After driving through the streets with rubble, no traffic lights, downed trees and power lines, and being aware that electricity remains a most elusive necessity throughout the island, I boarded my plane to leave Puerto Rico. Although I was there for only three days, I had an amazing opportunity to view the Medtronic Juncos plant (which is like a bustling city), see many Medtronic employees, and work in a remote clinic set up after the hurricane ... I was most impressed with the resilience that everyone I met seemed to have. They all told stories of doors blowing off, of houses submerged and destroyed, of living without showers, electricity, internet and phone connections, and of their children missing school – but they also told of helping neighbors and strangers, of the importance of family, and of overcoming the challenges of living without. They share a dream of a rebuilt, even better Puerto Rico – with green trees (in fact, some trees are coming back) in paradise. They described that coming into the plant the first days after [Hurricane] Maria was like going to Disneyland – a place with cool air, amenities, and magic – where dreams could once again come true. They are immensely thankful to Medtronic for helping bring that magic back into their lives by giving them generators, fuel, and water for their homes, and by providing basic necessities at work – free food, child care, medical care, washers and dryers, financial services, employee assistance ... They are all so proud that they are back to work making pumps, reservoirs, and sensors and they relish knowing how much they are still needed by all of us and by all of our patients. 
 
I heard many stories from our employees of running out of medicines, of not being able to find their doctors, and of long lines to get basic supplies – particularly at pharmacies. Many needed strips, insulin, and a way to keep it cool – and I was so excited to have been able to bring them those supplies (donated in part by Insulin for Life, USA – and we will keep sending more). In the clinic, I saw patients with conjunctivitis, skin infections, diarrhea – all acquired from contaminated water – and I was able to bring antibiotics, ointments and treatments to them as well. People came in with sky-high blood pressure and glucose levels, insomnia, pain (from putting their houses back together) and anxiety. I got to see babies and toddlers who had missed their regular appointments and their parents just needed reassurance.  Even a person with a gunshot wound showed up – along with a host of police. We needed to send a few people by ambulance – one with diabetes – to the hospital, but otherwise the clinic – a ragtag group of volunteer doctors (one doctor from Eureka had actually been my student at USC), nurses, and pharmacists – managed to see patients and administer care to those who had just been through the unimaginable.