Chanting in Haiti..

The week I was in Haiti, I was the pediatric and newborn intensivist. I ran the combined NICU and PICU servicing upwards of 20 patients, the first and only such unit in Haiti. I worked with an amazing team and had lots of help and support. Still it was hard. We had lots and lots of really, really sick infants and toddlers brought into us. Sadly, often near death from dehydration or infection.


The first few days it seemed like there was some direct line from what I was doing behind the curtain that divided the ICU from the peds ward that would let them know when I child was fighting for its life. Without fail they'd start into a religious chant. The entire peds ward would fill with the sounds of the chanting, while the parents, patients, and the workers would clap, dance, and sing. The sound was sometimes deafening but spine-tingling at the same time. Reminding me that I wasn't alone in what I was doing.


On and on the dancing and chanting would go. We would sometimes wish for silence so we could do our jobs, but never really. The experience was too amazing if not otherworldly surreal.

A video that includes the chanting...