Every day, a new discovery

Every day, a new discovery. That is the motto, tagline, marketing campaign of VCU Health Systems. I learned two things on Wednesday.

1) There are 17 species of penguins. Of those, 12 species live in warmer climates including the African penguin. And the Metro Richmond Zoo has African penguins living in Chesterfield County! Why and how do I know this? Carleigh and I (and Amy) are going to the zoo in a few weeks and I was on the website.

2) Do you know what hazardous antineoplastic drugs are? Chemotherapy. In clinic, I had to read the procedure for cleaning up a HANDs spill. Some of the procedures include: donning a gown with cuffs, a respiratory mask, two sets of gloves, and double bagging/boxing everything and cleaning the spill site with soap and water, not once - but three times. All of this for a spill, yet these are the drugs that are being injected into cancer patients' body and treating the disease with success. Amazing how something so extremely harmful, does some good.

In the pediatric clinic, children are faced with these drugs all the time. And their parents sit beside them, not know if the drugs are killing the cancer or doing other harm. But fortunately, statistics show that survival rates are on the upswing and rising. It is the look on the childrens's and parents' faces after a treatment or after receiving a popsicle or just after receiving a friendly smile and squeeze of the shoulder that make the fundraising aspect of TNT just a little less daunting (not much but a little....). The need for private funding is crucial and even though my family has been ravaged by cancer, it took spending time in the clinic for the slap of reality to hit me.

I've also learned that in addition to dollars, the clinics need time. Nurses and doctors are stretched to the max so volunteers sit with patients, insist that a parent take a break and get some air, and clean up treatment rooms. And, as I learned this week in clinic, volunteers often pick up and deliver chemo so that nurses can stay with patients and do their jobs and be with the patients.

Its amazing to see so much life and vibrance in the clinic. Today, one little boy was using his IV stand to skate down the hall. And another was looking through the snack basket looking for his favorite crackers. It is incredible that even by surrounded by so much illness, the kids are still just kids.