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    Monday, January 12, 2009

    Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep ...

    Life has been as crazy as ever, and blog posts have been very scarce of late. That does not mean I have not written them in my head! Oh no! Usually I get great ideas for things to share, pontificate upon, etc., but because school and the hospitals keep me away from computers, the words never make it from my mind to my blog.

    For two months before Christmas, I was on my Pediatrics rotation. Working with children was very rewarding, but one of the hardest parts of being in the hospital was that truly sick child -- the one that for whatever reason, was not going home.

    Working with adults, when someone finally succumbs to their disease, you can chalk it up to their previous bad habits (like smoking, eating fatty food, not exercising, etc), but with children, it's either dumb luck (infection) or other people's problems (abuse).

    The most depressing is probably seeing the newborns pass away. My newborn experience while on pediatrics was confined to the well baby nursery, and it was enjoyable to see happy parents with their new children. I also remember when my son was born, and the extreme joy -- no, spiritual experience -- that I had when holding him in my hands for the first time.

    The dichotomy to all that joy must be the hurt when a baby dies, and historically physicians have encouraged parents who know their baby will be born with a fatal condition to terminate the pregnancy early and not grow attached to the fetus. A couple that attends church with us recently had a son with anencephaly -- a fatal condition where the child is born basically without a brain -- and chose to do the opposite of the physician's wishes. She bore him to term, they named him, held him until he passed, and buried him. It helped them gain closure to the experience -- especially given their belief that they can be together as a family in the hereafter.

    Now there is a non-profit organization that helps parents that choose to gain closure like our church friends. Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep is a network of professional photographers throughout the United States that are on call 24/7 to take photos of families, parents, and the newborn during the short time the child is on this earth. Then they put the photos on an archival DVD for keepsake.

    Wonderful. I wish nobody had to go through the death of a child, but if it happens, it's nice to know there are organizations and people like this to help. This year -- barring something monumental -- I will play in the second annual TBE March Madness Pool for them.

    Thursday, January 08, 2009

    Chuck Norris Votes Utah #1

    What happened to the good old days, where teams that went undefeated were awarded the National Championship? Oh yeah, ESPN and the BCS...that's what happened.


    Congrats to Florida, for finishing a blemished season with an ugly win over a good Oklahoma team, but seriously, what the heck???

    Tebow's great, and Florida's a good team, but if Stoops hadn't gone for it twice in the red zone in the first half, that last touchdown would have barely put them up, and the end would have had a much different tenor. Plus, Texas was clearly better than OK this season.

    Utah beat Alabama 31-17, and Florida beat 'Bama 31-20. Utah beat Oregon State the week after USC lost to Mr. Rodgers in his neighborhood. So Utah's better in head-to-head matchups than Florida and USC, and Florida beat Oklahoma, so only Texas is really out of the loop.

    So what's the truth? Well, the truth is that the BCS probably breaks the Sherman Antitrust Law, but it also probably has the pockets of people that would adjudicate that, as well as the hearts of many prosecutors and defense attorneys who would litigate it. The truth is the BCS will never give a school from outside those 6 arbitrarily magical conferences a fair shake. The truth is we'll never know who is truly the best team because the current system is WORSE than the bowl system ante-bowl-alliance.

    No, scratch that last sentence. The truth is, Utah is the the true #1, for one simple little-known fact -- Chuck Norris plays for Utah. And we all know, Chuck Norris kills all who oppose him with sharp roundhouse kicks. You can't be national champions if you're dead.