October 8, 2000
Hello All,
We have finished up our LCP week. As part of the training for LCP we are required to be involved in a community project. I was going to work with a faculty member in the Spanish speaking community. But, I was glad I chose not to take on that project when I found out from Shannon that they would be working to get the children of illegal immigrants on Tenn Care. I guess it is a nice Christian thing to do, but it seems a bit illegal. Instead, I am planning to start a Breathe Free program with a friend of ours here at the Raleigh Church.
This past week I went to observe in my preceptor's office twice. The first time I went was the day that he schedules kids with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). While he talked with the parents about different medications and treatments, the poor kids who have enough to worry about with their inability to concentrate in school and their anti-social behavior were subjected to even more stress. They had to put up with a first year medical student practicing his physical examination skills on them. Fortunately the kids were even more nervous than I was and they were very calm and cooperative. I wonder if they would pay better attention in school if the teacher carried a stethoscope and the imminent threat of a shot with a needle.
Nola and I are going to be in a play coming up next October 20. It is about the early adventist church just before the great disapointment. I am playing Cyrus Farnsworth and Nola will be Delight Oakes. I just hope there is enough room in my brain to fit my lines in between all of the anatomical terms and biochemical pathways.
We just got back from a Sunday brunch with recruiters from the Southern Union. They offered us financial assistance in moving to areas in the Southern Union in exchange for the hope of church leadership and faithful tithe payments. They were very excited to hear that Shannon and I have had many opportunities to tell our fellow classmates about our faith. This past week Adventists have come up several times in lectures on diet and health. We were required to read the infamous study comparing survival rates of LLU medical graduates to SCU medical graduates that revealed a lower mortality rate for LLU graduates probably attributable to diet. After that, I have been asked numerous questions about Adventism.
I hope you are doing well, Take Care, Brent Reading
P.S. I hope you enjoy this little spinning ball. I'm sure Nola does too since she hasn't seen me or heard more than a grunt from me for the past week while I have "waisted" my free time learning to use my newest toy, a graphics program for my computer.
