As March 2021 begins I find myself thinking back to March 2020. Around this time COVID was starting to burst upon us and the pace was incredible. I had worked in a busy MICU for over 4 years by that time and there was a part of me that was excited. Some (pre-pandemic) days at work we would get a few crashing patients at once and the noise level and intensity would hit a certain pitch. The unit would become like a little pressure cooker and I loved it. We had the expertise, tools, and team to handle it. The pandemic started out like that-these were critically ill patients-and we had the expertise, tools, and team to handle it. It was going to be exhilarating-and over by June.
What actually happened was months of semi mitigated chaos, in which we did not have all that we needed to handle it. It pushed us all beyond what we knew was possible. When I left the MICU at the end of July I was worn thin. And then we moved to Haiti. Haiti is not know for stability. Fortunately, we came to HAH. HAH has seen lots of chaos, but for us, in large degree, it has been a place of calm. The pandemic doesn’t rage here like I was used to it raging. Our ex-pat team is incredibly welcoming, kind, and peaceful. We are surrounded by all sorts of chaos, but on our campus we have grass and trees, clean water and calls to prayer. In the opening lines of Genesis there is this beautiful phrase-“and the Spirit of God hovered over the water”. The water was chaotic, and the Spirit hovered there, and then brought order. HAH is not perfect, but the Spirit hovers here, and we actively strive to make it a place of order and healing.
February 2021 in Haiti has not been particularly peaceful. I do not understand all (most) of the reasons (none of them COVID-mostly about elected term/not elected term, coup/ante-coup? 1? 2? 3 presidents?), but intermittently throughout the month Haiti was effectively locked down in a sort of series of active shooter drills. Some days, transportation vehicles did not run, and the port and schools were closed. Other days, things cautiously opened up. Our employees that live close to campus were able to make it to work consistently, but farther away they contended with blocked roads and might arrive late. Some days they were not able to make it out of their homes at all. Correspondingly, our outpatient visits and inpatient census are down. The container arrived in port (YAY!!) but then the port promptly closed (deep sadness).
Despite all the chaos, HAH continues to hum, albeit a little rougher. In the sputtering lulls, we have kept busy with various projects-remodeling in our front desk area, installed new lights and fans, hung signs, repainted areas that have peeled. I was encouraged one day when I walked into the deserted pediatric ward and found the housekeeping team doing a deep clean. Our day laborers are eager for work and Tim has been doing his best to manage effectively. Over the last two weeks the chaos outside has subsided a little (at least for now) the port has reopened (at least for now) and Tim has begun letting go of construction projects and turn his attention toward getting the O&P clinic set up, working to maintain and propitiate this place as a place of order and healing.
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