Change of scenery

If you're wondering why the blog has been so quiet lately, I have a pretty good explanation. I left Haiti during the first week of May for a series of speaking engagements in the US. It was a very quick trip and a very hectic one; I literally went from one event straight to the next and barely had time to see anyone outside my immediate family.

One of my speeches was delivered at my nursing school's graduation ceremony at Northeastern University. At my high school, we wore white gowns for graduation, and I missed my university graduation because I was in Haiti, so standing at the podium last week was the first time in my life that I actually wore a cap and gown. It was very special to be up there with all my former professors and to encourage these new nurses to never give up, no matter how bad the earthquakes of their lives turn out to be.

The next big event was Magic 106.7's Exceptional Women Awards. It is hard for me to accept that I was invited there because I lived through 45 seconds of shaking and a few weeks of horror; the other honorees, who were all at least 15 years old than me, have done incredible things with their lives and made huge impacts in Boston and elsewhere. I don't feel like a hero. I feel like a dustier, tired-er, older version of myself. But I was proud to stand there and speak about the courage of the Haitian people, and I am glad that we are not forgotten. The whole experience was rather overwhelming, especially coming straight from Haiti, but it was an honor to be part of it.




Magic 106.7 very generously paid for my flights to and from Boston. I would not have been able to attend otherwise and I greatly appreciate the chance to be with my family and with a few of my closest friends. In addition, I got the wonderful surprise of seeing my favorite teacher from high school. I had not known that she was attending the awards and it was wonderful to see her for the first time in 6 years.




A final highlight to my trip was when I met one of the founders of Jordan's Furniture, the most famous furniture store in New England. The founding brothers are sponsors of the Boston Red Sox and I am a life long Red Sox fan. I had made casual reference to the Sox during my speech and so when I was placed with the founder for a photo, he put something in my hand. "You're a big Sox fan, right?" he said. "Put this on." It was a genuine 2007 World Series championship ring! It might have been the best moment of the afternoon!



I am back in Haiti now and just finished coordinating clinics for a big group from Maine. It's been very busy, but I will get photos and news up as soon as I can. Thanks for your patience!