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!