Amy Back at Le Bistro Montage- Nov 2, 2012

Amy, our cards fellow that graduated last year, was back in town to take her cards boards so we met up for dinner at Montage.  The mac 'n cheese was delicious as were the frog legs, though both Amy and Constance were saddened by the lack of alligator.  My favorite part, though, was the foil animals for our leftovers.  So fun!

Brunch at Esther's- Oct 14, 2012

I love brunch, so I was super excited when Esther put together a big brunch of pumpkin waffles, quiche, apple sausage, scones, and bellinis at her place.  I was completely stuffed but had a great time hanging out with the peeps and enjoying the beautiful fall day.

Turnbull Clan and Asheville- Oct 27-29, 2012

It was a quick turnaround after China, but Brandy and I hopped on an overnight plane to Asheville, North Carolina to visit her family for a weekend.  All the Turnbull sisters were in town and they were perfect complements to each other.  We ate a lot, went out on a haunted pubcrawl and dancing for Halloween, and had taco night/game night.  Brandy and I even visited the beautiful Biltmore House all in one fun-filled weekend.

Playing Tourist in China- Oct 24, 2012

While we had a lot of work to do in our short time in Beijing, we did take a day to be tourists.  We started the day with a rigorous climb up the steep, high steps of the Great Wall at Juyongguan.  Only Abby and I made it to the top of the section which I feel pretty proud about.  Next we headed to Tiananman Square and the Forbidden Palace.  It was so cool to see all the Chinese architecture and hear the stories.  While it was a gorgeous compound, the barren spaces cast a poignant melancholy of past grandeur and lost culture.  The destructive sweep of the cultural revolution left little but the bones of the place.

Little Hearts Clinical Care- Oct 2012

 Most of our days in China, we spent echoing children, doing other interventions, and coming up with careplans for the kids at Bayi Military Children's Hospital and Beijing Family United.  Bayi was crazy with its 400 bed NICU.  It was exhilirating to be able to offer something even as a fellow to physicians there and hopefully really make a difference in some of these kids' lives.

International Congenital Cardiology Conference- Oct 21, 2012

When the doctors in Beijing heard that we were coming (well Laurie really), an international congenital cardiology conference at Beijing Family United was put together starring Laurie.  Cardiac surgeons and cardiologists came from all over China as far as Mongolia.  We had a great discussion about the state of cardiac care in China at a dinner the night before and the conference went really well as well.

Little Hearts Medical in China- Oct 18-25, 2012

 It came about with an idea when Tanya picked up JJ from China for his adoption.  She toured the medical orphanage where he lived and was struck by the vast need there.  From there, she and her husband, Mike put together a team of 9 to go to China and visit the orphanage, teach the nannies, and echo orphans.  The trip ballooned into putting together treatment plans, an international congenital cardiology conference, and a packed schedule of hopefully building for the future of the group and the orphans.  Our group consisted of 2 nurses, an attending, a fellow, the 2 main organizers-- the Lees, 2 kids, and a guide.