Last saturday was a pretty uneventful shift when you look at it from a volunteering perspective, however I talked to my friend again. For most of my shift I was alone in the back folding pamphlets that were given out when people checked in outlining ways to prevent infection but after about an hour I was joined by my friend who I spoke of in my last blog. He told me has been making progress and that he has been studying for the SAT which he plans to take again and then try to get into college. He also told me that he has been reading more which is something I talked to him about in order to improve his reading comprehension as he moves toward taking the test. I told him that reading just about anything would help him improve, that just reading a lot is the key. He took my advice and went to Borders and has now pretty much has his own mini-library. It is great knowing what kind of help you can be even if you only see a person one to two hours per week and I'm not just talking about me having an effect on him but also him having an effect on me.

Last Blog

My volunteer shift this weekend went very well. I really felt that I helped, not in a medical sense but thats okay, I was more proactive in helping people at the EC find where they needed to go. I still haven't worked in the back where volunteers make beds and send blood supply through the tube, but I look forward to that. This was a very good week because I finally felt comfortable enough in my surrounding to be outgoing, fortunately I have about 2 more months ahead of me at the EC and who knows I may continue.

Saturday, April 24

I volunteered for the third time this Saturday. When I got there they found me a job to do almost immediately, which was a change from the usual so I was happy. The job was putting together pamphlets for the patients of the Emergency Center at Ben Taub, so naturally I looked at what the pamphlets were as I put them together. The pamphlets contained a sheet with patient rights, and another one that had 5 easy ways to prevent infection which I thought was a great idea. This was also a great opportunity to talk to one of my fellow volunteers as he was also putting the pamphlets together. He has led a very interesting life, he was born in Cambodia and his family moved here when he was very young, he has 7 siblings and since the family has moved here they have not had much money. He has a great outlook on life, and God, and it amazes me that even though he has been in the situation he has been in that he still volunteers. This week I learned that you don't always need to interact with the patients at the hospital to get a valuable lesson. I didn't think I would have such an enriching experience since I wasn't going to be talking to patients but this was my best volunteer shift yet.

2nd Saturday in the EC

On Saturday I went to the Emergency Center at Ben Taub for my second volunteer shift. Again there wasn't much to do, like last week (This may have something to do with 7 volunteers were there for a 2 volunteer shift coupled with the fact that weekends are slow). It was okay though, I did help take blood pressure and temperature, and I actually was able to help this week as opposed to watching. This week I was helping a nurse as opposed to a technician, and I talked to her about what the commonly see in the EC as pertaining to my pamphlet. She said they get a lot of psych cases as well as people complaining of various aches and pains. I was glad to help this week but I wish I were available at a time when the EC had more need for volunteers.

Ben Taub Emergency Center

I have finally started volunteering, and instead of volunteering at Casa de Amigos as I had originally planned, I am volunteering at the Emergency Center at Ben Taub Hospital. So it was my first day and I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do. When I got there I signed in as I was told to do and went to the Emergency Center. Once I was in the emergency center I didn't know where to go but one of the other volunteers told me to sit down and help one of the employees with checking people in (This included taking putting people's info into the computer, checking their blood pressure and temperature, asking them why they had come to the hospital and if they were diabetic giving them a finger prick blood test). This was a good observation experience for me but that was about all it was as I didn't actually get to do much besides keep the check-in worker company. The worker said, however, that usually there is much more for the volunteers to do so hopefully next week I will be more helpful.

This Saturday I went to orientation for Casa de Amigos at Quinton Mease. This was not just an orientation for just Casa de Amigos as I expected but was orientation for all volunteers with the Harris County Health Centers and Hospitals. We went over the basic guidelines of volunteering for the health centers and that was about it. Now I am awaiting an email from the supervisor of Casa de Amigos which should tell me when and where I am to go to start volunteering. The fact that the orientation meeting was not specific to Casa de Amigos has me a little nervous because I don't know what to expect when I get there but that is also exciting, and I look forward to whatever opportunities come up.

Finally going to Orientation

I have finally gotten an email saying that I have passed my criminal background check which means the next step is orientation for Casa de Amigos. I will be going to the orientation at QM on March 27th-- and if you don't know what QM is don't worry, neither do I but hopefully I will soon as I have emailed the supervisor asking what location that might be. I am excited to have finally found a place to volunteer, and I will be quite busy with it as Casa de Amigos requires a commitment of 3 hours a week of at leasty 3 months.
I'll be back later
Paul