Tis the Season for Ugly Christmas Sweaters

Call me a Grinch but Christmas shopping is definitely headache inducing event in my life.  But after a few good hours manipulating the malls and stores, I have worn through my credit card and finished all the shopping for the season.  Now for the next part....wrapping.  Any volunteers?!?!  I adore getting gifts for people and truly enjoy watching them open their gifts!  I can't wait!!!  (I think I did pretty well this year!)  All that is left is the Christmas Cookie Bake-a-thon that will ensure over the course of 4 days this weekend. (also taking volunteers to wash the dishes from this).

As my last week in the clinic has begun, I am amazed at how much I have been able to use that I have learned and how much more I am able to add to it!  I have been so very blessed to meet some kind people with fascinating stories and been able to help them get their function back.  My clinical instructor has been more than wonderful in helping me answer questions and give me the opportunity to have some independence and learn!

In the spirit of the season, jean Friday is also going to be "ugly Christmas sweater" Friday at the clinic.  Nothing like going out in AMAZING style on my last day in the clinic for this rotation (no worries, everyone else in the clinic is also wearing fabulous outfits as well)!  One positive thing about having a mom who taught 6th grade in the 90s?!?!?! ......the selection of a knitted sweater and sweater vest to choose between for my outfit Friday.  :) 

So tonight I have successfully made Cookies and Cream Oreo Cupcakes and I am in the process of finishing up my last assignments and assessments so I can enjoy my last few days! ...I stole the picture from the Internet cause mine have some time to cool in the fridge still.

I hope everyone has the most amazing week! 

QT slushies...still delicious when it's below freezing

A week under my belt and I must say I am doing much better in the clinic than I gave myself credit for! I have working on passive range of motion, my subjective evaluation of the patient, therapy exercises, and becoming an authority figure in the clinic.  While I am continuing to work on my hypothesis generation and objective testing, having the confidence to be in charge is the most difficult thing I am working with.  For 1.5 years we have been lectured at and been pretending to explain things to patients, but being in the clinic with real people with real issues asking questions where the way I communicate with them is imperative?!?!  That is something that is difficult to dive into but so important! 

In the next 2 weeks I hope that I can continue to grow in my clinician persona and in valuable information I can take back to next semester and my rotations that start in June! 

I also got to spend some time with my good friend Katie yesterday!  Nothing like a cheesy movie and QT slushies to avoid the gloomy and rainy weather.  Katie and I lived together in an OCH at rockhurst for 2 years.  On Campus Housing is another opportunity to live near campus in houses owned and maintained by Rockhurst.  We lived with 2 other ladies and I must say, we had the best house :) and simply loved the experience.   It is super important to make time for things outside of clinical, and babysitting, etc.  Although next weekend I am going to have to stop avoiding the Christmas shopping!  For a pic, look back to the Halloween entry, she is the cowgirl in the pic. 

Good luck with finals first year PTs and undergrads at Rockhurst!  While it looks bleak at the moment, I promise you will make it out with minimal bruises! 

Now back to the pile of laundry and swimming nationals on TV (yes I used to be one of those crazy fish out of water people, I love swimming! Although I do not have a sweet melody like Dory in Finding Nemo!)

Wait, I was supposed to remember that after the test?!

It is a terrible thing to drive I-70 the weekend after Thanksgiving and fighting a not so fun virus!  But after a wonderful week at home (and taking the Christmas Card picture) I have arrived back in Kansas City and started my 3 week clinical!  After 2 days it is safe to say that I fit in perfectly with my Clinical Instructor and my site.  I am in Lee's Summit at an outpatient rehabilitation site. 


Seeing as this is my first clinical rotation my instructor has been really great at easing me into the responsibilities of a Physical Therapist.  I have spent the last 2 days learning exercises and starting to oversee patients with those.  I was also allowed to do some basic range of motion and ultrasound today.  Tomorrow I am going to be doing a subjective exam (!?).  As my responsibilities increase I am surprisingly handling it better than I thought.  While I do not have the clinical experience to back what I have learned and I am not always confident in what I know.  The details of injuries are slowing starting to fill in, which is really exciting for me.  I am happy to say that I am enjoying my time so far in the clinic and can't wait to soak in all the opportunities it is going to give me the next few weeks.  It also is making me less anxious for my 9 weeks starting in June!

Downsides say what?!  It is definitely difficult to be on my feet 8 hours a day when I have been on my rump for the past 1.5 years 8 hours a day!  Anddddd I might have become slightly spoiled over break sleeping in until 9 so getting up to be at the clinic at 7 or 8 is testing my morning attitude!

The lesson I have been taught many times is coming into play.  If you don't know the answer find out, if you believe they will to.  So act confident even when your brain drawing a complete blank!  Trust is everything and there is nothing wrong with asking for help or finding answers!  While it is true we have been taught so much, there are also things we have forgotten, which is completely normal.  So things are becoming less murky!

So until December (since it is literally right around the corner), stay warm and enjoy your blessings!



Christmas Picture from the LeGrands



Giving Thanks for Thanksgiving

After spending some time babysitting and working with Trevor last weekend (a boy with special needs I have helped for 4 years), I took a much needed trip home to visit with some close friends, watch some movies on the ever growing list, and spend time with my beautiful family.

Rachel and I rockin' the brown boots

While some of you are out fighting the crowds and aggressively making your way through Target and the mall, I am avoiding it like the plague....not my cup of tea!  So instead the painting continues in our household and we have started the dreaded living room so we can get the Christmas Tree up and the Christmas card picture taken.  Ironically, Dad left this morning to go pheasant hunting in South Dakota, hmmmm, coincidence?  Just Kidding. 

Siblings, cousin Rachel and cousin-in-law Joel with our
Grandma Ornaments!

We drove up to Springfield IL for the holiday and I got to spend some time with my mom's side of the family.  I also got to go stalk by my clinical site where I will be this summer! But more importantly, Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday (right behind Easter!) and I was so very excited for the Johnson traditions.....

• Wild Turkey
• Homemade wine
• Catchphrase and pinball at Uncle Dave's
• AND receiving the ornament Grandma makes us every year....they are one of my favorite parts of Christmas!

So in honor of the holiday, I have decided to list some things I am thankful for this past week (minus the cliche family, friends, etc, because those things I am beyond blessed with!)

• Smores Poptarts....didn't know how much I missed them until I found them in my parents pantry
• Yoga Pants....traveling just got an upgrade
• Lifetime Christmas movies, because Lifetime movies alone are not quite cheesy enough
• My Kindle and I reconnecting now that classes are over. 
• Anddddd autocorrect on my Iphone....nothing beats a Bipolar program that is putting words into my texts or saving me from embarrassing spelling mistakes

So keep enjoying the weekend with the ones you love and I will be back in a few days!  Be thankful!

Reunited (with sanity) and it feels so good

Classes are officially OVER!  (only if we ignore the 3 assignments and 1 take home test that I must finish in the next few weeks...but for the sake of sanity, we are going to ignore those!)  It feels great to technically be done with semester 5 of PT School!  4 more to go! 

My patient and I doing a therapeutic
exercise during client lab!

While this week did have a big test and a bigger practical, there were some enjoyable things we got to do at school.  First was the client lab in our Neuromuscular conditions lab.  Catherine, our professor, got volunteers to come in and let us perform an exam and treatment on them in the course of 2 days.  The disorders ranged from stroke to spinocerebellar disorders or Parkinson's disease.  I was privileged to work with a patient with Parkinson's.  Even more fascinating was her surgery she had about a year ago to have a deep brain stimulator implanted.  This helps the basal ganglia work properly and significantly decreases the signs and symptoms of Parkinson's in some patients.  It was amazing to see how much she has improved with this surgery!  And she was super sweet to work with. 

Adventures in making Falafels!

My group in Professional Development also got to do a presentation on the Islam faith for our cultural awareness unit.  While we did an amazing skit (haha) the most impressive thing was Molly and mys very successful attempt to make Falafels!  What are those you might ask?  They are a mix of garbanzo beans, parsley, spices, onion and breadcrumbs that are fried and served on roadside carts in Egypt.  I would consider them a slightly healthier cousin of the Hush Puppies.  If PT school doesn't work out, it is safe to say that Molly and I have a pretty sound back up plan. 

One of the student's successful egg drop devices!

Finally, to wrap up our semester in the Physics Lab Emily and I were teaching, we did the egg drop!  The students had to construct a contraption (using only certain materials and weighing under a certain amount) based on the physics principals we have been learning about throughout the semester.  I am very please to say that only 2 of the 7 eggs broke!  It was a lot of fun and a great way to send them off for the semester!

Yesterday we had to say good-bye to our friends when class ended since we are setting off on a 3 week clinical after the holiday.  It is crazy to think that these people see up to 40 hours a week I will not see for 2 months!  It was a little sad but still so excited.  When we leave for our rotations in May, it is going to be really difficult.  We have gotten so used to our crazy dysfunctional family, the thought of not seeing some of them for 6-9 months is out of control!  But it will be an amazing journey!

So while I am off to clean my neglected duplex from the frenzy of finals, I am wishing you a beautiful weekend!

Queen of the gypsies

Unfortunately I do not have fun 80s prom or Halloween stories to grab your attention with this week.  But it’s the final countdown until the end of the PT semester!

Calibrating the spirometer for our project (monitors
the participant's breathing)

 That being said I saved this particular aspect of the PT student aspect  to talk about our research project.  I am in a group with Kim, Ali, and Megan.  The whole class is put into groups of four and does a full blast research project during their 3 year curriculum, from getting approved by the IRB to presenting at the state convention….with the help of our faculty advisors.  Ours is Jean, who teaches the Exercise Physiology and Cardiovascular/Pulmonary classes in our program.  So our research topic is very fitting.

My group is looking at the role of the diaphragm on postural control when doing single leg squats.  We are look at whether a person can squat farther when inhaling, exhaling, or holding their breath.  Our hypothesis (based on other research), is that the participants will squat further when holding their breath.  We will start collecting our data at the start of next semester and we are excited to get this moving!

Most exciting about this week was that we received our CLINICAL ROTATION SITES!!!!!!  This girl is going to live the life of a gypsy wanderer starting in June and getting to live with some of my favorite people, which is exactly what I wanted.  I will be doing my three 9 week internships in the following locations:

·         Springfield, IL (outpatient)

·         Tulsa, OK (inpatient acute)

·         Sikeston, MO….just south of Cape Girardeau (pediatrics)

I am very excited to have these great opportunities!  Is it June yet?

No, no it is not.  What it is is the weekend before our last week of class (and lots of musculoskeletal II testing).    So while my Dad and some of my friends enjoy the opening week of rifle deer season in the state of Missouri, I will be tediously dissecting my notes and the spine to survive next week. 

Linds finally got her wedding pics in, and I mus say we cleaned up pretty nice!

Take me home tonight, while I wear my sunglasses at night

What a crazy and busy, roller coaster week it has been!  But how beautiful! (if you can put on your aviator sunglasses to shield yourself from what is the awesome comeback of the 80s)

Allie assessing Brian's lifting technique at Summit Strength

The coolest thing we did in school this week was a Functional Capacity Evaluation, which is used to assess a person that has been injured to make sure they are able to return to work.  We went out to Summit Strength in Lee's Summit and spent an evening doing the functional tests that a normal worker would do (lifting, thepushing, pulling, squatting, etc), and assessing the proper body mechanics of it and maximum weight that can be safely lifted by the patient. Here is what I learned:

• DO NOT lift weights the day before in your work out
• expect to be sore the next day
• It can definitely be counted as your workout for that day, cause it is hard work!

Friday morning some of my classmates and I volunteered at the "Stoke House", where our Neuro professor Dr. McKiernan (or Brian in the PT dept) leads a balance class for people who have had a neurological lesion.  I worked with a woman who had an aneurysm in September.  It was a really great opportunity to see what we have been learning in action!  We also surprised one of our classmates Trebor on his birthday Friday! After cramping 20 of us into his neighbor's apartment and blowing his socks off, we all went out for a laid back night of camaraderie.  Happy 25th Trebor!

But the best part of this weekend was Colleen's 30th birthday party!  It was Pretty in Pink and 80s themed and me and Lindsey (friend in Oklahoma) pulled out our best blue eyeshadow and puffy sleeve dresses for the occasion.  It was an absolute blast to dance the night away to my favorite 80s songs while looking like a complete fool to outsiders.  It is safe to say that the endless hours of running man dancing and screaming at the top of my lungs to Journey and Kenny Loggins wore us out! 

Now it is back to a mere 2 weeks of difficult concentration on the task at hand...finishing the semester strong!  Life can be so beautiful in so many ways! Sometimes it is the endless hours of laughter dressed in tacky outfits, or the easy conversations with friends during our lunch break. Life for the little moments and treasure them, cause wrinkles should be from all the laughter, not the stress! So in the words of Ferris Buller.... 

"Life moves by pretty fast, if you don't slow down and take a look, you might miss it" :)

Exhausted after a serious night of far out dancing!

Whooooo are you, who who, who who?

So you don't think I am crazy the title of this blog is an old Rock and Roll song (commonly heard on CSI New York?) and it was Halloween weekend so that makes perfect sense!

Emily, me and Katie (former OCH roomies)

Last night my roommates and I had some people over for Halloween and it was a lot of fun!  I think between all of us we covered every base...Rubik cube, to the SNL schweety balls skit, 80s work out, spider and web, and even God's greatest gift to earth.  We had a great time just having a moment to hang out and not worry about school....and put on fun outfits.  Halloween is a throwback to the days of dress up and I am pretty sure that we all secretly miss that. 



Junior Year (fall 2008) at Rockhurst homecoming. Marina
 is in the purple dress in the center and I am to the right.



This weekend I also got to see my very good friend Marina, who is working on her Masters of public health administration and KUMed.  We met on move-in day in MeGee (freshman dorm at Rockhurst) and lived down the hall from each other and have been friends since!  We went and saw the movie 50/50 instead of watching the World Series game (Yes we know missing the World Series is pretty much breaking the 11th commandment).  I think the Cardinals won? :)  Being St. Louise natives, they were beyond excited! So again I had to go get an awesome picture from a couple of years ago because I don't always remember to take pictures!

Last week we had a pretty quiet week in school and classes went by surprisingly fast!  Neurological conditions right now is really interesting because we are learning about Parkinson's disease.  I find it really fascinating!  We also got to learning about body weight supported gait training in lab, which is actually a something that can help people with Parkinson's.  I even got to get on the machine and it was crazy weird feeling (and made me look like a sloppy mess when walking). 

12 days of class and we're so excited!  An early Happy Halloween and Happy November!



Molly, Megan, Kevin, Emily, Lauren, me and Jessica
Some awesome PT classmates!
(sorry the pic is blurry, Brian is not very good with cameras!)



Listen to the music

With the Halloween and 80s prom weekends quickly approaching, this weekend was more of a laid back one. My Friday was consumed with that lovely neuro test I referred to, along with a dash of calling car mechanics....jealous yet?  (No worries, my car is getting some serious TLC tomorrow).  It was one of those situations when you realize that while it is way easier for dad to take care of the car problems, it was time to be an adult (?!?!?!) and take care of business.  Trust me, I'd rather let dad handle it but he was Elk hunting in the Montana mountains on a horse! 



2005, fall of our senior year...Hannah and I in high school on
"Hick Day", in honorof our biggest football rival!

 I also got to see another long lost friend!  My friend Hannah, who is now living in California attending graduate school, was in Kansas City for a friends wedding.  So we got to hang out and catch up Sunday, which was really nice.  We first met when we were 13 (I think) when both swimming for the Gator Swim Team in Cape and then attending high school together.  I was not on top of the whole picture thing so I pulled this one out of the deep dark spaces of my external hard drive. :) ...just to be fair, it is an oldie!

Sunday was also when the Bishop presided at the Rockhurst student mass and I was very honored to play some of the music.  I have played flute for 10ish years and when I came to Rockhurst back in the day, I started playing at the special masses (Mass of the Holy Spirit, Orientation, Bishop, Baccalaureate, etc).  I have always loved music and playing my flute, so I love the excuse to dive into some music!  While it completely dorky for me to say, being a musician has always been a huge part of my life and I love that feeling of hitting a really expressive part of the music and turning notes into music (yes, I was in marching band, and pit orchestra for musicals, don't hate!)  It also gives me a chance to play around on the piano, which is something I wish I had more time for! 

On a funny note, my dearest Rockhurst has decided to alter my career paths...the pamphlet read that I was a Masters of Occupational Therapy 2012.  While I have been working very hard to get my Doctorate of Physical Therapy 2013, I will surely take their editing into consideration.....

Slow Your Roll PT school, slowwww your rollllll

Nothing puts the fear into students when you realize there are a mere 16 days of class left before our semester is over.  Yup, that's right math majors, 4 weeks and about 2348975 million things to do until then!  Because we will be going out on a 3 week rotation after Thanksgiving break, all things school have to be wrapped up before then.  This thought is absolutely crazy!  There is no way I am almost through semester 5 of 9.....while we are good at being students at this point, we can't be one forever.  Watch out Lee's Summit, I'm coming for you in December!



Kevin and I excited for cyropacks?! 8am
can be tough sometimes :)

 Clinical procedures let us toy with more modalities....ultrasound, and various forms of heat and cold packs.  We also wrapped up cervical spine so we can move onto thoracic next week (part of the spine in between your shoulder blades).  My group that did the cup activity in a previous blog is also working on a very entertaining presentation about the Islamic culture and Muslims.  The physics lab Emily and I teach also got to use scales, rolling chairs, and a little game of "who's stronger" to learn about Newton's Third Law of Motion. 

Drum roll please! I also managed to make my final decisions about clinical preferences and I am very pleased with them.  The next few weeks will tell if I am placed in those clinics, however.  But every toe and finger is crossed!  (Not going say where I am going until I find out, I don't want to jinx this!)




So for now, Hello weekend, I would like you to meet my good friend "take home test for neuro".  You will be spending a good amount of time together!  But on a good note, my lovely friend Hannah from high school will be in town from California and I am playing the flute at Rockhurst's student mass this weekend because the bishop will be presiding.  It isn't common knowledge I am a bit of a musician, but I do play for as many Rockhurst's special masses as my schedule will allow.

Hoping mother nature will get out of her mean streak for the weekend and warm up a little bit!

Fall break, I'm in love

My beautiful brother and sister!

You would think after 6 years of the blissful thing called fall break, I wouldn't be asking myself  "why is it already over?!" ....just another case and point that life goes by faster and faster every year!  But what a great fall break! I made my Halloween costume, finished my 80s prom dress and accessories (thanks for the help mom, you're the best!), and further advanced my edging skills when helping re-paint my parents bedroom (who needs blue tape when dad teaches you how to be a pro without it?!).  Not to mention I got some quality time with my siblings, and some of my closest friends from high school.  Fall break, I'm in love!  It was one of those trips home that makes it super hard to leave, I am surrounded by some of the best people!

On a less exciting note, I finally sucked it up and went and got my titer to prove that I have had the chicken pox for my rotations.  Even the funny story about how my dad thought I had a zit at 5 years old is not enough to show I have had those dreaded itchy bumps. 

The big and anxiety ridden news in the PT department is that the options/places we are allowed to choose from for our three 9-week rotations were released and we now all have to figure out where we want to go.  After a serious conversation with the parentals about options, first picks, and last resorts, I am still mostly undecided.  I have to put my preferences in in 1.5 weeks and I am still waiting for the heavens to open up with bright lights and trumpeting music to tell me what to do.  If only God's plans for us were that easy to figure out!  Hopefully after a few more days of thinking and scheming I will have a semi-plan.  Then in November we will all know where we are going for our next adventure!

While this week will probably be stale bread in comparison to the past week, it is time to jump back on the band wagon for a few more weeks! 

Betsy, Michelle, and Lindsey....some of my very good friends from high school!  We were
cheering on our beloved CHS tigers!

It's fall break...no creative title needed!

Linds had one of our Halloween costumes from forever ago
in her closet....oh geeze!

So first off, Oklahoma was SO MUCH FUN!  (minus the drive to and from down 2 lane highways in Kansas)  We did some major shopping for both the 80s dance and clothes appropriate for 2011, ate to much Mexican food, went to the Oklahoma state fair where she tried a fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and we made a new favorite dessert...Graveyard pie.  Super simple: graham cracker crust with a layer of vanilla ice cream (cup of crushed Kit-Kat mixed in) and a layer of chocolate ice cream (cup of Butterfingers mixed in).  Top it with crumpled oreos and milanos to look like tombstones and you have successfully made graveyard pie! And we got to use one of Lindsey's new food processor from the wedding.  Eventually we will really cook but last time Lindsey did that, my parents oven looked like a bad science fair project.  I can't wait to see her and Patrick (her husband, she picked a good one!) in a few weeks for Colleen's 80s birthday party!

The finished product that is Graveyard Pie, we watched
Bridesmaids while eating it lol.

Coming back for 2 days of school before fall break was insanely tough.  Having all my exams done before my weekend meant I was checked out for the beginning of this week.  We started learning about the cervical spine (neck), and surprise surprise I have abnormal movement there also!  I am on my way to winning the prize in that department!

Tuesday night me and some friends (Lauren, Jessica, Kiley) decided to celebrate fall break with a pizza, wine, and cake pop night (no worries, we are all between the ages of 23-24 :) ).  Kiley and I have both attempted in recent weeks to make successful looking cake pops and have not had the greatest luck.  Tuesday was the closest we have come!  And they are of course sooooo good!

I am now home enjoying Cape Girardeau and its dull and dreary weather.  But good news is there is so much on my "arts and crafts junkie" plate!  Halloween costume, 80s prom dress alterations, painting the parents bedroom, football game with some old friends, and some more! 

Have a blessed Wednesday!

To much rock for one hand

If I wasn't so exhausted from this past week I would put on my happy face and do a ridiculously embarrassing dance!  4 tests later this week is over and there is a slight burden off my shoulder.  My practicals went very well and we will see how our written tests come out next week!



Jess and Emily rocking their hair feathers!

One awesome thing we did this week in the PT department was raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness month.  The ladies in the 1st and 2nd year classes got bright pink hair feathers put in for the cause...and a good portion of their cost went straight to the cause...we raised $430!  It was a great and fun way to raise money and I must say I like mine much more than I ever thought.  Not that I will be turning into Kesha anytime soon, but the pink feathers are a lot of fun! 



New favorite tree!



One of my favorite things about fall are the beautiful colors the leaves turn.  I am quite fond of the trees that look like they are on fire.  Some of the trees on campus are starting to change and I even stepped on some crunchy leaves when walking to my car today.  I am the type of person who likes to find God in the little things, and this tree by the science center was definitely one of those small glimpses.



Linds and I when she got married 
this summer!

Speaking of blessings, tomorrow I am traveling to go see my very best friend Lindsey in Oklahoma!  Not many people get to meet their best friend when they are 2 when they become neighbors! And 21 years later, we are still so incredibly close!  (and our parents still live next door to each other)  She is seriously part of our family and we don't get to see each other enough!  So what awesome things do we have planned?  80s prom shopping, OK state fair, baking, cooking, puppy chow....basically 23 and 24 year old version of a sleepover.  I am looking forward to this beyond words!



Linds and I rocking the latest 1992 fashions at the pumpkin
patch back in the day! Who doesn't love old embarassing
pictures?



A maze of maize



Spiders don't stand a chance when Lauren and Emily are on duty!



If you see graduate students acting out in goofy, immature, and slap happy moods...chances are they had an intense week of school.  Since week 1/2 of testing was this past week, we had a few minutes of easy laughs this weekend at the Triple B.  (Triple B, or the Blonde Bombshell Bungalow, is my roommates and my duplex)

First on deck is taking care of the monster spider and her creepy web on the front porch.  Thank goodness for dads who arm their daughters with intense bug spray and brooms!  None of us like waking up to spiders in the morning or having them surprise when we come home at night. 



Trying on the dress for the wedding

 Today was a much needed day away from the books, highlighters and notes and a lot of fun!  First up was a bridesmaid dress appointment for Emily's wedding next summer. (yeah for pretty blue dresses) Emily and I became friends our sophomore year at Rockhurst over Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy notes and Physics experiments.  4.5 years later (and 3.5 of those years living together), we still find great adventures and she is one of my very best and closest friends! I am so blessed to have her as a friend and so excited for her and Andy and their wedding in July! (I have some seriously mad dance skills and have been awarded shortest wedding party member, lol)

Then came the 9 acre corn maze in Liberty, MO....where the paths add up to 8 miles of walking!  Emily and I met up with 2 first year students from the program to forge through the stalks.  Thank goodness Emily and Erica are good with maps because Dawn and I are both very directionally challenged.  After 2 turns we became the moral support and comedic relief of the expedition.  I also had a very interesting realization.  So in movies you often see the actors running quickly through the corn away from the bad guy and come out simply winded.  NOT POSSIBLE!  Rows of corn are very close together; therefore if someone was running through a field of corn I have decided the following: they would get hit in the face, with husks of corn, over and over.  It would not be pretty. 

Map of the maze and punches along the way

The fun thing about this giant maze is the annual theme.  In the past they have been Chiefs, Royals, Boarder Wars (mizzou vs KU), and Power and Light.  This year the theme was around the Comets, the indoor soccer team in Kansas City.  There are four different paths and 24 stations to find and get the punches. Thank goodness they gave us a map! After a lot of walking, a few hours, and a few wrong turns, we got all 24 punches.

Starting tomorrow it is the week of musculoskeletal...tests over manual tests, mobilizations, biomechanics, and disorders of the arm/leg joints, and lower spine.  Is it Friday yet?!  Happy October!


Erica, me, Dawn, and Emily at the Comets themed Corn Maze



Keeping up with the LeGrands

After putting 1000 miles on my odometer, I am back in Kansas City and ready to get schooled...in more than just lectures this time.  With the countdown to fall break (2.5 weeks if anyone was wondering), it is time for tests, practicals, and an increased need for caffine in the PT department. 

Birthday Girl with her (awesome) cupcake cake!

But what a great weekend home! My baby sister is 17 (when did that happen?!), my dog is still lazy as ever, and my old high school's brand new football stadium is gorgeous!  Thursday night started with scaring the skinny jeans off my sister when I creeped in the back door to wish her a happy birthday...nothing that a cupcake cake can't fix.  I tend to be a martha stewart at times, my left-handed nature needs her creative outlet.  I also got to be a Tiger again at the football game and watch her run a cross country meet in St Louis!  Oh, and I got to meet my cousin's new baby boy, so handsome! 

One life lessoned learned when coming to college and then going to Grad school is there are moments where you have to make time for the people you love.  I could sit in a library and attempt to learn everything there is to know about the body for 3 weeks without any trouble.  But it is so important to keep a perspective on your most important priorities (for me that would include my family, friends, and faith) and step away from the books now and again.  So while I can't wait to get my doctorate (!!!!), I also want to still have the people that make this crazy journey worth while be there when I get my diploma.  You will probably hear me repeat the "my parents, siblings, and even extended family are the greatest" speech often....but it's true.

My sister and me at the new Tiger stadium!

It was a great weekend to be reminded how beautifully blessed my life truly is!

Speaking of blessings, I can't wait for the next couple of weekends to spend some great time with some fantastic friends!  (Birthdays, corn mazes, 80s prom shopping in Oklahoma, much missed time with my high school friends....the list is extensive!)  But until those weekends, I must continue to be frien-emys with the books and papers!  Have a wonderful week watching the trees begin to change!

A blog of firsts

Most importantly in the world of Rockhurst, HAPPY ROCKHURST DAY! It is family and alumni weekend at the Rock this weekend, and while there are great times to be had, I am celebrating with my beautiful family 350 miles southeast of campus.

So my 'secret' I couldn't mention during the last post was I came home for the weekend...it was my little sister's 17th birthday and we decided to surprise her with my visit!  My mom's birthday is also coming up, but if I posted her age on here, I would most definitely be written out of the will!  While this weekend's adventures in the CG (the cool-kid slang and much shorter way to say Cape Girardeau) will be posted on Sunday, this week at school was a pretty decent one.

First it is worth mentioning that Rockhurst will now offer the second dual DPT degree in the country!  That means for a few extra Franklin's and some additional schooling, you can get your doctorate of physical therapy AND your master's of business administration.  Because the face of health care and physical therapy is changing so much, this is a great opportunity to get some education on business (in case you would want to own your own practice someday) or the insurance and paperwork side of the profession.  For those who are interested in this, it is really a unique program and beneficial program for future PTs!

Emily and I testing the motion detectors before class

The students in the physics lab my roommate and I teach (she is really excited to be in a picture this week!) got to work with some motion detectors as they attempted to mirror some charts comparing distance, velocity, etc.  As they moved away and towards the sensor, it would draw their speed and distance on the graph.  When we were in that class (back when you read your books by candlelight), this was one of our favorites.


Our teacher Kelly helping out Kim



We also got to finish up the lumbar spine (lower back) in our musculoskeletal lab this week.  After determining that my joints have some excessive and unnecessary movement (on a scale out of nine of hypermobility....I got a nine, which means I got an extra large gold star.  Not normal!), we practiced up on some techniques to assess how the joints in your lower back move. 

Back to some paper grading and neurology questions before I go spend some more time with my all time favorite people!  Happy first day of fall! See ya in a few with some great adventures!

Sweet treats and cup stacking athletes

Outside of getting tested over our ability to use a traction machine, this week in school was pretty quiet (which is not something we ever complain about).  Traction machines just put some space in between the joints in the spine and is a way to help ease some pain in patients....although it could easily pass as looking like a torture device!

 

A fun moment in our week was a group communication activity we did in our professional development III course. 

Each group member was attached to a rubber band with a piece of string (tied around our waist).  One member has to have their eyes closed and another has to be turned around.  The goal is to make a stack of cups as high and stable as possible using just the rubber band to move the cups...in 18 minutes.  From the pictures it is clear to see my group rocked it.

On Friday the class did a fundraising event at Yogurtini to help raise money for our graduation banquet.  If our name was mentioned when a person paid, we got 15% of the purchase.  Not to mention it was a great excuse for eating your choice of frozen yogurt and toppings.  In case you ever need help deciding which kind my top three are: cheesecake, cake batter, and cookies n' cream!

I can't wait for next weekend!  As much as I would love to divulge my plans, I have to keep them secret just a little bit longer in case there are wandering eyes that will ruin the surprise. :)

Happy Saturday and hopefully the weather is cool and beautiful where ever you are also! 

It's a bird, It's a plane....it's challenge air!

 This Saturday some of my classmates and I (pictured to the right in our stunning and well-fitting vests) went and volunteered at an event called Challenge Air.  It is an opportunity for children with special needs to "co-pilot" a small airplane over Kansas City. There were 120 children there and 17 pilots.  It was a great experience!  The group BEST was even there performing, which is a drama and dance group for kids with special needs....they even got Tessa, one of our classmates, out on the floor doing the Cupid Shuffle.

Leslie (fellow classmate giving a thumbs up to the right) and I were on a team who helped 4 boys ranging from ages 8-14 years old into a plane.  Because this plane's wings were low all of our children were independently mobile.  We were very blessed to get to interact with all of their charming and contagious personalities!  One of our favorite people we met was Sam (pictured with us below), and I think the picture says it all!  He had an amazing sense of humor and cracked us up the whole time we interacted with him.  Sometimes it takes a completely pure and unbiased perspective to remind you how truly beautiful life can be!  Saturday was definitely one of those moments.  Seeing how much joy even a short a plane ride can bring to someones day is a good reminder not to sweat the little things!

Batteries, Slinkys, and Therapy

It's time to celebrate because.....it is PT Friday!  Yes, I know it is Thursday but our department does not have class on Friday (definite plus)!  That does mean we put in very long days Monday throughThursday but it gives us a day to study, travel, sleep in, find our sanity under large amounts of dirty clothes and dishes.....

Labor Day weekend was a lot of fun.  My friend Jessica and I (we met during freshman orientation many moons ago) went to "Santa-Cali-Gon Days" in Independence, MO.  No I didn't make that up....it is a celebration of the Santa Fe, California, and Oregon trails, which all started in Independence. We ran into one of my former Rockhurst roommates Katie, enjoyed a great concert and food.....AND got completely drenched in the rain while dancing to Eli Young Band's concert.  Amazing!

Jess, Me, and Katie drenched at Santa-Cali-Gon Days

This week we started learning how to use electrical currents as a way to help heal wounds, decrease pain, contract muscles, and even drive medicine into tissues.  Generally I will call it "electrical stimulation".  How cool is it that we can help people who are hurt or in pain with electrical currents?!  And by altering the different components of the current on the machine (seen in the picture), we can promote all the stuff I just mentioned. 

 

My roommate (Emily) and I also teach a physics lab on campus.  Ironically, this week we look at the properties of wavelengths using Slinky's and how things like amplitude (how high it travels), frequency (how many waves are sent out) and wavelength (the space in between each wave) affect each other.  Who doesn't love Slinky's?!

Pic to the right...my group practicing e-stim.  Derrick was making my quad muscle contract using electrical currents

Have a beautiful weekend!

Hello current and future Rockhurst students!  My name is Brianna LeGrand, I am 23 years old, and I am a 2nd Year Physical Therapy student.  Here are some very important things you should know about me...and some other odds and ends:

• I graduate in 2013 with my doctorate of PT (Holla!)
• I graduated in 2010 from RU with my bachelor's in Sports Science and a theology minor (my minor was not intended, I just really liked Dr. Stancil's classes!)
• Born and raised in Cape Girardeau MO, which means I could get almost anywhere I needed to be in under 5 minutes, it does not mean the drove a tractor to school.
• Boating, floating, hiking, camping, traveling....as long as I am outside I am usually pretty happy!
• I have a 16 yr old sister, 19 yr old brother, and a dog I am completely infatuated with. 
• I am a big fan of country music.....and a very loud and proud Backstreet Boys fan
• I love cereal...there aren't many foods you could eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack. 
• I am co-teaching a physics lab this fall which is going to be a lot of fun!
• I take notes in brightly colored pens because it makes them more interesting

So throughout this semester I am going to hopefully:

• give you a glimpse of what it's like to be a Physical Therapy Student at Rockhurst
• some comparisons of my life when I was in undergrad and now that I am in the graduate program
• share with you a few of my Kansas City and occasional Cape Girardeau adventures with my amazing friends! 

Have a fantastic labor day!