Did I Hear That Correct? Surely Not.

I’ll have my first granddaughter in a couple of weeks… she’s not going to be a pincushion. We’re not going to allow that to happen.

United States Senator (look up the quote and see what else this senator had to say)

Am I disturbed? Am I perturbed? Am I angry? Why, yes, all of the above. And no, this post is not going to be all about vaccines and medical research. However, the debates and the funding cuts continue, and when this continues I will not stay silent. I will give facts. And sometimes some first-hand experience and knowledge.

I don’t know if this senator has ever experienced his own baby or child in the hospital, but for certain to refer to vaccinating your child as allowing them to be a “pincushion,” is unacceptable, no matter where you stand on the vaccine debate. No parent wants to see their child stuck with a needle, it’s an image that will never leave your mind. EVER. The picture today is a little blurry, but you can see that my Lucy’s arm is well wrapped. This took a lot of work! She was so mad that she was pulling at everything! And yes, it’s all held together with a sock with lace 😊 Thank you Jefferies Socks! So yes this makes me very angry. Not only for myself and my parents, but for the parents who constantly have to see ports placed, blood drawn, IVs placed over and over without knowing if this season will ever be over.

Some facts: Currently the National Institute of Health funds 3,376 research projects in North Carolina. Duke oversees 1,667 of those projects. (https://report.nih.gov to see your state or the individual projects go to this website, pretty fascinating!) This research spans all medical fields, every medical specialty is being researched in one way or another. So what happens when medical research gets cut? Lives are lost. Not just a handful, but I’m talking massive amounts. HIV treatments are an ongoing treatment, so USAID funding being cut and medical research budget cut, the number of people effected in the US and abroad… Immunology research is exploding at the moment, well it was. Personally, my mom and I were benefitting from this. Many new findings about genetic connections have led to new therapies and an abundance of knowledge. Unfortunately, when research funding gets cut, therapies get cut, which means back to square one, which is not good.

I said I wouldn’t have this post being completely about vaccines and medical research cuts, so how about I highlight two things that are close to my heart? Children’s Books and Medicine! 😊 And even better, true stories! Here are some of my favorites:

Gifted Hands, Biography of Ben Carson
The Doctor with An Eye for Eyes: The Story of Patricia Bath
Who Says Women Can’t be Doctors? The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell
Clara and Davie, Story of Clara Barton and the Red Cross
The Boo-Boos That Changed the World: A Story about an Accidental Invention (Band-Aids)
Virginia Wouldn’t Slow Down: The Unstoppable Dr. Apgar and Her Life Saving Invention
Breakthrough: Three People Who Saved Blue Babies and Changed Medicine
Dr. Fauci: How a Brooklyn Boy became America’s Doctor
Learning to Listen: A Life of Caring for Children, Dr. Brazelton
Finding Chika – If you want to know what the world of medical research and clinical trials do and how they impact families and communities, I highly recommend reading! Bonus, it’s a wonderfully, heart breaking, child embracing, fight of your life, chronicle of Mitch Albom, his wife, and Chika’s journey.
Mayo Clinic’s Family Health Book- is a huge reference book, but a great resource if you are ever looking for a solid resource. (I’m a pen and paper, gotta have the book in my hand kinda girl)
Mayo Clinic’s Edge of Medicine Series for Kids: Medical Breakthroughs: Genetics, Vaccines, Transplant, Robotics, Medical Invention, Artificial Intelligence

A social media post this week reminded me to be curious, to dig, to research, to find what does that really mean? I think of myself as a learner, someone that is open to learning something new. However we all need to be reminded that there are still so many things to learn. My history and background differs from yours, and your family roots affect you today, and same with mine. We can’t neglect the facts history for the hope of the future, because the facts of the past are the reasons we have hope for the future. The reasons I wanted to adopt, the details of gender, race, location- these were all, first of all from Jesus, second of all, had deep meaning because of my family roots. The courage I had to ride out the waiting is because I had been equipped with tools needed to navigate the hurdles. And the peace I had in our last days on earth together, was because God had prepared me and surrounded me in his peace and comfort so many times before, that I knew he wouldn’t leave me, even though he was scooping her up.

Be curious this week! Challenge the news – fact check something that doesn’t seem quite right, it will be a great adventure!!!

Life Book of the Week: I’ll pick from the list above: Finding Chika, by Mitch Albom SO GOOD!