Heart and Soul

When you leave Baylor Clinic in Lesotho, especially if you have become part of the family, then you cannot leave without feeling the heart and soul of this place. I asked Edith Mohapi, what would I have to do to receive a farewell party like this. She looked at me, paused, "you will have to stay at least 3 years" and then laughed with her heartfelt belly one!

The clinic is a special place. It doesn't hit you when you walk in the door, although every person that you pass by will smile and ask how you are doing. It may not even grab at your skin when you first meet the staff, who all seem to hug and enjoy being in each others company. But come down in the morning at 7:50am and join the group for morning song followed by prayer and the little hairs may start to stand on your arms as you feel this overwhelming urge to hold back a tear with such joy for being here. Then you watch Dr. Mohapi as she translates the day's updates in Sesotho/English. Her calm demeaner and wit...thrown in with a joke or two that makes everyone laugh. You can't help but feel the warmth coming from her. She is the Director, Lesotho made, but American grown...and returned to help her country. She makes you want to come to work in the morning...and now I will never be late, because that morning song is what I live for everyday.

Then you notice the staff. The translators, the cleaning ladies, the nurses, the receptionist, the lab draw, the other doctors, the social workers. No matter what, they smile. Pat you on the back. Even give you a hug. Anytime you walk by someone, a greeting is said that only opens the smile and the person within. There is a warm sense of humor. People don't mind if you are "in their space" and they are excited to ask a question if they can't find it themselves. The nurses would love to teach you how to do a DNA PCR if you don't mind sweating a bit to squeeze every last drop from some poor infant's heel.

And be careful whenever you want to leave this place, because they will grow on you and you them. I can only say this by the party on Friday. The doctor had been there three years, through two pregnancies and the death of her mother...and now she is going to South Africa to study pediatrics. The staff loved her and it showed. I don't even know her, but her speech to the clinic made me welt with tears sad to see such an amazing woman go!

There is so much love here. I think it is because this job can be emotionally trying. And you need a smile to remind you of why you are here.

Heart and Soul!