Staying Grounded at 10,000 Feet
I have never really been above sea level in my life. Raised in Connecticut, spending my formative years in Massachusetts, and now attending medical school in Maine, my toes have always been within a 15-minute journey to the ocean. Marseille, Colorado, sits far above this elevation, at around 9,000 feet.
Altitude change is no joke. During my first day in Colorado, I felt tingling in my fingers, a headache, and exhaustion, which I attributed to my 8-hour journey. But what makes the altitude sickness and the journey worthwhile is the utterly unbelievable landscape. Standing at the sea, you can never imagine the shocking reality of mountains piercing the sky. You can never imagine just how vast and beautiful the vertical world can be.
During our third day in Marseille, many of the students and faculty took a traditional six-and-a-half mile hike up the mountain to a waterfall. This was a… Continue reading
Fear, Forgiveness, and Father’s Day
Yesterday was Father’s Day, 2014. I woke up before everyone else in my room. Rolling out of bed, I padded down the stairs and brewed a cup of much-needed coffee. Pouring my face over the steaming cup, I looked out my window to the inspiring landscape of endless white-capped mountains. This year marks the ninth Father’s Day that I have spent without my dad, but the mountains and my purpose this week made me feel as though he were standing there with me, sharing our cup of morning coffee, just as we used to.
After taking the gondola ride into Marseille, the students and faculty plunged into our work of expanding our knowledge in the field of patient safety. We watched a documentary outlining the tragic case of Lewis Blackman, a 15-year-old boy who died due to medication error, miscommunication, and assumptions made by his medical team. The film explored… Continue reading