Patients or Family? by Brendan P. Smith

     Last night I took some time to reflect on the week. I remembered asking Sabrina at lunch on Saturday about why she decides to come back to Ecuador every other year instead of going to a new place each time. She told me that every single time she has gone to Ecuador she feels like she is at home. Over the last couple of days I've spent at the Damien House, I've started to understand why Sabrina feels this way. Everyone at the Damien House welcomed us into their home and made us comfortable. Whenever I walk past someone they say hola or buenos dias with a huge smile on their face. Every day I always get excited to see the patients and their beautiful smiles. I am beginning to feel at home at the Damien House. I felt at home playing dominos with Maximo. I felt at home when we had dinner with the women. The positive energy of the women at the table really made me feel joy even with the language barrier. I feel like I am at home with my second family.

    

     Another thing I realized last night was how well I was getting along with the patients. A few nights ago during a reflection I remembered Sam saying that when he was with the patients, like when he was playing dominos with the men or even just seeing their joyful faces when walking in to the Damien House, he forgets that these people have Hanson's disease. When Sam said this I realized that I forgot that the patients had a disease. When I play dominos with the patients, I forget that my opponent has Hanson’s disease because I am too focused on how fun the game is with these amazing people. Last night, I realized how great these patients actually are. These people have to deal with a terrible disease every day yet they still manage to be happy. I admire these patients so much and hope I can be more like them. 

     For the past 2 days, a group of the boys and I helped clean the windows and screens throughout Damien House. At the time, I thought the work was tedious and boring. Last night looking back on the work, I realized I should have not seen it as tedious. I should have been excited to do the work that gives a very small contribution to the wonderful patients and staff. I want to help the patients any way I can after they put a smile on my face when dealing with a disease. I hope that I help the patients as much as I can before I leave because they truly are amazing people.