By Dr. Hussein Hamad
I took a few minutes from my dayshift and ran into the nearest computer station. I calculated the time difference between the Eastern Time of the United States and Beirut for the tenth time. As I opened my email I had to make sure I was not misreading the words, “Congratulations, you have matched!” it said. Between the sigh of relief and the energetic mix of emotions, I could sense the smell of formaldehyde from the anatomy lab again and I could remember the late night study sessions, and it felt strangely more familiar than ever. Three months later, my paperwork and medical license have all been approved and it was time to say goodbye to the sunny days of Beirut and to welcome new beginnings in the windy city of Chicago.
Chicago offered nothing to dislike about it. The warmth of a very culturally diverse program and the amazing city scenes helped to ease the homesickness and the challenges of my internship year. The residency years in Chicago also witnessed me fulfilling my lifetime career goal to become a hematology and oncology physician, so before I could get used to the cold winters it was time for me to embark on another move to Houston for my fellowship.
Houston is one of the most diverse places you could live in, and being in the heart of the world’s largest medical center just adds to the experience. In simple words, it was doctors coming from all over the world to treat patients from all over the world. From offering exclusive clinical trials to leading edge procedures it was always gratifying to get to listen to the stories that make every patient’s experience a unique one and that truly reflects to the art of medicine.
Despite having some of the world class and leading medical institutions and being one of the largest cities in the US, people in Houston still gave it a charming and welcoming feel and it all came down to a time of adversity for their solidarity to show up.
Towards the end of August 2017 news came of Hurricane Harvey approaching the Houston area. Despite all the warnings of inclement weather and unprecedented amount of expected rainfall, I thought to myself that it was just going to be another storm, and on Friday afternoon after work I got some extra supplies just in case. But Harvey proved to be anything but a regular storm. Overnight and the following day, the category 4 Hurricane (I had to learn what that means!) tore through the city and dumped a US record for rainfall from a single storm. I woke up in the morning to see that my car had flooded overnight, I watched as it was covered by water and thought to myself that nothing could be done at that moment. And as I turned to watch TV to follow the storm’s news the electrical power went down and the internet connection followed. Although that was a familiar scene back in the days in Lebanon I never thought I’d have to face this in the US. As the storm weakened progressively through the day I tried to preserve whatever battery power was left in my phone and laptop. Next day, as the rain stopped and the storm settled down, me and my neighbors started coming out. There were some of them that I saw and talked to for the first time as we were surveying the damages.
The streets were still covered with water and I realized that my losses were insignificant compared to the surrounding devastation, homes and lives lost. Despite spending the day semi-disconnected from the world, watching the rain through my window I did not feel alone; it was humbling to share this experience with others who faced even greater losses and I was touched by the support I had from everyone including friends, family and colleagues.
In the face of the upcoming days the long road to recovery started, and in spite of the destruction the unifying effect of such a disaster could be seen in people working together without regards to their backgrounds.
From few of the countless stories of people risking their lives to save others or opening their stores or doors to shelter others, or physicians who stayed at hospitals during the hurricane to continue to serve patients even more than what their duties would demand, it was inspiring to see the will of the city to rise from the disaster, a collective effort that continues to this day.
Five years and counting might not be a long time but surely it was enriched with endless experiences, bittersweet moments and most importantly people from too many places who were exemplars of goodwill and kindness and made it worth it to call it “home away from home”.