JP's Medical Mission Trip to Guatemala (Recap and Thank You!)

Hi everyone!

I recently returned from my medical mission trip to Antigua, Guatemala, with Operation Walk Pittsburgh, and I wanted to share a little bit about my experience and what we were able to accomplish throughout the week. First, thank you to everyone who supported me and helped make this opportunity possible. I’m incredibly grateful to have been able to take part in this mission as a Walk It Forward Scholar. A record number of students applied this year, and after interviewing, I was fortunate to be among the three chosen from my medical school.

A quick recap of the week:

We arrived in Antigua on Saturday and spent Sunday screening patients to determine who could safely undergo surgery. One patient had to drive 16 hours to get to the hospital!  From Monday through Thursday, our team performed hip and knee replacements for patients (80 joint replacements for 61 patients) who otherwise might not have had access to these procedures. Some of the patients had dealt with joint issues since childhood. Throughout the week, I had the opportunity to scrub into and assist with surgeries, help prepare patients for surgery, participate in community bone and joint health screenings, and learn from the incredible physicians and other healthcare professionals on our team.

On our day off, we had some time off to explore Antigua, try all sorts of great food (the homegrown coffee was my favorite), and hike 5 hours to an active volcano to see it erupt! The dog lives on the volcano and survives off food from tourists and the horse was there in case anyone couldn't keep up with the hike due to altitude sickness (someone in our group wasn't able to handle the altitude).

One thing I realized throughout the week was how valuable experiences like this can be for medical students. Over the past year and a half, I’ve spent so much time studying and preparing for exams that it can sometimes be easy to lose sight of why I wanted to pursue medicine in the first place. Getting to work alongside these physicians, interact with patients, and see the impact of our team's work firsthand was a great reminder. It was especially meaningful to see so many people volunteer their time, skills, and energy to help others.

It is so rewarding it is to be able to use what we know to help others. I still have a long way to go before becoming a physician, but this experience gave me a glimpse of the difference I hope to make throughout my career. It reminded me that medicine is about so much more than what we learn in a classroom, and I hope to carry that perspective with me as I continue through medical school. Beyond everything I learned, I'm also leaving with great memories, new friendships, and a lot of gratitude for everyone who made this experience so special.

I truly cannot thank Operation Walk Pittsburgh and the Walk It Forward Foundation enough for giving me this opportunity. I'm also incredibly grateful to everyone who donated toward my fundraising goal. Your generosity helped make it possible for me to be part of this mission, and I couldn't have done it without you. Finally, thank you to all the surgeons, medical professionals, hospital staff, and volunteers who worked so hard throughout the week. It was inspiring to be part of a team so dedicated to helping others, and I'm fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from them.

Thank you all again for your generosity, support, and prayers. This is an experience I'll carry with me throughout medical school and beyond!

JP

Fall Road Tripping - To Ohio for the Hallow Summit

Hallow from the other side!  

We just did a whirlwind drive from MA to MD to PA to OH to MD to MA in order to attend the Hallow Summit and see our lovies out at Franciscan University this past weekend.  We left early Thursday morning with our youngest three kids in our giant 12 passenger van, so even Lucy Doodle got a seat.  She looks a little like she's been caught.

We arrived at Phil's parent's house after a pretty long trip filled with traffic, but who could complain with this warm weather in October?

The Twins (born 9 days apart)

We left Declan and Brendan and Lucy with Phil's parents, who not only kept them alive but did lots of fun activities with them, and then Xander, Phil and I headed to Phil's brother's house in PA where we spent the night.  My sister-in-law happens to be my bestie, so we love any chance to sit and catch-up, especially when it's outside by the fire pit.  We stayed up way too late (midnight!) but were on the road at 6:30 am Friday morning to get to Franciscan so Xander could join in with the official college visitors.  We made it to campus and ran up to this science and engineering presentation:

Maggie had been stalking our location and we had a romcom-style running up to each other big hug in the academic building.  Ah it was so great to see our girlie again.  Then we had lunch in the cafe with Xander, Mass with Maggie and Eamon (so beautiful that I couldn't stop crying) and a tour of campus that we skipped because we're pretty fluent in Franciscan campus.  We randomly saw our nephew:

Xander got a haircut the next day

And Maggie and her college bestie eating lunch outside:

Week in Review: Feast Days, Fundraisers, Fall Fun

Happy October!  We had another full week here in the Martin family, which included a lot of worrying over JP's whereabouts while he was serving a medical mission in Guatemala.  He arrived back to school late Saturday night, thanks be to God, and I'm hoping to have him post a little about his adventures soon.  Here's one photo from the hospital, where he was allowed to scrub in on some surgeries:

I saw a recipe that looked good on Instagram, and tried it, and it was!  Butternut Squash Soup with Boursin.  I topped with Hot Honey and some Chow Mein noodles we had leftover.

We had bought some Chicken and Cilantro wontons at Costco last time we went and I turned them into a quick soup with chicken broth, sesame oil, soy sauce, hot chili sauce, garlic and onion.  We all loved it and it took less than 15 minutes:

Week in Review: Sickies, Stormies, Studies, and Service

Happy Friday, errr Monday!  Xander and Brendan stayed home sick on Friday, so I used a sick day to play nurse and I brought them to the doctor to get tested for all the things before our big stormy Nor'easter weekend.  They were negative for everything, so just a run of the mill virus it twas.

Happy to have the throat swab and nose swab over with!

Out in Ohio, Maggie brought her friend to Urgent Care because she was feeling sick with mouth/throat pain.  Maggie volunteered because "I thought she probably had strep and I'm immune to strep since I had my tonsils out."  Girl!  That's not even true, but she hasn't had strep since, sooooo hmm.  Anyway she took her friend who ended up being diagnosed with Hand Foot and Mouth.  Ugh!  So painful and soooo contagious.  Praying Maggie doesn't get it and that she will somehow be immune to that because she has no tonsils ;)

All up in each others business

"Studying"

Intramurals

Xander 's Cross Country meets are usually at 3:30 and I get out of work at 4 so I don't get to see them, but Phil was able to catch one last week:

Sophomore Year

Martins on a Mission

Hi! Our names are Andrew and Maggie Martin, and we are siblings and students at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Andrew is a senior biology major, and Maggie is a freshman nursing major. 

 We will be going on a mission trip to Arizona in March, and we are responsible for raising the funds required for our trip ($2,000 each). Andrew completed this mission trip last year and had such a wonderful experience that he is the mission team leader this year, and Maggie is so excited to join her big brother in serving those in need. 

 This mission focuses on working in a Catholic school just inside the U.S. border with Hispanic students who cross the border each day to attend the school. We collaborate with the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles. 

 Thank you so much for your financial support and, more importantly, your prayers for a successful mission where we can help a lot of people.  Thank you all in advance :)

Week in Review: Fall Sports, Fall Pictures, and an Actual Fall

Happy Friday my friends!  

Last Friday, Phil, my parents and I went out to dinner at the restaurant next to our shop to celebrate the closing of the Cottage, and it was delicious!  

My mom will happily give up carbs at dinner to leave room for dessert :)

The next day was spent deep cleaning, with little helpers:

In this off season, we will be replacing the roof and floors and are currently getting quotes.  We called it the Ice Cream COTTAGE because it is a tiny space, but the prices we are getting for roofs and floors feel like they're for a mansion.

I took a half day from work last Friday, just because I wanted a little break, and decided to try and take my half day off in the morning, instead of after lunch.  I dropped the kids at school, walked on the treadmill at the gym and took a delightfully hard cardio and weight class, came home and walked the dog a mile.  I had almost hit my daily move goal by 10:30am!  It was my perfect way to spend the morning, and then I showered and ate and went into work for 4 hours.  I think I prefer taking half days like this because when I used to work in the morning and leave at lunch time, I would go to the gym, then drive home, shower, eat and the kids would be getting home from school already.  It didn't really feel like time off.  Having hours to myself in the morning felt luxurious!  I can't wait to be a stay-at-home grandma one day.

Saturday morning brought Declan's first soccer game:

and then a birthday party at Top Golf: