New Website being Developed!

The Northern Arizona Volunteer Medical and Surgical Corporation, a non-profit 501(C)3 organization, is currently developing a website!

The URL is: www.navmc.org

It should be up and running by Friday, 4/2/10, in the afternoon/evening!

Check in soon! Check back often!

This will be the central website for sharing information about our efforts! All previous websites mentioned will eventually point to this one!

Presentation before the City Council!

This evening, Rick Krug presented a proposed Proclamation before the Flagstaff City Council! Also present were Connie, Kelly, and Ray.

The proposed Proclamation reads:

A Proclamation

Whereas, on January 12, 2010, the City of Port au' Prince, Haiti, experienced a 7.0 earthquake which killed over 230,000 Haitians...

And,

Whereas, the Nation of Haiti remains the poorest Nation in the Western Hemisphere...

And,

Whereas, over 100 citizens of the City of Flagstaff have responded to the needs in Haiti either individually or in teams...

And,

Whereas, there exists an ongoing need for assistance to the people of Haiti, both medically and logistically...

Therefore, let it be known that the City of Flagstaff and the citizens therein, proclaim our solidarity with the citizens of Haiti and encourage ongoing support, aid, and presence to bring relief to the people of Haiti in whatever way our citizens see fit.

To the above proclamation, the following outreach is hereby recognized as a means for the people of Flagstaff to offer whatever aid they are able:

Northern Arizona Volunteer Medical Corp
940 North Switzer Canyon Drive
Suite 102
Flagstaff, Arizona 86001
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flagstaffforhaiti

Friday, May 14th at the Orpheum!

We are having a public presentation and fund-raising event at Flagstaff's Orpheum Theater on Friday, May 14th!

Doors open at 6:ooPM...

Poster & personal presentations, slide show, raffle, silent auction, live entertainment!

Scheduled Line-up:

• African Drum & Dance @ 6:30PM
• Nate Stone @ 7:20PM
• Painted from Memory @ 8:20PM
• Burnett Family Bluegrass @ 9:30PM

Come join us!

Photo's are now online!

I have uploaded about 90% of the photo's. They are available to be viewed, downloaded, and shared...

Go to:

Picasa Web to view them!

If the above link fails, copy and paste:

http://picasaweb.google.com/101077157358190091636

Save the date!

We are putting together a public presentation at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Flagstaff on Friday, May 14th...

More information to follow!

3-11-2010

Good Morning, what a process this has been to even manage to write something!! First of all it was so good to meet you all and have the opportunity to work with you. I'm usually a little more social but was so tired on this trip that I didn't "get out much" I hope to see you all again someday either on a return trip to Haiti or a visit in Flagstaff.

Therapy for me has been to read every piece of news about Haiti and to keep up with the blogs. Thanks so much,Ray, for all your posts. I have posted photos on my website as well and you can see them at www.photo-op.info. My heart still aches for the people of Haiti and especially the children...working in the Peds tent was a gift that I was given. (Sleeping in the big tent was a nightmare!)

Love you and will pray for you all,

Susan

Fountain Hills

3/10/2010

After having a week to digest our week in Haiti, my feelings are still mixed about the experience. My thoughts run from extreme pride and satisfaction in the work that was done to overwhelming feelings of sorrow and futility. Even so, one theme remains true. The team from Flagstaff (and Maine) include the most incredible individuals I have had the opportunity to work with. I am so proud to have been a part of this endeavor. I hope that those of you reading this will take the time to reach out to those that went to Haiti and give a heartfelt thanks. We should all be proud.

Leaf

Behind the Scenes...

Flagstaff sent 29 people (1 person from the State of Maine ;)...) to Haiti for a week! It took us less than two weeks to pull this team together and coordinate our trip!

It would not have been possible without the help and coordination of many people!

The families of our team, the friends, the co-workers, the employers... the list can go on and on!

Frantic calls to people to get supplies, equipment, and personal items... The calls to get coverage for shifts and the people that stepped-up! Transportation, pet sitting, etc...

Although we were able to gather together 30 people, it literally took an army to get us there!

On behalf of everyone that went to Haiti, on behalf of the Haitian people, I would like to thank everyone that was involved in our trip! It was all of the "behind the scene" people that made this trip a reality! Take pride in what you did to facilitate us getting there. Without each and everyone of you, we would not have been able to go!

So once again...

Thank you!


Ray

It's Official!

We are putting together another team to go to Haiti! April 17th thru the 24th. Anyone who is interested in going/returning needs to contact Dr. John "Bull" Durham at Northern Arizona Orthopaedics (928) 774-7757.

Hopefully, this trip will be a lot easier as we have over a month to plan and prepare! As opposed to less than 2 weeks...

In addition, Dr. Kelly Reber is planning a return visit in early May. Again, any one interested in going/returning in May, needs to contact him (928) 779-5111

April?

There is a possibility that we may gather together another team to return in mid to late April... If anyone is interested in going/returning, make sure you let Bull know. Tentative dates are 4/17 to 4/24...

Things are in the works for several presentations/fund raising events! We are looking at making a presentation at the McGee Auditorium at FMC as well as a public presentation at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Flagstaff! Stay tuned for more information!

We want to thank everyone who has posted to this blog... there have been several comments regarding the information and photo's that have been posted so far... 22 followers at last count, not bad! We once again encourage everyone who went to post some of your thoughts/experiences/feelings... for those who are following us, please, post some comments! The words and feedback are greatly appreciated!

Photos are still being collected and sorted... they will continue to be uploaded to the blog for several more days, maybe even weeks... have patience please...

We would also like to once again thank everyone who has supported us and our effort! The time away from families, time off of work, monetary contributions, emotional support, and all of the little things!

Decompression...

Tonight, the majority of our team had a get-together at Bull's... it was a nice and safe place to talk about and share our experiences. A few of us even "called in," as they were unable to attend!

A special thanks to Sandy from the CoE... appetizers and dinner was fabulous! Good thing there were leftovers...

Overall, I think tonight was a great opportunity for many of us to decompress... although we have been back for over a week, it was nice to talk, reminisce, and just understand the feelings!

A day in the Emergency Department (aka "The ED Tent")

On average, we saw 80 patients a day from 8am till 11pm-ish...

The patients were suffering from a wide variety of complaints, however, most of the people we saw were in a very real need! I am totally amazed at the team members working in our Triage... they saw hundreds of people presenting for help/treatment each day, yet they only sent us 60 or 70 of the most sickest patients to see and treat per day. The other 10 or 20 patients we saw per day were coming in by military ambulances, UN, and transport vehicles from outlying clinics, villages, etc...

Dehydration, abdominal pain, the UTI's, malaria, fevers, Asthma attacks etc... The traumas started when it started to get dark... auto accidents, gunshots, stabbings, assaults... Kudos to Elena, Amy, Kristi and Laura! It took, on average 15 minutes from arrival, through stabilization and X-rays, to get to either the OR or admission! (Battlefield Medicine at it's finest!) I was very impressed with Elena... pushing Doctors out of the way, to get access to the patient to provide the most basic of interventions... I wish a few facilities and doctors could have experienced this! It would change their view of Trauma Care!

Had a few late nights too... just finally falling asleep around 1:00am, only to be awakened because a woman was in labor... I got to help deliver a baby, another patient came in, then 3 traumas... assault, gunshot, and auto accident... when it was all done and we were ready to go back to bed... yet another woman in labor! As I began to notice that it was getting light out, I looked at my watch and saw that it was 5:30am... only 3 1/2 hours of "sleepable" temperatures left! One of a few 20+ hour days...

The people I worked with were awesome! Although we had a lot of positive experiences and outcomes in the ED, we also had a few negative ones. As a team, we took interest in a few of the patients we treated. Following up on them, it was heartbreaking, and quite a few tears were shed, when we learned that some of our patients ended up dying a day or two later. We gave everything we had to help them, the word "frustrating" doesn't even begin to express our feelings!

I am also very proud of the rest of our team! The Nurses went way over "above and beyond!" From the OR, the ICU, the Med/Surg tent... They pushed well past what would be considered "normal nursing." 25+ patients per nurse in the Med/Surg tent... sometimes even more than that!

One of the most interesting things I experienced was what went "missing" overnight from the ED. We were in a tent, really an awning... all of our supplies, equipment, etc. was totally unsecured. All of the medications including narcotics were just sitting on a shelf. I would arrive in the morning and do an inventory of supplies we needed for the day. The two things that were always gone...

the bottle of Ibuprofen and baby diapers!

The narcotics (morphine, Versed, Valium, Fentanyl)... untouched! It was that big bottle of those little "orange pills" that was always gone! The baby wipes and diapers as well!

I witnessed some amazing things while in Haiti... Elizabeth Durham, getting some of the kids to just play...


Che' the respiratory therapist put together a "battle-field" CPAP that we used to help a Haitian man that was having a severe and prolonged asthma attack... This man took 3 days to get to us... we were able to break his asthma attack, admitted him, and he ended up having a repeat episode and died three days later...

Over all... I am thankful and grateful that I was able to go to Haiti. I am proud of my fellow team members that went! Although we had some varied experiences, I know that we helped and made a difference to at least one person... for me, that is enough!

Ray

Updated Photo's

I have posted some updated photo's of our Travel, from the Haiti Airport and the Emergency Department...

This weekend I will post more from the Camp, the Pediatric Tent, NICU/PICU/CICU, Adult ICU, Med/Surg, the OR and from around Port Au Prince. I am considering posting some of the more graphic pictures... of injuries, surgeries, etc... these pictures would definitely be considered "R" rated... I will confer with my colleagues before I do...

For those in Flagstaff, remember Sunday at Bull's... Hope to see you there!

Thanks to everyone who coordinated us getting to Haiti and back home. What an experience. I am going through a reverse culture shock being back home. Something is not right in the world that we have so much and they have so little. The people I met there are in my thoughts constantly. Again, what an experience.

WOW!!

Well.... it's officially over. We are home safe, so mission accomplished.
The first 24 hours were interesting to say the least. After arrival in Haiti we had to unload the plane due to the lack of personel at the airport, so luggage and medical supplies were removed and piled on the tarmac. Then the flatbed trucks arrived to take everything to the compound, just like you see in National Geographic, the trucks were overloaded with backpacks and boxes. It was crazy!!
After watching our packs go we had to go through immagration. This consisted of showing our passports to a person who, somehow in the dark, recognized the picture to be who you said you were and stamped you in. Next through the metal detector, or not ( I was waved through due to a person in front of me setting it off.) and out into the night. As we waited for the "cabs" to come take us to the compound we met some really awesome kids who were offering help. They spoke some english and I got to bust out my French. Ohh,Lala c'est magnifique!
The "cabs" arrived and off we went, compound sweet compound!!
We waited here until after midnight to register, get checked (they wanted to be sure you were licensed to practice) and find a cot. Whooops---not enough room for everybody!!
We were ready to sleep on the ground, when by some miraculous aligning of the planets I was invited to sleep in a private tent. I grabbed my stuff and we crammed six cots into a tent designed for four.
Now time for some shut eye. After 4 hours of fitful sleep, the alarm went off and I was off to the O.R. for "orientation", but that is another story.


D

Haiti... The first day...

I left Flagstaff on Thursday after work. Drove down to Phoenix, stayed at my sister's house, got a ride to the airport early Friday morning. I met my group at Sky Harbor and we began our travel day to Miami. A long flight to Charlotte, NC... a little layover, then on to Miami.

We stayed overnight in Miami and left for Haiti on Saturday. The flight to Haiti was a little delayed, but we got there! The first thing I noticed was when we got off the aircraft... 80+ degrees with 90+ percent humidity! It was like walking into a wall! There was only one baggage handler to offload 140+ people's luggage and cargo, so we all pitched in to help offload the aircraft. All of the luggage was piled into a truck, about 6 feet above the cargo sides... one guy climbed up to make sure none fell off, and he was almost our first trauma as the driver didn't realize the clearance was limited and drove under an airport gangway, almost taking off his head!

We got to the University of Miami/Medishare camp late. After we registered and checked in, it was a scramble to find sleeping arrangements... then a quick meeting of the providers coming in. Trying to cover and fill some night shifts, figuring out where everyone was going to be assigned, and other assorted tasks.

Went to bed around midnight, only to get up early enough the next morning for a general camp/staff meeting. Then off to work!

Little to no orientation... just jumped into it!


Ray

Home in Maine and decompressing

What a week! A big surprise to all of you that I talk in my sleep (yea it's true), and I guess I woke up calling for an anesthesiologist last night :) Go figure! On a more serious note, I need to send my heart felt feelings to my Flagstaff friends. I have never had the opportunity to work and be with such an amazing group of medical professionals. I was honored to be part of this team and to push the limits with all of you! It is a bit strange to be home where things have been carrying on as "normal", and no one is around to time me in the shower!! Ray, Bull has my photos on his camera though I will try to get the few photos I have off my Blackberry to add. I send my love to all of you and hope to see you all in the future. Preferably on a River Trip, but dinner works too. Liz

Photo's

I have begun to start posting photos on the blog. Check out the various photo pages by following the links at the top.

I have gathered together a few of our team members pictures and in reviewing them, I find it interesting that many of us took very similar pics, albeit from different perspectives.

On average each team member that I have gotten pictures from, took about 200 pictures... that means we have almost 3000 pictures between all of us, so please be patient as we begin to post them...


Ray