Therapeutic Communication

The introduction below was written by Jessica Scott, an RN who voluntered at Hopital Adventiste d'Haiti earlier this month.

I traveled to the hospital May 12-19th with a group from the South Atlantic Conference of the Adventist Church.  Our group was made up of members from Florida, Georgia, and Texas.  I am from Atlanta, GA and am actually not Adventist but came along through a friend of a friend.  I am a Surgical Trauma ICU nurse and had been signed up with many volunteer agencies since January 14th, but had been unable to go with any of them.  While there I worked in the Emergency Room and did the wound care for all of the post-op surgical patients.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time,  was not ready to leave, and hope to return to Port-au-Prince soon. The conditions were actually not as bad as i had anticipated, having spend a few months in Tanzania several years ago. But the tent cities and displaced children continue to be an issue.  I was impressed that so many people seem to have returned to their ways of life despite the destruction around them.  The hospital is still in dire need of organization, but is doing immense amounts of good.

The following is an excerpt from her Therapeutic Communication blog:

Twenty eight days ago I sat on the roof of my Uncle's beach house in the Florida Keys looking at the ocean, towards what I imagined was Haiti, and wondered if I would ever get there. I had been signed up with three different organizations since January 14th trying to get there. They had all fallen through.

I wondered many times if it was God telling me not to go. That despite the strangely strong calling I felt towards the disaster maybe He didn't want me there. Maybe I couldn't handle it.

I don't think I ever believed that I was going to Port au Prince until our plane landed at the tiny airport. It was strange how familiar the place felt and how incredibly at peace I was being there. The first two days were frustrating and overwhelming and I wondered what in the world I had come to do.

On the sixth and last day I got it. After loading our critically ill patient into the Land Rover turned ambulance I was finally understanding. After we got her situated with medications in hand and vital signs visible and stable I had a moment to stop and notice what I was doing. It was odd, but I knew that this was what I was meant for, this was why I had come. 

You can read the rest of her adventure starting here.