I have a dream too.

Sorry for the late posting. I was in the ER (A&E) with my friend this morning so I slept really late.

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr day! One of my favorite things while I was in school was an assignment for Martin Luther King, Jr day. The assignment was, "Write an 'I have a dream' speech describing your dream for 1) yourself 2) your community 3) your country and 4) the world." Our dream needed to have at least five items since Martin Luther King. Jr listed five dreams in his famous speech. 

I enjoyed it so much that occasionally I do that instead of "write your goals for the future". In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr, here are my dreams.

My Dream for the World

I have a dream where we live in a world without countries. Where we live in a world that is one nation. A dream where our world is one family, one community, one people who aspires to reach a common goal for the good of the whole planet.

I have a dream where we do not base our laws on religions. A dream where laws are based on the basic human rights, not based on the deity of any one belief system.

I have a dream where people may worship the deity of their choosing without fear of persecution or death. Where a person may say "I am an Atheist" without being ostracized. A world where your religion was based on your closeness and your own personal relationship with the God or Gods you believe in, or lack thereof, without being excluded from your community happenings. A dream where your religion does not brand you. 

I have a dream where no one starves. Where food is plentiful and nutrition is as much a part of the healthcare system as medicine.

I have a dream where no one desires illegal drugs. A dream where no one relies on the addictive euphoria of a temporary high to feel good. A dream where people are addicted to positive feelings of random acts of kindness. A dream where coffee and tea are the only stimulant anyone will ever desire.

My Dream for My Country

I have a dream where my government has limited rights and  stops taking away our rights and stops treating us like second class citizens. (Cheers to you Mr. King!)

I have a dream where the people of this nation may love and be loved by any person they so choose, without persecution. A love that can be affirmed through marriage without hatred and bigotry following.

I have a dream where hate crimes do not exist. Where you are friends with a person because of their character, and NOT their race, sexual orientation, religion, body size, or any other non-important item, is irrelevant. 

My Dream for My Community

I have a dream where my city neighbors are not angry with one another. Where peace and understanding rule. A dream where the bickering and bantering ceases, as it does nothing to help come to a peaceful solution.

I have a dream where the law enforcement officers are respectful and treated with respect and as a valuable asset to our community. A dream where the unjust and corrupt dealings of the law enforcement officials just does not exist. A dream where when you call the police for help, they actually show up instead of calling and telling you they refuse to help. A dream where they show up and actually do something, instead of drawing on biases from rumors. A dream where when you want to file a report, they do not refuse. A dream where if I need the police, I am comforted in the idea that they will respond, do their job, and treat our citizens with respect.

I have a dream where the medical staff in our community do not judge a person unfairly when they come into the Emergency Room. A dream where the doctors don't refuse care upon the biased idea that the person must be a drug addict simply because of rumors. A dream where they treat the patient with respect and dignity. A dream where my community is not afraid to go to the Emergency Room when they really do need care. A dream where my community will feel safe going to this hospital rather than risking a 90+ mile or 500+ mile drive (that was me!) to another hospital to find medical care. A dream where the medical community is respected and respectable, not a butt of every joke. A dream where the new hospital here will be admired because the quality care will outshine the new building.

My Dream for My Self

I have a dream where my blogging earns enough income to cover my bills with enough left over to put 20% in savings and donate %15 back into my community wherever it is needed.

I have a dream where I am debt free. A dream where I am living in my own home without the fear of homelessness looming over me every month.

I have a dream where my family is closer (geographically) and my friends are all like family.

I have a dream where I wake up one day and am allergy free. A dream (or delusion?) that I go out into the sun for an entire day and enjoy the sunshine, the heat, and the outdoors completely un-medicated and without the fear that I will get too hot and gasp for air. A dream where I can enjoy the daytime as much as the nighttime.

I have a dream where I can work again, outside my home, in a job that I can do and do well, to not only make myself feel useful and needed/wanted, but to also make myself feel like I am more a part of my community. A dream where I am actually able to help people again and make a difference.

Yes, I too have a dream. So why not dream big!?

Behind the Scenes View of Cabinet Peaks Medical Center

Today I decided to take a walk to the new hospital in our town to take a tour. St John's Lutheran Hospital is getting replaced by the new hospital, Cabinet Peaks Medical Center, on January 30, 2014. Because everyone is curious, they were giving tours today.

OOPS! Camera Died.
I didn't take my camera because the batteries died. Sorry about that, but I will try to get a few pictures for you all when I buy more batteries. I did find this picture on the St. John's Lutheran Hospital's website. I don't see a source for the picture though...

Source: sjlh.com history page
Doesn't that look nice!?

Cabinet Peaks Downstairs
We started out in the front lobby area in front of the Walk-in Clinic which will replace prompt care. It's for non-emergency care in case you can't get in to see the doctor that day.  They told us that the hospital was set up with healing in mind. Not sure what that meant, but okay! Cool! Sounds positive!

Then we went around the bottom floor past the cafeteria which will be open to the public. So, if you want to stop by the hospital cafeteria for lunch, you can! I won't, because of my allergies, but they said they have a new menu too. 

That's nice... I wasn't aware they had a menu at the old hospital. Actually, I wasn't aware they had a cafeteria either. Good to know! Hoping they have a lot of coffee there. I did see a coffee carafe section.

We saw the new lab area. That's where I was told that every area of the hospital has it's own waiting area. Cool. The old one has one for the ER and one for everyone else. That's all the waiting areas I know of. Then we headed to the ER staff area. Totally cool! Usually people won't see that area. That lead us out to the Trauma bays. It looks like there will be a lot more privacy with how the rooms are set up. That will be a nice change from St John's where there is little privacy when you are in the Trauma bay. 

We also got to walk through the "walk-in clinic" side and see the rooms there. They all look really nice. The nurses stations look more state of the art compared to St John's Lutheran Hospital. We saw the new helipad too. It's straight across from the emergency room entrance.

We got to see the MRI, x-ray, radiology areas too. They have a machine there were the doctors can see the x-ray right away. Nice. And then we went around to the other area... can't remember what it was though :)

We went upstairs on the new elevators. Those are nice. They work like an elevator is supposed to work. They aren't old and ancient and terrifying! The next part isn't in order... But these are the areas we viewed.

Cabinet Peaks Upstairs
Upstairs looks pretty nice. We got to see the new surgery area, the pre-op and post-op areas. No, I am not missing my oxford comma there. The pre-op and post-op areas are the same areas. No privacy really, except for curtains. The one we have now is pretty private. This one, I hope I never need surgery. That's not enough privacy for me. But it looks nice.

Appropriately placed next to the surgery area is the Chapel. No, I am not making a joke about SJLH poor quality care. I am just saying, if someone I loved was going into surgery, and it was bad, and I was a religious person... wouldn't it be nice to not have to walk across the building to get to a chapel? 

Or in my case, when my first son was dying (in a different hospital)... Down four floors, across the building, out the door, across the campus, into another building, up two floors, across the building and into the Chapel. Yes, having it right there is a nice touch. And it's close to patient rooms, ICU, Labor/Delivery, and other areas I would imagine you would want a Chapel. 

We also got to see the ICU. The rooms are nice and they look pretty private. They also have two isolation rooms. Just around the corner are the regular patient rooms, complete with a private shower/bathroom, a love-seat that turns into a bed, a flat screen TV, and a patient chair with a little table attached to the arm of the chair.

We saw the physical therapy department and a patient room that has a lift attached to the ceiling for patients that need to be lifted out of bed in a bariatric lift.

We saw the mammography center (I think that was downstairs) that has a private area for undressing so you don't have to walk down the hall in your hospital gown. I didn't know SJLH patients had to walk down the hall. I've never had to do that.

The Labor/Delivery/Recovery rooms look really nice. Two of them have a Jacuzzi tub in them. The nursery is rather small since they encourage Mom to keep their baby in the room with them. And there is a "mother's room" for women who need help with lactation. The views from those rooms are overlooking a field behind the hospital where deer gather often.

After that we headed down to the cafeteria where we could ask questions. I couldn't think of any except how are they with allergies? I've never been admitted to the hospital here so I didn't know how they handle multiple allergies. 

Apparently, if you have lots of allergies, they send the dietitian up to talk to you to find out what you CAN eat and try to accommodate your dietary needs. One guy made a joke of "Fly you to Kalispell?" Which I thought was funny, but I don't think the other guy did. Gave me a good chuckle though.

Overall- Nice.
I have to say, overall, the place looks really nice, well laid out, and much more inviting than St John's Lutheran Hospital. I just hope the care is better there. 

While I have heard a few stories from SJLH that leave a lot to be desired, I have noticed that their care there has improved a lot. Let's hope it keeps improving!  As of now, there is really only ONE emergency doctor I feel safe seeing. The other's have not impressed me much. 

But, I am still hopeful that they will give high quality care. I am waiting in eager anticipation! And at the same time, I am hoping I don't need to go to the Emergency Room... ever. 

Hang Out Night: Movie Night! Er, YouTube night!

Tonight is hang out night and we were going to watch a movie. But, no one could quite decide on what movie to watch, so we're doing the YouTube thing! Here are our favorite YouTube videos this week. And since I am going to be an Aunt again, we picked videos of cute babies.

Since Chelsea is new to our family, here is something you get to look forward to. HAHAHA!

Can't have a baby compilation without laughing babies!

Get the tissues ready! This one is adorable!

Being the awesome people they are, my brother and sister-in-law are foster parents to dogs looking for furr-ever homes. I saw this one and hope they see something as cute after their little one is born.

One more, then it's time to break out the games and play something fun! We can even share our toys!

Just one more note before we head off to have fun... Kevin and Chelsea, I hope you had fun watching these and I hope you have a beautiful, healthy, little bundle of joy! And if it's a boy (I here it is!), Chelsea, you are going to have your hands full LOL. Mom and I will tell you all the stories of when Kevin was little. MWAHAHAHAHA!

Juicer Recipe Review: Sweet Potato Pie

With all this juicing, I wanted to find something sweet that tasted like a dessert to give me a feeling of being naughty. I found Sweet Potato Pie juice and it fits the bill perfectly!

The ingredients

• Apple
• Carrots
• Sweet Potato

Run all the ingredients through your juicer, stir and enjoy! 

By now, I started cheating by buying apple juice and just measuring out about 3/4 cup to 1 cup per apple in the recipe. It works! The recipe tastes the same as if I had juiced actual apples and it's cheaper for me than buying whole apples and juicing them.

My rating for this juice? 

I would give it 5 out of 5 stars. It is sweet and tastes like a dessert which is what I was looking for! And it's amazingly filling!

Have you tried this juice recipe? What did you think?

Tobacco Seminar! Surprisingly Positive!

Our local clinic is having a Tobacco Seminar held by two of the psychologists that work there. I decided to sign up and check it out because... why not! What is the worse they can do? Tell me not to smoke? Take my rolled cigarette away? Say "naughty naughty"? Tell me something I didn't know?

Instead, they were really positive and informative. I have a binder for all the information and I have homework too! They aren't telling us "You HAVE to quit smoking! It's bad for you!" They are saying, "We all know it's bad. Let's explore what triggers you to smoke." 

One of the most interesting things we did was go down a list of reason we LIKE to smoke and then went down a list of reasons we don't like to smoke. That actually surprised me. 

So this weekend I'll continue reading through the pages I have and documenting when I smoke, how I felt when I went to smoke, and what I was doing when I went to smoke.

So far, I see a few patterns. I smoke

• When I am around friends.
• When I am out of my house.
• When I get something done (a pat on the back of sorts)
• When I feel really stressed.

Why I smoke:

• When I started smoking, it was cool.
• I like the taste.
• It makes me feel better.

Reasons to Quit:

• The expense of smoking.
• The health risks.
• The smell.
• The added health care costs.
• I want to set a good example for my kids.
• Shortness of breath.
• My food will taste better.

While I can't post anything about the others in the class (confidential), I can post my experience and from my point of view. We meet every Tuesday, so I will update my personal experiences and personal point of view on Wednesday.