Full Circle: How a Medical Mission in Haiti Inspired “Operation Grey Space”
I’m writing this still feeling the energy from a wonderful event I recently MCed for Tampa’s Judea Christian Health Clinic. It was a night of community and support for a vital cause, but for me, it was also a powerful “full circle” moment that I just had to share with you.
Standing there, I found myself back with the clinic’s medical director, Dr. Campbell. Our history goes back decades, to a time when she took me on my very first medical mission to Mombin Crochu, Haiti. At the time, I was documenting her team’s work with Village Partners International.
I will never forget the conditions we worked in; there was no electricity, and I remember sitting on a rooftop by candlelight until my photographer’s camera light cut through the dark. I watched, moved by her empathy, as Dr. Campbell performed a double mastectomy on a woman whose cancer had already progressed significantly. That trip, and the resilience of the Haitian people, had a profound and lasting effect on me.
Kismet and Healing
The story took a personal turn about ten years later when Dr. Campbell became the doctor who diagnosed me with breast cancer. Because we found it early, I was able to choose an aggressive surgery, and I’m so grateful to say that 15 years later, I remain in remission.
To be back with Dr. Campbell again, supporting her clinic while also celebrating the completion of my newest manuscript, feels like kismet. I don’t believe in coincidences; I believe some things are simply meant to be.
From Reality to the Page
This leads me to my new book, the first in a brand-new series: Operation Grey Space.
When I sat down to write the opening, I knew exactly where it had to begin. The first chapter is set in a mission-run hospital in Haiti, drawing directly from those vivid, life-changing experiences I had during that medical mission all those years ago.
I wanted to capture the raw reality of providing care in such a challenging environment and the incredible compassion of those who dedicate their lives to it.
Read the First Chapter Now
I am so excited to finally share this story with you. If you’d like to step into that mission hospital in Haiti and see where the journey begins, you can read the first chapter of Operation Grey Space right here on my website.
Thank you for being part of this journey with me.
— Linda Bond