A roaring river. A wilderness thick with vines. Terrain that shifts and gives way at every turn. To push through a formidable challenge takes courage and power in equal measure. But to truly embrace the impossible, an individual must be an unswerving seeker with boundless faith in human potential. For Dr. Elizabeth Greig and her Defender, it’s all in a day’s work.
Elizabeth always knew that she wanted to help people. A desire to see others through devastation and gloom brought her to the field of disaster medicine. She works tirelessly to respond to earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural phenomena in Latin America, the Caribbean and at home in Miami, where she is the co-director of the Global Institute for Community Health and Development.
"In a disaster, the most important part of my job is showing up. I have to get to where I’m needed, and often that involves a tough drive.” A pragmatist to the core, Elizabeth understands that a vehicle must meet a certain utilitarian standard in order to do what she requires of it. “The Defender is filled with medical supplies and we trek out to wherever we’re needed.”
“In a disaster, the most important part of my job is showing up. I have to get to where I’m needed, and often that involves a tough drive.”
“I like to slip in and out a little unnoticed — draw attention to the cause, the victims, and fix whatever is in my purview, and hopefully get people through to the other side of their darkest hours.” From hospital evacuations, through downed trees and power lines, across flooded streets and into mudflows and landslides, Elizabeth pushes through with indomitable aplomb. Sometimes, you just have to keep going.
Disaster zones, in all their chaos and unpredictability, require nerves of steel. But that’s only part of the equation for Elizabeth. To push what’s possible, to go outside the frame and into the unknown, you need compassion. Heart. A belief that humans are not defined by their lowest ebbs. In her Defender, Elizabeth delivers hope.
To make an impact on the world, to make a positive difference in the lives of others. These tasks have an epic quality, and can seem larger than life itself. But Elizabeth doesn’t concern herself with the theoretical. She cares about the situation on the ground. And it’s this practicality that sees her through harrowing conditions. “It becomes impossible to not stop and think about how lucky I am to have the opportunity to give back.”
Acts of heroism necessitate the belief that the sun will shine upon us once more. Stepping back, seeing the bigger picture, and assessing what needs to be done, Elizabeth remains collected because she has to. The next endeavor is just around the river bend. “Heroes, to me, are those that are somewhat relentless to the cause, knowing that the grind is often the hardest part.”
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