Blown away by the Windy City

We landed back in Kansas City a few hours ago and I am not at all wanting to go back to school tomorrow!

I adore this photo! Us on the SkyDeck at Willis Tower!

We flew out Wednesday to Chicago for the 2012 APTA (American physical therapy association) Combined Sections Meeting!  After learning our compass directions and figuring out public transit in a big city we settled into our awesome hotel!

We attended various meetings and lectures that were hosted by different fields of APTA (othro, neuro, aquatics, women's health, etc).  My favorites from the conference was the one about Rotator Cuff surgery and rehab strategy and then the running mechanics lecture.  They were intriguing, informative and taught some new things to better me as a therapist!  There were over 12,000 (yes that is THOUSAND!) physical therapists and student physical therapists from all over the country.  It was amazing to see how many people are in our profession.  About 30 of my classmates went to the conference. 

Lauren and Molly walking around
Grant Park

Of course we took some time for site seeing and being a tourist.  We visited Willis (Sears) Tower, the Bean, Michigan Ave, and Grant park.  At Willis Tower we stood/sat on the skydeck 103 stories up with only a sheet of super thick glass beneath our feet, it was amazing!

Some other things I learned about Chicago:

• While I had wind burnt cheeks to prove it, Chicago is actually called the Windy City because of it history of politics and mafia
• Revolving doors are essential in a city of brisk winds
• Boat shoes are not the best option when it is snowing
• Public transit is not my first choice in transportation...but essential in a city that size
• The great Chicago fire of 1871 burned 1/3 of the city: Wowza! (I am a bit of a history geek)

Overall it was a great trip!  Time to get back to a crazy week!

Emily and I in front of the Bean!

Bean reflection picture!

Superbowl crowns and surgical gowns

What an exhaustive weekend before an exciting trip!

Some classmates at Parent's Night Out

Saturday about ten of my classmates and I went and volunteered at "parent's night out", which is hosted by a church out in Overland Park, KS.  We were each paired up with a child with special needs for 3 hours while their parents got a much needed date night where their child was in a safe environment.  I was paired with a child with profound autism and while I have worked with children with special needs for over 4 years, I have not by thrown into quite that situation.  He had a very large communication barrier so it was definitely difficult to understand him a moments.

Superbowl Sunday

Superbowl Sunday arrived shortly after that and it was a frenzy.  After not having time to hit up the grocery store I quickly threw together delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies (one of my specialities) before meeting a great friend from high school for lunch.  I also got to play my flute at the confirmation mass at the church I attend in Independence!  Music is one of my rusty pastimes so any chance I get to dive back in I do!

Some classmates and I watched the Super Bowl at their apartment....and by watch the Super Bowl, I personally mean watch the commercials, eat delicious food, and grade physics labs. 

Bring it on Infectious Diseases!

Today in our Medical Conditions class we learned about proper garments when handling infectious diseases, which meant sporting ridiculously attracted gowns, masks, gloves, and hair nets.  This moment only happens once in your RU Physical Therapy Student careers, so you better believe there were pictures that documented the lab.  So please enjoy!






Wednesday me and many of my classmates are flying to Chi-Town (Chicago) for the 2012 APTA Combined Sections Meeting for the weekend!  It is going to be a great time away from Kansas City, a little site seeing, some networking, and a handful of lectures about various topics in the field.

Lauren, Emily and I gloved up and ready to go

Kiley and Amanda sporting the other hair net option!

Peace out and see ya next week!

Babies, figure skaters, and spriometers

This week has been a whirlwind of class, labs, data collection, and all things adorable kiddos.  I have never been a fan of February but this week has been case and point of why I am liking it even less.  My planner is color coordinated to the max for this month and we are only on day 3!  Good thing Spring Break starts shortly after March does cause we are going to need it!




Group member Nikki performing a
developmental test on one of the
babies.

First off, we have officially collected data on 12 people for our research study!  While it is time consuming and tedious, we are all so relieved to finally be able to get some numbers down for our project.  Only 18 more to go and we are hoping to get it all done during this month!

We also were very fortunate to be able to work with actual babies for different ages for our Peds lab.  My group got to work with a 14 week old baby and a 7 1/2 month baby.  Their parents were gracious enough to let us do tests and measures, and even automatic and tonic reflexes on them!  For example, if you extend a young babies foot and apply a quick and sharp stimulus to their foot their opposite leg will draw near to their bellies!  It was really neat to see these concepts in real life!  It got me excited for my peds rotation (which is a long was away in October still). 

An adorable older sibling  we got to play with
when working with her little brother

Finally in Physics lab this week the students learned about rotational inertia and momentum.  For rotational inertia, they spun on a stool while holding weights away from their body and bringing them close (which caused them to spin faster).  Wonder why figure skaters speed up when doing those turns when they bring their arms to their chest or why when they do their jumps their arms are across their chest?!  It's because an object spins faster when the weight is distributed closer to the axis of rotation! 


Enjoy your weekend!

Fine dining and diving

My sister about to dive

Back and not at all ready for another week! It is Sunday morning and my laundry list is crazy long, I guess that's what I get for spending Friday and Saturday in Springfield.  But is was so worth it!  Watching my sister dive (and swim a little) was awesome; she did so great! I was so glad I got to see her compete before state in a couple of weeks!

The Osceola Cheese Mouse in front of the store

I also got to visit one of my favorite stores...the Osceola Cheese store.  It is to DIE for.  Over 200 kinds of cheeses that you can sample and then of course by your waist line's better judgement buy.  Every time I drive down to meet my family on Tablerock lake in the summer or even drive by Osceola Cheese I am compelled to stop.  I am addicted!  And to top it off, I got my sister and I cute Osceola Cheese sweatshirts.  Fantastic moment! In fact, I am sporting it right now! haha

Cake Pops  drying in the stand my dad made for me over
Christmas.

To add to the healthy diet of speciality cheese and panera bagels this weekend, I also made Cake Pops with one of the girls I babysit.  While they are utterly delicious without my sisters cakepop maker it is a seriously labor intensive project! 

On the docket today?  Interviewing my friend for a project, attempting to read a bunch of school stuff and finish a few assignments, and most importantly watching "Once Upon a Time".  It is a great show to start the week off with and a perfect excuse to avoid homework for another hour.  It will also be an early bedtime today because in my head I slightly resemble a zombie. 

Have a blessed Sunday!

Friday I'm in Love

The first full week back is always tough with getting used to being back at school 8-4 daily but at the end of it, the pain resembles ripping off a band aid cause it is almost Friday!!!!!! 

Classmate Joe running through our Research
project

Highlight of the week was finally getting our research project off the ground.  We ran a trial run with a few of our classmates who did not qualify to be in the study and after working out the minor flaws, were able to start signing people up to be our participants.  And (drum roll), we are going to start collecting data next week and all of my group members are looking forward to getting this going!

Emily and I also began teaching the Physics Lab classes again this week.  This semester we are teaching two sections of the Physics 1760 lab (the next course following the one we taught last semester).  We have a few familiar faces but most are new which is always fun!  The best part about teaching the lab is when the student is struggling with a concept and after walking through it they get it and can explain it back to me.  This evening we looked at the relationships between degrees, radians and radius and how they affect linear and rotational motion.  It was a very interesting concept to start the semester off with.

Part of the lab where students looked at how different lengths of
radius' (their arms) affected the circumference of a circle.

Now that it is the weekend (thank the heavens above!) it is time to drive down to Springfield, MO and spend most of my weekend watching my little sister in swimming and diving competitions, and hang out with my cousin Eric who is doing a pharmacy residency there for the year.  Oh and shout out to my sister who qualified for state diving this past week! So excited! 

Have a beautiful weekend!

You Spin Me Right Round Baby Right Round

Two days into the semester and my poor planner is quickly filling up with color coordinated due dates of assignments and tests.  It is going to be a very busy semester (but also a cornucopia of information).  We started the semester in 15 degree weather rolling people-filled wheelchairs up and down 6 inch curbs....both facing towards and away from the curb.  That can be scary trusting someone to keep the chair from tipping!

We also took a tour of a children development center for children with special needs.  It employed many therapists including physical, occupational, music, and speech.  Our professor wanted us to get a glimpse into hour collaborative the pediatric field is and to give us a base to return to in our class discussions.  More than anything else it made me excited for my pediatric rotation in October! 

Emily and I with some first year ladies

Thursday night Catherine, one of our professors, had a party for all the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students.  3rd years had a chance to catch up after being gone on rotations, 1st years got to ask 2nd years about our 3 week experience, and it was a great opportunity to talk and socialize with people we don't usually see at school.  Below and to the left are a few pictures that her husband took! 

1st year students

3rd Year Students

Some of my 2nd Year Classmates

Goal for this week:  Keep Calm and Breathe.  With the first full week of class, teaching lab starting on Thursday and my trip to Springfield MO to watch my sister swim and dive over the weekend, it is going to be a dizzying ride!

Kansas City, Kansas City here I come

I'm back!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (and so is school, apparently we are a packaged deal).  After a beautiful 2 months away from the classroom, it is time to go back and get schooled in all things neurology, musculoskeletal, pediatrics, health management, and medical management.  While it sounds simply fabulous I am almost positive I used up 1/4 of my printing money on notes today...and school hasn't even started!  But no worries there is much more of that to come in the upcoming months. 

So since I can't explain what is to come, it is time for a photo montage of the last 4 weeks of my life.  Buckle up folks, it is gunna be a blur.

Christmas Eve with my bruised lip and sister

New Year's Eve dinner at our family friend's house: Me, Heather and Chleo

New Years Eve with some great friends (Ali in picture) and awesome glittered glasses

.....and my glittered heels.  L.O.V.E.

Hanging out with my adorable and old senile dog. (Clearly begging for something)

My sister capturing my dog's most favorite activity....sleeping by the Christmas Tree.

A visit to Oklahoma to visit my best friend Lindsey! We bedazzled her laptop and my Kindle.

Lindsey and I doing who knows what.

And most recently a trip to Illinois for the Johnson family Christmas...food and wine gift exchange?!  Best Idea EVER.
The only picture from the trip?  My sister finding new ways to braid my hair.  :)



 Now that my wonderful trips and memories are done (I think I have imprinted my rear in my car seat this break), I have slowly submitted to the fact that it is indeed again time to hit the books (and not the great fictional books I have been immersed in).  No worries, there are a few great and fun things ahead this semester! (A few trips, CSM conference in Chicago, birthdays, white coat ceremony) Then it will be time to pack up and move onto my clinical rotations and I am super excited for the future!

Until the weekend, God bless!