Houston 2 - Health

Swing Your Partner Round n' Round

 

Blog 4: Day 5

 

Kelly, Kaitlyn, and Emily spent the day exploring the world of dentistry at the Bering Dental Clinic. We spent the morning doing office tasks such as filing charts, and we spent the afternoon shadowing the very talented dentists. Each of us was most blown away by the meaningful and impactful conversations that we had with both the patients and the professionals working at the clinic. We received invaluable advice regarding everything from life and careers to what to eat for dinner. During a procedure, Kaitlyn asked one patient, in his opinion, what the best attribute of a physician is; he gave her insightful advice regarding the importance of being personable and really caring for the well being of the patient. He said that means much more than having awards on the wall. Overall, we had a very memorable day and will never forget our experience in the clinic.

 

Over at the day center, Lexy, Ryan, John, Erica, Meghan, and Julia spent the day doing crafts, painting, and playing games. It was a good day for personal conversations with the clients. Here's our personal breakdown moments:

 

Lexy: I really enjoyed talking with one of the clients. He gave really insightful advice about life and how we should travel while we are young and make sure that we can get to every possible place we can. He really touched me when he said that because of our group he knows that there is faith in our society that we will do good to the world and that he can go on knowing that our generation will make things better. He is also one of the most amazing artists I have ever seen and rated my painting the best out of all the group! J I also learned to play spades and rocked at it; overall it was a really great day.

 

Julia: I enjoyed hanging out and doing crafts with the clients throughout the day. One of the clients gave me much needed painting lessons and I was particularly touched when this same guy drew me a beautiful landscape sketch of Italy. I'll for sure be hanging this up in my apartment when I get home! We had some really insightful conversations and I enjoyed the company of all the positive and wonderful clients!

 

Meghan: I really had a breakthrough with one of my clients that I met on Tuesday. She has a mental deficit, is wheelchair-bound, and weak on one side, and was getting aggravated on Tuesday, but lit up when she saw me today. I was able to have full conversations with her, and I could see her beginning to really place her trust in me to take care of her and make sure that she was happy. It was the absolute best feeling to make progress with this woman after just two meetings with her. I am definitely sad to say goodbye to her tomorrow, but I feel better knowing that I made a difference with her.

Erica: Feeling a little sluggish this morning, I wasn't quite sure how this day would play out. However, my first day at the center was more than I could have asked for.  I found myself sitting at a table with a man named Bobby. Soon after doing crafts and talking about sunsets, Bobby asked if I would do some workouts with him. He was so alert and adamant about wanting to get in shape- and for being 65 the man looks great! I was delighted he asked me. We recruited another gal named Coco and before you knew it, here I was giving a yoga class and little workout session! We had the best time laughing and I was so encouraged by how much they enjoyed it. Bobby became my buddy for the day- laughing and joyful we spent the afternoon doing crafts and writing up a list of healthy foods for him to try! I was so blessed to see how much a simple day could change an attitude of a person (for both myself and Bobby) and am grateful for the relationships shared today at the center. 

 

John: Today was my second day in a row at the day center. It was much like yesterday, filled with arts and crafts and visiting with the clients. My favorite part of the day today was watching my fellow group members in their interactions with the clients. Being a part of the interaction is one thing, but sometimes taking a step back and viewing the interactions from the outside is a very powerful reminder of why we are here. My heart filled with joy watching Erica perform aerobics with the clients and seeing Meghan reach to a women that many would have otherwise ignored. Seeing the differences that we are making in their lives is amazing, and I really wish that we had more time here with Bering Omega.

 

Ryan: Ditto.

 

Over at the Omega House, Dalton, Iesha, and Nicola had a busy morning helping out the residents and staff. They started the morning off assisting the staff in getting the residents up and prepared for breakfast. They spent a large portion of the day cleaning up individual rooms and doing laundry for the house. This allowed the staff to tend to other chores and ultimately left time for socializing at the end of the day. It was quite interesting hearing the stories of residents past and even the long term relationship of one of the residents and his partner. "Some of the things that you do when you're young can come back to haunt you, but some things will come back and they will make you smile."

 

The day could not have ended any better. We got some authentic and delicious Tex-Mex at El Real for dinner which we all really enjoyed. Then the night was complete when we returned back to Memorial Drive Presbyterian to the "Hey Lollies", the largest square dancing club in Texas consisting of 120 couples, some of whom who had been dancing for over 50 years. We were able to watch the members in their beautiful outfits dance and were lucky enough to talk to them after. No better way to wrap up the night than with a reflection on the day.

 

Houston Hotties, over and out. ​