Lubb dupp Lubb dupp

When I was in college, I had several science courses to take as part of my prerequisites. I did well in most of them, especially geology and my geology lab. The course that gave me the most difficulty was Human Physiology. The professor was extremely knowledgeable. The problem was that I could not for the life of me pass his tests. Chapter after chapter about the skeletal system, DNA, RNA, messenger RNA, the heart, the skin, the eyes, the ears, cells, muscles...it just went on and on. I am sure I was surrounded by students who were on their way to medical school or nursing school or somewhere scientific, but I was on my way to the College of Education. As each test would come, I would pull all nighters, create mnemonic phrases, draw pictures, memorize, study and do whatever I could to get through the material in the countless chapters and notes I read and took. I would never pass with a grade of higher than a C at best and it was quite defeating. As a child, I dreamed of becoming a fantastic dentist. I think I would have been great at it...coming from an artistic standpoint. I would have been able to sculpt out decay and hand-drill with those tiny needles the pulp and root during a root canal. Human Physiology pretty much made it so that science was just not in my future.





I needed a C in the class to pass. I needed a C in the lab. In the lab I got an A....ironic later on because that was a different professor. In Dr. Maurer's class, I got a D the first time and had to take it over again. Guess who taught Human Physiology...yup Dr. Maurer. That class we used the same text, the same lectures. You would have thought I would have done better. Nope. I got a D again. They say that the 3rd time is the charm. They are right but it wasn't a pretty gold charm...or a nice silver charm for a bracelet. It was just an expression. The last time I took that class...it was Maurer again...and I only got a C.



Now, years later, I am glad I had that class. I have more knowledge of the body than I would have ever had if I hadn't taken that class 3 times. The most fascinating part of the body for me is the heart. How is grows inutero. How it functions in our bodies. How it needs to be healthy. How it pumps blood. How it can be transplanted. How it can stop and be restarted again. Most importantly, how it can feel. My sister once asked me after having my first child if I felt like my heart was beating out of my chest. At the moment of her asking, I chuckled and said no but I love the baby very much. But now as she runs around the house, plays with her little brother, and breathes in and out fast...my heart is out there.



Now why would I write about Dr. Maurer's class? Well, nowhere did I ever learn about a variety of congenital heart defects. But the other day I was doing some orphan and adoption research. I discovered that Children's Hope International has a place on their website where you can sponsor a child "for as little as 32.00 a month". It conjured up thoughts about those "Save the Children" commercials from the early 80's with Suzanne Summers and for some of you who remember Bonnie Hunt (Anne Romano) from that show with Valerie Bertinelli. Anyway, I of course searched the children one by one learning about them. Their names. Their ages. Their circumstances and then came Daniil. He is blessed enough to have his parents and I am assuming CHI is helping him through schooling, medicines, etc but he isn't blessed enough to have what I knew nothing about...Daniil is suffering from total anomalous pulmonary veins drainage and stenosis of superior vena cava (these are life-threatening heart defects). He needs medical treatment. His parents are poor. So, here I am. Wondering what to do. Is this charity CHI one that the money actually goes to the kids? What can 32.00 a month do for a life threatening illness?



AllI know is that for my birthday and for Christmas and for any holiday in between, I have asked for Daniil. To sponsor him. To figure out what I can do to help him. Someone with a small working knowledge of the human body thanks to Dr. Maurer. Someone with a huge working knowledge of what the heart feels like to live thanks to my children. And also, someone who feels like her heart is beating a little for a boy named Daniil somewhere far away as his heart struggles to beat...lubb..dupp...lubb..dupp.