Coming back Home

Hi y’all doing? How ya mama & em?

  Loosely translated: how are you all doing, and how is everyone else? I can say that I feel pretty much back at home and settled. At least the ambiance and all: the smells of food, the strong accents from those all over Louisiana, the homeless and motherless, the sick, those living in darkness. Seems like my 3 years away, I came back to things that haven’t changed much. But I know that God's hand working in the city. From the churches that are rising up, and discipling the congregations to go out and share the gospel. I can see so much hurt and suffering that so many have gone through over the last 9 years, as we remember Hurricane Katrina. So much has been buried over the years, yet God has created so much life in this city.

  I must admit it has been a bit intimidating for me, as now I am a full provider. I have to admit my residency program in south Texas really spoiled me.

                                                    Wonderful attednings/advisors: 

* program director who was filled with so much energy and was a spirtiual father to many of us 

*former engineer turned doctor who was a wiz with EMR and helped me fix mine (all the time)

*fierce violin player/athlete who made sure I new every detail for all my patients

*superhero who made sure I always pushed myself, and never doubted

*first timer who made you really work for an answer

*courageous ninja who showed me what it meant to be a woman physician, spread my wings 

Nurses who were patient with us, when we needed STAT labs drawn, and front office ladies, who were patient with scheduling appt. for us or change our billing code (when it was wrong).

  Yet residency, for most people are long days filled with cups of coffee, no sleep, attendings' yelling at you, resulting in you yelling at your juniors, coffee shop studying for boards.  I cannot think of such things. Our days were filled with: devotion and learning, a trip to the nursing home to visit and maybe sing a few hymns, walking rounds in the hospital, stop by the radiology dept for a second opinion, running up a flight of stairs to help on a delivery. It seems like a blur, but I enjoyed every moment of it, and I am blessed to have had the experiences I did. God was truly drawing me close to Him, and for that I am thankful.

  It is truly a blessing to be back home. I had for some time, while in training thought to myself that I would have been thousands of miles away working in some remote area treating people and their illness. God had other plans. He said 'If you want to serve me, you need to serve those back in New Orleans'. I can say that I fought a bit with that. Not quite what I had wanted. You see that is the thing, nothing is in our own time. I was so frustrated because I was pretty sure I had prayed and asked God for exactly what I WANTED, and basically He was saying 'No my daughter, I will give you what you NEED, and if you seek after my desires for you, you will find everything you have ever WANTED.' Can you believe that?