my first patients

I am pleasantly surprised that, despite butterflies in my stomach at times, I feel a greater sense of competence and confidence than I have ever felt in previous chaplain residencies and internships. I KNOW I can and will do a great job in this position. I already wish that I was there full-time. But I was excited because yesterday at a well-attended ceremony to dedicate CVPH's new interfaith chapel, I met a woman named Jean who informed me that she is on the Protestant Council at SUNY Plattsburgh and they are hiring a part-time campus chaplain right now for about 8-10 hours a week. How great would that be? Some real continuity! And it would not even start until later in August when camp would be over at Dudley. So that said, I feel like things are really coming together.

I thought I would use this entry to talk (vaguely---I can't use real names) about my first patient experiences. I wanted to get out there and start meeting patients from my first day last week, but I have had to do a lot of administrative stuff to educate the staff about my new position; lay the foundation so to speak. Anyway I was feeling funny not getting out to do patient visits yet, and I went to a weekly meeting I will be attending with the Palliative Care team (focused on patients for whom no more medical intervention is possible), and they recommended me to a woman in her forties, fighting breast cancer for the last four years. Yesterday was the day she told her son there was nothing more anyone could do. It was a hard situation, but the love of parents amazes me. It seemed harder for her to TELL her son the news than it was for her to receive it herself and she agreed with that observation.

I am in awe of people when they become parents; the sheer selflessness that just takes them over. It will be a mystery to me until I have my own child one day, but I have been thinking about that all day. Missing my own parents. Luckily I get to see them in a little over a month. They are officially staying at this beautiful lakefront house in Peru, NY, only twenty minutes from the hospital for two whole weeks!!!! How nice to have a bit of home up here in my new home.

Thats all for now. Love to "all" you readers!