As I write this, it is sunny, which really helps. I think most Mainers understand how the sun can improve mental and spiritual health. My neighbor’s amaryllis is about to bloom. He sent me a photo, since I still cannot enter his home – or anyone’s home – yet. My in-laws are halfway vaccinated, some schools are adding in-person days for their students, and I feel a tentative tendril of hope. It is that time of year when we have just ordered our seeds for the garden. There have been days of melting, but there are still days and nights of ice, rain and snow ahead. The calendar says Spring, and the blue of the sky today could fool you into believing it may really be here.
Here at Oasis Free Clinics, we are welcoming patients into our clinic. We are working to expand the services we provide to the people of our community who are in need of medical, dental and mental health services, or life-saving medications. Though many of us who volunteer on various committees or the board of directors have not seen each other in over a year, others of us who work in the clinic see each other daily. And so, there is bifurcation, as there is everywhere in our society now. If a task or person or activity is considered essential, it can happen, be seen, occur. It gets me thinking about how we’ve all stacked and re-stacked our priorities over the past year.
A friend of mine told me that she is going to drive five hours this weekend to hug her parents, who are now vaccinated. She’s been waiting the appropriate amount of time from their second vaccine dose before they can see each other. This weekend she is going to drive to their home and, with a mask, hug them for the first time since March 2020. Are hugs essential? I think they are. Is access to healthcare essential? I believe it is. How do we prioritize our care for and responsibility to those in our community whose needs are greatest? The answer for me has been to volunteer with Oasis, because it feels like this work is essential.
I’m not a native Mainer, though my husband is. I’ve noticed in my time here, a kind of stoicism mixed with resiliency. It’s the attitude that says, “I’m not going to let this winter get to me. The harsher it is, the more time I’ll spend outside.” Though Maine may be a smaller state in terms of population, this uniqueness is apparent, and lately, it feels like people are clamoring to get in here, buying homes sight unseen. Perhaps the pandemic has caused some people to tune into what we have here, and maybe they sense a different set of priorities than those in other places. Maybe we already know what is most essential: honoring our ability to take care of one another. There has never been a time when this is more apparent than now. And there has never been a greater need for access to health services for those who have lost employment, benefits, even homes.
The hard work, generosity, and resiliency I’ve witnessed over the past year has lifted my spirits and proven to me that we will come through the other side of this pandemic far stronger and more sensitive to the essentials: health, human connection, and purpose. This is a rare opportunity to reflect on what matters while living in an amazing community with a place like Oasis Free Clinics doing remarkable work.
There have been many dark days over the past year, which makes sunny days like today even more of a gift. I haven’t checked the Farmer’s Almanac yet, but I’m betting it’s going be a glorious Spring.
Heather Rankin is a member of the board of directors of Oasis Free Clinics, a non-profit, no-cost primary care medical practice and dental clinic, providing care to uninsured adults in Midcoast Maine. For more information, visit OasisFreeClinics.org or call (207) 721-9277. Giving Voice is a weekly collaboration among four local non-profit service agencies to share information and stories about their work in the community.
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