Supporting Pediatric Patients

          

          This is where I came from, a developing country with limited access to healthcare. I was fortunate enough to be born in a big city where this prestigious hospital was within driving distance. But these people that you see in the picture were not as fortunate. I remember seeing many of them sleeping (or maybe waiting in exhaustion) in front of the hospital's closed gate after having to travel far and wide from their homes in the countryside. They got here in the pit of dawn just to be the first to get in once the gate opened, for the wait once inside was forever that they might not be able to catch the last ride home.

          I remember how much of a burden my medical bill was on my family. I also remember how hard it was for us to find blood donors, since we had to give in the same amount of blood as taken out of the bank for my surgery. We had to ask for help from relatives and friends because the hospital could not offer any assistance or link us to any source that could. I remember the stress that was put on my mom and dad, who still managed to tell me with a smile everyday that everything was going to be okay. 

          My little self back then did not know how much it hurt, but I am sure my future self will remember how much it hurts now while I am writing this. My tears keep dropping...

          And this is why I joined Triton Dance Marathon. So that the local hospital I support will have the funds needed to help struggling families, to ensure not only the children but also their families that everything will truly be okay. 

          I hope you could join me in this fundraising effort, and please send me your address at quynh.alyse@gmail.com so that I could personally thank you with a hand-written letter. Please also share with me your stories and let me know if it is okay for me to share yours on my fundraising page.

          All contributions will benefit Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego. Any contribution will help, and all donations are tax-deductible. Donating online is also safe and easy, as you could do so by clicking the "support me" button on my fundraising page.

          Thank you for reading my story and for visiting my page if you already did or if you are planning to. I hope to earn your support not only online but also at the event, not only in finance but also in spirit! :)

#ForTheKids,

Alyse

My fundraising page: https://Events.DanceMarathon.com/Participant/AlyseTran
Join my team: https://events.dancemarathon.com/team/TeamHappyFeet

Practice with a Purpose

Each exercise you complete will help Kaplan meet their goal of providing up to 100 scholarships to the Boys and Girls Club of America.

Deadline: March 31st
Goal: $125,000
Available tests: GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, DAT, OAT, PCAT

Practice now and start giving back by clicking here! :)

(Special thanks to Adele Savage for sharing with me this opportunity)

Human Immune Response Phases

The human immune response to an invading pathogen can consist of one, two, or three

phases, depending upon the severity of the infection. 

PHASE 1: The immediate innate immune response begins as soon as a pathogen invades.

This is sufficient to terminate most infections.

PHASE 2: If after 4 hours of infection, the action of the immediate innate immune response has not been sufficient to subdue the infection, the induced innate immune response is brought into play.

PHASE 3: If after 4 days of infection, the combined actions of the immediate and induced innate immune responses have not been sufficient to subdue the infection, the immune system commits to make an adaptive immune response. 

This response, which is made-to-order specificially for the infection at hand, is more powerful than the forces of innate immunity alone, and efficiently terminates almost all infections that get to this third phase. It is also more damaging to the tissues in which it is working. 

If adaptive immunity fails to suppress the pathogen, the infected human host will either: 

- Die of the acute infection, as frequently occurs for Ebola virus infections; or 

- Develop chronic infection, as occurs with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), associated with debilitating disease and premature death

Special thanks to Dr. Ananda Goldrath for sharing this video!