After a day of screams and sorrow and blood,
Every drop of my compassion leached from me.
Racing home to beat the dawn…
My daughter, just 15 months old,
Fresh from sleep
Giggling my name
Greets me as I arrive,
Spent after a 30-hour shift.
She jumps in her bed with excitement,
Pointing toward her window
As she sings a toddler song
To welcome the rising sun.
A newborn day;
A day to try again,
As the oranges and pinks of dawn
Sprawl across her room.
I weep silently into her hair.
She replenishes me,
And I return to human form.
Medical Student Editor and Columnist
University of Louisville School of Medicine
Allison graduated from Indiana University in 2009 with a BS in Biochemistry. She then pursued a MA degree in Bioethics and Medical Humanities from the University of Louisville, graduating in 2011. She is a second year MD candidate at the UofL School of Medicine while also pursuing the global health distinction track. Her interests include pediatric ethics, neonatology, global health, and medical humanities. When not studying, she enjoys traveling, hiking, writing, and spending time with her husband and infant daughter.
Cheerios and Stethoscopes
All about starting and raising a family while being a physician-in-training.