New Job

Jan wants me to consider joining the staff at the Medical Centre. Currently I'm a surgeon at the downtown hospital, but if I join the Medical Centre I would be in charge of plastic surgery and other minor surgeries. I would spend my days consulting with patients and procedures. I think I wouldn't mind, I would still have my pension as well as a salary from the Medical Centre.

Hard Work

Such hard work baking - during breaks it is interesting-sat with brother-in-law as he enjoyed the free doughnuts. I am thinking of renovating the house, restoring it to it's original victorian glory. But finding the materials will be hard, but I think it can be done.

Gardens

Jolie wants to work on the gardden this summer and asked my permission-as if I care!

My youngest daughter moved to Roswell for university and I am now manager of the Medical Centre. Things are changing much to fast.

My Job

After graduation I got a job! I'm the baker at CupaJava. Since it is summertime I spend my days baking Tartelette au Citrons and Mimosa Cakes. Apparently-according to my handy dandy baking schedule-the day before fall, I will start baking Religieuse au Café for the fall menu. Gosh, the work is hard-my back hurts from so much bending.

Honeymoon

Got a nice honeymoon-now gotta get back to the hood-gotta sign up with the army for four simdays to pay back my student loan which means a haircut-goodbye hair!

Also, Jolie's little sister is moving to another hood which means more space in the house and perhaps the start of our own little family. I wonder if we would have twins? My mother had two sets of twins (me and my older brothers) so it's possible.

My Sister Married

That means another sim in the house, less room and more pressure on me to leave. I've been looking into immigrating to another hood. I think I like a few of them and have sent letters of inquiry. I wonder if they would accept me.

EDIT: I just checked my email, I've been accepted to Roswell!!!

Salary!

What!?!?!





The hood council voted to stop me from gaining profit shares from the hospital. That means every penny that I earn must be reinvested into the center. Grrr, maybe I should open my own private pratice, I hate having only $1500 a simweek in salary versus the profits and bonuses I get for managing a great medical center. Where's the motivation in making the center better?

Grandparents

Jodi and her husband, Zac, had twins. I had to find out from thier hood's newspaper! Not even a post to her family saying-I am pregnant-I am married-I had twins! Nothing! Ah well, we sent them some toys for the twins. I hope I can see a photo of my first grandchildren soon. Janet is looking into immigrating-I knew it was coming, but I didn't think it would be so soon. Johan and Jadhira are marrying this next simday-they decided to have a destination wedding on Tiki Island. Joey and Giselle are doing well-no sign of grandchildren from them yet.

Married

I am now married. The wedding was very nice, we had the ceremony in the new botanical gardens, then the reception was at the Apple Valley Ballroom at The Centre. Jorge's family was nice enough to pay for the honeymoon, none of his family members came-his brothers were too busy apparently (well, two of his brothers are in other hoods) and his father just died.

Daughter-in-Law

Jadhira stopped by the house the other day. She will make a great daughter-in-law. We sat and talked about the enviromental changes occuring across the nation and the impact it has on the health of sims and flowers. She opened her florist shop, that is nice, maybe Johan would get more simoleans than that little teacher's salary. That reminds me, I must go to Farmer's Market and spend my $100 gift certificate.

Married Man

Jolie and I married so now I'm a husband.

Life is Good

I'm a teen-a hot teen if I do say so myself. I'm thinking about what I want to do once I become an adult-big brother Johan said I should look at moving to another hood-but where? Somewhere cool-that's where! Roy said that he wants to be a teacher and might move to another hood to do so-well good riddance to him! I thought he was kind of cute.

Medical Centre Note-Health Insurance

I report to the Community Director and one of her objectives is to research health insurance options. Thus this assignment falls to me. I've looked at other hoods to see how thier health insurance works and if health insurance is a neccessary part of Apple Valley life.



The fundamental concept of insurance is that it balances costs across a large, random sample of sims. Apple Valley is a small sample of sims and in addition, medical costs are low in the hood and sims do not utilize the medical centre as often except for prescriptions. Also, there has not been a need for expensive procedures such as surgeries and intensive testing.


Current Medical Fees
Broken Limb $1,500 (0)
IVF Treatment $5,000 (1)
Induced Labor $2,500 (1)
Consulation with Doctor $100 (0)
Plastic Surgery/per part $3,000 (0)
Prescription Medicine $450 (4)
to be added
Rehabilitation Services/per simday $500 (0)
Midwifery Services (including pre-natal care, delivery, 1st check-up) $1000 (0)

There are numerous health care options, I would recommend a non-profit hood funded/managed healthcare system. This can be accomplished by having an additional tax for each household (say about $50-$100/simweek). This would currently provide about $900-$1800 a simweek for the healthcare bank. This money can be used to reduce the cost of services for residents that use it during the simweek. However, this would require more thought and planning.


Due to the lack of need for a health insurance and amount of difficulty in creating such a program, I recommend that the topic be shelved until next simweek to see if any changes have been noted in the hood and the health of the residents. Until then, residents can use the options currently available to them (installment plans, welfare assistance application, healthy living).

Discussions

Johan stopped by for dinner (actually dessert), he stayed out the way while Jan and I talked to Janet about her plans for the future. She said that she didn't have any...doesn't she know that we won't live forever!!! Johan then suggested that she leave the hood and help out another fledging hood that needs adults, it would be good for her to become involved in the beginning. Why is he trying to send Janet away? Maybe because his fiance isn't native to Apple Valley...still, I'm not sure how comfortable I am with that idea.

Wedding Planning

I've been spending a little time planning our wedding. I've decided on a color scheme:
lilac, white and taupe.
I have chosen a dress from A.Pentragnani, it was a discarded design from a prior collection that never took off, so I'm getting that dress and they're creating a collection for me. Jorge will need a tuxedo and by the time we marry, his nephew (Verde) will be a toddler. I wish I had a flower girl *sigh* I know the wedding will be in my parent's backyard-in the house that will eventually be mine ^_^. Mum said that they would start planting some nice plants and tulips so the yard would be blooming and pretty in time for the wedding. Naturally I'm creating the menu, but the wedding will be simple. A simple afternoon ceremony and reception with tea and roses and little snacks and a yummy cake.

Now What

I've been working on a painting for father's birthday, but I wonder what's next for me. I know that I was the surprise baby and mother and father are now elders and I am only a teen. Jolie will be coming home soon and they are looking forward to grandchildren...I think I'll call Sophie and go bowling

I Got the Job!!!

I am now the administrator/teacher for Apple Valley Secondary Academy!!!! I will teach the teens everything they need to know to prepare for university. There will be some guest teachers, Pablo Herendez signed up to teach a gym class and Tatiana Garris signed up to teach a cooking class. I move into the house this simday and school starts simMonday. I will have five students, wow!



O, I proposed to Jadhira, she said yes and she's moving into the house with me! yippee!

Engagements

Well, Jolie called from university and told us that she's engaged to Jorge. He'll be moving into the house with her once she graduates. This comes after the news of Johan's engagement to Jadhira. It looks like the Dawsons will be very busy with weddings for a while, though no sign of grandchildren yet...I wonder what's taking Joey and Giselle so long?

Medical Centre Note-Lectures

To get more patrons out to the clinic and learning about thier health, I started a series of health classes at the clinic. The classes are held outside, so passerbys would be interested to stop by. The lectures are every simMonday, simWednesday and simFriday at 3pm (about three lectures a season). There is wheat cake and herbal tea for refreshments and Q&A as well.

Lectures Schedule:
Keeping Cool this Summer (Summer 1, Day 1) -Ellsworth Dawson

Exercise and Health (Summer 1, Day 3)-Jan Dawson

Basic First Aid (Summer 1, Day 5)

Preparing for Cold & Flu Season (Fall 1, Day 2)
Safe Babysitting Practices (Fall 1, Day 5)

Engaged

I'm engaged!!! Jorge proposed, it wasn't that romantic, it was over breakfast at the cafeteria, but still. It's an engagement ring! It's pretty, a heriloom ring actually, one of his grandmother's rings. It's gold with a sapphire surrounded with small diamonds. Very nice. I have to tell my family! And find a dress!

Stone Veins

There is a case of stone veins in the hood. The first case I ever saw, but after looking back through the records, there may have been another case, but simply undiagnosed. From my research:



Stone Veins

1. What is Stone Veins?


2. What are the sign and symptoms of Stone Veins?


3. How is Stone Veins diagnosed and evaluated?


4. What is the treatment for Stone Veins?

1. What is Stone Veins?
   Stone Veins is a rare terminal blood disorder that affects less than 1% of the sim population. The condition develops when the arteries that supply blood to the internal organs, arms, and legs become completely or partially blocked by the tightening and imflammation of the blood vessels. Stone Veins has a strong hereditary tendency, although the exact cause is unknown.


2. What are the sign and symptoms of Stone Veins?
   The inflammation of the arteries can lead to poor blood supply to tissues of the body in patients with Stone Veins. This can cause painful, cool or blanched extremities, dizziness, headaches, chest pain, and abdominal pain. Other early symptoms can include fatigue, weight loss, and low-grade fever.


3. How is Stone Veins diagnosed and evaluated?
   During a physical examination, the doctor will look for signs that are indicative of periphStone Veins, including weak or absent artery pulses in the extremities, specific sounds that can be heard over the arteries with a stethoscope, changes in blood pressure in the limbs, and skin color and nail changes due to tissue ischemia. In addition to the history of symptoms and the physical signs of Stone Veins described above, doctors can use imaging tests and blood tests in the diagnosis of the disease.


4. What is the treatment for Stone Veins?
   If Stone Veins detected early enough, it can be treated by suppressing the inflammation with medication. However, most patients do not improve, and stronger medications which suppress the immune system and relieve pain are used until the patient's demise.

Medical Centre Note-List of Services

Decided to make a list of the services available from the Medical Centre in addition to primary care and diagnosis:

Inpatient Care
Plastic Surgery: includes pre-surgery consultation to determine what the patient desires and how to accomplish this, the surgery and one day of inpatient admittance to monitor the patient's health.
Childbirth: includes pre-natal visits and check-ups, deliver either in hospital or at home, and first healthy baby check-up.

Out-Patient Care
Setting of Broken Limbs
Weight Loss Assistance: consultation with doctor to determine a healthy plan to lose weight with regular check-ups to monitor progress.
Physical Rehabilitation: consultation with doctor to determine a healthy plan to gain use of limbs again with regular check-ups to monitor progress.

Celebrity

Do I want to be a celebrity? I seem prone to the glittering lights of simmywood, I've even been watching the local celebrities trying to learn what that "it" factor is that makes them famous.

If I wanna be famous, I need to move out of this little bitty hood and go somewhere like Palatial Heights or Simborough, where aging is slow, celebrities are numerous and the hood is larger with more places to see and be seen.

Medical Centre Note-Pharmacy

Too many sims are trying to buy prescription drugs in bulk. This means that we keep large amounts of drugs in inventory, which isn't good. From now on, I will have to personally give each sim the appropiate prescription and only sell over the counter drugs at the pharmacy.


Right now there are three prescription drugs with regionally imposed expiration dates-so they must be taken within two simdays of purchase, so it's not good to save for future usage. :

-A pill (available by prescription only from Katy76) that cures the common cold, flu or pnemionia pretty quickly. I will now only prescribe the drug in cases of pneumonia, flus and colds that have been longer than two simdays and virus. The sufferers from the common cold can buy OTC drugs, drink lots of orange juice and rest.

-A pill (available by prescription only from Katy76) that aids in weight loss. Will only be prescribed in extreme cases after a battery of tests measuring fat percentage, family history, and pysche evaluation. Otherwise, sims can consult with me and we'll create a fitness and health plan that includes dieting and exercise to lose weight.

-A pill (available by prescription only from Katy76) that aids in insomnia.

Son Married Off

Joey is married, Johan will probably be next. He's been looking at his grandmother's vintage ring, I think he will offer that to Jadhira. J&J, funny how those Simborough women found loves with thier same initials.
The hood is in a tizzy (is that a valid word) with the proposal for the new school. Naturally, Johan is applying for the position. Currently he teaches at an elementary school downtown, but he's taking his certification test for secondary education. I wish him luck of course.
Jolie is doing well at university and Janet...well, she's a typical teenager.

Will he be ok?

Joey is married and he seemed very happy at the wedding, but will he be ok. His new bride seemed a bit upset when I gave them a check for $850. Apparently she expected more...I wonder if she thought Joey would get more money. Maybe I need to change the will so that they won't get funds from us unless they have children.

Wow

I am in major like with the hottest guy-Jorge! Sweet Jorge, sweet STRONG Jorge!

He likes me too, so he says. We've kissed and played and tickled and went on a date-bowling! So sweet, sweet Jorge!

Pharmacy

The Pharmacy has been updated with some new medicines. A cold pill, a diet pill and a sleeping aid, thus far. We also still have love aids available and can create on an as needed basis vaccines for many other viral infections. There's a young man at university that I think will be a perfect trainee for the medical centre. I hope so...I'm getting older. I retired as Chief of Staff at SC Regional and now manage the Medical Centre full time.

Love is Sweet

I got promoted and am now an elementary school teacher (I teach 3rd grade). I invited Jadhira out for skating to celebrate. I believe that I fell in love with her then. Her eyes and her hair and her smile. Everything was beautiful and the birds were singing. Wonderful! I wonder what the next step will be...that day we woohoo'd everywhere! The car! The photo booth! Everywhere and lots of times. At the end of our date we were so tired! But happy!

Revived

Ellsworth and I have seemed to revive our romance. He's much more attentive to my needs and we seem to always be in the bed talking about our future plans and life at the moment. The hood council seemed to take my advice about the medical center to heart since they have increased the square footage of the center by adding a third floor, expanding the rehabilitation rooms and adding additional recovery rooms. I wish they would ask me to manage the facility. I would retire as Chief of Staff from SC Regional and help bring the Apple Valley Medical Centre to a better future!

It's Mah Birthday!

I'ma teen! Ima teen!!! whoopie!!! I can't wait to have lots of parties and fun fun fun!!! Now, I need to find the cute guys in the hood!

Future Daughter-in-Law

I met my future daughter-in-law at our twins graduation party on campus. She seems like a sweet girl, but she distrubs me. I'm not sure if she truly loves Joey or if there is something else going on. We talked about the recent rash of colds that spread through the hood, which was nice of her since she's not into health as much as she is into simoleans and business. She will be running the Farmer's Market. I suppose Joey would be there helping her out. I wonder where they would live? Her childhood home is quite crowded. Maybe the boarding house.

Engaged

I proposed to Giselle Mendenhall. She's so sweet and nice to me. She helps me with homework a lot. She said yes. I am happy. Sims say I'm dumbz but she luvs me and she sayz yes! I will graduate soon from university. I think I'll move to the boarding house and find a job, I have to pay back these loans for skool.

The Medical Centre

The Medical Centre is calling our name. Should we take over the centre and help it bring in new customers? Give lectures and educate the hood about thier health or should we retire in peace? We went to the centre and ran into Ayanna Kent, the hood president. I had a few words for her regarding the facility and she asked me to give a proposal at the next hood meeting. I shall! The centre needs updated equiptment and more room. The swimming pool can barely hold two sims and the rehabilitation room is crowded with it's equiptment. Maybe a third floor would help bring in some neccessary room.

Finally

Jadhira and I have had an official date. We met in her backyard and ate grilled fish. Then we danced in the rain. She's a fascinating woman. Very nice. We talked about my students and her training with the florist shop. She wants to take over the shop one day. Which means she will need to save simoleans to buy the shop-sounds easy, except that she's not getting paid very much. She doesn't pay room or board-in fact, she owns the apartment over the florist shop, she brought it with the money she traveled with, but she's barely making enough to keep groceries in the fridge, let alone get decent furniture and save money to buy the shop later on. Is that fair? We're going out again. She wants to go to the grand opening of Tati's, so we're doing that on simThursday, but before then I want to take her skating. I never been skating before!

Update

Ellsworth is considering retirement, I don't know why-he just started his new position.

Johan decided to abadon the medical field and go into education. Ellsworth is a bit upset and I admit I am disappointed as well, however Johan is better off for education than the medical field...I don't think he would have survived.

Jadhira Jadhira Jadhira

Ahhh, Jadhira. I hear your name whispered in the wind. The wind says you're the one for me, but is it true? I talked with Elaine, a distant relative, and she said that you and I would be good for each other. We talked on the telly when you asked me what color my hair and eyes were and you gathered information for the database. I hear that you're the serious type, quiet too, but that you lack skills and dropped out of university. O! O! Not sure if father will allow such a thing, but alas, I saw your picture on the website and I think we may have passed on the sidewalk, like lovers in the wind.

Welcome

I was the "lucky" one to pull the straw, so I have to post the first...post?

We are the Dawson family. Jan, my wife is the Chief of Staff at Sim City Memorial Hospital, I (Ellsworth) am a medical researcher at the same hospital and am considering transfering to the local medical clinic. Our oldest son, Johan, just moved back from university a few days ago. I'm not sure what that young man will be doing. The twins, Jodi and Joey, are in university. They are freshmen, Jodi is going through a "phase" as Jan likes to call it and Joey...well, we're glad he made it to university before they made the entrance test harder. Jolie is a teenager and is currently fascinated with making the perfect apple torte, which has led to my increased waistline. Finally our youngest, Janet, just entered private school and will not stop begging for a wombat.

That's our family. I've done my duty, now I'm off to read the Simish Medical Journal, there's a very exciting article about the newest vaccine for Sibulis Turbals.