More: Family Updates

It’s been a while since I posted and a few things have happened. First of all, and probably least importantly, we’ve moved. The apartment building we were in was bought by NuSkin to make more parking. Now the three of us are staying in southern Provo till the job situation straightens out. Secondly, I PASSED THE NCLEX!!!! Woohoo! I am officially a registered nurse, I’ve already started getting questions from family and friends about health stuff. It’s great! Thirdly, Lily is growing up way too fast. I don’t have pictures of everything she’s learned to do so I’ll list some of them and post some pictures of her absolute cuteness. She’s obviously crawling all over the place, she gets to her feet and can now get back down to her knees, she opens any drawer or cabinet with a handle within reach, she feeds herself Graduates (puffs for babies to eat), searches for items she’s dropped, waves hello/goodbye, claps, and destroys any tower of blocks I build. Here are the pictures, hover over them for a description.

More: Social Media

Check out this video:

What are your thought? I think it's very interesting but scary in a lot of ways.

So much more: Lily Hokanson

I know a lot of people have been anxiously waiting to hear news of this little one. She’s finally here! Lily Hokanson was born at 8:27 pm on June 30th. She weighed 8 pounds 14 ounces and was 21 inches long. Both she and mom are doing fantastic. The doctor checked her out this morning and said, "She sucks better than a Hoover vacuum.” That’s a good sign if you ask me.

Because Lily decided to stay comfy instead of coming on her due date (June 21st) we decided with the doctor to have Serena induced. We came in to the hospital about 8:00 am. Serena was started on Pitocin at about 9:30. The doctor broke her water between 12:15 and 12:30 pm. After that it took a while for things to get started. At about 3:15 or so Serena got an epidural. Lily was quite the stinker and she dodged all the monitors. The nurse and doctor finally put internal monitors on to make sure she was doing okay. Before shift change at 6 pm our nurse checked Serena and she was only dilated to 4.5 cm or so. When the next nurse came to check her about 45 minutes later she announced Serena was complete and she’d go notified the doctor. That surprised us a lot but I was happy because I really wanted a June baby. Serena started pushing about 7:10ish pm. She was a star pusher even though she couldn’t really feel anything. Lily came out very lively. I got to cut the cord and watch as the nurse cleaned and weighed her. Mom and baby had some quiet time together before I took Lily down to the nursery. Both mom and baby are doing very well. We’re so excited that Lily is here to teach us and to bless our lives. We’re so grateful for all of the wonderful medical staff and all of the support from family and friends.

Lily is such a beautiful baby. She has gorgeous long eyelashes (thanks to yours truly), elegant fingernails and lots of silky soft strawberry blond hair. We decided she waited so long to come so she would be beautiful when she got here. Serena and I are so in love with our little child already. We’re so happy!

More: Russia pt. 2

In Russia I learned a lot about their healthcare system in the short time I was there as I discussed in my previous post. However, I was able to enjoy many of the sights available in St. Petersburg. We watched Romeo and Juliet at the Marinsky Theater, toured the Hermitage, walked through the fountains of Peterhoff, tossed coins at the Hare monument near the Peter and Paul Fortress on Enisaari, was awestruck at the Church of the Spilled Blood and St. Isaac’s Cathedral. We got to see a lot of St. Petersburg while there, as you can tell. It was an incredible experience and I’d like to share some of my favorite pictures from those moments.

More: Russia pt. 1

While I had the privilege of visiting Finland for about 19 days I also had the amazing opportunity to stay in St. Petersburg, Russia for 5 days. While there we learned about the culture and healthcare system of the country just as we did in Finland. Russia has a socialist healthcare system but it works very differently than Finland’s. There are almost as many doctors as nurses in Russia which was a surprise to me. Largely that is due to the public opinion of nurses. If you’re not sure what I mean Google ‘Russian Nurse’ and you’ll understand; children, don’t try that at home or anywhere else. Also, the country is much larger and resources are not evenly distributed. That causes problems because taxes raised in the area directly affect how much money there is for healthcare. The regions of Russia with more oil and other natural resources sustain a much higher quality of care. It’s unfortunate but very true.
I’d like to touch on the nursing profession in Russia again. We were given the opportunity to visit with the president of the Russian Nurses Association and some of the faculty and students of the St. Petersburg College of Medicine. One of the most fascinating things I learned from those moments was the importance of professionalism. Those who have chosen to practice nursing in Russia usually feel like they have a calling to do so. They really want to make a difference in people’s lives. Because the stigma that nursing has there nurses aren’t given a political voice, they don’t have the power to bring about the changes that will increase the quality of care they can provide. This is where the Nurses Association comes in. They are trying desperately to rally the nurses across the country to come together as one voice. Here in the United States the American Nurses Association has a very strong political voice and has made many important and vital changes to healthcare as we know it and will continue to do so. When in Russia nurses are listened to I have a strong feeling that healthcare there can be an example to the world of quality and change.
I’ll admit, there have been times during school that I have questioned my professor’s emphasis on professionalism. Now I understand what it would be like if there wasn’t professionalism in nursing. I would postulate that nursing would still consist of emptying bedpans, wiping bums and following every order from the doctor. That type of nursing was appropriate in its time but currently nurses are much more respected. And as such we have the potential to do so much for patients because they trust us.
I guess what I’m trying to explain is that I learned a great deal about Russia and about myself while in St. Petersburg. I learned a lot and had a great time. This last picture has nothing to do with anything I’ve said so far, it just makes me smile.

More: Finland pt. 3

While in Finland, specifically Savonlinna, I had the opportunity to follow a few nurses, a doctor, and a paramedic as well as discuss with them their professions and the Finnish healthcare system. It was a fascinating experience for many reasons. The Finnish healthcare systems is a socialist system based on the Beveridge model. Therefore, medical professions are regulated in many ways by the government. Since we are going through reform here in the United States I thought it would be intriguing to learn about a social healthcare system, especially in light of Obamacare which definitely leans towards socialism. I found that I liked many aspects of socialist healthcare but I don’t think that Americans would accept it generally.

As a side note I want to mention that education in Finland is free. Students take aptitude tests to see where they will succeed and to find out what their interests are so they can be directed to programs that will best suit them. Explaining that education is free is important because salaries are regulated somewhat by the government. Think if in America only salaries were regulated and medical education continued to be as exorbitantly expensive as it is – none would want to be a doctor!
So we know that the system is socialist and education is free. Continuing on to how the system works. The country is divided into districts, each of which takes care of the residents in their respective areas. Every year the districts submit a bid to the government detailing how much they will spend on healthcare. In this bid the district best estimates the amount that will be spent to pay the healthcare workers, to provide needed medical supplies and facilities and for all other healthcare expenses. The government then provides the funds to the districts to use. That is how healthcare is funded.

The population in Finland focuses a great deal on health promotion and disease prevention. This greatly decreases the total cost of healthcare because people are not going to the doctor as frequently for acute or chronic illness. Public health nurses also are much more important and involved. They follow a woman through pregnancy, a baby throughout his or her childhood, workers during their careers and the elderly till they die. Basically there is a nurse available to you at any and all points of life. Nurses are dependable, knowledgeable and efficient thus decreasing the cost of healthcare. Not all Finns eat healthily or exercise frequently but it is much more common than America. Food is simpler and more hardy. Public transportation is well organized and most people use it instead of buying their own car. Interaction with nature is a large part of Finnish culture which means people are outside a lot more. There are, however, some large scale problems. Most people drink and it is common for people to smoke. These two risk factors lead to a lot of kidney, liver and cancer problems. HIV also creates a large strain on the healthcare system although it is not terribly common.

So there is my quick description of the healthcare system in Finland. I liked that no matter where you were in life you were being followed by a competent healthcare worker, mostly nurses. I also like the emphasis on a healthy lifestyle and on good nutrition. When we were talking to a couple of public health nurses about prenatal care we asked if they often prescribed or suggested mothers take folic acid or multivitamins. They looked at us like we were crazy and said, “No, we just eat healthy food.” I believe that if in the US we focused more on prevention and healthy living instead of overtreating and overmedicating our healthcare system would not have the massive and complex problems we are facing now. So go for a walk, eat more vegetables and get a colonoscopy!

More: Finland pt. 2

Here are some more pictures from my adventures in Finland. After being in Helsinki for about 5 days (with travel and all time was a little hard to keep track of initially) we went to the city where we spent the largest portion of our trip. It is a beautiful little city called Savonlinna. It is an absolutely gorgeous town of 20,000 people or so. It's on of the many cities that sits on the shores of Lake Saimaa. There are many things about Savonlinna that warrant a visit but two stand out. One is the castle, Olavinlinna, and the other is the annual Opera Festival. We weren't there during the opera festival but we did get to tour the castle. I've always been in love with castles and medieval times so I was super excited to tour my first castle.

Let me just say a few words about our hostess, Leena (lay'-nah). She is a physician who has a private practice in the main level of her beautiful home. She allowed 12 of us to invade her home for 14 days. She met us at the train station and gave us all a hug and called us by name. Now that's hospitality! I must say, if it hadn't been for Leena we would not have had nearly as many cultural experiences as we did. She showed us all around Savonlinna, taught us about sauna, swimming in nearly freezing lakes, the endangered Lake Saimaa seals and much more. I will never forget her or her family for their amazing support while we were in Savonlinna.

I'll post more about the things we did while in Savonlinna later but here are some pictures of the city. I loved Savonlinna and would go back in a heartbeat. Absolutely beautiful!

Finland pt. 1

I’m back!
Never thought you’d see another posting on this blog, did ya?
I’ve had some amazing adventures this summer and they’re not over, so before things get super crazy I thought I’d start sharing.
I had the fantastic opportunity, thanks to my beautiful wife and BYU, to go to Finland and Russia for nearly a month to learn about different cultures and healthcare systems. This study abroad is part of the nursing curriculum at BYU. The students in this class were spread out to Tonga, Ghana, Ecuador, Finland/Russia, Urban/VA population, Utah refugees, Utah At-Risk population, Taiwan, Navajo Nation and India. I’m sure all the groups would say the same, but my group definitely had the best experience.
I think the whole trip will have to be spread out over a few posts because we did a lot and learned a lot. I don’t have the focus to type up a huge summary nor the mental capacity to condense it all into a short summary. So here are some pictures from the first few days of our trip. We flew from Chicago to Copenhagen, then to Helsinki. We stayed a few days in Helsinki to adjust to the time change and get some cultural experiences. We also visited Tallinn, Estonia for most of a day while in Helsinki.

The whole group right outside the Helsinki Airport (our last member is taking the photo)

This is half an archway leading into old Tallinn. I thought it humorous that underneath the small arch you can see a McDonalds. Typical.

Me and Jean Sibelius. Sibelius, through his music, helped Finland form a national identity when it was trying to gain independence from Russia at the turn of the 20^th century.

I just had to include this one, it has my name on it!

Hike: Mt. Timpanogos

This past weekend my wife planned a fantastic date for the two of us. She isn't the biggest fan of camping. She knows that I am so she decided to go out of her comfort zone and plan a camping trip as a surprise for me. We started out by renting a tandem bike from Outdoors Unlimited on BYU campus. We rode for about an hour and had a blast. If like riding bikes and you've never ridden a tandem bike it's a real treat. Very different balance than a normal bike but just as fun if not more so. Luckily there were no accidents along the way. Afterwards we grabbed some things at the store, ate out at Wallaby's and headed up the canyon. It was late when we got up there so we basically just set up camp, made a fire (of course) and went for a starlit stroll. In the morning I got up and made another fire (of course) and we had a simple breakfast then headed up to the trail. Here are some pictures of our adventures along the trail. We didn't go to far. Both of us got tired pretty fast. I'm just plain out of shape - as you can tell by the dearth of "Bike:[insert title]" blog posts. Serena however, has dance classes during the week and she's on her feet all day at work so I can see why she was tired. Anyway, we made it up to the second falls, had lunch, then came home via the Alpine Loop which was just beautiful. The leaves were starting to turn colors and it wasn't too warm. I gotta say, my wife couldn't have done better!

More: Thursday Nights

In my second post I mentioned that I am a nerd and used to role-play and such. Well, if you saw what I did on Thursday nights you might think that I’m even more crazy. Well, here’s your chance. The local newspaper decided to show up a couple of Thursdays and take some shots. Here is a link to the story: http://heraldextra.com/news/local/article_1eb93ed7-7b91-5c52-90f0-64933e6e540c.html. I’ve been doing it for a long time but left for 5 years or so while I went to Brazil on a mission then got married. But now I’ve been going back most Thursdays for some good  exercise and a chance to let my nerdy side out. It’s lots of fun most days and I always come home wiped out. Good stuff! If you’re more interested in the group or are thinking, “What in the world is he actually doing?” The link for the combat society is this: http://www.belegarth.com. Check it out!
P.S. I’m in the first and second pictures. This first one is better – I’m totally dominating.

More: Cystectomy

For those who have the stomach I thought I might share a little of myself. Inside and out. This post is to share my first surgical experience during which I wasn’t asleep. I have a had a cyst growing on my upper right cheek that I felt might be good to get rid of. I think it was making one of my eyes all squinty in pictures. I couldn’t take it anymore so under the knife I went. I was going to put a video of the first of the twins coming out – there were two cysts next to each other – but it would have to go on YouTube to do that so never mind. However, there is a picture of the surgery tray after all was said and done. Lastly, me! This is the bandage for the first day. I need to keep it on for one day then I can use normal Band-Aids. Underneath there are a total of 7 stitches. The nurse said the doctor is OCD about his stitches which I found strangely comforting. The pictures:

More: California and Redwoods

For a long time I’ve heard about the Redwoods. I’ve seen pictures on TV and in magazines but never been there in person. When I was in junior high one of my best friends gave me a bookmark from the Redwoods. (I collect bookmarks). The reason I say all of that is because I’ve wanted to go for a long time and this week I finally got my chance.  My wife and I went to Oregon to visit one of her old roommates with a bunch of her friends. My condition for going was that we came through the Redwoods on our way home. It’s not really “on the way home” but I really wanted to go. I’m so glad that we did. First of all, two 16 hour drives in three days would not be fun. Second of all I love California so the more of it I can see the better. Lastly, and most importantly, I had my breath taken by the beauty of God’s creations. We had basically one day in California so we had to make the most of that day. I think we did. I became insignificantly small at Big Tree, claustrophobic as I drove through a Redwood, gloried in the sea while I walked a coastal trail, saw whales from Klamath Overlook, and huffed and puffed along the Boy Scout trail to a magnificent small waterfall in the middle of the redwoods. I left with only one desire. To come back again and stay for much more than one day. There is so much to see that it couldn’t be done in a week or even a month I think.
Coming from Utah things grow once a year, if that. In my house things tend not to grow at all. Anyway, in the Redwoods things never stop growing. I have included pictures below that are proof of that very fact. The first picture is of a couple of spider webs that were above the trail. They were supported by strands anchored to trees 20+ feet apart. I was amazed by the tenacity of those spiders.

This next pictures is a perfect example of the cycle of life. A huge redwood fell on the side of the path and its decaying remains became the fertile ground for other plants and trees to grow on. It’s fascinating to me that the roots just wrap around the tree, defying what I always saw other trees do – grow in the ground.

Behold the glory of the Redwoods! This is a view of the forest from the Boy Scout trail (the only one I had time to go on). These towers held me in awe as I walked through them. The fact that they only need the moisture from the mist, they are fire retardant, they live for 20 human lifetimes and make me feel insignificant because they are absolutely massive.

This little waterfall was the reason that I took the Boy Scout trail and I think that it was worth it.

More: Oregon and Crabs

This past weekend my wife and I went to Oregon with some friends to reunionize with some of my wife’s old roomates. We camped at the Beverly Beach campground which was quite nice, for a campground. While there we had a grand old time. The first day we went crabbing, a unique experience. There are various reasons why it is such a unique experience. First of all you do it right off the side of the dock, no boating required. Second of all your catch can and will catch you back if you aren’t careful, thankfully I don’t have personal experience with crab claws. Thirdly, you can take your catch to a local greasy spoon and have them cook your catch for you while you eat. However, you don’t have to have any expertise with the sport for people to be in awe with you and think you are the shizzle, which I thought hilarious because we really had no idea what were doing. They will ask you all sorts of questions like you know everything so of course we played the part and imparted all three facts we knew about crabbing like they were the greatest pieces of wisdom heard since Confucius or something. I know that crab is delicious and many people love crab cakes or crab salad. But if you’ve ever had crab out of the shell it’s quite a different experience. It’s hard! There is a lot of work for very  little meat, but if you ask me it’s totally worth it. These Red Rock crab weren’t really huge, as seen in the picture, but boy they tasted good! I think I had four by myself. So if you ever get out to Newport, OR go to the dock, rent a crab trap and throw it in a couple of times. Loads of fun!