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Abstract
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NF: An intense boom thundered through the city and with it, buildings shook, glass windows shattered and structures collapsed. The ripples could be heard and felt by people living as far as 10 and 20 miles away from the traumatised city.1 Within seconds, dust had covered our apartment floor and wailing could be heard from all over as the building swayed to the rhythm of sirens in the distance.
No one knew what had happened at first. Some thought it was a strong earthquake, others speculated it might be an assassination of an important figure in Beirut, but one thing was for sure, everyone was reeling from the hit.
JM: It was a good day to be far away. Being far away meant assumptions as harmless as an earthquake. At least, that's what I thought.
I immediately reached out to family and friends, only to learn that a major explosion had rocked the city of Beirut. Hundreds were presumed dead, thousands presumed to be injured. 'This country cannot catch a break!' I thought to myself, as I rushed to catch a ride with colleagues back to our university hospital.
Several minutes after the explosion, all the local channels were reporting that a huge explosion, of unknown origins, occurred in Beirut.2 Hospitals in Beirut were moments away from a huge burden. With the strict hospital measures due to COVID-19 that necessitated minimising the number of personnel on premise at the same time, many residents and students were at home when the explosion occurred.
On the road, ambulance sirens, honks and images of dark fumes spewing from the city shocked us into a state of awe and disbelief. Are we really driving closer towards the explosion site? We were greeted with white shattered glass on the roads glowing like snow, giving us the feel of a mysteriously peaceful ambiance as we rushed to the hospital. It was the calm before the storm.
Mindfulness is regarded as one of the most important skills to acquire and use in one's daily life, however, on that day we did not want to be mindful at all. In fact, if residents, interns, students, nurses and attendings were fully aware of what they were witnessing and doing in the hospital, a lot of them would have probably fallen to their knees. As healthcare workers, we are often denied the luxury of processing tragedies of these kinds...
Language: en |