processing it...

i am certainly still processing my week in haiti. 

the week flies by in such a rush. 

at the end of the day i was so exhausted i didn't have much in me to process what was going on. it wasn't so much physically exhausting, although i did sweat a lot, but it was emotionally and mentally draining. 

Haiti changed the way I practice medicine, and hopefully the way I live my life. The only thing we had in Haiti was talking with the patient. We couldn’t do tests. We could just listen. Literally. I could listen to their heart and lungs and then I could listen to what they wanted to tell me. It was only by listening that I could act and treat.

Listen and love. 

That is what I did in Haiti.... and that is how I hope to live here at home. 

I'm still processing it all. Thinking about stories and children and what I can do better next time. How I can live more simply. What I will take down next time. I think about the children who need families to love them. Children who need food and water. People who need shoes. I know my heart has changed and I am looking forward to growing and moving forward. 

....but mostly looking forward to going back.