SCOTTSDALE, AZ — As the death toll from the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria climbs above 50,000, tragedies like this tug at our hearts, remind us how fragile life is, and sometimes, make the rest of us think about what we would do in the face of disaster.
A Valley woman faced a different kind of tragedy in that same region and is now using that experience to begin a new chapter in her life in Arizona.
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Rita Maatouk says she always knew she wanted to be a pharmacist.
It's a job that prepared her to take action in a major way in the face of tragedy.
"I thought maybe a rock had dropped or maybe the generator exploded," says Maatouk. But what happened was much more serious.
It was Aug. 4, 2020, when, just minutes away from her pharmacy, there was a massive ammonium nitrate explosion at the Port of Beirut in Maatouk's home country of Lebanon. More than 200 people were killed and at least 7,000 people were injured.
"It was horrible," says Maatouk. "I couldn't understand anything. I even had a panic attack."
But Maatouk says after realizing she and her sister were OK, something inside her switched.
"There was a voice inside of me — I can't explain it — that simply the thought that I needed to be grateful. You are not hurt. You are needed. I have the pharmacy. I have the stock for the bandages."
Within minutes, Maatouk says the pharmacy she owned became a makeshift medical clinic; many of Beirut's hospitals were badly damaged in the blast.
Maatouk says if she were in a different part of the pharmacy, she may have been severely injured or worse. But since she was OK, she knew she needed to act — everything from wound care, sprains, and even tetanus shots. She lost count but says she treated dozens of patients.
"This explosion made me realize how strong and resilient I can be in difficult situations which is why I started to look for a backup plan."
That backup plan included a move to the United States where she attended pharmacy school before returning to Lebanon.
Maatouk had always kept a dream of returning to the United States, this time to Arizona with her sister, where she works as a pharmacy manager at a CVS in Scottsdale.
