Blog by Aaron A.

Monday, March 17th 2014

   Today was our second day at Terrance Cardinal Cooke Healthcare, and it would be an understatement to say that it was different from the first. As I entered the experience yesterday, I was apprehensively entering a completely different environment than I had ever been in before in a geriatric care unit. For some reason or another, I was somewhat ignorant to the fact that it was a nursing home type facility, and being presented with this information just before I met with the patients caught me off guard. I would say that yesterday was spent more assimilating myself with the type of work that I would be doing all week, as well as with the people that I would be working with.

      After having that self-entitled adjustment day yesterday, today was a much smoother, more enjoyable experience. It was made even easier by the relaxed nature of the recreational therapists that we were working with. Their goal seems to be simply to give the residents of the facility a good time, all while maintaining their occupational and physical abilities through the residents’ participation in these activities.  Knowing these goals has made our job even easier, allowing us to have focus in the things we do. Another thing that made today so successful was that we already developed a rapport with a number of patients in the population. Having these relationships already established to a small extent made it easier to build upon them, as well as establish new relationships with other patients. It seemed as though having already been with the population for a day had made us seem more reputable, both to the patients we interact with and ourselves. The residents were much more willing to interact with us today, and I think that our increased level of confidence made us much more approachable and easy to get along with.

       One interaction that was especially memorable began in an intimidating way. A shorter, skinny man made eye contact with me from across the recreation room, and stood up and stomped over towards me, seemingly armed for confrontation. “Have you seen my book?” he said in a somewhat argumentative voice. Startled, I quickly stammered in response to what I thought was an accusation as he pulled out a book with a picture of a younger version of him on the front cover. As the conversation progressed, I learned a great deal about his remarkable experiences. He had attended Boston University, where he went on the law school and eventually practice in Philadelphia. He faced a great deal of adversity in his life, and used his expertise to fight this the terrible injustice that had affected his family in a court of law. Eventually, he was a victor in the court case over a multi-million dollar corporation, which is the subject of his book. This man, due to his demeanor and style of communication, would not be someone that I would expect to have been such a respected individual in their community who has fought and defeated a major issue. The fact that he was so proud of what he had done actually made me view all of the patients a little differently. I had generally only had insight into what I could see, which in general was elderly patients who were battling a virus and losing their ability to function in society. Meeting him made it ever more real that these people had led lives outside of the confines of the floors of TCC, and will make it much more easier to connect with the residents as we move through the week.

Aaron A.

Blog by Haley W.

Monday, March 17th 2014

Our first day at Terence Cardinal Cooke, our first few “UNO” games with its willing residents, my first experience of not not knowing what to say but rather not knowing if I ever would, the difference being terrifying worry multiplied ten fold. I wrote before coming on this trip how I expected it to be a transformative one, how I— direct journal quote (something I’ve never revealed before)— “hope I’m able to touch the lives of people who may need it, that they touch mine in ways I need, and that all is better for it.” I hadn’t considered that the exchanging of wisdom, life lessons, what have you, could be so painful. Acknowledging that everyone has something to share and teach us is one thing, a beautiful thing, recognizing that we cannot choose our lessons, however, is another. Entirely. I’ve only yet experienced our single day at TCC, only our first few card games with the residents, yet somehow by some power of vulnerability or subconscious searching or pure happenstance, some of these lessons have already been revealed to me.  

            The first came delivered framed: “The ‘gift of life’, God’s special gift, is no less beautiful when it is accompanied by illness or weakness, hunger or poverty, mental or physical handicaps, loneliness or old age,” a beautiful reminder by Terence Cardinal Cooke himself at the Flower Wing entrance to the clinic. The second was a more simple reminder of the kindness of the human spirit in the form of Tom, Maggie, Jesus, Lorelei, and Donna, some of the many names that make up the heart of TCC: its most honorable staff. The third was a bitter pill, which I, unfortunately, forgot to take with a spoonful of lesson one’s wisdom. I was caught unarmed, unprepared, unsuspecting, and just entirely and utterly off guard: life’s preciousness, when it is only partially sustaining, feels so easy to put into question for feelings of anger and regret over the inexplicable, arbitrary, unreasonable lottery that is birth. Witnessing otherwise beautiful faces beholden to a mind and body engineered by an unforgiving, merciless, lazy son of a bitch of a nervous system is immediately haunting and equally saddening and absolutely maddening. There are no more words for it. At least for now.  

            The day ended with a final challenging yet clarifying message, kinder words that went something like: FIND the silver lining though the silver be but a sliver! Today’s silver lining was “UNO”, a true unifier; it was Mr. A’s newfound voice; it was in Mr. S’s jokes and the cocky tilt of Mr. C’s hat; it was in my fellow serving Terps, in the meal we all prepared together, and in the promise of tomorrow’s sliver.

Haley W.

Day #5 of ASB NYC - Dr. David Ho and TCC Birthday Bash!

 

Today started off with another amazing special event. As if it wasn't enough to spend last night at a taping of 106 & Park, this morning we had the incredible opportunity to meet with Dr. David Ho, the scientific director and chief executive officer of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center. With 20 years of HIV/AIDS research under his belt, 400 publications, and countless other awards and honors, Dr. Ho is one of the most influential and accomplished scientists of our time. Needless to say, we were all pretty excited to get an hour of his time.

After a quick trip to downtown Manhattan (as opposed to our usual destination on 103rd street), we arrived at the center and were seated around a long conference room table. Most of the walls in the room were lined with bookshelves that housed volumes of scientific encyclopedias and magazine holders carrying the latest issues of JAMA and the New England Journal of Medicine. As soon as Dr. Ho arrived, I immediately noticed his warm and humble demeanor. He welcomed us to the center and gave us an overview of its origin in the late 1980's as well as the contributions the center has made to AIDS treatment and prevention. After that, he opened the floor for questions, and boy did we have a lot to ask. Our questions ranged from the story of his own career path to the technical aspects of his research to his views on policy matters to advice for aspiring doctors and scientists. Dr. Ho answered every one of our questions honestly and thoughtfully. It was truly inspiring to hear Dr. Ho's insight, particularly his advice to aspiring scientists.

Following our session, we were able to take a brief tour of the rest of the facilities. We got to see incredible (and super expensive) equipment at work, as well as learn their role in the research process. Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend much time looking around the lab, but it was a great experience nonetheless.

By that time, it was nearing noon and we needed to get to TCC. When we arrived, we ate lunch and were immediately put to work setting up for that afternoon's big event. At TCC, the staff throws a huge party every month to celebrate all of the residents who had a birthday that month, complete with drinks, ice cream, cake, and music. At first it struck me as sort of odd that the staff would spend so much time and effort just to throw a huge party every single month, but as we set up the party room, it dawned on me that the people at TCC view birthdays differently than a lot of us probably do. Most people might take their birthday for granted, blowing it off as "just another day" that's going to come around again next year. But for the residents at TCC, there might not be a next year. Every birthday deserves a huge celebration, because making it through a year of life is definitely not easy.

Once we had set up the party room, we started bringing down residents. For most of them, the party seemed to be the highlight of their week, if not month, and expressed how excited they were... mostly for a piece of cake. With the stereo blasting some classic tunes, the party was live from the beginning. It was great to see the residents interacting with one another, laughing, dancing, and singing along to the music. I myself couldn't resist joining in when "Respect" came on.

After the cake had been served, I met up with one of my favorite residents, who showed me a binder full of his own original poems. He had mentioned that he was a writer when we first met, but I had no idea that it was a serious career. After reading a few of his pieces, I was struck by how raw and moving his words were. Most of the poems revolved around the emotional themes of culture, identity, and spirituality. I told him that he should seriously consider getting his work published, to which he replied, "Oh, I already am negotiating with a publisher. We still have to work some things out, which can be hard to do when you're in a place like this." When he told me that, I felt a strange sense of pride. It really was a testament to his passion and his talent that he was still able to create and strive to get his art out into the world despite having one of the most debilitating diseases you can have.

By that point, a few other participants had come by to marvel at this resident's poetry. After reading something so emotionally charged, we needed something to uplift us, so we decided to play Spades! (which I've come to learn is a very addicting card game) The game became pretty intense, and despite our trip leaders telling us we needed to go, we ended up playing to the very last minute. My partner and I ended up winning, so in the end it was all worth it; a perfect end to a pretty darn perfect day. :)

~Babette Newman

I am famous

He winked at me and shook my hand, so technically the famous host of 106 BET&park, Bow wow and I are officially dating. Today we made our way to CBS network, which broadcasts 106 BET&park. Sharon Moore, an exceptional person and also an alumni from the University of Maryland College Park took the time out of her busy schedule to invite us front row to the show, serve us dinner and send us on our way with great advice and gifts - like the Yo Gotti and Eminem new albums that I am going to be jamming to. Her dedication in supporting current and future Terps is very rare especially as a woman with great power and many responsibilities. ASB NYC 2014 is so grateful to meet such a giving person and earn an hour of fame. 

Sharon Moore and I

Blog for Abby Y.

I was nervous. A bit scared even. We were going to TCC early in the morning leaving at 8:15am which meant we would probably get there much earlier than our scheduled 10am start time. And unlike Monday our time wouldn’t be broken down with tours and talks. I was afraid of having the entire day until 5pm to interact with the residents at TCC. I was mainly wary about the amount of time spent with the residents because I wasn’t sure if I could meet their needs. I wasn’t sure if my presence would really be as beneficial as I hoped it would be.

Well we got there on time and soon our group sitting in a circle had turned into an envelope sealing factory. This small task was lifting a burden off of Lorelei who had to send out mail from TCC to individual residents. What would have taken her maybe an hour we completed in a few minutes. We then had one of the chaplains’ talk to us about what she does for the residents at TCC. Her brief explanation of why some patients knock their heads consistently such as one person who had to have a helmet placed on his head for his protection stuck with me. “They are trying to gain back their identity,” she explained. Sometimes when we can’t think of a certain thing we may hit our heads to try and bring back the memory which is what these residents are doing. There is a human being inside and because of their physical restraints who they are becomes somewhat trapped inside. She went on to reveal that she mainly manages residents ability to deal with suffering, pain, abandonment, God’s role in their life, and much more psychological issues.

 Then we met with the residents talked to them for a bit and played a couple of games and before we knew it, it was lunch time. During lunch Elenor had described to me her experience with an Italian speaking resident who had been at TCC for five years and during that time because she hadn’t been able to communicate via English the doctors had not been able to get most of her medical history from her. Elenors’ presence had not only brought the resident great joy but also truly benefited the health practitioners so they could serve the resident better. After our meals we gathered up more games and went back to interact with the residents.  During this time we played many card games of which I knew very little.

 I learned many ways of how to use a deck of cards but more importantly my fears from the early morning had vanished. I came to realize that just our presence is very valuable. Whether its helping the staff member seal envelops or making sure that a residents history and story is heard through their own language, all forms of support are valuable and very much needed.

-          Abby

Blog fo Nelson A.

Today exemplified why I made the trip to NYC on my spring break. Not only did I learn more about an important health epidemic, but more importantly, I made a difference. During our first day at Terrance Cook Clinic I was introduced to a Brazilian woman who spoke a few words of English. She was the highlight of what was a wonderful and eventful day. I was thankful to find a great use in speaking Portuguese and help an 82 year old woman feel understood for the first time in years. Tragically, translator services had not been provided because of budgetary restrictions. When I first entered the room she sat in the corner expressionless. The room was quiet and lacked energy. I was paid no attention as I was escorted to her by a recreational therapist. When the therapist introduced herself to the elderly Brazilian resident she appeared confused and sad. So I said, “Ola Senhora, como vai?” Her face lit up. She could hardly believe it as she grasped for the armrests on her chair. During our exchange I listened to her story and translated some questions the therapist had for her. During which, I learned she was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil where she never received an education. Instead of learning how to read in school she was working. She began working as a house maid and babysitter from the age of 9. In her 40s, she arrived in Miami, Florida where she lived for 7 years. Then she moved north to New York City. Somehow she ended up displaced in a long term living facility without any friends or family to reach out to for help. As she put it, “I was single my whole life because I was always sacrificing to work for my brothers and sisters.” I felt especially fortuitous and useful when she was able to have her needs and wants understood. For instance, her dentures had been cutting into her gums so she wanted an appointment with the dentist and that was promptly scheduled after our talk. I eagerly await more conversations with her the rest of the week to learn more of her story and give her a rare opportunity to converse.

 

Nelson Almeida

Blog for Ed L.

Edward Lo

Day 1

 



Going into the trip, I did not expect much out of first day except travelling and settling down at the church that we were going to stay at. However, I was totally wrong, as the day was already filled with adventure and surprises. Our first challenge was before we even left the university to go to Union Station. The shuttles we had were a tad too small to fit all of us, so we had to use some of our tetris skills to squeeze everyone and all of our luggage into them. The married shuttle drivers had their bickering of how to get to the station the fastest, but they managed to get us to the station well on time and we were able to all get seats on the bus. As a consequence of leaving early for the bus, everyone was sound asleep on the bus as our driver, the D-man (as so he calls himself), smoothly got us to Manhattan safely and on time.

When we arrived in Manhattan, we got a quick bite to eat, then hopped on the subway to go to the church, which is in Brooklyn. Something that I noticed was that the subway system is much different than the metro we have in D.C. First, they have multiple lines that go to the same stations. This results in less transfer stations compared to the D.C. metro. Another difference is that there are much more New York subway stops and that they are all much further away from each other than in D.C.'s metros. This really highlights the complexity of their subway as they have to serve a larger number of people over a greater distance compared to D.C.

After getting on the subway, one of our members noticed that the subway was expecting some delays due to matainance. Just our luck, the subway would stop serving one stop before the stop we were suppose to get off at. However, the subway offered free shuttle service from the last stop to the station that we wanted to go to. Initially we thought that the two stops were close enough that we could walk to the church. Boy were we wrong. Combined with all of our baggage, the walk to the church was cold and uncomfortable. The walk ended up taking longer than we expected and we regretted not taking the shuttle to save ourselves from the bitter New York weather. However, walking through the streets of Brooklyn was a unque experience. There was a clear distinction between the more city-like and tourist parts of New York, like Manhattan and the suburbs of Brooklyn. There is definately more diversity in Manhattan with Caucasians while in Brooklyn everywhere I looked there were African Americans. The buildings and shops were also different, with Brooklyn having more lower end shops and stores and Manhattan having towering skyscrapers with fancy shops and restaurants. This was something interesting that I would have not experienced and seen if we took the shuttle and did not physically walked through the streets of Brooklyn.

However, the adventure did not stop here. When we arrived at the church, I was midly disappointed at the appearance of it from the outside. The church looked old, small, and could not house all of us. However, when we went in, I realized how enormous it actually was. The rooms we slept in was more than big enough to house all of us and the basement had a fully stocked kitchen and basketball court. The church was very hospitable, and we even discovered that other volunteer groups were staying here as well, including another University of Maryland group.

After all of that travelling, we could not wait to cook and have our first meal here. Fortunately, there was a grocery store right around the corner that sold fresh and cheap produce. We bought all of our groceries and were so excited to go back and cook, but we ran into a problem. Our group leader lost her cell phone somewhere in the shop and we could not find it. We spent another hour in the store trying to find the phone, but to no avail as we could still not find it. However, this obstacle did not prevent us from having the best spring break of our lives. We all went to sleep looking foreward to our first day at Terrece Cardinal Cookie Health Center.