.يتم الاحتفال بـالأسبوع العالمي للتمريض في جميع أنحاء العالم في أول إسبوع من مايو من كل عام، للإشارة إلى إسهامات الممرضات/ين في المجتمع
.في هذا اليوم، أحيي كل الممرضات/ين اللواتي و الذين عملت معهم في لبنان، والولايات المتحدة وكندا – هنيئاً لكم عيدكم
I would like to send a shout out to all nurses I worked with in Beirut, Cleveland, Bathurst, Prince George and Vancouver and to those I have met in conferences and elsewhere.
What a noble mission you carry and a tough job you execute.
There is a lot to learn from you and you have always opened my eyes to what medical school and residency training fail to teach us. To you I am thankful.
The U.S. and Canada celebrate National Nursing Week each year from 9 to 15 May.
It was established in the U.S. by President Richard Nixon in 1974.
The Canadian Minister of Health instituted National Nursing Week in Canada in 1985.
Lebanon celebrates International Nurse’s Day on May 8th.
It is such kindness and gratefulness that make all the difference in my career, I am happy to share with you this letter I received from a patient of mine.
Good morning Dr Abdessamad,
My name is *** ***. I was your patient in Bathurst NB. (See photo of me and my husband *** attached). Exactly 3 years ago (February 2010) we met you in your office in Bathurst. Having had problems for 3 to 4 years prior and also after having received little help from two other gynaecologists before you during those years, we were skeptical that you could help us. Last spring, I was sad to hear from my family doctor that you had left Bathurst without us having had the chance to wish you the best in your new chapter of life in Vancouver. As I was searching on Internet to see if by any chance I could find an e-mail address, I got into your blog, to which I subscribed, by the way. I was very surprised, to discover 2 or 3 years later, that you had chosen to post the special messages and gifts that we had given you in December 2010 and December 2011. This has confirmed the importance of expressing our gratitude! On your blog, I could read that you’ve had difficult times- broken heart and broken arm. I understand you are better now and that your arm is working perfectly!
On this Valentine’s Day, it is an appropriate moment to tell you again how grateful we are to you as I am completely cured and couldn’t be any better. Being retired from work since last June, I can tell you than we enjoy life at its maximum!!!! *** and I wish you the best. You are a very significant person in our life. Happy Valentine’s Day.
Best regards!
Disclaimer: This letter has been shared here with patient’s knowledge and permission.
I have been in the hospital since early morning, it has been very busy between the emergency room, the operating room and the delivery suite.
What a better way to end my day!
A healthy baby boy being born breaking my personal record for the number of family members attending a delivery at a hospital!
The interactions and emotions reminded me of the strong family ties we experience back home in Lebanon.
And here is the little miracle of the day.
Happy birthday Nikhil, how special is it to be born on the birthday of your mother and the birthday of the obstetrician who cared for you while still in utero!
Disclaimer: Both photos were taken and published here with permission of Nikhil’s parents.
If you have not heard of DABDA, let me explain. It is the five stages a person goes through when grieving a loss: Denial – Anger – Bargaining – Depression – Acceptance. The stages are not exclusive. You can be in two or three stages at the same time. The duration of a stage can last from minutes to years.
The first blog post I wrote was about DABDA back in October 2010.
Time flies.
Isn’t this ironic. In retrospect, it feels like time flies. Yet when a part of you breaks, time stands still. That is what I experienced when I broke my arm a year ago and my heart a year before that.
Here is to the beautiful memory of it all, on the 9th anniversary of when it all started, the 2nd anniversary of when it all ended and as it all ends now, again.
;
Time stands still as we deny, we disbelieve,
We get angry, we grow furious, we act naïve,
We bargain, our wounded soul we seek to relieve,
We aspire for the truth, but believe what we perceive,
We express, we depress, we delude, we deceive
Time stands still as we conceive what to achieve
We cross oceans, yet burn bridges and shields we weave
We let go and a beautiful journey behind us we leave
We succumb, we accept as we no longer afford to grieve
This is Alex. I helped his mother give birth to him in June 2010. Today I run into her by chance and she shows me his recent photo. What a great feeling!
Disclaimer: This photo has been taken and shared here with permission from Alex’s mother.
Hasan Abdessamad a quitté le Liban il y a plus de cinq ans. Après avoir terminé ses études en médecine à l’Université américaine de Beyrouth (AUB), il plie bagage pour l’Ohio, aux États-Unis, pour se spécialiser en gynécologie, avant de s’installer à Vancouver, au Canada, où il travaille depuis deux ans et demi.
Cet été, et comme presque tous les étés, le Dr Abdessamad débarque à son village natal de Amatour, dans la région du Chouf, pour y passer ses vacances avec sa famille et ses amis. Un voyage qui le laisse perplexe et légèrement mélancolique : il trouve que le Liban n’est plus ce qu’il était…
« J’ai toujours été un grand amoureux du Liban et je l’ai toujours défendu, confie Hasan Abdessamad dans une interview téléphonique. Mais cette fois, il y avait quelque chose de différent. Je ne sais pas si c’est le Liban qui a changé ou si c’est moi qui ne suis plus le même. En tout cas, je trouve fascinant comment nous, Libanais, parvenons à survivre et à nous amuser, même dans un pays aussi troublé… »
Son diagnostic ? Il le livre sur Twitter et sur son blog. Dans un billet intitulé« Mon Liban schizophrène ! », le Dr Abdessamad énumère une longue liste d’observations qu’il avait préalablement twittées :
- La plupart des étrangers veulent visiter le Liban. La plupart des Libanais veulent le quitter.
- Les Libanaises jouissent de la liberté de sortir et de porter ce qu’elles veulent en public, mais pas la liberté de transmettre leur nationalité à leurs enfants.
- Ils l’appellent le « Liban vert », mais la plupart de ses montagnes sont envahies par les constructions.
- Le gouvernement ne parvient pas à fournir assez d’électricité à ses citoyens, pourtant voilà à quoi ressemble le centre-ville de Beyrouth la nuit…
- Les Libanais figurent parmi les internautes les plus libéraux dans le monde arabe, mais avec une connexion Internet des plus lentes de la région.
- Beyrouth est surnommée la « capitale gay » du monde arabe, tandis que l’article 534 du code pénal, toujours en vigueur au Liban, sanctionne l’homosexualité.
- La situation sécuritaire est dangereuse, et pourtant il y a six festivals internationaux qui ont été lancés en même temps. J’ai de la peine à trouver des billets pour la plupart des concerts prévus.
- Tout le monde se plaint de la situation économique, alors que de nouvelles tours sont en train de pousser un peu partout.
- Nous vivons chez nos parents jusqu’à notre mariage et on se demande après pourquoi ils se mêlent de notre vie privée.
- Tout le monde prétend être laïc, mais les rues se remplissent dès qu’il y a une manifestation confessionnelle.
- Notre société libanaise adore notre légendaire drag queen Bassem Féghali, mais rejette tout homme qui a une apparence ou une attitude efféminée.
Sur le blog qu’il a créé en octobre 2010, le Dr Abdessamad publie des billets personnels, mais aussi des articles en arabe, français et anglais relatifs à la santé féminine. « Je crois que les médecins, en général, ne sont pas assez impliqués dans les réseaux sociaux alors qu’ils peuvent fournir des conseils vitaux pour les internautes en quête d’informations sur leur santé », dit-il.
À part son « activisme » médical et ses observations sociologiques, le gynéco-blogueur poste aussi des photos de lui-même posant, un sourire radieux aux lèvres, avec des enfants après leur accouchement. « Je me rappelle encore du premier accouchement auquel j’ai assisté à l’hôpital de l’AUB, dit-il dans notre interview. C’est un sentiment précieux, un miracle que je ressens encore aujourd’hui avec chaque nouveau-né. »
À la question de savoir s’il espère, un jour, assister à la naissance d’un nouveau Liban, le jeune médecin éclate de rire et répond : « Non, je ne veux pas d’un nouveau Liban, mais d’un Liban dénué de ses imperfections. Pendant toute mon enfance et mon adolescence, on m’a souvent répété que le Liban est dysfonctionnel en raison de la guerre civile de 15 ans qu’il a connue. Ça fait maintenant 21 ans que la guerre est terminée et il faut dire qu’il reste encore beaucoup trop de travail à faire à tous les niveaux… »
Today I started #Lebanonissoschizophrenic hashtag on Twitter.
After a 14-day trans Canada road trip from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, I flew to Lebanon on July 1. I find it fascinating how we, Lebanese, learned to survive and even have fun in such a troubled country.
Here are few observations-turned-tweets I just sent out tonight:
Most foreigners want to visit Lebanon. Most Lebanese want to leave!
Lebanese womyn enjoy the freedom of going out in public wearing almost nothing but not the freedom of giving their nationality to their children!
They call it “The Green Lebanon” but most mountains are now eroded with construction!
The government fails to supply enough power to its citizens yet this is how lit Beirut waterfront is:
We have the most liberal online presence in the Arab world but the slowest Internet!
We have poor infrastructure that leads to horrible traffic jam as we drive to a live concert by Enrique Iglesias or Charles Aznavour!
Beirut is named the “gay capital” of the Middle East while article 534 still criminalizes homosexuality in Lebanon!
Security is at stake yet Lebanon has at least 6 international festivals running all at once. I can barely find a ticket to many of the concerts!
My friend borrows money from me and she drives a car I can never afford!
Everyone complains about the economy but new buildings are sprouting everywhere you look!
When a woman tells you she is getting a tattoo it is most likely for her eyebrow, eyelid, or lip contour!
Some pay hefty sums on plastic surgery but would not spare a dollar on a family doctor! Lebanon has one of the highest numbers of plastic surgeries per capita in the world. Banks advertise for loan specially customized for your plastic surgery needs and Lebanon is becoming a popular destination for plastic surgery tourism in the region.
We live in our parents’ house till we get married and we complain how our private matter is of their business!
A woman might pay half of her monthly income to buy a dress that she can only wear to one event.
Everyone claims to be secular and when a sectarian protest breaks the streets are full!
Our Lebanese society loves our legendary drag queen, Bassem Feghali, but despises any man who appears or acts feminine.
Most Lebanese have double nationalities yet we discriminate against foreign workers! Lebanon has a high rate of suicide among foreign domestic workers. Ethiopia has blacklisted Lebanon and prevents its citizens from flying there for work. To be allowed to leave Ethiopia, workers claim they are flying to Dubai but later get smuggled into Lebanon.
Most Lebanese will seek another nationality to find a new home somewhere else and after they immigrate all they think about is back home.
You can’t figure out how to hate it even if you try hard to.
