written by Jen #supermom
Anyone who is a patient of South Slope Pediatrics is surely familiar with Taima Lopez, the most nurturing and kind nurse that greets us at our appointments. Whether it be weighing our babies or administering those dreadful shots, she does it all with a smile while keeping our nerves at bay. Her genuine compassionate nature and strong work ethic make her such an invaluable part of our practice. Lets get to know her a bit more in this month’s interview! SSP: We all know you as the most gentle and caring nurse at South Slope Pediatrics. Can you share a little more about yourself and your family? I am a nurse at South Slope Pediatrics. I consider myself to be a self-motivated and compassionate person. I have 3 kids: my oldest is 19, my second youngest is 13, and my baby is 19 months. SSP: Can you tell us about your job and what you do? My job here at SSP is to obtain and document vitals, do eye and hearing exams, and lead and hemoglobin tests on the children. I obtain basic patient information and transmit this information via an electronic medical record for the doctor to perform his medical assessments. SSP: How long have you been at the practice? What were you doing before coming to SSP? I have been with South Slope Pediatrics since 2013. Before coming to SSP I worked in a private school, training nursing students. SSP: What led you into the medical field and why did you decide to become a nurse? What led me to this field is that I enjoy helping people in need. This is my biggest satisfaction. SSP: What interests you most about nursing? What interests me most about nursing is how a simple act of kindness can make a change in someone’s day. For example, just holding a persons hand and letting them know it’s going to be OK. Just being there for them makes a difference. SSP: What is the most challenging part of your job? Why? The most challenging part of my job is vaccinating children. At the moment of injection it is painful for them. They don’t why we are doing it and that it’s for their own benefit. SSP: Do you have a special experience that has helped shape you as a nurse? My special experience that has helped me as a nurse is having kids of my own. I can relate to parents and their concerns. SSP: You are always smiling. You are full of positive energy and it helps each of our little ones (and us parents) when we have to come in for shots. What’s the secret??? 🙂 My secret is that I enjoy and LOVE what I do and knowing it’s for a good cause. My positive attitude I thank God for. My kids and my family are my inspiration, my strongest motivation to strive for continuous improvement. Also, working with Dr. Cao, Matteo, Dr. Wilson-Taylor and the whole South Slope Pediatrics team has been a very rewarding experience, one which has promoted professional growth.
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written by Jen #supermom
As a parent of two children who are patients of Dr. Cao, I can only say WOW…how lucky are we to have found the most genuine, caring, attentive, comforting and professional pediatrician. I remember the first time I met him 3 and ½ years ago. I had just given birth to my little girl at Methodist Hospital, and Dr. Cao (the resident doctor at the time), came to visit us in our hospital room to check in. It was immediate – I knew right away that this guy had to be her pediatrician. He instantly calmed me, made me laugh, and showed my daughter genuine affection and care. I’ve always wanted to know a little more about the doctor we all love and admire so much, and I think many other parents want to too! Let’s start from the beginning…when did you first realize you were interested in studying pediatrics? What inspired you? I remember very clearly I first wanted to be a physician before my family arrived in the US when I was 5. My brother stepped on a rusty nail in a refugee camp in Indonesia and a physician cared for him. The relief and comfort I saw in my mother’s eyes was invaluable. I had always wanted to be a physician, but it wasn’t until the last year of medical school that pediatrics was where my heart resided. I grew up in a town of 10,000 and wanted to be the town physician. However, the task of caring for 0-100yo seemed daunting. 0-21 was achievable and I knew I could be effective at my job. In my rotations, the pediatrics rotations (surgery, oncology, anesthesia, NICU, newborn nursery) interested me and the kids just made me smile, even when we had to be there at 4am and leave at 11pm. How did South Slope Pediatrics come to be? I like to attribute the merit to my daughter. Four years ago my husband was at the playground in Prospect Park with our then 10 month old daughter, who, while playing with other babies, grabbed a toy from two adorable twins and started crawling away from the group. When she returned the toys, my husband started a conversation with the twin’s mom about what our dreams were and how we were looking to open my private office. We ended up leasing her property on 5th avenue after 5 months. South Slope Pediatrics came to be because I wanted to realize a professional dream of running a progressive, service-oriented office without the constraints of larger institutions priorities where family is the focus and relationships are the tools we use to help parents through their amazing, and at the same hard, journey. What brings you the most joy, as a doctor? As a doctor, I enjoy watching the parents grow – yes, the parents. I love to see the fear and overwhelmed, sleep-deprived feeling being replaced by a “we got this” confidence and knowing that we helped to bring that about. Do you have certain experiences as a pediatrician that have affected you which you can share? The experiences I have had as a physician that mold me involve losses. The first hour I spent in the NICU involved CPR on an extreme preemie that did not make it. My last night as a student in pediatrics involved staying up with a 7 year old boy with AML that passed way too soon. These experiences gave me perspective for my approach to general parenting/doctoring. What are your other interests? Many of us have seen you running Prospect Park at lightning speed… Well, first of all, LOL and thank you. I really enjoy running. It helps me focus and stay in shape. I play tennis (I love playing with my 5 year old daughter whose backhand looks very promising). I also play volleyball, I’m into gardening, I could spend hours fishing and snorkeling … and have a soft spot for garage sales. As a beloved pediatrician and father, do you have any wise words or advice to share with us parents? As a parent, my biggest advice is to not ‘over-parent’. I say this in a lot of my meet and greets with expecting parents. We all shoot for an A+ and the kids don’t care and are no better when be achieve a B. Kids need to be given the space and opportunities to fall/fail. End your day knowing you did your best and your child appreciates and loves you for it. No one has been perfect and no one expects you to be the first! written by Jen #supermom
Vered Benhorin is a music therapist, musician, psychotherapist and mom, whose album for parents and babies “Good Morning My Love” won the Parents Choice Gold Award, the National Parenting Publications Gold Award and Baby Album of the Year Award by Creative Child Magazine. Vered teaches parents how to form closer bonds with their babies through music, including certain soothing techniques and establishing a routine through song. We are super excited to announce that South Slope Pediatrics will be holding a free class with Vered on March 2nd for babies 0-3 months (keep a look out for the invitation via email)! SSP: Can you please tell us a little about yourself, and how you became involved in music therapy? Well, a long time ago I started out with plans to be a rock star 🙂 or at least a singer/songwriter who is able to live off the music. I recorded a few albums and performed with a band. But alongside my nighttime music career I also always worked with kids helping them write original songs. The more I did it I was struck by the therapeutic affect it had on the kids. They sang and wrote about issues that were hard for them and the music helped them release some of those emotions. After realizing I had been doing music therapy for a while I decided to go back to school and gather more knowledge and techniques. SSP: How does someone “tune in” to his or her baby, and how does a baby understand and respond to the music? Tuning in to your baby has to do with noticing their cues and their rhythms. Parents intuitively do this all the time without noticing. They react to a raised eyebrow showing aversion, or a smile showing liking, or subtleties in their babies’ whining. Tuning in also has to do with being emotionally present and reading the baby’s emotions. Again, parents often do this – when they soothe a crying baby, when they sing to a smiling baby. It has to do with trying to understand where the baby is coming from. In psychology it is called mentalization – interpreting behavior in terms of underlying emotions, desires, beliefs. This sounds simple but when we have a lot going on in our own emotional world this can be increasingly challenging. And parents always have a lot going on. Babies respond to music in vitro and beyond. There have been numerous studies showing that babies listen to and remember music from early on. After birth babies can sometimes hear differences in rhythms and melodies from different cultures that adults cannot because adults have desensitized to music from cultures other than their own. For all of us, grown ups and babies, music releases endorphins that relax the body and make us feel soothed and happier. SSP: What do you see as the most important benefits of using song and music in daily interaction with our babies? There are so many. First of all, it helps us establish that ever-illusive routine. For instance, if a parent sings the same lullaby every night during the bedtime routine, by the time the baby is 7 or 8 months she will be rubbing her eyes at the sound of it. It also soothes the baby through that transition by relaxing his body and preparing him for sleep. Music also is a great way to engage with the baby fully. Listening to music and singing can bring up emotions. It is a direct route to our feelings that bypasses intellect. When we sing to and listen to music with our babies we are that much more present emotionally and are able to tune in to our babies. Our baby feels that and it is a feedback loop – our baby enjoys that time and smiles at us, we continue to sing and smile back, etc. It is not easy to be present with our babies all the time. We have a lot going on and often multitask. Music helps us organize our day and feel more connected with our babies. And that feels more gratifying for both the parent and the baby. Music can also help the baby develop language as the baby becomes acquainted with different rhythm patterns that will show up in speech. Repetitive melodies also help our babies remember sounds and experiment with them. This aids them in learning their first words and developing a vocabulary. SSP: What kind of benefits do you see for the parents? Any parent who has more than one kid knows how fast this time passes. If we can create moments of deep connection we feel more gratified. But the benefits of the music are the same for the parent – it soothes them, makes them happier and helps to release emotions. SSP: We often think about attending these kinds of classes for our first born, but isn’t it equally important to consider for a 2nd (or 3rd, etc)? Actually often it is the second or third time moms who appreciate my classes the most. For them it is so valuable to have an hour a week where they are focusing on their baby fully. Those parents might have a whole repertoire of music that they do with their older child but they don’t have time to start to build a new one with their younger. The class reminds them to take a moment, slow down, connect, sing a song together, and become acquainted with the rhythm of the new baby. SSP: What ages do you focus on, and why? My classes focus on 0-24 months. The reason is that my class is more for the caregiver than for the baby. They are about providing tools for the caregiver that they will use with their baby at home. Hopefully it is also a place where the caregiver will feel supported emotionally through discussion and song. Classes that are built for older toddlers can feel loud and overwhelming, for the baby and the parent. SSP: Where do you hold your music therapy classes, and how does one take part in this? Normally they are held at someone’s home. A parent will contact me and ask to host and organize a group. The host gets the group for free. Usually all it takes is putting the word out on their Park Slope Parents or other neighborhood email group. My current groups are on my website at www.babyintune.com/workshop. They are open to anyone who would like to join. SSP: Where can someone listen to and purchase your CD “Good Morning My Love”? Both of my CDs can be listened to and purchased on my website at www.babyintune.com. SSP: Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know about what you do and the importance of music in our lives? I wonder if people might read this and feel uncomfortable – they may not like to sing, or feel insecure about their voice or musicality, they may feel like they haven’t found music with their baby that feels right. If so they are like everyone else. We ALL have insecurities when it comes to singing. It can feel very vulnerable and emotional. We talk about that a lot in my groups. My goal is to help parents feel more confident through learning how to use your breath, learning what tones to use, and just feeling comfortable with being goofy and not necessarily sounding “good”. Posted on February 17th, 2016 Posted by Jen Valu written by Jen #supermom
Back in September we interviewed Denise Clay, a mother of 2 little boys and a patient of Dr. Cao’s. Denise is the co-founder of www.skipkid.com, a site that helps parents and caregivers find local activities for their little ones. As I know personally, the struggle is REAL….it’s not easy searching for and finding things to do with your child that are both up-to-date and local to your neighborhood in Brooklyn. Denise and co-founder Callie (another patient of Dr. Cao’s) have created this resource to eliminate the frustration and help foster fun activity-filled days, especially necessary during these chilly winter months! We thought we’d check back in with Denise as there have been several new exciting updates and improvements to the site since our last talk. SSP: Denise, can you please tell us a little about SkipKid again and why this is such a useful website for Brooklyn parents? SkipKid is a mobile website that features a complete, up-to-date listing of all drop-in activities in Brooklyn, sortable by neighborhood. It’s free to use and to subscribe. When our children were a few months old, we began looking for activities for the kids and quickly realized that there was no reliable, comprehensive resource for drop-in activities in our neighborhood. Scheduling activities between naps and mealtimes can be a challenge, and we imagined other parents and caregivers felt the same way. So we started SkipKid. We tried to make the site as user friendly as possible. SkipKid works on any computer or mobile device. Simply select your neighborhood from the drop-down menu to find a complete list of daily drop-in activities. We encourage users to subscribe for weekly emails featuring special weekday and weekend events as well. SSP: What kind of activities and classes do you list on SkipKid? There’s a huge range of classes on SkipKid, everything from art and music classes to movement and cooking classes. We also feature post-natal classes and groups for new parents (breastfeeding support, mommy/baby exercise classes, new parents support, etc). SSP: How is SkipKid unique? Many sites say they focus on local events, but we actually mean it! As all new parents and caregivers well know, little ones require a lot of scheduling, and optimizing the windows of time among naps, feedings, etc, requires careful planning. SkipKid helps parents and caregivers find activities that are walkable or within their own neighborhoods, which is different from existing sites that tend to list activities by borough. Moreover, we aim to have a complete list of activities–not simply events at the big-name venues like the Brooklyn Zoo and the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, but the tiny neighborhood venues with sing-alongs and puppet shows. We want to build community by bringing people together at their own neighborhood shops. SSP: I understand you¹ve added new features to the site since the last time we spoke. What are these updates? One thing that we’re really excited about is that we’ve started to send out a couple of emails a week to our subscribers featuring mid-week and weekend family activities. SSP: Does SkipKid currently have pages on social media, and what can we find there? Yes, we’re on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We update all our social media regularly. SSP: What’s next for SkipKid? Are you looking to expand into other boroughs of NYC? We launched SkipKid in September and have grown to have more than a thousand monthly users. We are looking to expand our reach in all the neighborhoods we cover, and we expect to move into Manhattan, too. SSP: Is there anything else you’d like the readers to know? We want to hear from you! If you have feedback for the site or an event you’d like featured let us know. These winter months can be super challenging with babies and toddlers. Rather than succumbing to cabin fever and too much screen time, get out there and see all that Brooklyn has to offer. There are countless daily activities in our neighborhood of Park Slope, always a reason to get out and about – no matter how cold or drab a day! Thankfully we now have SkipKid to help us navigate all of these options, and plan fun-filled days with our precious children! www.skipkid.com Posted on February 1st, 2016 Posted by Jen Valu By Jen #supermom
With the holidays just around the corner, we thought we’d interview our good friend Yossi Rapoport, owner of Lullaby Baby. If you are not already familiar, Lullaby Baby is the go to baby-everything store, just about a block from South Slope Pediatrics. It’s the store you walk by and have to stop and stare at the newest, coolest, most modern and sleek strollers in the window. It’s also the store where you’ll meet the kindest, most knowledgeable and helpful baby gear-aficionado, Yossi! South Slope Pediatrics has partnered with Lullaby Baby on many fronts, including the store so generously donating items like strollers and car seats for local schools and charity auctions that we’ve been a part of. SSP: Lullaby has truly become the go-to shop in Park Slope for all baby-related product, and you are quite the baby-gear expert! How did this store come to be, and have you always been in this business? The vision for Lullaby Baby came as a result of my partner Kayla Kramer’s shopping experience for her firstborn. She felt overwhelmed by the options of baby gear available. In stores she found limited product selection and even less product knowledge. Reading product reviews online only complicated matters – what she needed was a real person who would really listen and direct her to the products that best suited her needs. Based on the positive customer feedback we have received from our customers, I’m gratified to know that we’ve achieved this shopping experience at Lullaby Baby. In our warm and welcoming atmosphere, parents can easily find the baby gear they need. We’ve carefully researched options to offer the best and the safest selection in a variety of price points, and we always have one out of the package so that customers can feel and try. And, believe it or not, even with this being in Brooklyn there’s enough room to cruise around our store in a double stroller. My background was in customer service and sales. I have always been known as a people person. I truly enjoyed the transition to helping parents at this fantastic stage in their lives. SSP: Can you please tell me a little about the store itself, and the philosophy behind it? When we opened our doors in 2012, we fathered the idea of a new breed of family-centric baby stores. Our modern, warm interior and the sensible practicality of the quality baby accessories we carry is a unique dedication to celebrate the life of the baby. This ardor quickly established Lullaby Baby as the hottest destination for better baby shopping. We know to differentiate between form and function, and to suggest the products that will fit into your daily life beyond simple style and trend. SSP: Your store has been here several years now. Why has the store been so successful in your opinion? What sets Lullaby apart from other baby boutiques? Our store success is a result of our outstanding customer service and incredible passion and knowledge of baby gear. SSP: I’m not sure everyone is familiar with the extensive line of product available on lullabybaby.com, including a baby registry! Can you please tell me a little more about that and the product offering in comparison to your 5th Avenue shop? Our in store selection is more curated and tailored to our customer demographic. Online we have a wider selection of product. The great benefit of shopping in store is the ability to view product side by side and product recommendations. SSP: What are the hot new baby items for 2015? Does anything in particular stand out? The hottest new baby item for 2015 would have to be the Doona Stroller. It is a revolutionary new infant car seat that transforms into a stroller! For 2016, we are most excited about the launch of the 4moms highchair. The 4moms high chair uses magnets to guide the tray into place. They also created a set of bowls, plates and utensils, which are designed to work with the 4moms high chair. The magnets in the tray top help keep these items in place, minimizing the mess. SSP: For those that are unfamiliar with your store, what would you like them to know about Lullaby? We have a great selection of toys that focus on motor skill development and sensory integration. Scratch that. For those unfamiliar with our store, we want you to know that we look forward to meeting you! With another child on the way, I have a feeling I’ll be frequenting this shop quite a bit in the near future. Not only is it fun to browse the newest in high quality baby product, but it’s a chance to say hi and catch up with my friend, Yossi. Hope you have the chance to as well! Posted on November 3rd, 2015 Posted by Matteo Photo by Lindsey Turner (Lindsey Victoria Photography: https://www.facebook.com/LindseyVictoriaPhotography/timeline)
A few weeks ago I came to South Slope Pediatrics’ offices for a meeting with Matteo, and he showed me around the new lower level of offices. Bright and cheery, the space is beautifully laid out and decorated (as the entry level is)! Immediately what I noticed was an accent wall…this amazing repeat-pattern of wallpaper in bright pops of color. Then again in the kitchen as a backsplash…another modern and funky design. Matteo proceeded to tell me all about his good friend, Nicole Block, and the product line she designs, Tyles. Not only is she an innovative, smart and driven entrepreneur, she is a mom of 2 and patient of Dr. Cao’s! SSP: How did you get inspired to start Tyles and what is your background? First and foremost, I’m an artist. I am an illustrator by training — I graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in illustration. Since then, I’ve been doing graphic design and illustration in tandem, and finally started working for myself some years ago. I own and run The Nic Studio, which specializes in stationery, graphic design, and illustration. My family moved into our apartment 3 years ago, which needed some renovations. When we finally finished the kitchen a year later, our backsplash was still bare. We were hosting family and friends at our home for our son’s 1st birthday, and I just wanted the kitchen *finished* by then! But we had run out of time, and funds, for tiling. I tried to find a temporary solution that would look great and would also come off without ruining the walls, but I couldn’t find anything that suit the bill. At 2am, an idea came to me (because all great ideas come to you at 2am). I drew out a pattern that resembled Moroccan mosaic tile, and then contacted a vinyl printer to ask if we could make it into a cut-vinyl backsplash for the kitchen. Within a week I had the backsplash pattern in my hands. When it was up, it looked so great that I posted a how-to and sent it over to Apartment Therapy, who ran it on their site. When I realized how many people loved the project and needed this as an option, I decided to make it into a product. And so Tyles was born! SSP: What exactly are Tyles, and how/where are they made? Tyles are a completely unique vinyl product designed in the spirit of tiles. They are not faux tiles, they aren’t meant to fool anyone — they’re a versatile, removable alternative to tile or wallpaper. I hand-draw every pattern myself, mostly inspired by Moroccan and traditional tile design, as well as otherwise mundane elements such as utensils or plates. It’s very important to me that the patterns have maximum visual impact. I want them to be original, I want them to feel stylish and upscale, and I want them to transform a space. After the patterns are complete, I convert the drawings to vector files and choose the colorways. And then I send them off to my production team in California. Tyles are a cut vinyl product. It’s the same material that most wall decals are made from, but they are assembled in a very different way. Because it’s important that they are in a size and shape that is easy to handle and easy to apply, Tyles are cut and then assembled by hand onto individual 8×8″ square sheets. It’s actually quite a laborious process, so I’m grateful to have found a production team that’s able to make them for me. That was very hard to find! SSP: Your designs can truly transform and re-energize a space. I LOVE how they look in South Slope Pediatrics’ new lower level. What are the most popular uses for these Tyles – is it a particular room or tending to a particular need? Thank you! I love how they look at South Slope Pediatrics too! Like in the staff space at SSP, Tyles were originally intended for use on a kitchen backsplash. It’s an area that’s so very lacking in beautiful, temporary, removable options that can still withstand grease, dirt, and cleaning. A few of my patterns are clearly geared towards use in the kitchen or another food-centric space, like a dining room. But when I made the original sets, i heard from several people that they would love Tyles for other rooms, such as bathrooms, entryways, bedrooms… really, any space where someone might want to change their style and environment, but may not want to — or be able to — commit to a long-term option. Of course, renters and business-owners are natural clients, but there are plenty of homeowners like myself who would want a designer temporary option. SSP: How easy are these Tyles to apply (and how does one remove)? They are super easy to apply! Each one comes in an 8×8″ square, and most are divided by “grout” lines into a pattern of four 4″ squares. Almost everything you need comes in the package — twelve 8”x8” Tyles, instructions, a plastic smoother for application, and a small test sample of the vinyl material so that you can make sure it sticks to your walls. As long as you have a smooth, clean surface, Tyles should stick without an issue — though, if your walls are painted, please make sure that the paint had been able to cure for at least 2 weeks before applying Tyles. The only other things you will need for application are blue painter’s tape to line up the Tyles, and scissors to cut the Tyles for tough areas, like in corners or around outlets. To remove them, simply pull the vinyl up at the corners. They’re easy to remove, and don’t damage your walls — which is key! If you have any trouble pulling up the vinyl, simply use a hairdryer on hot for a minute or so, and that will loosen up the adhesive so that they pull up without issue. SSP: I understand that they are temporary. How long should one expect the Tyles to last? With proper care, they should last at least 3 years, if not more. I can tell you that the original Tyles have been up in my kitchen for just about 2 years, and they still look great. SSP: Do you have a few designs that are top sellers, and can you share those with us and why you think they perform so strongly? The same pattern that SSP chose for their staff kitchen, Renovated Souk, is currently my best seller. I think the colors and the impact of the pattern make it very popular. It’s cheery, feels a bit exotic, and just brings life to the space. Citrus Plates and Marbled Starburst are also big sellers. I think they have broad appeal and work for a number of different home furnishing styles. But my personal favorite is the Utensils Cascade pattern. It’s just so much fun! It’s a little 70s, it’s a little bold, it’s more than a bit tongue-in-cheek… I just think it’s fun. (see all Tyles patterns here: http://tyles.co/collections/tyles-patterns) SSP: What do you hear most from clients as feedback? Just how quickly it changes their space. The reaction is immediate. It takes very little time and effort, and even very little product, to make a huge impact. SSP: Where does one purchase these? Right now, they’re available exclusively online. You can shop directly from the website,http://tyles.co. They can also be found on amazon.com. SSP: I understand you are part of a contest on Martha Stewart! How does one learn more and vote for Tyles? Yes!!!! I’m very proud to say that Tyles is a 2015 Martha Stewart American Made finalist! The American Made contest recognizes businesses that cares about well-designed goods being made in America. Voting is currently underway for the Audience Choice Award, and I need your vote! You can vote up to 6 times a day. Just go to my finalist page at: thttp://www.marthastewart.com/americanmade/nominee/104192/design/tyles-by-the-nic-studio SSP: What is the future for Tyles? Anything else you’d like our readers to know about your company? Oh boy… I don’t know. I’m just really excited to be making a new and totally unique product that’s really useful for people! And I’m doubly-excited that I can get to draw these, by hand, and that my drawings translate into this final product. I would love to grow Tyles as much as I can — make a lot more patterns, maybe employ a few people, and continue to make a difference in someone’s home or professional space. There aren’t a lot of options out there that cater to life as we know it in NYC — there are a lot of people who are lifelong renters, who move a lot, or who lease an office/storefront, and they deserve a space they can be happy in and proud of. I’m glad to provide a means to that end. =) I personally could always find a reason to spice up and rejuvenate my apartment. I get so bored looking at the same thing, day in and day out, every day. Until now my solution has always been “buy new throw pillows for the couch”! Not a big investment, can be temporary and a way to introduce a new color or add energy into a room. Tyles seems to deliver the same thing but with a much larger punch. A new accent wall, a new backsplash, a new decoration for your (until now) uninspiring work space! For us NY’ers, especially renters, this is a super exciting new option. I know I personally cannot wait to see how I can introduce Tyles into our home! http://tyles.co/ Posted on October 9th, 2015 Posted by Matteo |
Jen Valu
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