Thursday, March 12, 2009

Newfoundland Mourns

Today the emergency department was activated when a helicopter went down off the coast of St John's. The reports trickled in, half rumors, half fact. First we were preparing for 18 casualties. Twelve ambulances and a helicopter crowded the tarmac waiting for instructions to go. Then they were told to stand down. The reported number of survivors dwindled. Until finally, only one man was brought in alive.

This island has a long history of losing its folk to the Atlantic Ocean. In a place this small, everyone knows everyone. Everyone is just one or two degrees of separation from the other person. It has hit everyone hard indeed. One of the nurses lost her husband in the crash. When one of the physicians walked into a room to speak with the family of the sole survivor, it turned out that she had grown up with that same person's mother. And so on.

I'm feeling sad today. I've come to be very fond of this place and today you can feel and see the sadness mirrored in the face of every man and woman in this town.

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All anecdotes have had parts fictionalised and potential identifiers altered in order to protect patient confidentiality.