Published November 25, 2020
How’s it going, everyone? Happy Fall! 🍁
Thanksgiving will be here soon and we decided to have an edition thanking medicare workers, including all nurses, doctors, ER workers and more who are working super hard in this crazy time to keep us as safe as possible (and in life, during “normal” times). In addition, we would like to thank several generous people for donating money to A and L for printing and ink. Thank you to Ms. Lany, Mr. Ben and Ms. Lianda, Ms. Nilda and Mr. Robin and several others who donated to help us pay for ink for Adalia’s personal printer. We really appreciate it!!
In addition, thank you to any and all veterans out there and the soldiers currently serving. Thank you for everything you do, have done, and will do in the future!
Our last bit of news is that we are trying to come out with a cookbook, which we have been working on for several months now, before Christmas! More news will be coming in the December edition. The cookbook will include easy recipes tested and created by us. There will be all sorts of things from snacks and drinks to entrees, tasty sides and much more. Some of our Puns n’ Recipes will be in there as well!
Happy feasting,
-Leeya and Adalia
Happy Thanksgiving to All!
Poem by Adalia and Leeya
Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Friends, family, festivities and food,
Stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes and more,
Beware: at family reunions there may be war,
But do not worry, because you’ll make up,
After drinking a spicy, hot apple cider cup.
Sweets and goodies, pastries and pies,
Breads like soft, buttery rolls, crunchy toast and rye,
Seeing friends and family, everything is so merry,
Eating pies like pumpkin, apple and cherry,
But Thanksgiving is not all about the food,
Thanksgiving is also about having gratitude.
So, gather around with your loved ones, give thanks,
And make some delicious food for everyone to take.
Thank You Healthcare Workers! An Article From The Perspective Of Three Healthcare Workers About How The Pandemic Has Changed Their Lives And What You Can Do To Help Yourself Stay Safe And Manage The Stress With Dipti Patel, Anand Mehta And Nipa Shah
“There’s hope on the horizon…” ~Dr. Nipa Shah~
We interviewed Dr. Dipti Patel, Dr. Anand Mehta and Dr. Nipa Shah to see how their jobs (and lives) have changed during the pandemic. With this edition being so close to Thanksgiving, we also wanted to thank ALL healthcare workers for what they have done during the pandemic and for everyone in general.
A Quick Background
Dr. Patel trained for internal medicine (this is the medicine you would take at a hospital) and is a hospitalist. She received a Fountain Fellowship scholarship from the University of Georgia and took her residency at Emory University. She was inspired to become a doctor because of her dad, who was a neurologist in rural Iowa and the only surgeon in the small town. Patients loved him and would make him handmade gifts, which, she says, covered her childhood home.
Dr. Mehta first decided to become a doctor when he was young. He wanted to help people. As an undergraduate, he went to UC Berkeley, studying fruit fly genetics in order to learn about muscle development. He went to medical school at the University of California in San Francisco and did neuroscience research, studying diseases like Parkinsons. Dr. Mehta then took an extra year to do more research. He did his medical residency at NYU and his specialty training in Endocrinology at UC San Francisco for three additional years. He now works in Oakland, California, studying hormones and glands which affect basically all parts of the body.
When Dr. Nipa Shah was younger, her family always thought she had “potential” to become a doctor. She grew up believing in it and whenever the word “doctor” was mentioned, her ears would perk up. But then something happened: her grandmother died suddenly of heart disease before the age of 50. She saw the grief that her family, especially her mom, was going through and knew she wanted to save people from the same sort of grief. She wanted to become a heart surgeon. Dr. Nipa Shah had another reason to become a doctor though: when she was a young girl, her grandfather promised her 50 rupees (which is only about 75 cents) if she became a doctor. Later when she graduated he ended up giving her 50 American dollars, 50 British pounds and those 50 rupees he had promised. She did her undergraduate at North Western University in Illinois, attended the University of Illinois for medical school and finished her residency in family medicine at the University of Albuquerque. Though she had originally wanted to become a heart surgeon, she realized that it would take her nine more years and she was already 27. She wanted to have a family and knew spending even more time training wouldn’t allow for it. She decided to delve deeper into family medicine because she liked seeing everyone: adults, such as pregnant women, children and the elderly!
Working Before the Pandemic
Dr. Patel begins her day with pre-rounding (reading about her patients). She must make sure she knows who everyone is and their medical history. Next, she goes to visit her patients to see how they are all doing. It is very important to know what is going on and how patients feel. With this information, Dr. Patel can do what she needs to make them feel better. This might mean prescribing medicine, therapy, or more. She eats lunch next. Documentation, or writing down notes, is the last thing to do. Dr. Patel said that her favorite thing to do everyday is spending time with her patients.
Dr. Mehta has two major jobs everyday. One job is seeing the patients in the clinic. If patients are in the hospital, he’ll go there to see how they are doing. Because he speaks Spanish, he can help even more people. In fact, about 40% of his day is spoken in Spanish! When people don’t speak a language Dr. Mehta knows he uses an interpreter to make sure everyone understands each other. Dr. Mehta believes that it is important to know everything about how his patients live because he often helps the underprivileged. If people don’t tell him everything, such as the inability to pay bills or pay for medicine, he has to do some “detective work” to see what they need to heal or in general. Certain diseases also take some “detective work,” especially when other doctors send patients to Dr. Mehta’s practice to see if he can solve the problem for them. His “other” job is doing the administrative work and managing his entire practice. He must make sure that the doctors take care of their patients with the best medicine for that particular patients’ condition and that the doctors do the best job that they can do.
Dr. Nipa Shah runs a department of family medicine. Under her, there are about 150 doctors at 30 different clinics. This is a huge responsibility! After going through some administrative things, Dr. Nipa Shah sees patients for about half a day once a week. In addition to this, Dr. Nipa Shah is also a professor and finishes off her day teaching more about her profession.
Working During the Pandemic
When interviewing them, we found a lot similarities in how their jobs have changed with the arrival of COVID-19. Dr. Patel and Dr. Mehta said that the beginning of the pandemic was scary, unknown and hard but over time it has become easier with the realization of how to solve some problems and general familiarity with what is going on. In addition, receiving proper equipment in these months have helped a lot. Dr. Patel and Dr. Nipa Shah both told us that the hospital procedure has been the number one thing that has changed. Dr. Patel now has to wear masks when seeing all patients. Dr. Nipa Shah must see some patients in the parking lot if they have any coronavirus symptoms (fever, cough, troubled breathing or headache). When she goes out to see her patients, she has to wear a mask, gloves, face shield, goggles and her gown. Dr. Mehta works at Stanford and says they are doing a great job setting up video calls. All of the doctors’ personal lives have taken a toll. They have not been able to see family or friends much anymore. Dr. Patel hasn’t been able to see her parents since the pandemic started and Dr. Mehta said that he had to keep his “pod” very small because he is a doctor and still sees some patients. However, Dr. Patel says “she is grateful that she hasn’t gotten sick [and that] humans are adaptable.” In addition, patients have not been able to see their families much and they must do video calls with them. Dr. Patel worries about patients dying alone without their families being able to say goodbye.
Dealing with Stress
We asked doctors how they deal with the stress of being a doctor and going through the COVID-19 pandemic and any ideas they have for the rest of us to stay sane. Dr. Patel and Dr. Mehta agreed that exercise and getting outdoors is very beneficial. Dr. Patel suggested therapy service and says she has a comedy show to look forward to every night. Dr. Metha said spending time with family and reading a good book helps him. Dr. Nipa Shah prepares a family zoom call each weekend, which is fun and gives her family (and particularly her parents) something to look forward to each week. She says “loneliness is the worst disease.” Ultimately, taking some self-care time to relax will benefit us all.
What Can We Do to Help? and Saying “Thank You”
Lastly, we asked doctors what we could do to help them. They said we NEED to make sure we are wearing our masks where we are supposed to, washing our hands before we eat and physically distancing ourselves from other people. Look at the infographic on the next page to see where you should wear a mask and when it is okay not to!
When you see your doctor, nurse or healthcare worker next, make sure to thank them for all they have done in your life and your loved one’s lives. Don’t forget that what they do everyday to help keep everyone up and running. Especially during this pandemic, we must thank them for working tirelessly to ensure that life will continue on smoothly. Thank you to Dr. Dipti Patel, Dr. Anand Mehta and Dr. Nipa Shah for letting us interview you and for all you do!
Nana’s Speech for 80th Birthday
By Leeya for Ramesh Mehta (Nana) in November 2017
Good evening. My name is Leeya’s Mehta Chaudhuri. I am one of my Ramesh’s granddaughters. My grandfather who I call Nana might be one of your friends, brother, grandfather, dad, wife, cousin or relative. To me, he is my grandfather. The person who teaches me so much, spoils me, gives me great advice, does exercise with me, and, most importantly, loves me. Today, we are here to celebrate him turning 80 years-old! Now, some people might think ‘oh, now that I’m 80 I’m so old!’ Well, for my Nana turning 80 years old means one more year of wisdom and more good qualities. Let me tell you something about him. He has more than 80 good qualities. Now if I named all of them we would be here for hours so let me just tell you a few. 1. He is loving. Every time you give him a hug you feel warm inside and good. Like a blanket has just been put on you. 2. He’s fit, healthy, and strong. Many of you might know this about him but he walks a mile every day. No matter what the weather condition. If there’s a storm outside he’ll walk a mile inside the apartment. If there’s 5 feet of snow he’ll bundle up and still walk a mile. The other thing that I bet a lot of people don’t do, is every morning he exercises and stands on his head for 100 seconds. He tried to teach me once; I didn’t succeed. 3. He knows about everything. Ask him about technology and he’ll show you something cool on the computer. Ask him about Indian history he knows it. Ask him cool tricks in math-he knows it. Ask him about good movies-he knows it. 4. Is his love of Bengali music. He loves Bengali music, and that’s why later my brother Neel and I will sing a Bengali song for him. And the last one that I’ll name is he’s generous. You come to his apartment and he’ll make you feel like you’re in your own house. You’ll come about feeling refreshed and good. With one more piece of good inside you. So, my Nana I’m so glad you’re my grandfather, I’m so glad you’re turning 80, and lastly, I hope you’re having a great time. May god always be with you. Happy birthday!!
I Love You, Mom!
Poem by Adalia
I just wanted to say, “I love you Mom!” And, to all the other moms, grandmas and aunties out there, thank you for being there for us always, especially in hard times like these. Whether or not we say “I love you” or “thank you,” we do love you and we do thank you for all you do for us!
Love and Mom
Go hand in hand.
For who else but Mom
Cares for you,
Births you,
Feeds you,
Loves you, as you?
I love you, Mom.
You are mine.
I love you, Mom!
How Did Our Halloween Go?
If you didn’t watch our YouTube live Halloween, here is a little update about what happened and how much fun we had!
As you all know, Halloween was very different this year. There was no trick-or-treating or big parties. Being kids ourselves, we understood how hard it could be for kids, especially the younger ones, so, we wanted to do something to help! Leeya had an idea for a Halloween storytime with our very own interactive story! We handed out flyers to everyone in the neighborhood to get the word out. Before we knew it, the date of the storytime was here! The event went super smoothly and there was a bunch of audience interaction! Thank you to everyone who came and we hope you enjoyed it! It was definitely fun for us to do. If you didn’t get a chance to watch it live or want to watch it again, go to youtube.com/watch?v=hFodfpwZ0GA to watch it. If you are on a computer, you will be able to see the chat automatically. If you are on a tablet, iPad or phone, you must open or get the YouTube app to see the chat (viewable if you click the “live chat” button).
First we “told” an interactive story starring Autumn Blair, aka Leeya. Our viewers loved interacting and choosing their very own costume for Leeya to be wearing for the rest of the show! Next we read a chapter of ‘Frankenstein’ and learned more about what the creature might be thinking and why the doctor may have made this creation. Lastly, while listening to our Halloween Playlist, we did a fun DIY craft…We made DIY cereal box tombstones!
Also on the Halloween note: Thank you to Mrs. Hunter and Ms. Cam who gave us candy and popcorn! It was delicious and a great treat!
Fun Facts
The 1,000 Dollar Bill!
*Thank you to Mr. Ben for the fun fact idea!*
It’s true!! There was a real 1,000 bill! Originally it had none other than … Alexander Hamilton’s face on the front. Someone was probably confused that he was on several bills, however, and replaced it with Grover Cleveland, a US president. Sadly, the $1,000 bill was discontinued in 1969. Inflation had made it useful but not for long. And why have we lost most of the rest of our big bills? The United States Treasury has decided that keeping the bills small minimizes the possibility of money laundering. Our last fun fact about $1,000 bills: Did you know that there are only 165,372 of these bills bearing Cleveland’s visage still in existence?
The Thanksgiving “Food Coma”
Did you know that the turkey you eat on Thanksgiving isn’t actually responsible for the drowsiness or “food coma” so many of us feel? In fact, scientists say that the alcohol or high calories are the leading factors to a “food coma.” An extra glass of wine, cider or beer and the high-calories of the meal usually make you feel drowsy. Also, relaxing so much after such a busy Thanksgiving day schedule can make you even more tired!
A Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingles Wilder
Laura and her family have lived in the Big Woods for as long as Laura has been alive. She lives with her Ma and Pa, her sister, Mary and Baby Carrie. Jack, the dog, guards them at night and protects them from bears and panthers and Pa’s big gun is never too far away to keep them safe. Every night they fall asleep to the sound of Pa’s fiddle and the clicking of Ma’s sewing needles. Read A Little House in the Big Woods to hear more about Laura’s adventures in making bullets for Pa’s gun, seeing a bear, going to town, making cheese and butter and so much more!!
*Go to aandlmagazine.com for a video of The Irish Washerwoman played on the alto saxophone, which is a song mentioned in A Little House in the Big Woods.
Time Together
By Mirabel
The Unicorn Frappuccino
By Neel
How to Edit a Screenshot on a MacBook – Tech Tips
*These instructions are similar for iPhones or iPads (a MacBook is an Apple computer)
- To take a screenshot on a MacBook, press and hold the Shift, Command and 3 keys at the same time.
- A small square should appear in the bottom right corner of your screen (bottom left on an iPhone or iPad).
- Click on the square and follow the color-coded directions in the image at the bottom of this section.
*QUICK NOTE: to complete your photo or drawing, click done. Do NOT click the x to the top left of the screen or your drawing will be deleted.
We hope everyone has a great safe, Thanksgiving! We know everyone might not be able to see their loved ones but we hope this magazine brought you a little bit of joy during the holidays. Remember to eat lots of good food 🙂
-Leeya and Adalia