I love the people here

Quite the morning.

I had to write a post to describe just how incredible the people here are. Although, I should note that due to the nature of my work here, I don't really deal with difficult people or other issues that most of the others face. I guess I'm an outsider in that sense-- at times I really wish I wasn't, but I do love the work I'm doing, so it's all fine.

Anyway, this morning I walked into the lab, said hey to Raul and Digna, and both of them just gave me this look of worry and pointed to the fridge. I look over and the small fridge in which I keep all of the samples, frozen, was cracked open. Legit had a huge wave of panic come over me. I rushed over to it, opened it, and everything was iced over and the samples were liquid. Panic. I was terrified that because the samples had thawed that they were ruined. I couldn't open two of the drawers either. Raul saw me struggling and came over to help me. He got a pair of scissors and began chiseling away at the ice. How incredible is that- he was so so helpful. He didn't just say sorry and go back to his work, he took the time to help me- so amazing. So he keeps doing that while I transfer the samples from the little fridge to the big one. I then ran up to the comador in a panic, and teared up when telling Yuan what happened. She was so sweet and came to the lab with me to try and calm me down. Yuan went above and beyond being amazing and she interviewed a patient while I tried to reach Liz. I had texted Alex and Janell- Alex called right away to make sure everything was ok and helped me out with the freezer issues. Yuan even called and left Liz a voicemail explaining to her that I was having issues with the study. I wish I had a better word to describe how incredible it is that they took the time to help me out. Eventually Liz and I spoke and everything is fine. So overall, nothing is damaged and the 150ish sample I have are good. But it was quite the chaotic morning. I still can't get over how great everyone was. Like I said earlier, it is a support system here. I was struggling big time, and I got help and advice from those around me. Absolutely incredible, I can't believe how lucky I am to work and live with these people. Could not be more appreciative right now. And the help was genuine. No one was obligated to help me out- everyone has their own shit to worry about- but they still took time to tell me it would be fine and to help. Unreal.

Never a dull moment here