard in the front row waiting for his name to be called was exciting and awful at the same time. At one point we attempted to hold hands but both of our hands were just dripping with sweat. Although we had complete confidence in where we would end up, it was still the "what if" factor that was scary.<br />
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Once his name was called, we marched up on stage and were presented with a letter that held our future. Richard opened the letter and held it in front of him to read it. I was scrambling all over the page looking for the name of the hospital. Finally there it was... <b><span style="color: lime;">GHS</span></b>. We're happy to share that Richard will be at GHS for an Internal Medicine Residency. We're beyond thrilled to be staying in such an incredible town where Richard will get an amazing education. <br />
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<i> </i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02721681825521217473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6819189915905120271.post-52077953222113288852014-02-25T16:59:00.002-08:002014-02-25T17:56:20.660-08:00Match Day Basics<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The final year of medical school is full of big decisions. Not only must the medical student decide what kind of medicine they want to spend the rest of their lives </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">practicing</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, but they must also determine where they will go for a residency. The residency matching process is one of the biggest decisions that will be made throughout a doctors career. I've written out the steps of what has happened and what will happen so that you can gain an understanding of this process.</span><br />
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<li style="font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">Medical students complete their interviews.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333;">Richard applied to about 20 programs. He was offered to interview at about 17/18 of them but only went through the process of about 6. These interviews took place between October and the end of January. Different residency programs offer different funding to help offset some of the costs. We were lucky enough that for Internal Medicine, many of the programs paid for hotel rooms. After interviewing at many wonderful programs, the interviewee must decide where they want to spend the next 3-6 years depending on the field they choose.</span></span></li>
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<li style="font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Medical students submit their preferred list of residency programs (with the most preferred as the first choice) while residency programs rank their preferred list of students.</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: inherit; text-decoration: inherit;">February 26th (<b>TOMORROW</b>) is the big day that Richard will submit his rank list. </span></li>
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<li style="font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The data from both the students and residency programs get entered into a computer database.</span></b></li>
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<li style="font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="color: #990000;">The computer matches the residency program to a student.</b><br />On the Monday before Match Day (Black Monday), the students will find out if they have been matched with a program. Should they not match, students will "Scramble". Scramble means that they will contact different programs that have openings and ask to be taken into their program. The trouble is that students from all over the country are fighting for the same small percentage of spots.</span></li>
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<li style="font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="color: #990000;">Graduating students receive their results in mid-march, which is also known as “Match Day”.</b><br />On <b>March 21st</b>, we will go to Columbia and there we will find out where he has matched. It is a huge milestone for the students and often family members attend. USCSOM will hold an assembly of sorts for the occasion. Students are called on stage at random and are presented with an envelope that tells them where they will be going. For all students with the exception of some military match people, this is the first time they learn where they will spend the next part of their career. </span></li>
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Previously in medicine, doctors applying for residency programs could make deals with hospitals to ensure they ended up at a place they wanted it. It was also common for students to match at a program and then attend another one after deciding that another hospital was a better fit for them. In today's world, that's no longer possible. </div>
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I like to use the analogy of sports recruitment. Professional athletes sign a contract saying they'll go where they are drafted and this is exactly the same. Richard and I will go wherever he matches.<br />
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This is an incredibly exciting (and stressful) time for us. We are so anxious for match day to get here so that we can begin planning the next step in our lives. I am confident that wherever we end up will be the perfect place for us. It is however terrifying that all our lives rest in the functioning of a computer matching program. In just about a month, we will have some very exciting news to share with all of you and I promise there will be some pictures to go along with it! </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"></span>This is a video from University of Maryland Medical Schools Match Day ceremony. This is what closest resembles USCSOM's Match Day assembly. <span style="font-family: sans-serif;"> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j81U4qvT9R4" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Match Day Video</a></span></div>
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<li style="display: inline !important; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><div style="display: inline !important;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: normal;"></span><br />
<ul style="background-color: white; display: inline !important; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; z-index: 0;">
<li style="display: inline !important; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><div>
<ul style="background-color: white; display: inline !important; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; z-index: 0;">
<li style="display: inline !important; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><div style="display: inline !important;">
<ul style="background-color: white; display: inline !important; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; z-index: 0;">
<li style="display: inline !important; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><div style="display: inline !important;">
<ul style="background-color: white; display: inline !important; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; z-index: 0;">
<li style="display: inline !important; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
</span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
</span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
</span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: inherit;">
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: normal;"></span><br />
<ul style="background-color: white; display: inline !important; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; z-index: 0;">
<li style="display: inline !important; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><div style="display: inline !important;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: normal;"></span><br />
<ul style="background-color: white; display: inline !important; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; z-index: 0;">
<li style="display: inline !important; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><div style="display: inline !important;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: normal;"></span><br />
<ul style="background-color: white; display: inline !important; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; z-index: 0;">
<li style="display: inline !important; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><div style="display: inline !important;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: normal;"></span><br />
<ul style="background-color: white; display: inline !important; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; z-index: 0;">
<li style="display: inline !important; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><div style="display: inline !important;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: normal;"></span><br />
<ul style="background-color: white; display: inline !important; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; z-index: 0;">
<li style="display: inline !important; font-style: inherit; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
</span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
</span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
</span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
</span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
</span></li>
<li style="display: inline !important; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><br /></li>
<li style="display: inline !important; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><br /></li>
<li style="display: inline !important; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: inherit;"><br /></li>
</ul>
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