Michelle May

Above:  the big tent is a communcal sleeping area- the 3 other big tents not shown are the actual hospital.  The smaller tents house staff overflow, isolation for patients with highly infectious illnesses, and also the morgue.  My first rotation with project medishare I stayed under the big top tent: ”the city” as many of us called it- however when i went back again, it had gotten seriously cramped in there.  Much more cramped than this pic i took back in January:

the next 2 rotations i opted for smaller tents in the “burbs”  provided by Shelter Box- the first was their standard round thing- but the next time i opted for a more palacial “African style” tent that had more ventilation & gave an air of not Africa, but Arabia.. muy romantico. 

Shelter Box (SB) has given away tens of thousands of tents all over Haiti- they go in after disasters around the globe & provide very durable tents to those left homeless- thsi is a critical need.  Even at the hospital one of the biggest requests from patients is for a tarp or a tent- people have absolutely no where to go to & no place to call home.  It is truly beyond comprehension. 

I hate to admit, unlike most people i somehow found myself to have the Africa tent all to myself for 2 decadent nights after my Physical Therapist roomates left… I had learned at the hospital that among the death there is also life- so when i see it i need to embrace it.  Makes sense that the men, grapes, foot rubs, and wine then appeared to provide stress relief when i had the tent to myself (kidding of course..).  You really have to take it while you can otherwise you will go crazy…