Tulane and CrossOver
This makes 4 days in a row (not including Sunday) and 5 out of 6 that I have heard stuff from medical schools. When it rains it pours, I guess. Speaking of raining, we had a really sweet thunderstorm tonight. One of my absolute loves is (are?) thunderstorms. The power they have, the bolts of lightning, claps of thunder, and the intense rains is just amazing. I would take good thunderstorm anyday. I was driving home from work and I just watched the storm roll in; one part of the sky was clear as day, the other half was black. And on the leading edge of the clouds, there was this line of white clouds that really just added even more mystery to the storm.
But back to the medical schools. After running in from the rain, I found an evelope from Tulane. Being that it is April 3rd, anything except a rejection would be a complete surprise from any school. However, Tulane is a little different. If you have been a consistent reader, you might remember that I mailed my application to Tulane on August 26th, and even if you haven't been a consistent reader, you might remember a storm named Katrina that tore the city apart. Needless to say, the application I mailed found it's way to some mailroom for a number of months when I assumed it was lost at sea. Using that assumption, I mailed a second application to the school, where the promptly cashed my check - then in late November, the first application I sent finally made it's way to the admissions office, and that check was also cashed. (These checks were $95 a piece).
When I first saw that both checks had been cashed, I called the office (this was in November) and asked if I could get refunded for one of those, to which they said of course, it might just be a couple months. This is completely understandable seeing as everything that their school has undergone; I completely sympathize with their situation. Now like I said, I have been expecting a rejection letter, but I was hoping I would at least see the refund first. But no, the letter I received today was, in fact, a rejection letter. Maybe this is just me feeling bitter, but if they can find it in their hearts to send me a rejection, can't they find it in them to refund my money?
I mean, maybe I shouldn't be bitter because I am not sure I can really comprehend everything they lost, and that 95 is lost to me anyways -- it's been out of my bank account for a number of months, and I have made do without it for this long. But at the same time, why should I have to spend $190 to get rejected from a school?
(end rant)
I went to Crossover today and I this is one of those days where I feel like I actually felt like I helped someone. There are a lot of days in the office when I feel like I have done something good, and that usually comes when I talk to someone on the phone and try to ease their pain as they see that they might actually be able to get healthcare. But today was different. I was working on a project (side note: as I write this, I just remember that I left everything I was working on and didn't clean it up before I left... so there I left 3 piles of papers by a computer as I was trying to pull labs.... oh well, I don't think those papers really make the landscape too different)
So one of the PA's asks me if I can help her figure out the TTY system (for the hard of hearing) for a patient who is going to need some help as the patient had just had a laryngectomy (the larynx has been removed so she cannot talk). So I end up calling a group called Virginia relay which runs the service, and then to the VDDHH (Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) and find out that this patient can get a free TTY phone and I give her directions to the place, and everything she needs to do in order to obtain her system. After we finished discussing (well after I finished talking) she just looked at me and mouthed the words thank you to me, and I could see that she was sincerely grateful for all that I had done. Thinking about it later, I realized that through 2 simple phone calls, I was going to help this lady lead a life that is somewhat normal in that she will be able to make phone calls. It is experiences like these that make my days at Crossover truly worthwhile. I feel like I am truly helping someone that is having so much trouble getting by (her yearly income was deporable... the monthly rent of my house last year in DC was more than she makes in a year).
As I write this, I can't help but think that this may come off as somewhat egotistical, but I really don't hope you all see it that way. It just made me feel good to help someone get back to some sort of normalcy; and it is this reason that I really want to enter medicine because I know that is what I want to do with my life. There have been many of these moments at Crossover, I just felt like talking about that one.
Also, if you are in the Richmond area, Crossover is putting on a 5k to help support them. If you want information on that, let me know. Also, if you aren't in Richmond and want to donate to an amazing cause, let me know and I can hook you up with some information.
still waiting,
-wait
But back to the medical schools. After running in from the rain, I found an evelope from Tulane. Being that it is April 3rd, anything except a rejection would be a complete surprise from any school. However, Tulane is a little different. If you have been a consistent reader, you might remember that I mailed my application to Tulane on August 26th, and even if you haven't been a consistent reader, you might remember a storm named Katrina that tore the city apart. Needless to say, the application I mailed found it's way to some mailroom for a number of months when I assumed it was lost at sea. Using that assumption, I mailed a second application to the school, where the promptly cashed my check - then in late November, the first application I sent finally made it's way to the admissions office, and that check was also cashed. (These checks were $95 a piece).
When I first saw that both checks had been cashed, I called the office (this was in November) and asked if I could get refunded for one of those, to which they said of course, it might just be a couple months. This is completely understandable seeing as everything that their school has undergone; I completely sympathize with their situation. Now like I said, I have been expecting a rejection letter, but I was hoping I would at least see the refund first. But no, the letter I received today was, in fact, a rejection letter. Maybe this is just me feeling bitter, but if they can find it in their hearts to send me a rejection, can't they find it in them to refund my money?
I mean, maybe I shouldn't be bitter because I am not sure I can really comprehend everything they lost, and that 95 is lost to me anyways -- it's been out of my bank account for a number of months, and I have made do without it for this long. But at the same time, why should I have to spend $190 to get rejected from a school?
(end rant)
I went to Crossover today and I this is one of those days where I feel like I actually felt like I helped someone. There are a lot of days in the office when I feel like I have done something good, and that usually comes when I talk to someone on the phone and try to ease their pain as they see that they might actually be able to get healthcare. But today was different. I was working on a project (side note: as I write this, I just remember that I left everything I was working on and didn't clean it up before I left... so there I left 3 piles of papers by a computer as I was trying to pull labs.... oh well, I don't think those papers really make the landscape too different)
So one of the PA's asks me if I can help her figure out the TTY system (for the hard of hearing) for a patient who is going to need some help as the patient had just had a laryngectomy (the larynx has been removed so she cannot talk). So I end up calling a group called Virginia relay which runs the service, and then to the VDDHH (Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) and find out that this patient can get a free TTY phone and I give her directions to the place, and everything she needs to do in order to obtain her system. After we finished discussing (well after I finished talking) she just looked at me and mouthed the words thank you to me, and I could see that she was sincerely grateful for all that I had done. Thinking about it later, I realized that through 2 simple phone calls, I was going to help this lady lead a life that is somewhat normal in that she will be able to make phone calls. It is experiences like these that make my days at Crossover truly worthwhile. I feel like I am truly helping someone that is having so much trouble getting by (her yearly income was deporable... the monthly rent of my house last year in DC was more than she makes in a year).
As I write this, I can't help but think that this may come off as somewhat egotistical, but I really don't hope you all see it that way. It just made me feel good to help someone get back to some sort of normalcy; and it is this reason that I really want to enter medicine because I know that is what I want to do with my life. There have been many of these moments at Crossover, I just felt like talking about that one.
Also, if you are in the Richmond area, Crossover is putting on a 5k to help support them. If you want information on that, let me know. Also, if you aren't in Richmond and want to donate to an amazing cause, let me know and I can hook you up with some information.
still waiting,
-wait
mindless ramblings by wait at
11:54 AM
1 Comments:
Hey, I was thinking about running the Crossover 5K - it's on campus, right? Maybe we can get decked out in spider gear and run ... I'll just have to dig up the website and check the date.
By the way, I think you have every right to be ticked at Tulane. I'm all for sympathy, but you'd better believe if it was their money that was missing, it would be required to show up in less than 'a few months.' =)
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