Progress with Flynn

This past week has been a good one for Flynn. We have finally been able to make some headway with him. I bought a large red ball, and he now wants to roll it back and forth with us. He is also jumping more properly, and wants to walk the stairs.

For awhile, we were concerned that he might have a tie tongue. We had not seen him stick out his tongue or lick anything. Yesterday, I got Flynn to stick his tongue out. He was able to lick some baby food off of my finger.

Another part of therapy has been getting Flynn to sign "more" in order to ask for food. We have agreed that anytime he moves his two hands together, that it would count. He occasionally would freak out and throw a tantrum, but now he is actually moving his hands together more often than not in order to indicate wanting food.

Today, he even started roaring at us. This is incredible, because I do not remember him ever doing that before. He has been making so many sounds today, "B"s, "M"s, "R"s, etc. It just makes me so excited, that he is willing to learn. We are able to begin to communicate, which I love.

Four years a doctor

Today marks four years a doctor. Four years ago I graduated medical school from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. I had a brand new baby boy, that I was still getting used to. I had my parents with me, and I had no idea what the future was going to hold. I didn't know what I was going to do with the rest of my life.

I did family medicine residency because I had to scramble into it. I honestly wanted to be an OB-GYN initially because I find pregnancy so fascinating. I did not want to be a family doctor at first. However, I learned so much in those years. I learned about taking care of children, about taking care of pregnant patients, and all ages. Not all of the training has been fun. The long hours, the many memories missed from children, the stress, and not knowing if I'm doing things properly, that all was very hard. But, it was so worth it. I have learned so many lessons from each person I interacted with.

There are many memories, both good and bad, that I will always remember. Telling a patient that they have cancer and I'm not sure they have left to live. Delivering babies and meeting many family members in the process. Having to take care of mothers as they deliver babies who have not made it. Doing procedures to remove skin lesions, with and without anesthesia. Watching children grow through the years. Having some of my beloved patients die, after they have struggled. 

Today, on the beginning of my fifth year of being a doctor, I had an interesting day. I removed a cyst off of a patient's ear without anesthesia, because they didn't want anesthesia. I did so many paps, which used to be difficult, and now are like my bread and butter. I got to see babies, and take care of them. I was able to perform procedures for fun. I was able to do OMT and see immediate improvement in a patient's pain. I had my MA and front staff take care of me to keep me safe in various patient scenarios. I have learned that my girls have my back whatever occurs. I had not expected to have that camaraderie this early on. I am also running a clinic, which has been both the most stressful and the most rewarding experience ever. I have never learned so much in such a short period of time. 

I am very thankful that I am a doctor. I truly believe that this is what I was meant to do. Most days, I love my job. This doesn't mean that it's always easy, or always fun, but most days I am able to leave feeling satisfied. I hope that I will continue to grow and have fun for the years to come.

Flynnie starting therapy

Flynnie is my second born son. I have noticed that something was off with him for awhile. He was not making the same noises that Preston had made in the same time period. I noticed that he also was not doing other milestones in the same time period. Around 9 months of age, he started doing something that I found very concerning. He would go on his hands and knees and rock back and forth. He would bang his head against the door or the wall. He has caused thickened skin in that area of his forehead. He has also worn off the skin before and had scabs form. He has done this multiple times a day, everyday, including now.

I have been trying to get Flynn in for therapy for over a year now. I'm very thankful to now be in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, where there are a lot of medical options. It was difficult, initially, to get Flynn into therapy. I originally had Flynn's "establish care" appointment in the end of March. However, then COVID happened, and he actually is not establishing care until Thursday of this week. Through a lot of phone calls, and working with an amazing medical assistant named Stephanie (pictured below), we had referrals placed to various locations until we found one with a reasonable copay.

The place that we are currently going to is called PediaPlex. It is great, because it is really close to where we live, and they have multiple subspecialties located in the same place. Flynn has had his first evaluations with both speech therapy and with occupational therapy. I finally received his report today.

From speech therapy, he has been given the diagnosis of Mixed receptive-expressive language disorder. He was administered the Preschool Language Scale 5th Edition (PLS-5) and was found to have deficits in many domains. His auditory comprehension score was a 50, in the 1st percentile, age equivalent of 10 months. His expressive communication score was 50, 1st percentile, age equivalent of 5 months. His total language score was 50, 1st percentile, age equivalent of 7 months. He has a few long term goals including: client will increase use of expressive language skills through mastery of short-term goals within a 6-12 month period, client will increase use of receptive language skills through mastery of short term goals within a 6-12 month period. Currently, our homework is to practice the "M" and "B" sounds with Flynn, because they are at the front of the mouth and use the lips with speech. We are also attempting to teach him the ASL sign for "more", that way he can communicate when he wants more food.

"More"

For occupational therapy, he was administered the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2 (PDMS-2). He was found to be in the 37% for grasping (average) and 16% for visual-motor interpretation (below average). Overall, Flynn does demonstrate sensory sensitivities in the areas of Propioceptive and Vestibular processing. He seeks out movement (climbing, constant movement, rocking) for sensory input and to improve his self-regulation level. Flynn's difficulty to adequately process and regulate sensory input directly impacts his motor skills, speech and language skills, and activity level. For homework on the OT side, we are working on: rolling a ball back and forth between him and someone else, and we are working on holding onto a surface and jumping using his knees and hips.

It's all for this little guy. We are rooting for him and will help him as much as we can.

Gratitude and Experiment

Days 20&21: Gratitude and 21 Day Experiment

I am grateful for many things. 

I'm thankful that Flynn expresses himself through jumping and squealing for joy. I'm thankful that Preston is so focused and works hard. 

I'm thankful that Preston likes to help his parents with tasks. 

I'm thankful that Flynn loves to eat. 

I'm thankful that Tim stays home and helps take care of the boys. 

I'm thankful for my job, and that it's something I enjoy doing. 

I'm thankful that I'm a doctor. 

I'm thankful that I work for a company that allows me to grow and build my practice the way I want it to.

I'm thankful that I have the capability to make patient laugh and to heal.

I'm thankful that I follow God.

I'm thankful for my Church.

I'm thankful that Jesus came to earth for me, and would do it all again if I were the only person on the earth.

I'm thankful for my parents and all their love and support.

I'm thankful for Kathi and how much love she shows our family.

Day 21:

This has been a very interesting experiment to participate in. It was perfect timing being in the midst of the COVID pandemic, and it allows me to document things about myself. One of the things that I learned about myself is that depression is a very real thing. 

I am currently in the middle of a depression. Tim has been very helpful through this all. I had a patient who tested positive for COVID who came into the office for benign complaints, and then I got an email the following day. Because of that, I had to get tested for COVID. That is not a pleasant experience. Over the next couple of days as I was awaiting the results, I was a bunch of nerves. I was so scared that I had COVID and that I was going to give it to my boys. I believe that is when my depression episode started. 

I have realized that it's okay for me to be in a depression. I have been on medications for years, and I have had to have adjustments periodically. I've been surprised that some people have been so opinionated about my depression. It's made me feel like folks have not dealt with people in the middle of a depressive episode before. It's okay for me to be in this depressive episode. Talking with Tim, I have realized that I am actually doing a lot better now, in the midst of my current episode, then I have in the past. I am a lot calmer, and I don't have such extremes of behavior. 

Even though I am in the middle of a depressive episode, does not mean that all days are bad, or that I feel sad all of the day. Yesterday was very hard for me, from the moment I woke up, to when I came home from work. But then Tim had us do lip syncing and that really helped. Today was a good day. Does that mean I'm done with this current episode? No, but that's okay. I can still press forward and keep moving onward.

Religion and Siblings

Day 18: Religion

I believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world. I believe that he is the son of God. I believe that Jesus visited the world and healed many, taught many, and taught us a better way to worship. 

I miss Church. In church, my husband and I used to teach 3-4 year old children. It is fun to go over basic truths and see how the children take to it. I miss the community and the children.

Day 19: Siblings

I don't have any siblings. I always wanted to have siblings. Instead, I have tried my best to have my children to enjoy each other's company. I love watching how they interact with each other. I love that Preston loves his younger brother. I want them to be friends forever.

Dad and Prayer

Day 17: Dad

One of the biggest lessons that I have learned from my Dad is to follow the promptings of the Lord. He taught me the importance of prayer, and to follow the Lord always. I have not always had the easiest time with prayer. Sometimes, it feels as though I'm talking to myself. However, at the hardest times, some of my lowest points in my life, I know that God hears me and answers my prayers. He may not always answer the way that we want, but he does answer. 

I may be in a period of growth. Growth comes in many different forms. Mine has taught me that it's okay at times to not always be happy. That it is okay to seek help from others. That it's okay to open up to the ones that you trust. That even though I may be sad, I can still find periods of happiness and joy. I have learned that I can still help others when I am struggling. I can still help my husband, my boys, and my patients. I may not know what may be happening next, but I know who I can trust.

Traditions

Day 16: Traditions and Blessings

One of the traditions that was started for me as a child, and we have continued with my children is birthday prayers. Every year that I can remember, I would either sit in my Dad's lap, or sit near my Dad. Then, my Dad would place his hands on my head, and offer a prayer of blessing and guidance. I would always look forward to these prayers. We have been fortunate to continue these with our two children on their birthdays.

Another thing that I am very thankful my husband is able to do for me are blessings. Since Tim has the Melchizedek priesthood, he is able to confer blessings to others when they ask. Most of the time, they are either for healing or comfort. Tim does not know what he's going to say prior to placing his hands on the recipient's head. He has said that it's like getting a direct line from God, and says what God tells him to at that point. Once the blessing is completed, the direct line stops. Whenever I have received blessings from my husband, it has always been on something that I needed guidance or support wise. I look forward to my boys growing up to be able to do the same for others. I know they have been helpful to me.

Newsworthy

Day 15: Newsworthy

Today, the prompt asked about what's going on in the world right now. I wrote about that yesterday, which is COVID-19. So instead, let me tell you about something I am currently obsessed with:

CELLS AT WORK!!

Season One, currently on Netflix, talks about the cells that make up our bodies. It follows mainly two characters: a very ditzy red blood cell that gets lost easily, and a neutrophil (a specific type of white blood cell) that kills first, and asks questions later. Every episode, something goes wrong in the body, whether it be heatstroke, cancer, Staph Aureus infection, or food poisoning. And then, here's where the real cool part happens. What it seen on the show are the actual processes that the body does to fix the problem. Like how naive T-cells train in the thymus gland to learn regular body cells from pathogens, and how the T-cells that attack the wrong ones are "washed away" from the body.

It looks like there will be a second season next January, but it is unsure if it will follow the current Cells at Work manga, or if this will follow one of the other off shoots. Either way, it's a fun educational way to spend some time and learn something new in the process.

Trailer for Cells at Work

COVID-19

Day 14: COVID-19

Whoever knew that something so small, a virus of all things, could cause so much stress, harm, and deaths. I have so many thoughts in my head concerning COVID-19. Especially when before this happened, telling a patient, "You have a virus, I can't give you any antibiotics" use to mainly frustrate folks, but not scare them. Now, if I think someone has a viral infection, I have to calm their nerves that it isn't the COVID.

I was not expecting for all to occur that has with this pandemic. I was not expecting to have to wear scrubs daily, to get used to wearing masks, and to treat everyone as if they were infected. I was not expecting to check stats on COVID daily, to discuss with patients the status of the world and that no one really feels safe anymore. I was not expecting the anxiety level to skyrocket, both for patients and for myself. I was not expecting to have to deal with such bored kids, I was not expecting to enjoy playing board games so much. I was not expecting to go into a depression, having a hard time dealing with life day to day. 

I hope this ends soon. I hope I'm able to be with my friends and family again. I hope that my depression lifts. I hope I get the motivation to run again. I hope I don't completely ignore my kids when I'm home. I hope that I still keep doctoring well through all of this. 

I just want to be happy again.

Funny

Day 13: Funny

Today, I'm supposed to write about funny things, embarrassing things, things that make me laugh until I cry. There is a show that Tim and I watch, when the boys are in bed, called "Task Master". It is a British show, where a couple of comedians make other comedians do odd things, video tape it, and then judge them, giving out arbitrary points, to win weird prizes, and the winner of each season gets a "gold" version of the Task Master's head. They have had to do tasks such as, get a high-five from a fifty five year old, or create a dance routine to a ringtone. It is a worthwhile show, and the episodes are currently on YouTube.

(https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/taskmaster/special/series_4_outtakes/)

Another TV show that Tim and I indulge in after the boys are in bed is called, "Love Island-Australia". On this reality TV show, various gorgeous people living in Australia go to a villa in Spain to find love. What they tend to find instead is a lot of back stabbing, and drama. What Tim and I love about this TV show is the narrator. The narrator is an Irish guy who makes fun of the contestants. He realizes just how shallow and petty they are, and teases them, without their knowledge. We have also become a fan of one of the contestants because he is known as a kangatarian, someone who follows a vegetarian diet except for kangaroo meat. Justin. He is absolutely hilarious, he is a pretty boy, with about nothing else going on for him. He keeps being surprised why the woman on the villa are not interested in him. Tim and I find it pretty funny whenever he does silly things, like strip teases, calls himself, "the dickmaster" or sings off key. Please don't spoil when he goes home.

(https://www.capitalfm.com/news/tv-film/love-island/australia-kangatarian-contestant/)

Mom, Travel, and Love

First off, let me be honest and say how difficult this time has been for me. Between stress at work, some stress at home regarding my son, it's just, hard. I have started to hate the phrase, "How are you?" because most of the time, folks don't want the honest truth. They want an answer that will placate them. Very few people want what's going in on my head. So, yes, I'm still semi struggling. Some days are better than others. And if you ask me a direct question, I may or may not give you a real answer, whether or not I think you want the real answer.

So, back to what I'm supposed to be writing.

Day 10: Mom

I have learned what it means to be a mother from my mom. I know that it sounds very cliche, but she has given me so much. How to treat others, how to show compassion, how to take care of others. She has shown me what it's like to have a passion for life, a passion for learning new things, for reading, for loving nature. I remember her taking care of me multiple times when I have been sick. I remember watching movies together, I remember traveling to more places that I can honestly remember, I remember reading books together as a family. I have been trying to do the same for my boys. To be so self-less and so serving of others. I want to learn how to do more fun things for my boys, to have boundless patience and kindness for them. I know my boys miss their Muppa.

Day 11: Travel

Right now, the only traveling I want to do is to see my parents. I miss my family so much.

Day 12: Love

Timothy Jacob Harbison is my one true love. I had thought I had understood love before, but then I met him. Heck, I was even engaged before, due to get married, and that ended up failing. I have had guy after guy leave me out to dry. Then, as God would have it, I met Tim while he was doing an internship in Ithaca, NY. I was definitely the one who was the pursuer of Tim. Thankfully, I never scared him off. I told him all about me, all of my baggage and the bad stuff, during our first date. The next day, we became boyfriend and girlfriend. Within a week we were discussing marriage. We got engaged 4 months later, and 6 months after that, got married. Now, we have been married for 5 years and have two wonderful boys together. It may not have been the most traditional thing, but I would never change it.

Aunts and Uncles

Day 9: Aunts and Uncles

Aunt Jan: an amazing singer, worked for a GI doctor for a long time, and used to give me Eneman styled gifts
Uncle Calvin: very sincere about his beliefs, loves the Red Sox, goal to visit all of the major league baseball fields
Aunt Corona: the life of the party, loves to sing, very funny
Aunt Sandi: tea parties, spending time at the beach or the lake
Uncle Steve: great sense of humor, teases a lot, sincere
Aunt Rowena: artist, loving, family is all
Uncle Philip: soft spoken, kind
Aunt Glenda: teacher, fighter, survivor
Uncle Frank: birder, Oklahoma

Games and Friends

Day 7: Games

Tim and I love playing games. For the longest time, we have had the hardest time finding ones that we could play as just two people. That is, until we found Villainous. Villainous is a board game that allows folks to play some of your favorite Disney villains. You can play as Scar, Jafar, Ursula, Queen of Hearts, or someone else. You try to stop each other from succeeding by fating each other, bringing various heroes out from the stories. You can play multiple people together at once.

Another game that we have really enjoyed is called, "Call to Adventure". This game is a lot like dungeons and dragons. You have to create the best story by earning cards by rolling various runes. The person with the most points at the end wins.

Day 8: Friends
There are a couple of friends that I have had for a longer period of time. Two of my longest friends are Kati and Ashley. I met Kati in second grade, and my Mom helped walk her to school with me every morning. Kati and I have had been in various classes together throughout the years. We both played clarinet, and we even went to senior prom together. I was able to go to her wedding and she came to mine. We've been a part of each other's lives. I definitely miss seeing her in person.

Ashley is a sweetheart that I've known since third grade. We went to church together, and always would make time for each other whenever I was in town. I was always the one of the two of us that would travel out of state, or out of country. She is someone that I trust, and that I share with.

To me, friends are important people. It is easy to be friendly with someone without being friends. But, friends are there for you. If you have a bad day, or just got engaged, they are the ones that you call. One of my bestest friends is Emily. I have only known this lady since I was a junior in high school and she was a freshman. We bonded over music, and being nerds together. We even created a group in high school called, "The Crazy Band Geeks". I still try to connect with her every so often.

Anyway, when you find a true friend, it's like finding someone that you always knew, that makes you happy.

A Day in the Life

Day Six's prompt is to write about work. I would like to write about my favorite job, which is my current job.

This is what it's like to be a doctor:

I wake up at 6:10 am every morning and get myself dressed and hair in buns so as to keep in away from my face. I leave by 7:10-15 am, and arrive at office by 7:45 am.

Once I arrive, I check all the temperatures for the two fridges and the freezer.  I have to ensure that all the vaccines are kept in working order. I then check to see what notes I have left over from the day before. I try to finish off the notes within 24 hours of seeing a patient, so that way I don't forget things. I then get masked up, double masked up, and ready to see the first wave of patients. From diabetes management, to high blood pressure, to abscess drainage, to birth control management. I try to help others by communicating with them. I try to develop rapport, and get the patients comfortable with me. I try to learn more about their families, and become one with them, in a sense. After a quick lunch, I am able to spend some quality time doing Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy (OMT for short). I love working directly on patient's bodies, because I feel like I am able to help them quicker, when I use my hands. I have seen such great results over time. I continue to take care of folks, speak some butchered Spanish, and most of my patients leave with smiles. It has been a full day.

I love the relationships that I get to develop with patients. Some of them become like friends or family. I love watching people grow and change over the years. From meeting a family in the labor and delivery room, to taking care of their baby, to learning about them getting pregnant again, taking care of both of them, delivering, and all that wonderfulness. Being able to help others and make a change. Exemplifying what Jesus is, and what He does, is what I love to do.

I was meant to be a doctor.

Story by pictures and joining Holmes' team

Today's challenge was to describe my day via pictures, and anyone who knows me knows that I like pictures, so here goes!

Young at Heart reminding all patients to please wear a mask.

Learning about today's brief.

Taking a breather in between patients.

Realizing that a patient thought I was only 15 years old today...

Working on some research when the time allows.

Leaving work after a full day of seeing all types of patients, including my favorite, pregnant ones.

Thanking Halli for the wonderful meal.

Showing off the growing terrarium.

Brothers playing nicely together.

Pig pile on Daddy.

A rare smile from Flynnie..

Happy Preston.

Wearing Mommy's hat.

Mystery letter from Sherlock Holmes

The game is afoot...more to come...

Day 4: Mentor

Today the prompt is to write about someone who has left a deep impact on me. I have had multiple people through the years help me in various ways:

In elementary school, Mrs. Studer embraced my enthusiasm for learning, and has kept in contact with me through the years. My parents have been with me through many odd times in my life: engagements, dating, heart broken, difficulty with school, etc. I have had some close friends as well. However, I believe the one person who has been there the most for me is my husband, Tim.

Let me explain why... When Tim first met me I was a very head strong, no hold back, in your face person, who always wanted things planned out meticulously, and to be my way. Some of these haven't really changed. I was also very unsure of myself. I knew what I wanted, but I wasn't confident in myself or my abilities. I had always believed that showing I was confident in something was sinning. I often belittled myself, and tore myself down for various mistakes that I made. I never felt sure of myself, or that I had much value. I apologized for everything. Something that Tim taught me very early on in my relationship with him, was to not apologize for something that I didn't do wrong. He also let me see that it is okay to be proud of your accomplishments. That God is happy for my accomplishments. Tim has helped build me up as a person. Helped me to understand my self value. I know that Tim will always be there for me, and will always support me. This is true, unconditional love. I honestly know that Tim has made me a better person. And for that, and for numerous other reasons, I will be eternally grateful.

Day 3: Goals and Accomplishments

For today's "About Me Plan" post, I am to write on goals and accomplishments. I would say that one of the biggest things that I have accomplished is becoming a doctor. I was not one of the people who just easily went from point one to point two to point three, and bam, I'm a doctor. No.

I graduated from Messiah College in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in Biology, pre-med. I had already taken the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) at least 1-2 times by then, and did not have a score high enough to get into medical school. I took a year off to study, work as an LNA (Licensed Nursing Assistant), and to take the MCAT again. In fact, even my advisor from undergrad did not think that I would be able to make it into medical school. This time, my score was not amazing, but was much improved, to a level where I could get into school. I applied to many allopathic and osteopathic schools. I earned admittance to multiple medical schools, and I chose Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. 

During medical school, I always had to study very hard for all of my exams. It never came easy, for me to pass my exams. I was able to finish my first two years of medical school, and moved onto rotations in Elmira, NY. During my third year, I met and married my future husband Tim, and at the end of my fourth year, I gave birth to Preston. My pregnancy with Preston was complicated by premature labor twice. Preston wanted to leave me early, and due to that, I had to be hospitalized a few times. This happened during my pediatrics rotation, and the doctor who I was working for ended up failing me. During the same rotation, I also tried to match in for residency, and was unable to match, so I had to scramble into a program. I had to do an extra month of medical school rotation, about 1.5 months after Preston was born, but thankfully I did that rotation at Guthrie/Robert Packer, which is where I was to do my residency. They allowed me to leave early, so I could go home to my newborn.

Residency also was not smooth sailing for me. I had a hard time balancing having a child at home, and the long hour requirements. During my second year of residency, I was pregnant with Flynn. I ended up interacting with a patient who had shingles. Since I was pregnant, my OBGYN wanted me to be checked for varicella immunity (the virus that causes both chickenpox and shingles) and it ended up being negative, even though I received all my shots as a child and had my immunity checked previously. I ended up being uprooted from my residency until after I gave birth to Flynn, so that I could get the vaccine. This pushed the end of my residency until end of October, instead of the normal end of June.

All of this work has not been in vain. I am now a family medicine physician, doing things that I love to do. It's not always easy, but it definitely is worth it.

A goal of mine is to continue to run. Eventually I would love to run the Boston Marathon. It is a race that my dad ran when my mom was pregnant with me. I do enjoy running.

The About Me Plan: Day 1&2

I decided that I wanted to do a new blog post, this one for just my family. I have one for my work, and now let's do one for the family.

The first experiment is to write about my life.

Day One: Timeline

1988: Born on 9/6 to Ray and Brenda, 11 lbs 14 oz, 10 days late

1989:

1990:

1991:

1992: preschool at Christ the King Lutheran School

1993: kindergarten at Broad Street Elementary School

1994: first grade with Mrs. Studer (still in contact with her)

1995: second grade with Mrs. Pederazani

1996: third grade with Ms. Hogan

1997: fourth grade with Mr. Segalini

1998: fifth grade with Ms. Adams

1999: sixth grade with Ms. Adams

2000: Y2K, started Elm Street Junior High School

2001: 9/11 happened, I was in 8^th grade English class

2002: traveled to Ireland

2003: traveled to Scotland, started Nashua High School North

2004: mission trip to Panama

2005: mission trip to Poland

2006: traveled out West

2007: graduated Nashua High School North, started Messiah College biology major

2008: freshman/sophomore year

2009: sophomore/junior year, May term in Zambia, safari in Botswana, running accident leading to breaking leg and being hospitalized during half marathon

2010: junior/senior year, studied abroad in Rwanda, successful half marathon

2011: graduated with bachelor’s in science in biology, gap year working

2012: gap year worked as an LNA, started med school at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, joined the church in October, became secretary in Young Women’s presidency in Erie 2^nd ward

2013: year 2 of medical school

2014: met Tim on Father’s day, got engaged in October, year 3 of medical school on rotations in Arnot Ogden Medical Center

2015: married on 4/25, year 4 of rotations

2016: Preston Reed Harbison born 4/20 at 8:45pm, start residency at Guthrie in the Family Medicine Department at Robert Packer Hospital

2017: second year of residency, lost immunity to varicella virus, work doing research

2018: Flynn Avery Harbison born 2/27 at 3:16pm, off schedule, start year 3

2019: graduate residency October 21, move to Texas, start work at Transcend Medical Group Pantego

2020: COVID-19, get Flynn into speech and occupational therapy

Day Two: Self

My name is Alicia Harbison, I am the only child of Ray and Brenda. I am originally from NH. I originally wanted to be a vet, but, I am allergic to all animals that have fur. I then thought marine biology, but was able to shadow one, and didn't find it to interesting. In high school, I was encouraged by my mother to take an anatomy and physiology. I fell in love with anatomy by dissecting animals. I then thought medicine would be a good idea. I scrambled into family medicine, originally wanting to do OB-GYN. However, family medicine ended up being the perfect fit for me. I get to work with babies, kids, adults, pregnant ladies, older patients, and do minor procedures. The best part of it is being able to develop relationships with folks over time. 

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I joined the church in 2012, and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Joining the church has allowed me to better understand scriptures and my relationship with God. I know that I can be together with my family together. I miss being with my church family. I miss teaching my sunbeam class, and having their faces light up as they start to learn gospel truths. I am eagerly awaiting the day when Preston gets baptized, gets the Priesthood, and gets called on a mission. It was actually in a dream that I had his name revealed to me. I couldn't see him, but I saw an ordinance of his being performed, and the name, "Preston Reed Harbison" was spoken. It was then that I knew.

Mentally, I have been having a hard time. This whole pandemic has been very hard and confusing to me. I have never realized how much of a people person I am. I miss my relationships with others, and I try to reach out to others, and do not always feel like others return the favor to me. I'm not entirely sure what to do about this, but I have learned some valuable truths. I can depend on my family for everything, and my faith. Other things may come and go, but God, Tim, my parents, and my in-laws, with my children, will always be there.