Life in Haiti - Update #2

From Shannon, a member of NCBM Team #3

"Hiya! I am using someone's computer to send you all a quick update. Everyone is well and safe! It's hard to sum everything up, but Haiti has been very challenging and chaotic, but good things are happening too. We are wroking in an area 12 miles from the capital, so the damage is not as bad as what I had seen on the news before I left. The people literally stand beside the streets all day long trying to sell/trade whatever they have in order to survive. They ask for food or money when we drive by, but we can't help them because there would be a riot.

Most of us have been working in a hospital. There are teams from all over the world (Sweden, Italy, Japan, France, Jamaica, Canada and more). It is very unorganized because there are so many different teams and there is so much work to be done that it is difficult for anyone to organize anything.

There are always several hundred people outside the hospital waiting to get in or just hanging out because they have been discharged, but there is nowhere for them to go. We have an urgent care clinic set up outside, but it is still impossible to see all the people that need to be seen.

Yesterday was a pretty tough day for me. Another nurse and I were put in charge of about 30 post-op patients who we knew almost nothing about. So... that was quite a challenge. Almost all of them had at least one limb amputated. There is a wound care team, so we are not responsible for changing the dressings. Antibiotics and pain meds were our main priorities. It was just not a very good day. But despite all the chaos, the patients are usually smiling and grateful for the care. They are mostly lying on little mattresses in the floor or on cots without mattresses and there are anywhere from 3-10 people in a room. There is no good charting system and we have to hunt down any supplies or drugs we need.

Today was at least 10 times better. Some nurses and paramedics came to help on our hall, so it was a lot smoother. I made bags of medicine for the patients and figured out a way to write simple instructions in Creole and used a translator to tell them how to take it. I ran around getting supplies, figured out ways for people to get out of bed and move around after amputations, slipped a bunch of kids some bubble gum, and figured out how to discharge people. A lot of new things for me.

I also helped in triage. Several babies came in, mostly because they were dehydrated. Also they all had scabies because they have been in a tent together. I knew how to treat that one. I dealt a lot with them and found some formula/pedialyte/diapers to send with the mothers.

I helped a doctor sew up a huge laceration on this guy's head.

The last few hours we were there today I was working with this baby who is septic [blood infection] among other problems. He just ahd a central line put into his femoral artery and there was nobody even taking care of him. (Sorry if you guys didn't understand that). It was very hard to leave him, but one of our paramedics was staying all night, so he is going to keep an eye on him. Basically I did a little bit of everything today and I loved it.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and please continue to pray! It's really important! I hope you all are doing well and the KFBCCDC people had better be taking good care of my babies. :)"

After Rob washed and hung his laundry, he also sent an email last night. [SO thankful that Bradley took a computer!]:

"Internet at the hospital is terrible. [That's no surprise! Just happy there is internet at all!] Did a lot of administrative running and because I have the only team of primary care people, I am now also in charge of the night shift. [God is stretching him big time... not his favorite thing, to boss people around.] Had fun with a little boy whose brother is sick. I have pictures. We continue to have food and have not been kicked out of the cafeteria. The Sam's Purse group landed a helicopter here today. [He hoped our pastor was with them.] I told our group we're leaving at 7 even if we leave someone here, so I need to sleep.

They seem joyful in a strange way. Some, like Vlad, it is Jesus. Others I don't know. The way it in the areas we are in is likely how many usually live. It's a hard life. When I see kids begging for food and water it is very hard. I can't imagine my kids having to do that.

We've had a few tough patients, but not too bad. Most just need repairs to wounds or more surgery because of infection. A lot of aches and pains and PTSD. That's hard because we can't do much there with the language gap and lack of meds."

As I read their reports, I wonder how they do it.

• No medical charting means they must rely on oral communication to keep track of meds. It's not like here, where medical charts record every bathroom break, tablet of tylenol given and every bite of food eaten.
• Doctors and nurses are trained to treat the whole patient. I can't imagine the heartbreak as they look into a patient's grief-stricken eyes and knowing all they can do is offer a prayer. The truth is, there is no home to go to when they get better. There are no answers to the questions of "where is my family?"
• The babies. A dear friend of ours had a son born with a fatal heart condition. Yet, his life was so rich. Every moment of his life, his parents and nurses watched over him. He was loved, rocked, sung to, cuddled, and tenderly cared for. Such a blessed life compared to the little one Shannon wrote about.
• And the kids...

Praying today for more strength for the medical teams in Haiti. Praying also for opportunities to share the love of Jesus, through a smile, a reassuring hug, or even through bubble gum. Thank you, God, that this team sees the value in their work and knows they serve for you. Amen