Hello!
My name is Jessica Semaan and if you don’t know me, I was a summer staffer from 2016-2019 at Mountain TOP. I served as an SPMC, Program Manager, YSM Director, and SHC Director through the years.
Here’s my short story: I was born in Detroit, MI and grew up in Livonia, MI. I attended Oakland University in Rochester, MI and graduated in December of 2019 with my RN-BSN. Since January, I have been working as an ER Nurse in Troy, MI at a Level 2 Trauma Center and I love it! Since I was young, I was very interested in medicine, and since I started going to Mountain TOP as a camper in 2011, I learned and developed a love of helping those in need. I didn’t go into nursing because I wanted to be a nurse. I decided during my freshman college orientation that nursing would combine my love of medicine and my passion for helping others in need, so I dove in feet first and before I knew it, I was walking the stage accepting a diploma with the degree of Bachelors of Science in Nursing written in bold.
Little did I know what I was in for.
I was very interested in Emergency Medicine since I started nursing school, and I love traumas. The sicker the patient is, the more invested and engaged I am. I was lucky enough to be placed in my current ER for my preceptorship, or nursing school internship. I had an amazing nurse training me, and she advocated for me to get a position on the unit once I graduated. The motor vehicle accidents, gun shot wounds, and CPR’s are a rush of adrenaline and I feel like a hero when we are able to save a critical patient. But after only about two months of training, the nightmare began. When I was forced to become a “hero” for society.
COVID entered my hospital with fury and I was taken off orientation early to step up and take care of my own patients, no longer under the guidance of my preceptor watching my every move and answering my 10,000 questions. The absolute need to be flexible, a skill Mountain TOP repeatedly pressed into my function as a person, became so much more relevant than I thought was possible. Life in the ER revolves around flexibility, adaptability, and the capability to “deal with it.” So we did. We put on our armor, PPE that is, and we went to fight the biological warfare that was among us.
And it was hard. April nearly shattered me and the other’s I worked alongside. I saw and experienced things I wouldn’t wish upon anyone. We, as nurses, doctors, aids, and everyone else in scrubs might be seen holding the hand of the dying because their family isn’t able to. And something I did often was spending a little extra time in each room because I know the patients are lonely, without their support system, and terrified. And I was terrified too. But I’m what they have. I’m their stand-in person.
Inside the hospital, everyone who worked there was seen, appreciated, accepted. Outside, the hospital staff were seen as dangerous to family and friends, because we were in such close contact with the virus that destroyed so many lives. Society praises nurses for the work that we do, but they fear us when we go to the grocery store, because we are around “the disease.” By this point I’ve been around enough positive patients to be afraid of myself, too. So I was separate from the rest of society and it felt incredibly isolating. I have very well had my fair share of breakdowns. But I have learned numerous lessons along the way. And I have relied on the skills Mountain TOP taught me to be able to come out of this a better person.
Working on summer staff, I always heard the words “forgotten Appalachia” and “social poverty” and they are truths to the rest of the world, but we can never underestimate the power of the community seen and experienced on top of the Cumberland plateau. I worked on Mountain TOP summer staff for 4 years, and during that time I saw how even though there were social injustices meant to destroy, the simple act of staying together as a formed body creates an environment that can withstand any adversity faced, as long as it’s done together.
I’d like to conclude by expressing my gratitude towards everyone who’s thanked a healthcare worker. To anyone who’s reached out to a friend who’s scared or alone. To anyone who’s cared for the sick, whether that be a patient, a family member, a neighbor. We fall as individuals; we rise as a community. If you’ve lost someone, if you’re hurting, if you’re scared, look for the community. Find your people. Know that you are not alone, even when the isolation runs deep. We are stronger together, and united through Christ. Thank you, Mountain TOP, for supplying me with the skills to fully acknowledge all that has happened, and appreciate it for what it is. Life is changing into what is our “new normal” and we are here for it.
I rest knowing that I have my Mountain TOP community and I know they’ll never give up on me.
This is where I’m at now. An ER nurse, a daughter, a friend, a dog mom, and a sister in Christ. We all have our own experiences and view of life and sharing that is the most precious gift you can give.
Peace and blessings, Jess