Tuesday, July 12, 2016

UCAAN Change a Life Road Trip - Day #26 - July 11th, 2016



Day #26 – Monday July 11th, 2016 – A Meeting with Dr. Micaela Gibbs & a Visit to Shands Medical Center

Doryn and I got up a little early to get ready for our trip to meet with Dental and medical professional Dr. Micaela Gibbs at Shands Hospital with Ron. The drive was beautiful on the way to the hospital, we’re really loving the green out here! As we approached the hospital, Ron pointed out the different buildings to us. The Children’s section of Shands hospital was beyond colorful on the outside, we would soon see the inside. We went to the business office building for Shands to meet with Dr. Gibbs. We all entered a conference room (I was unable unfortunately to take photos here or with Dr. Gibbs, per her rep.) and I shared my story with Dr. Gibbs and Margaret, a rep from the hospital. I told them about our dental program and shared our information with them. Dr. Gibbs was very impressed with my program and the information we were giving. The best part is she’s interested in helping us further by getting us the information and research we need to show others why fluoride varnish is beneficial and a vital way to prevent dental deterioration. I am looking forward to working with her in the future!!


After our meeting with Dr. Gibbs we drove to Shands Hospital and first walked through the Children’s hospital, which was full of sea life mosaics and an informational area of different types of animals. The children’s hospital was so pleasant and sweet, definitely a positive place for sick children trying to get better! Next we walked across to the main hospital, where 2 of the floors are specifically for cancer. We stopped by the resource center and spoke with a staff member there about leaving some of our informational packets we had made for the trip. He was enthusiastic about having the information there in their center and we were more than happy to provide it to him. We were unable to tour the hospital or take photos, but I did get some great shots of the exterior of the hospitals. 



We drove back to the house and Doryn and I prepared to leave so we could head to our next spot….. Pensacola, Florida!

Before we knew it we were back on the road, heading to our last spot in Florida – Pensacola! We had a 4 hour drive to Pensacola ahead of us, but we were excited to experience a new city. 
Once we arrived at our hotel, the At Home Inn and Suites, there was a mess up with our reservation and they upgraded us into a better suite, which was downstairs. Doryn and I wanted to see the beach, so we followed directions from the hotel front desk and found ourselves at a harbor and the pier. As we walked around, we saw a lone bird perched alone, a man told us this was known as the “Lonely Bird” because it always stood alone in that spot. We passed the bird and looked out onto the water. We were hoping to see the clear blue waters of Florida, but with the sun setting, we enjoyed the sights we had, which included spotting some dolphins swimming nearby! Very cool indeed!! We walked back to the car and set out to grab some dinner at a local spot the hotel had suggested: Stoney’s BBQ, which was pretty good. We headed back to the hotel and relaxed before heading out to the pool for an evening swim. The pool was busy and luckily warm! The pool area was lit up by some pretty green lights and a tall bird statue that looked much like a larger version of the bird we spotted at the pier. This tall statue bird was spraying water up and into the pool. Doryn and I enjoyed our evening swim. We stayed out for a while and then headed back to our room. We had another drive in the morning and we wanted to leave before the rain came in. Next stop…. Baton Rouge, Louisiana!



No comments:

Post a Comment