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We arrived late in Haiti...around 9 pm and we had figured out who was working the night shift while we waited at the airport in Miami. I won! Actually it made sense for me to work it.
The first night went pretty well, Some of the translators remembered me and gave me big hugs...yeah, pretty wonderful feeling worked in the adult tent and we all got a row of patients. Our charge nurse had been there for a few days and did a great job of orienting everyone and helping. . Things are the same but different. A little more attempt at organization, but the execution still is tough and you have to be realistic in what you are able to accomplish. I ONLY had 15 patients this time!
Sleeping the next day was a challenge...a very HOT day even with AC in the tent and actually getting a bed in the day sleeper section. I woke up at one point and felt like my skin was burning. Quickly remedied that with a shower in my clothes and went back to sleep. The second night really started out nicely everyone with their same patients and feeling very comfortable we actually thought we would haveea smooth night. Boy were we wrong. First the pediatric tent had an electrical fire around midnight? and we evacuated the whole tent outside amidst billowing smoke. Then just after we moved all the ICU patients into the wound area of the adult tent the adult tent also had an electrical fire and we hauled cots w/patient s outside as well. This sounds much more controlled and orderly than it actually was...people were going out the sides of tent into the mud (it had rained earlier that day...torrential downpour). Eventually all patients and family and staff out, shut the power got all sleeping volunteers up to help out and we settled outside. We were outside for several hours. The adult tent was put back together (floor even got washed!!!!) and we ALL moved back in peds, and adults...yep, interesting but we all fit, plus, of course, families. I have respect for the Haitians, such troopers, I can't even begin to explain....It was not as smooth by any stretch as it sounds but it went well. The army helped move all the patients back in.
All are still in the adult tent but making progress with the return to normalcy...whatever that is.
Today no AC in the sleeping tent so most of the day sleepers moved to peds tent (still no patients in it) to sleep because it did have AC and there are a few staff members dropping like flies, getting IVS etc.
A small group of us did manage to go into PAP yesterday. We rented a tap-tap. We visited a tent city...again humbling. I don't think I could live in those conditions and be as gracious and smiling as the people we met and shared a little bit of time with.
Today I visited New Life Childrens orphanage. It is a beautiful place and I will share more thoughts on it later.
My heart is full content and happy to be here again. Not that it isn't difficult and sad and challenging but..... it feels so right.
Lots of love to everyone
Connie
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Saturday, May 1, 2010
I spoke with Dr. Reber last night. They made it to Miami and were ready to depart this morning for Haiti! This team will also try to post to the blog to keep us informed of their adventures! Wish them luck and keep them in your thoughts.
Ray
Ray
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Wanted: Joe Martin... International Criminal...
Getting through US Customs in Miami was a breeze for most of us...
Apparently, Dr. Joe had quite a different experience, as his name appeared on the Department of Homeland Security's "watch list!"
Two and a half hours later... he rejoined the United States... We'll let him tell the story though...
Apparently, Dr. Joe had quite a different experience, as his name appeared on the Department of Homeland Security's "watch list!"
Two and a half hours later... he rejoined the United States... We'll let him tell the story though...
Back From Haiti
It was quite a week of sweat, hard work, adventure, sweat, camaraderie, sweat, innovation and medicine. I said in my first blog how I was interested in learning and practicing medicine that was low technology and back to the basics. Well, I got my wish in spades.
My first day I had 20 minutes of training and then I was on my own. There were approximately 110 patients in the hospital and in the general medicine tent I was suddenly responsible for about 25 of them. I quickly figured out that if I wanted to do something that is usually a quick job in the US -such as grabbing a glucometer to check a diabetics blood sugar that it was not so easy. Typically the equipment needed was not available or no one knew where it was in the mass of people and chaos. I had to just figure it out. Innovation, intuition and basic training was the key to treating the patients.
A person with swollen legs, crackly lungs, an altered level of consciousness, labored breathing would be diagnosed as probable congestive heart failure and treated as such. We did not have an X-ray, or EKG for diagnosis and for 2 days we did not have a lab for blood analysis. If the treatment was effective then we continued it. If a patient needed to be propped up in a sitting position we made a wedge under the mattress with cardboard and tape.
Another thing that really struck me was the important need for people with all types of skills. We could not have done it without the PT's who got people moving again, and the pharmacists who sorted the mountains of donated medications and knew what to substitute when an ordered med was unavailable. The Lab people were back to microscopes and pipetting with reagents, no million dollar blood analysis devices.
We really needed non-medical staff who found or organized equipment, fixed broken cots, found donated coffee makers (important) and more.
The patients were physically tough, enduring major injuries without complaint and minimal care or pain medications. We did what we could and it was worthwhile week of hard work, sweat, giving, sweat, new friendships, sweat and helping the Haitian people recover.
Bob Parker, RN
My first day I had 20 minutes of training and then I was on my own. There were approximately 110 patients in the hospital and in the general medicine tent I was suddenly responsible for about 25 of them. I quickly figured out that if I wanted to do something that is usually a quick job in the US -such as grabbing a glucometer to check a diabetics blood sugar that it was not so easy. Typically the equipment needed was not available or no one knew where it was in the mass of people and chaos. I had to just figure it out. Innovation, intuition and basic training was the key to treating the patients.
A person with swollen legs, crackly lungs, an altered level of consciousness, labored breathing would be diagnosed as probable congestive heart failure and treated as such. We did not have an X-ray, or EKG for diagnosis and for 2 days we did not have a lab for blood analysis. If the treatment was effective then we continued it. If a patient needed to be propped up in a sitting position we made a wedge under the mattress with cardboard and tape.
Another thing that really struck me was the important need for people with all types of skills. We could not have done it without the PT's who got people moving again, and the pharmacists who sorted the mountains of donated medications and knew what to substitute when an ordered med was unavailable. The Lab people were back to microscopes and pipetting with reagents, no million dollar blood analysis devices.
We really needed non-medical staff who found or organized equipment, fixed broken cots, found donated coffee makers (important) and more.
The patients were physically tough, enduring major injuries without complaint and minimal care or pain medications. We did what we could and it was worthwhile week of hard work, sweat, giving, sweat, new friendships, sweat and helping the Haitian people recover.
Bob Parker, RN
Friday, April 23, 2010
Haiti in my rearview mirror
Early in the week the time stretched out towards alot of effort and hot tired times. I wrote in my journal about staying here mentally and being present where I was, which was a tad unattractive on the surface. Tonight I am celebrating my time here,and what I have seen and learned. It's like no meditative lesson you've ever seen on the menu. Haiti is full of love while mindful of its pain and more receptive to an embrace than the evening news may suggest. The people are us. The plane ride out will be as full of remembrance and sentiment as the plane ride in had made me flinch a bit. Cheers to Haiti, strong culture, strong people, place to come and think and do..
Dr. Joe, Ortho
Dr. Joe, Ortho
Flaggite by way of San Diego, or: fun fact: hatians clean themselves as well as you do in your shower with a bucket and 1/100 of the water you use.
Iv'e seen things in my life that have given me pause before, but rarely so much in on particular place. Haiti is such a wonderful, colorful place, with so many happy people, despite the many factors stacked against it. In truth, I've never had a patient population so grateful for the care they were given. I've never had patients thank me so much, or ones that have touched my heart to this degree. The families of my patients were unlike almost any of those I've had in the states, feeding, bathing, clothing my patients (linens and baths were done by families.) Though many times we had no supplies (try going a day with only three pairs of gloves for three patients, no running water, the constant threat of losing power, eqipment that breaks when it's absolutely critcial, running out of a essential meds, no lab, no x-ray, no ct or MRI, no 12 lead, etc) and fought terribly oppresive heat, dehydration and humidty, somehow I managed to give the best care of my life (I gave a patient a foot rub and she told me that no one had ever touched her feet before!!!).
Somehow over the course of the week I found myself in the PICU, the NICU, and Peds every second I had to spare. The real future of Haiti, the children, absolutely broke my heart. We face death and code situations every day in the hospital at home, but it's a rareity to lose a child. Though we lost people in the ICU, the picu deaths in partiuclar and there were....a lot, were very very hard. For me, the PICU was just the start of a thousand first for me. I had never seen a dead child before this trip. I had never been there for the death of a child before this trip. In two years of working at a major city trauma ICU, I had never lost a patient of MINE to anunexpected code. Bluntly put, those parts, they sucked, and I won't soon forget them. For every one of those moments though was two of sheer happiness. Feeding an infant so small and malnourished they were smaller than my hand. The day our cerebral malaria pt fianally woke up and spoke to her 10 year old daughter who slept on the wooden and dirt floor next to her every night. The massive tent city just outside port-au-prince, with one single solitary makeshift kite flying gleefully over it, oblivious to the abject poverty and stuggles below it... These are the images I will take home with me, the ones of hope, the ones of need. Haiti faces so many socioeconomic challanges on it way to deveoplement. The paitents I helped, the amazing voulanteers I worked with, the families of the ones who died this week, and the awesome kids, they still need help. Haiti will never make it without the Hatians doing the majorty of the recovery themselves, but they need healthy bodies to do it. Please consider donating to project medishare. God knows they need the supplies. But try coming down here and putting in your own time. It my not change your life, but it will change someone elses.'
Before I leave, I'd like to send out a special thanks to all of those who helped me this week, and those other volunteers who I was fortunate enough to spend time with. You brought me through the frequent hell that is life here with your smiles, your insights, and your love for your professions. Additionally, the Seattle team... You make me want to quit adults, move the the northwest, and work a PICU. I will miss you terribly.
Michael L.
Somehow over the course of the week I found myself in the PICU, the NICU, and Peds every second I had to spare. The real future of Haiti, the children, absolutely broke my heart. We face death and code situations every day in the hospital at home, but it's a rareity to lose a child. Though we lost people in the ICU, the picu deaths in partiuclar and there were....a lot, were very very hard. For me, the PICU was just the start of a thousand first for me. I had never seen a dead child before this trip. I had never been there for the death of a child before this trip. In two years of working at a major city trauma ICU, I had never lost a patient of MINE to anunexpected code. Bluntly put, those parts, they sucked, and I won't soon forget them. For every one of those moments though was two of sheer happiness. Feeding an infant so small and malnourished they were smaller than my hand. The day our cerebral malaria pt fianally woke up and spoke to her 10 year old daughter who slept on the wooden and dirt floor next to her every night. The massive tent city just outside port-au-prince, with one single solitary makeshift kite flying gleefully over it, oblivious to the abject poverty and stuggles below it... These are the images I will take home with me, the ones of hope, the ones of need. Haiti faces so many socioeconomic challanges on it way to deveoplement. The paitents I helped, the amazing voulanteers I worked with, the families of the ones who died this week, and the awesome kids, they still need help. Haiti will never make it without the Hatians doing the majorty of the recovery themselves, but they need healthy bodies to do it. Please consider donating to project medishare. God knows they need the supplies. But try coming down here and putting in your own time. It my not change your life, but it will change someone elses.'
Before I leave, I'd like to send out a special thanks to all of those who helped me this week, and those other volunteers who I was fortunate enough to spend time with. You brought me through the frequent hell that is life here with your smiles, your insights, and your love for your professions. Additionally, the Seattle team... You make me want to quit adults, move the the northwest, and work a PICU. I will miss you terribly.
Michael L.
The end.
I am writing on the last night I will be in Haiti. A whole week has gone by and I can't believe how fast and amazing my time here has been. While here I have felt the whole range of emotion which for me is not usual. I started my week in the ICU and after two days moved to the med surg tent where I stayed for the rest of the week. Each day I was overwhelmed with the needs of the pts, the heat, stress, pain and crazyness that was common place there. I can't say enough for the staff I worked with.It was a honor to be able to work along side for a whole week the same people. The nurses who ran their buts off. The doctors who gave the most caring, attentive and best care anyone could be expected to do with the resources they had. I have made friends and will miss them. The pts and family have truely bless me and I will not soon forget their faces or ability to make me smile. I have many stories I could tell but not the energy to tell. Only to say I didn't for one moment regret coming here and hope and pray this will not be the last time I am able to be apart of this type of experience.
Ben
Ben
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