ATV training courses for kids

As a pediatric surgeon at Geisinger Medical Center, one of my responsibilities is the care of child trauma victims. Unfortunately, I frequently see children who have been seriously injured in ATV crashes. In one way or another, all of these injuries are preventable. I had the great opportunity to participate in an initiative to prevent ATV injuries in children when our trauma department obtained a grant to subsidize ATV safety training for children.

This spring marks the second year these classes will be provided. It is our hope they will serve as a vaccination against serious injury, and the children who complete the course will become ambassadors to spread the word about fun safe riding.

Here is a news report about the classes:

http://wnep.com/2012/04/25/geisinger-provides-free-kids-atv-safety-course/

Video here:

Hi! Happy Sunday. As I sit lazily on my couch (don't worry, we have our 4mi training run coming up, and it is a beautiful day in Central PA!) I took literally 20 seconds to send a message of thanks to a military family via the USO.

You can do it too! Just go to Joining Forces:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces/message

and take a moment to write a message of thanks, click submit and know that you will be making a personal contact with a family that is living and breathing protection of our great country through service and sacrifice every day.

We will also be pledging our service hours, starting with our marathon run to benefit Fisher House. I was able to search by zip code and find local events.

I found Joining Forces through my professional organization, the American College of Surgeons. As a group we will be doing our part to strive to provide enough medical resources to care for war veterans returning with amputations, traumatic brain injuries, and PTSD. There are opportunities for both people as individuals and organizations to join this national support of our military families.

You can also browse around the site to find other initiatives to help veterans. For example, just signed into law is legislation protecting veterans from being bilked of their GI Bill education benefits by fly-by-night diploma mills. I have over 15 years of higher education and still it is tough for me to discern the charlatans from the legitimate institutions of higher education! (Maybe that is more of a comment on me.) It took some research, and I eventually chose Norwich University, and was extremely pleased.

http://www.norwich.edu

Now it's time to get the sneakers on!

The whole family and I just returned home from Roanoke after attending the Roanoke Valley Academy of Medicine Alliance Book and Author Dinner. Their group put together a stunning fundraiser for important local organizations including Ronald McDonald House, an animal welfare group, and scholarships for local youths.


http://www.bookandauthordinner.com/book.htm

The event was a marvelous affair with a a delicious dinner, a few short talks from visiting authors (including me!) and then a book signing session.

It was a bit intimidating being up on the stage with such illustrious fellow authors.

Our emcee was Andy Gross who has written thrillers with James Patterson, and has series of his independent books, the most recent of which, 15 Seconds, is a novel about a surgeon who finds himself trapped a victim of circumstances.

http://www.andrewgrossbooks.com/index.html

Next was Steve Berry, who has written a series of international novels of intrigue, many of which feature his recurring lead man, Cotton Malone. His new book is The Columbus Affair, which probes the significance of unknown details about the famous seafarer and discoverer of America for Spain.

http://www.steveberry.org/

And a true gem of the evening was Dottie Frank and her captivating stories of early experiences as a new bestselling novelist on the book tour. Her new novel Porch Lights adds to her oeuvre exploring the pace of life in the South Carolina Low Country.

http://www.dotfrank.com/index.html

During my turn to speak, I asked how many in the audience had served in the military or were veterans, as I often do when I'm invited to benefits. As usual, I was rewarded to see hands go up at every table. It makes me feel a part of a strong and noble tradition. It also makes me feel so thankful and appreciative to be part of a country with so many who have been willing to serve.

I was able to share details about Fisher House with the group and spread the news a little more about all the great work they do for injured veterans and their family.

It is a trip we will all remember with such great weather as we roamed Roanoke through the Market Square, the Transportation museum, and the Science Museum in the Tanglewood Mall. The foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains were a majestic and colorful landscape at dawn a we hurried back to Pennsylvania so B. could make it to the Prom in time!