Monday, December 9, 2019

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

This past summer, our kids were reading the Harry Potter books and watching the movies. They even took the test online and each fit a different house. Oldest got Ravenclaw (she's the brainy one)... our sneaky second child was Slytherin of course... then the third in Gryffindor and the youngest in Hufflepuff. We had a point system going on where points were taken away for arguing or whining... and points awarded for doing chores. Then they can redeem the points for either $ or some sort of treat like going on a one on one date with mom or dad and picking the game, movie, or restaurant for the family.

Here they are dressed up in their "house" robes for Halloween...
So we thought it'd be fun to surprise them with a trip to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal! We were planning to go right before school started at the end of August. However, Hurricane Dorian was due to hit Florida... thus we ended up postponing the trip... 

The morning of our flight, I left this pack of letters on the table for my oldest to find and hand out.
 
Basically... owl'd them each a letter from Hogwarts inviting them to visit...
It also happened to be our second child's birthday... making the day even more special...
Universal Studios did not disappoint... amazing the attention to details...

First we visited Diagon Alley...

The minute you walk in... it is as if you have been transported into the book. On top of Gringotts Wizarding Bank is a dragon that breathes out real fire! Scared my youngest to death... but the older kids loved it.
Ollivander's Wand Shop was as I imagined... S got chosen to be part of the demonstration. She went through the whole wand choosing ceremony and ended up with a wand made of vine...
and interestingly, the characterization portrayed actually depicts her quite well...
 
Actually we let all our kids select a wand and funny enough all the descriptions of the particular type of wood selected seemed to match their personalities. 

So after that, my kids pretty much walked around Potter world wielding their wand magic and posing for my pictures.
Now to get to Hogsmeade (Islands of Adventure) from Diagon Alley (Universal Studios), we took the Hogwarts Express of course!
This was amazing... probably my favorite part of the whole Harry Potter thing... they truly thought of everything... the whole experience was super entertaining and most impressive... check this out...

So when you are on the train, you look out a "fake" window but it really looks and feels as though you are in Potter world travelling from one destination to another. Theme music is playing throughout the ride. They even simulated Ron, Harry, and Hermione passing by our cabin and pausing only to move on because... "this one is already occupied". The scenery going and coming back is different so it is definitely worth riding the train both ways.

Now once at Hogsmeade... another adventure awaits... but more on rides in a different post. Here are some snapshots...

 Hogsmeade at night...
Will only mention a few other highlights here so the post doesn't get too long...

Calling the Ministry of Magic... you actually hear a recording from them.
(LOL ...my kids had no idea how to dial a telephone and it took literally 5 minutes to explain how. I think they had to start over like ten times. "ok put your finger on the number... now turn it turn it... no don't let go yet... start over... now go all the way till you can't go anymore... then let go... ok what's the next number...")


Talking to Dre Head on the Knight Bus... truly interactive and talks to you. "creepy" my kids thought.... 


And finally... of course have to mention the delicious butterbeer!
 So... more on all this later... but for Harry Potter fans... Universal has created a magnificient fantasy world!

Friday, October 4, 2019

Habits for Healthy Brains

My 9 year old did research last spring for one of her classes and her topic fascinated me so much that I started quoting it as part of my yearly well check questions with my pediatric patients.  This was based on a Time for Kids article that can be found here.

Bottom line is this.  A study showed that kids' brains are strengthened if they meet these 3 benchmarks for health.

  1. Sleep 9 to 11 hours at night
  2. Exercise at least 60 minutes a day
  3. Spend less than 2 hours of recreational screen time a day

This study was based on 4,500 children in the US between the ages of 8 and 11. So these kids were tested on attention, language skills, planning and mental processing. Kids who scored the highest met all 3 benchmarks. Interestingly, only 5% met all 3 benchmarks while nearly 30% met none!

Just out of curiosity, I had my kids chart their habits in these 3 areas for about a week this past summer. For the most part, they did pretty well but it took intentional effort.

Now especially as the school work and activities start piling up, we need to be very intentional about the sleep and exercise part. I don't think we have much time for the recreational screen time. That is much harder in the summer or on days off.

Happy Fall, everyone!

Fractures

September came and went.  Whew! It has been a whirlwind with lots of moving parts..  settling into new classrooms... attending Back to School Nights...  coordinating sport schedules with practices and games... but to throw a twist to it all... my youngest fractures his elbow!

So how did it happen?  His words... "I was goofing around on this climbing thing at the playground and by accident I let go of both hands."  First broken anything among our four kids and not surprised it would land on our youngest. Although his right arm is in a long cast, this boy is still hopping around and as mischievous as ever!



on broken bones...

Usual cause

  • fall or trauma 


Usual symptoms

  • pain, swelling, decreased mobility and/or weight bearing


Usual care

  • immobilizing with splint and taking anti-inflammatories (motrin, advil, ibuprofen, aleve) until casting
  • likely will need x-ray and referral to ortho
  • if displaced may need OR for setting
  • likely will need physical therapy after cast removal

==
It is always a good idea to get checked out sooner than later.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Back to School!

So this year is significant... my oldest is entering middle school and my youngest kindergarten! What's the difference between entering middle school vs kindergarten?  Here are a few of my observations...

Night before...

my kindergartener... 
excited, bouncy, little nervous... 
hugs n kisses to bed... 
wanted to know if he could bring his pokemon cards to school...
would he get lost and ride the wrong bus?

my middle schooler...
excited, bouncy, little nervous... 
hugs n kisses to bed...
wanted to know if all her "stuff" will fit in her locker...
would she get lost and be late for class?

At the bus stop...

my kindergartener...
excited, bouncy...
goofing around with his older brother...
giggling... all smiles...

my middle schooler...
excited, nervous...
casual conversations with other kids at stop...
reserved... thoughtful... hint of a smile...

Back from first day...

my kindergartner...
beaming, feeling excited and bouncy...
rattling off various aspects of his day...

my middleschooler...
beaming, feeling relieved and confident...
organizing her binders for the next day...

really not too different...
but o how time flies...
not too long ago my middleschooler was the kindergartner...
scary to think that soon she'll be off...

so trying to treasure these times...
to not get caught up in the busy...
not get hyper focused on the details...
but creating intentional moments 
to laugh, hug, kisss...
intentional efforts
to cherish, cultivate, love...





Thursday, August 8, 2019

Medical Adherence in the Elderly


So it's been one year since becoming a Tandigm Scholar and last week I had to present my research in front of a room full of doctors.  Despite being under the weather... I did it. Whew!  I've never been a fan of public speaking so this was looming over me for a while causing stress... I get performance anxiety... 

The topic I chose was on improving medical adherence in the elderly.  Few facts in case you are interested...

25% to 50% of patients do no take their medications as recommended

Poor adherence leads to...
  • Increased morbidity and mortality
  • Accounts for approx. 125,000 deaths and 10% hospitalizations in US annually
  • $100 billion annually spent on US health services due to poor adherence

 

Barriers include...

  • Reviewing full medication information is challenging and time consuming
  • Accurate knowledge of actual home medication is difficult to attain
  • Complex medication instructions
  • Polypharmacy
  • Duration of medication (temporary vs permanent) and withdrawing the medication
  • Adverse effects
  • Problems with keeping medication lists up to date
  • IT systems and poor communication within healthcare systems
  
My project identifies those patients who may benefit from having their medications delivered in a pill pack form...


Then seeks whether adherence is improved leading to positive clinical outcomes...

Having a project to do in addition to the daily ins and outs of patient care adds a layer of purpose and intellectual challenge... with the potential to improve healthcare on a broader scope. For these reasons I was intrigued and couldn't say no when this opportunity came up... I flushed out my thoughts last year in my blog... 

So two more years to go....



Click the following link for the full story:

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Medical Tips for Long Flights

So we just got back from Maui. Vacation was a blast catching up with extended family... 


17 cousins all together ages range from 2 to 17!

However, the travel back and recovery has been brutal. We left at night so we flew red eye. The lack of proper sleep did not help but what really did it was the two 6 hour long flights back to back with a two hour layover.


two hour lay over spent snoozing at AA business lounge...

Since summer is the time of travel and after this most recent experience, I'm prompted to blog a bit on medical tips for long flights....

1.  Dry air  

- air is thin and dry on airplanes and on long flights it is easy to get dehydrated
- increased respiration rates due to the lower oxygen also increases water loss
- symptoms of dehydration include:
  • sore throat
  • dry skin and craked lips
  • headache
  • fatigue
  • nausea
  • irritability
What can you do?
every hour you fly you are supposed to drink 8oz water
- avoid coffee or soda which has caffeine and can dehydrate you more
- avoid sugary drinks which can also cause a "crash" after a "high"
- moisturizing lotion for skin, chapstick for lips and eyedrops for dry eyes

2.  Low oxygen pressure  
- the lower oxygen pressure in aircrafts is equivalent to 6,000 to 8,000 ft altitude
- although the barimetric pressure is adjusted in the aircraft to avoid true altitude sickness you can still experience symptoms such as:
  • headache
  • sleepiness
What can you do?
- drinking plenty of water should help this as well

3.  Long periods of sitting
-  sitting in tight quarters for hours can cause decrease blood flow in body
-  symptoms these may produce include:
  • ankle swelling
  • feet swelling
  • blood clots for folks with increased risks such as
    • serious medical conditions
    • postpartum
    • on birth control
    • over 40
    • being obese

What can you do?
-  rotating ankles, extending and flexing the foot may help circulation
-  high risk folks may need compression stockings and/or medications

4.  Shifts in cabin pressure

- body's gas can expand 25 percent
- gas expands during ascent causing tympanic membrane in ears to bulge
- symptoms include
  • ears to feel full and "pop"
  • increased flatulence
What can you do?
- chewing gum, yawning and swallowing will help ears
- avoid gas producing foods may help minimize abdominal discomfort
    • dairy products
    • beans and lentils
    • asparagus, brocooli, brussel sprouts, cabbage..etc
    • fructose
    • high fiber foods
==
So we should have been much more diligent in implementing the above... we may not be as beat as we are now.

Well... here are some photos of the gorgeous scenery to help us recover...





Friday, June 21, 2019

Busy End of School Year

May flew by and June is almost over. It has been super hectic for me. I felt like writing a rhyming poem to summarize it all!  Here it goes...


== 
Busy month of May
With Mother’s Day
…Memorial Day
And then comes Father’s Day

For teachers, for coaches…
Presents and gift cards to buy
Their guidance and wisdom
Our kids really do rely

String… Band… Choir…
Concerts galore!
Moving on ceremonies
And so much more!

End of year parties
And final field trips...
Signing year books
Watching slide show clips

6th grade socials
And 6th grade clap out
Cherishing the memories
Is what it’s all about

Saying goodbye to teachers
Saying goodbye to a school
Now it’s time for summer
Let’s jump in the pool!
==

Happy first day of summer everyone!  Whoo-hoo! My kids are finally done with school...