2nd Degree from Walden: January 2013

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Research that Benefits Children and Families

I would like to share a research article that I came across about the The Pediatric Cancer Foundation’s (PCF’s) Sunshine Project. In the article, it discusses how the PCF program and The Sunshien Project research has has made positive strides in pediatric cancer research. "The Sunshine Project has helped to fast track three new drugs into clinical trials in ten hospitals. Focus is on less toxic treatments and the 20% of pediatric cancers that are most virulent and for which traditional treatments have failed"(FitzGerald, 2011).

I enjoyed this article and wanted to share it with my colleagues because if I could conduct research studies on any topic, the research and cure into childhood cancer would be my top pick. I feel as though positive contributions would include medicines that help with the treatment and cure of pediatric cancer.

References:
FitzGerald, Sumei. (2011). Spearheading Chance in Cancer Research: The Pediatric Cancer

        Foundation's Sunshine Project. Positive Impact Magazine. Retrieved January 21, 2013 from

        http://www.positiveimpactmagazine.com/2011/02/01/spearheading-change-in-cancer-research-

        the-pediatric-cancer-foundations-sunshine-project/

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Your Personal Research Journey

Social factors such as play that impact early learning and development- I chose this topic because a lot of people don’t view play as a means to learning. Before working at Head Start and taking early childhood classes, I too did not see play as a means of learning. However, working with early childhood and learning through the courses, I have witnessed first-hand the positive impact that play has on early learning. Just like me a lot of parents and other educators are ignorant to the fact that play enhances learning. Researching this topic on play would be of importance to parents, educators, and any other person who directly has contact with early learners. Therefore, they can learn the importance of play, how to facilitate play, and providing tools for play.

Colleagues, Do you feel as though this topic is narrow enough for research? If not, in which ways can I make my topic more narrow. If so, what recommendations can you give me in researchign this topic. Any comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I am gaining a wealth of information that will be extremely useful to me in guidign me in this research process. Both discussion and application assignments for the last two weeks have been very helpful and necessary on my voyage to learning how to research.

The Birth of my first son!

I chose to write about the birth of my first son, who was born preterm at 19 wks and passed away. I chose this birth to write about because it was the most tramautic and most memorable. I also chose this birth because after reading the chapters and sections I think it is important to be knowledgable about your body and to keep up with appointments and take proper test and procedures to ensure that your baby is born full term and healthy. Five days before going into labor, I felt really bad and had an inkling that something was wrong. The physician that I was using at the time had an office in my town but was only there on Thursdays for appt. This was a Friday afternoon and if I wanted to see her I would have to drive over sixty miles to her next office. So, i gnored the signs and went on thinking that I was ok. On Wednesday morning, I woke up with slight stomach cramps. Took a shower, got dressed for work, and daughter off to daycare. Stopped by my Mother in laws house and when I got inside I had to sit down, the pain had gotten progressively worse. Still I continued on to work and and worked through the morning with the pain getting getting worse. Then I went to the restroom and noticed a bloody show. I had a coworker take me to the local er where I had to got through an hour long ultrasound of the baby and my cervix. My baby looked great and I found out I was having a boy!!!! How exciting, that is just what me and hubby wanted since we already had a daughter togther and he has an older daughter from a previous relationship. This was perfect. Now, all they had to do was stop these cramps so I could get home to inform my husband of the picture perfect family we were going to have! Well after waiting hours for a dr, to come in and see my I was delivered the horrible news!! His words exactly was "you are going to lose this baby". He said it with no sympathy at all. I immediately started crying and askign why. He stated that I had developed an infection. My cervix had already dialted to 5 cm, the blood I saw earlier was my mucus plug and when he checked me, the water bag was coming through my cervix. I pleaded with him to do anything to help save my baby. He stated that if the bag would go up some, he could stitch my cervix closed but he couldn't do that with the bag protruding out of the cervix. So I waited nervously overnight, laying basically upside down in the hospital bed hoping that this would help the bag to go back up and at least give him a little room to stitch me up. The next day he came to check me again and told me that there was nothing else he could do. I had developed an infection from having my cervix opened for so long and that if I didnt deliver the baby I would die. I felt like dying right there. This just couldnt be. I was 19 wks pregnant, certainly I could hang in there three more wks. But he said no. I called my normal dr's office and they called a major medical university located near their office who has one of the best neonatal hospitals in the world. However, they wouldnt even accept me since I wasnt at least 21 wks and due to the fact that I had the infection. So I had to accept that I was going to lose my baby boy. The nurse came into to give me something to break my water and everything just seemed like a blur. I was told that I didnt need an epidural since the baby was less than a pound. However, after hollering and screaming in pain from the emotional and physical stress, they gave me an epidural. Even with the epidural, this was the most painful and emotional births of my three births. Even with the epidural I could feel every single thing, I was in a lot of pain but dont know if it was really physical pain or the emotional and mental pain that was causing me to be in pain. Jackson Reed Hemingway was born on July 23, 2008 at 12:18pm. I decided that I didnt want to see him but having to be sedated after the birth, when I calmed down, I wanted to see my baby. I was able to see him and hold him. The hospital provided me with pics and foot prints. Me and my husband decided not to have a memorial for him. Instead, we mourned privately. Although Jackson did not live, I know that if he had, he would have had tremendous health issues to battle. Pre-term babies literally have to fight for their lifes. I would have wanted him to live. However, when I think of all the pain and issues that would have plagued him the first couple of months of his life, I would never want to see my child suffer. His development would have been slowed but learning from this weeks resources on growth and development it is not to say that he wouldnt have grown up to be a healthy baby boy.