“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future.”~Jeremiah 29:11
The hospital cribs were neatly aligned. Each one held a tiny infant, snugly swaddled in blankets and wearing either a pink or blue cap. It was a scene that was all too familiar to my sister and me as we watched our mother go to work. She started at the far end of the long line of cribs and began to examine the first newborn babe. Not too sure about what to think of this rude awakening and the strange person who was now laying a cold stethoscope on his chest, the infant let out a weak cry and began to squirm.
As our mother began to stretch this wiggling baby’s legs to check hip rotation and reflexes, the little infant decided that he had been through enough and let loose a guttural cry of disapproval. Having completed her examination, our mother quickly scooped the baby up into her arms, and began wrapping him with blankets into what she liked to call a “baby burrito.” Now back in his favorite curled up position, warm and snug, he calmed instantly and decided that he could come to like this strange person after all. Our mother would always tell us that her patented “baby burrito” technique was a huge success among the newborns. Later that day, I would practice my “baby burrito” technique on my favorite baby dolls.
My sister and I grew up with Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital as our second home. Words like stethoscope, sepsis, and bilirubin were a part of our vocabulary; and the residents, pediatricians, and nurses always recognized us as we walked the halls of the Children’s Hospital, hand-in-hand with our mother.
These early childhood experiences had a profound impact on me, and I have no doubt that God used these experiences part of His plan to guide my life toward a career in pediatric medicine and to kindle my desire to attend medical school at Loma Linda University. It is a school where whole person care is a priority and where faith and science are fused seamlessly into a first-class curriculum. It is also a place where each class begins with the acknowledgement of God’s guiding hand, and where the students, faculty, and staff are genuinely kind, loving and Christ-centered.
Now that I have been given the opportunity to study medicine at this University, which has meant so much to me over the course of my life. I have no doubt that this is the place and the career path to which God has called me. Every day I spend at Loma Linda University, I see more clearly how this institution continues to live up to its mission of training physicians to continue the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus Christ. I praise God for the promise of the above verse :”For I know the plans I have for you.”-Paige Stevens, LLUSM class of 2016, grew up in Loma Linda, California. She graduated from the University of California, Riverside, with a BS degree in biology. She was social vice president of her freshmen class and is the social vice president for her sophomore year.