It’s funny how you can look out one window at the clinic and be overwhelmed by the stunning scenery…the sapphire blue ocean, the majestic palm trees and almond trees, the clear blue sky. Then you look out another window upon the dozens of poverty-stricken people lined up, desperate for help…whether it be for their high blood pressure, their diabetes, their malnourished new baby, the young pregnant woman, or the old man with painful rotten teeth. Somehow the 2 scenes combine and make Haiti absolutely unforgettable.
During this, my first trip with FOTCOH, I have been extremely blessed by both scenarios every day.
We were told our first day here to “touch every patient”. That brought tears to my eyes. Touch them physically while touching their hearts is what that meant to me. I doubt the patients (AND our team!) will ever know how much they have touched me over the past week. I have held hands with 100-year-old men and women, played with toddlers and cuddled with newborns….all while working alongside some of the most compassionate people I’ve ever known. We touch these patients regardless if the have scabies, rashes, wounds, lumps or bumps. To me, this is the rawest and most pure form of medicine. We don’t have a lot of resources, medicines, or tests here, but we are able to treat them with love, respect and compassion.
That’s why I became a nurse….and I’ve felt more like a nurse this week than in most of my 20-year career.