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Metaphors and Medicine (Year I): Chapter 14

The air is crisp and blows in our faces in preparation for yet another day. Each day brings with it its own share of challenges and often pleasant surprises. I find myself using the hour commute in the morning to reflect and center myself, remember to be present, focus on why I am here, and most importantly, remind myself of all the planning and work that had to be done to embark on this trip, to even have these experiences, to even be sitting in this bumpy commute, driving past mountain, village, settlement, mountain.


Each day, I’ve watched the surgeons and anesthesiologist have to become creative and make up for a missing instrument or tool that would normally be readily available in the states. This is no easy job for them, and I call them nothing short of superheroes.


They’ve come to Palestine where their resilience in the OR fits in easily with the resilience of the patients and their families. It is a common connection between them, the determination to face the challenges of these circumstances they are living in and operating in.


There is a language barrier, but the bridge is their resilience. There are differences between the hospital staff and the visiting surgeons, but even in the middle of the most stressful procedure, we have all found a way to laugh, smile, sometimes even dance it out. Laughing in between translating jokes. Nurses taking us out to feed us kunafa, a traditional dessert. Social workers sneaking us snickers bars between surgeries and nurses pulling us into the break room for tea, coffee, some more tea.


There is love. This is family. There is a language barrier, but the bridge is our resilience.

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