I have often heard people compare life to a roller coaster at an amusement park. I am even one of those people. In fact, roller coaster is the the only earthly thing I can think of to describe my life. Starting gate to the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Turning left, veering right. Up, down and all around. The fear of cancer, the fear of doing and going somewhere totally out of my comfort zone. The shear joy of a clean cancer report to finding out that Sarah Boyd (before we knew she was SB) was on her way. Despite all the dips and curves, thrills, and scares, I know I can live life to the fullest and not be lost or afraid. I can live my life in Him knowing that when I get to the finish line, life will have been greater than I could have ever imagined and more wonderful than any dream I have ever had. And even greater than life here on earth, will be eternity with Him.
As for life right now, I am definitely on a high. This semester has started. I have not been this excited about a semester in a long time. I have not felt this much excitement about life, maybe ever. Truly giddy with excitement. God has greater thing planned than I can ever imagine. I can live knowing that a spectacular picture is being painted buy the hand of my awesome God. Wow! I am so blessed and so thrilled to be serving God through my life!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
What a trip!!!
Wow! What a trip! It was a whirlwind of a week, but a great one none the less! I have learned so much, seen so much, and been influenced and changed because of all that I have seen and done!!!
and of course... a few last pictures of our trip!
1- Lindsay in Gronigen on Sunday evening.
2- Amsterdam-- Specifically Dam Square, which is where our hotel was. We were only there for about 14 hours. So we did not really see any of the city since we did not get to town until about 7pm. But... at least we stayed in a great location and could have dinner at one of the cafes on the square!
3- Lindsay and I in Gronigen... same time she was having her coffee above :) (probably should have taken my glasses off.... oh well. too late now!)
Gronigen Day 2
Today was my last full day in Europe on this adventure. Our day was a busy one, but a very good one and we learned and saw sooooo much! Today we spent our entire day (930am to 430pm) at Martini Hospital in Gronigen.
Martini was the only hospital we visited that we actually had a positive response from. Lindsay had been in contact with Atti, the head neurology nurse. Atti was a wonderful lady, who was so sweet and so eager to help us. Atti set up a whole day that included meeting with her to see how the neurology unit worked/operated, a meeting with the building construction manger, a meeting with infection control, and then a tour of the entire facility.
We were able to see and learn so much that will be wonderfully valuable for both my research as well as Lindsay's research on the semi-private patient room. Martini is such a different hospital from any hospital I have ever seen in the US. The attention to the life cycle of the building, design of the exterior, views to nature and access to natural light, as well as the overall design of the facility was incredible. I think American health care designers could learn a lot from European designers and hospitals like Martini.
Here are a few pictures from our day at Martini!
1- "Famous" facade of Martini Hospital. This is the southeast facade that has a double skin facade where there is the facade of the building and a second glass facade about 24" out from that. The glass acts as a sound barrier as there is a busy road there, but also acts as a heat gain controller. During the summer (like when were there) the censors open rows of the glass skin when the temperature between glass and building gets to 21 degrees C. That creates a stack-effect ventilation where the hot air rises, drawing cool air up along the face of the building cooling the building. During the cold winter months, the glass facade helps keep the building heated and warm!
Martini was the only hospital we visited that we actually had a positive response from. Lindsay had been in contact with Atti, the head neurology nurse. Atti was a wonderful lady, who was so sweet and so eager to help us. Atti set up a whole day that included meeting with her to see how the neurology unit worked/operated, a meeting with the building construction manger, a meeting with infection control, and then a tour of the entire facility.
We were able to see and learn so much that will be wonderfully valuable for both my research as well as Lindsay's research on the semi-private patient room. Martini is such a different hospital from any hospital I have ever seen in the US. The attention to the life cycle of the building, design of the exterior, views to nature and access to natural light, as well as the overall design of the facility was incredible. I think American health care designers could learn a lot from European designers and hospitals like Martini.
Here are a few pictures from our day at Martini!
1- "Famous" facade of Martini Hospital. This is the southeast facade that has a double skin facade where there is the facade of the building and a second glass facade about 24" out from that. The glass acts as a sound barrier as there is a busy road there, but also acts as a heat gain controller. During the summer (like when were there) the censors open rows of the glass skin when the temperature between glass and building gets to 21 degrees C. That creates a stack-effect ventilation where the hot air rises, drawing cool air up along the face of the building cooling the building. During the cold winter months, the glass facade helps keep the building heated and warm!
2- Here you can see where the glass opens to allow the double skin facade to vent.
3- One of the foot traffic areas where visitors and hospital staff can go from one side of the building to the other. The glass windows on the left of this picture look out to the court yard that is created by the two connected wings of the building.
3- The walls in the hospital are all wall systems that are easily movable and changeable should the building use ever change. They are also magnetic (yet dont feel like metal) which allows patients to display all of their cards and what not.
4- The main entrance of the hospital (at the end of the road). I love that the Dutch ride their bikes everywhere!!!
5- Typical 4 bed room. The typical unit in Martini is comprised of 32 beds-8 private patient rooms, 4 4-bed rooms and 4 2-bed rooms. The boom with the screen on it at the top of the picture is actually for entertainment. Each patient has their own entertainment screen and telephone.
6- Typical private patient room.
7- The workers from the lab use scooters to get around the facility (which is HUGE) and has over 500 in-patient beds plus houses outpatient doctors unit as well as outpatient oncology!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Gronigen
Hey Everyone!
Today has been a somewhat boring day.... we mainly just traveled. We work up this morning in Deventer, packed and headed to the train station. We caught the train from Deventer to Zwolle and then Zwolle to Gronigen. We got to Gronigen about 1pm and took a taxi from the train station to our hotel. Our room was not quite ready, so we sat in the sun room at the hotel and waited for about 30mins for them to finish in our room. Once it was ready, we freshened up a bit and then headed out to find lunch! We had lunch at another little street cafe. I had a great sandwich with some sort of ham, goat cheese and marinated tomatoes. It was SOOO good! After lunch we walked around town. Gronigen is similar to Deventer except a bit bigger. It is probably about the size of Greenville or Columbia. This evening we walked around a bit more and then stopped at one of the cafes for a soda. All of the stores are closed (maybe because it is Sunday... we are not sure as most stores in Deventer were open this morning when we left). So, we have come back to the hotel. We will probably watch a movie or something.
Tomorrow we will be at Martini Hospital all day. They have been so gracious as to set up tours for us of the facility as well as meetings with different departments. It should be an interesting day! After we finish at the hospital tomorrow afternoon, we will catch the train back to Amsterdam. We will spend the night in Amsterdam and then catch a plane back to London. From London, I will immediately catch a plane back to the States, but Lindsay will remain in London for a few more days!
It has been a great trip and I have loved seeing these places and being in Europe. However, I am very excited to be going home as well! I am ready for a home cooked meal, being at home, sleeping in my bed. Plus I am really excited about this semester and what the future holds!
Today may be my last post for a few days... I am not sure what tomorrow's schedule will hold as we will be leaving Gronigen around 530 or 6 and then wont get Amsterdam until about 8.... so I will update with more pictures and more stuff, but it will probably be when I get back to the US!
Today has been a somewhat boring day.... we mainly just traveled. We work up this morning in Deventer, packed and headed to the train station. We caught the train from Deventer to Zwolle and then Zwolle to Gronigen. We got to Gronigen about 1pm and took a taxi from the train station to our hotel. Our room was not quite ready, so we sat in the sun room at the hotel and waited for about 30mins for them to finish in our room. Once it was ready, we freshened up a bit and then headed out to find lunch! We had lunch at another little street cafe. I had a great sandwich with some sort of ham, goat cheese and marinated tomatoes. It was SOOO good! After lunch we walked around town. Gronigen is similar to Deventer except a bit bigger. It is probably about the size of Greenville or Columbia. This evening we walked around a bit more and then stopped at one of the cafes for a soda. All of the stores are closed (maybe because it is Sunday... we are not sure as most stores in Deventer were open this morning when we left). So, we have come back to the hotel. We will probably watch a movie or something.
Tomorrow we will be at Martini Hospital all day. They have been so gracious as to set up tours for us of the facility as well as meetings with different departments. It should be an interesting day! After we finish at the hospital tomorrow afternoon, we will catch the train back to Amsterdam. We will spend the night in Amsterdam and then catch a plane back to London. From London, I will immediately catch a plane back to the States, but Lindsay will remain in London for a few more days!
It has been a great trip and I have loved seeing these places and being in Europe. However, I am very excited to be going home as well! I am ready for a home cooked meal, being at home, sleeping in my bed. Plus I am really excited about this semester and what the future holds!
Today may be my last post for a few days... I am not sure what tomorrow's schedule will hold as we will be leaving Gronigen around 530 or 6 and then wont get Amsterdam until about 8.... so I will update with more pictures and more stuff, but it will probably be when I get back to the US!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Pictures of Today in Deventer!
1. Deventer Hospital- entrance/drop off area
2. Overall shot of Deventer Hospital
3- The cafe where Lindsay and I had dinner tonight.
4- View of the river tonight... people were just sitting, relaxing, and enjoying life!
5- Sunset over the river... and a hot air balloon!
6- The market in the square this morning... they were selling everything from "antiques", flowers, fresh fruits/veggies, necklaces, etc... Everyone was out and about and enjoying the day!
7- Lunch being serenaded by the men playing the drum and the accordion!
8- Me and Linds by the river... this was actually yesterday....
9- Typical street in Deventer... this was a residential area. In the more commercial areas, the buildings are 2-3 floors instead of 1-2... so they are little bigger, but look very similar.
10- Another view of Deventer street... everyone rides bikes... young, old, big, little. and if you are too little have your own bike, you some how ride on your parents in either a seat or just balanced on the bike.... :)
Deventer day 2
Today we spent the whole day in Deventer. As I mentioned in the previous post, Deventer is a pretty small town, but it is a bit bigger than we realized. This morning we made our visit to Deventer Hospital. We had been told it was walkable... it was walkable... but it was about 5-6 km... or about 3-3.5 miles. We walked over there and got pictures of the outside, but did not go inside. Lindsay had already been told they would not give us a tour, and since we, as Americans, seem to stick out like sore thumbs, we decided not to try to get inside. From the outside though, the facility was very different from American facilities and was more of an architectural statement than any hospital in the US I have ever seen. We decided we had gotten our exercise for the morning, so we caught the bus from the hospital back to the train/bus depot. From there we walked back into town. (the hospital sits on the very edge of town... on the opposite side of town from where our hotel is) We stopped and got a quick bite to eat while we were walking. After lunch we came back to the hotel for Lindsay to get some work done and I took a nap. After a little break, it was back out for some more walking around and sightseeing. The city is such a cute little town with picturesque views, cobblestone/old brick streets, classic dutch architecture. So despite that there is not much to do here in terms of big museums or what not, we have loved walking around and looking in all the shops and windows. Plus the weather is SPECTACULAR!!! The highs have been between 70-78... so the weather is great and the cool breeze through the alleys and streets feels wonderful! Tonight we had dinner a cute little Italian cafe. In typical Deventer fashion, we sat outside overlooking the street/walkway. (In the city proper, there are very very few cars... so all the roads are one way and are more like big sidewalks that periodically have cars on them but mostly just serve the pedestrians and bicycles). It is fun to people watch and just sit back and relax! It is a slower, relaxing pace. The servers are not eager for you to leave. People have drinks before their meal, and then slowly have a 2 or 3 course meal, and then have drinks or coffee or tea after dinner. It is a wonderful break from the fasted paced world of the US. We are back in the hotel now (it is about 915pm here) and about to split a bottle of wine and watch a movie. We have the windows open and periodically the street performers come by the cafe just a few doors down and play the accordion and clarinet. It is wonderful to hear the music! Such a treat!
In the morning, we will get up, check out of our hotel, and head to Gronigen. We will sight see in Gronigen tomorrow afternoon. Monday, Martini Hospital in Gronigen has planned a day of tours, meetings, etc at their facility, so it will be a total work day. Monday afternoon/evening when we finish at Martini, we will catch the train back to Amsterdam for one last night together before I head back to the states and Lindsay spends a few more days in London.
As we will be traveling tomorrow, please continue to keep us in your prayers.
I will post a few pictures in another post once I get them off of Lindsay's camera!
In the morning, we will get up, check out of our hotel, and head to Gronigen. We will sight see in Gronigen tomorrow afternoon. Monday, Martini Hospital in Gronigen has planned a day of tours, meetings, etc at their facility, so it will be a total work day. Monday afternoon/evening when we finish at Martini, we will catch the train back to Amsterdam for one last night together before I head back to the states and Lindsay spends a few more days in London.
As we will be traveling tomorrow, please continue to keep us in your prayers.
I will post a few pictures in another post once I get them off of Lindsay's camera!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Deventer Day 1
Today has been mostly a day of travel. We left early (430am early...) from our hotel in London. We flew out of London Heathrow at 7am and landed about 45 minutes later in Amsterdam. From the airport we caught the train to Deventer. (Map below is not the greatest, but you can see Amsterdam on the left side, and then the box points to where Deventer is)
Deventer is a small, picturesque town along the east bank of the IJssel River. It is a cute little town. There are more bicycles than cars, all of the restaurants and cafes pour out on to the street, and everyone seems friendly. We do seem to be a novelty... when we went into the cafe/bar to pay for a dinner tonight, the guys sitting at the bar were so shocked to hear Americans. They asked us all sorts of questions and seemed so surprised we were here! We sat outside and enjoyed dinner and talked for about an hour or hour and a half. It was great! After we left there, we came back to our hotel, which is actually an apartment. It is far nicer than the place we stayed in London and 3x's as big. It actually has a kitchen and living space plus the bedroom and bathroom. I will be sure to take some pictures and include them here or on facebook.
Since we are both so tired from a somewhat late night last night and a super duper early morning today, I think we are going to relax this evening and try to hit the ground running again in the morning.
Here are some pictures from today... we don't have many as most of the day was spent traveling!
1- Our hotel- Our hotel is the white taller building sort of in the center. We are staying on the third floor. The right 2 windows on the third floor are our living room.
2- Looking across the river to the only part of Deventer on the west bank of the river. And yes, a (old) windmill.....
4- The view to the left from out living room... right to the river!
5- This is our living room, office area, dining room (to the left) kitchen, bathroom beyond the red door to the left. The bedroom is off of the kitchen on the right!
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