seasons change
Since I have written, last the seasons have officially changed. Apparently the weather, at least here, decided it would change with the official date and it has been beautifully cool and sunny here. How much I have much the sunshine! and it is back with all of its glory and with gorgeous days. I am loving it.
It seems changes are a theme these days. At CHC, we have no officially been open for 6 months and we are quickly approaching a total of 1,000 patients under our care. It has called for much thought, adjustments, and change; thoughts of how things can be done better and differently and how to continue to provide the best medical care possible to a rapidly growing number of people.
The Dream Center continues to become more of a pivotal part of the neighborhood. It is now hosting classes for women on how to heal and become whole. There are more Saturday activities for the kids in the neighborhood. Sav-a-life is training volunteers to help us with our pregnant mothers. There were also some young white students down at the dream center and they ran into the Woodlawn football team – these kids all met out and now are all meeting together! I’m sure there is much more going on over there than I know about. It is just exciting to hear about it all.
I could share story after story each week, I’m sure. The one that stands out most to me this week is a teenage girl that I saw last week. She started cutting at age 12, had a child at 15, was arrested for meth at 17, and is now 19. She has had such a remarkable (and not in a good way) life so far. I saw her last week and she seemed to be so uninterested in what I was saying. I actually don’t even remember why she came in. I talked to our counselors about her before she left. She was completely opposed to seeing them. They gave me a book on cutting to give to her, which I did but I don’t think I assumed she wouldn’t read it but I never thought she actually would either. She showed back up this week and was much more present. We talked some more but every time we would change to some sort of substantial conversation, she would look like she was about to cry, and she would shut down. I had completely forgotten about the cutting book and she brought it up. She told me that she really enjoyed it and then saw someone with “fresh marks” and she gave the book to them to read. I was completely caught off guard. Then had brought me a small gift. I had no idea that any sort of impression was made at all at her first visit, but she was like a blossoming flower at this second visit. I am very excited about seeing her again now. I gave her some more reading and she is coming back to see me again in a few weeks. It is just a blaring reminder that we have no idea what sort of impact is going to be made with anyone, regardless of how they respond. I will keep you all updated about her.
And finally, the quote of the week. I am seeing this very obese young man who has both mental and psychological problems. He is the sweetest guy though. Currently, he has no true chronic medical problems aside from being overweight. I talked to him at the last visit about walking some. He said he would so on this visit I asked him if he had been walking and he said, “Actually, I did go on a walk yesterday. I walked around the block to Krystal.” :) I just laughed . . . at least it is a start.
Much love my friends.
