Today’s episode is a little different from our normal episode. Today Ari shares an inspiring and heartfelt story. That will make you consider how much would you be willing to give to the ones you love. To consider the bricks you face and that the whispers are all around you to overcome them.
Episode Transcription:
Intro plays
Ari:
Welcome to whispers and bricks. My name is Ari Schonbrun and I’m your host. Today’s episode, I want to read you a story that was printed in a magazine called farbrengen magazine. And it’s a story that was told by Dr. Blair P. Grubb, who graduated from the Medical College of Ohio. And the story is called What are you willing to give? Many years ago after graduating from medical school, I worked for several months in a clinic in El valley, a little town in the central highlands of the Dominican Republic. The staff at the clinic consisted of myself, another physician fresh out of school, and the nurse all under the supervision of a doctor who just completed his residency. Together, the four of us lived and worked in a cinderblock building, with two examination rooms, a small surgical area, a waiting room, and some tiny sleeping quarters. Since the nearest hospital was more than an hour and a half’s drive away. We offer the only medical care for the entire region. Despite our meager stores of drugs and equipment, we saw nearly 70 patients each day and treated every conceivable disorder. People would literally walk barefoot for a day to come to our clinic, and often were hopelessly ill. I felt as if I’d somehow been transported back in time to a different reality, far from the one I had known. Although I spoke workable Spanish communication was often difficult because many of our patients were French speaking migrant workers from Haiti, who spoke Spanish haltingly once a young Haitian woman was brought to us in a state of shock after her arm was mangled by a threshing machine. We rushed her to our makeshift operating room and poured IV fluids into her as we struggled to control the bleeding. Her hematocrit was so low, it barely registered on our equipment. She needed blood badly, and it was clear that we were going to lose her without it. The sole method we had for giving blood was a direct transfusion for one person to another. With a rudimentary blood typing kit, the only potential donor we could find was her younger brother. His Spanish was poor. But he seemed to understand when we explained that we needed to take some of his blood to save his sister. He turned a little pale, sat silent for a moment and asked if there was any other way. No, I replied, and he slowly nodded his head in agreement. We placed an IV on him and began transfusing his system. Almost immediately, she started regaining her color. Her brother smiled as he saw this, and then turned his head to me, and in his soft broken Spanish asked cuando voy or Maria, when will I die? I stood dumbfounded, and then realized he’d misunderstood our explanations, and thought we needed all his blood to save his sister. The situation seemed humorous, until a stunned fact hit me. This child, this precious child, with hardly a moment’s hesitation, had been willing to sacrifice his life to save the sister he loved. At that moment, I stood in awe of this boy. As I looked down at him, his face glowed with the kind of radiance and despite his fear, he seemed at peace. So ask yourself, What am I thankful for today? Who may have been willing to give to me everything that they have to give, and what would I be willing to give to others? You’ve been listening to whispers and bricks, and my name is Avi showman. I’m your host. Until next time, listen to the whispers avoid the bricks, and never ever give up on your dreams.
