The Maliheh Clinic

I walked into the free clinic near my home a little sweaty. I go back and forth between hot and cold--and this was one of the sweaty times. I tried not to get in anyone's way. The place was packed with people. Nurses and doctors in different colored scrubs--

smiling and laughing

patiently speaking with everyone as though they were important...

I wasn't sure if I had any business in the clinic, but I have no money right now (savings have run flat dry and insurance doesn't kick in until February).

A large kid in a University of Utah sweatshirt looked at me and said, "I'm going to find you the nicest nurse here."

I met several of them.

One mothering caregiver came over and immediately said, "Oh honey, you're so pale! And you're sweating! Here, have a seat!" She sat me in a special chair. My eyes began to well with tears. It's probably the illness, but I couldn't stop crying.

I explained my illness and asked for some advice. The nurse said that they couldn't run tests until I was officially a patient. I told her that I understood and asked her if she had any advice for me. She looked at me and said, "I can't send you out there without at least running a strep test!"

Another nurse came and took the swab. (I tried telling her that I knew it wasn't strep...but that's an uninteresting part of the story...and she was insistent.)

I went into the waiting room. I saw this tiny little old Navajo woman. She was so cute. I started to cry.

I saw a poster with a girl on a bathroom floor and the words, "You are not alone." And I started to cry.

I saw a handmade quilt, painstakingly made, with the words, "Love til it Hurts" (Mother Teresa) stitched in the center. And I cried.

I just sat and wept. Now, granted, this was the first time I'd sat up for such a long period of time and my body was crashing--but it was so incredibly moving.

After trying to stay seated, I finally slid onto the floor and curled into a ball and slept for a bit. I just couldn't sit up any longer. But from the floor I could still hear everything around me.

I heard the nurse guide my Navajo grandma through her diabetes treatment. She explained with such kindness, "You have to watch what you're eating. The numbers don't lie! This is important. We wanna keep you around for years to come!"

And I cried.

The strep test came back negative. She told me not to worry about eating, just to drink a lot. And she cared.

It was wonderful.

If you're in Utah, donate to the Maliheh Clinic.