Sunday, October 30, 2011

A day full of Haiti!

Hey Everyone, it's Becky....

After dinner last night we took a night drive up the mountain per say, and spent some time a nice restaurant that over looked the city. wine for some, beer for others, some fried plantains, and even mozzarella sticks were all on the menu. The view was quite beautiful...and we never would have known that we were in Haiti if it wasn't for the ginormous flying grass hopper, baby rat, or spider or 2 in the restroom, one would have never guessed we were in Haiti. Once again we rode in the back of the truck, through the streets of Haiti. Thanks to our driver Tony for always keeping us safe!

One of the things about this trip that has been really neat, has been the chance to see several areas of the city. On my last trip here, with my sisters last fall, we went from the house to the camp where we were working, and then back again each day. After a leisure breakfast and morning, we drove around some of the areas of Port-au-Prince that were deeply affected by the earthquake and remain in shamples. As I looked at what once must have been a beautiful cathedral, i didn't really know what to think. It still sits amoung piles of rubble. For those that once worshipped there, i hope that they have found another place to worship. A bit down the road was the Presidents palace, very much destroyed...and has yet to be rebuilt. Amongst all of this were tents, lots of people, and things.

On our afternoon agenda, was a trip to the beach. I have been informed that yes, there are beaches here! Just a bit after our discussions about how smooth our week has been, and how things have worked out perfectly, the truck broke down! A little overheated....we did a little bit of pushing, thanks Kerri for trimming the foliage that we used as road flares. Last night we learned that if you come across foliage in the road it is a reminder that there is something ahead. After a few more stops, we were eventually rescued by two men from a wonderful organziation called HIM (Heaven in Me). I am certain that God was watching over us today as we were apparently in a rougher part of town. These gracias men..followed us home, till the truck broke down again, then towed the truck to one of their bases to be fixed, and returned us safely to our house:)

Tomorrow we leave Haiti, and with it brings mixed emotions. I am not ready to leave. It truely has been amazing week, and what I will take home with me, will live in my heart always. It's not until you have been here, that you start to fall in love with this place. The people are beautiful, some of the kindest I have met. Global DIRT has given us the opportunity to do some amazing things this week, and because of that I am forever grateful. Thanks for everything you have done, you truely are amazing people. Most imporantly, thanks to all of you back home for your love, support, and prayers this week...without you we would not have been able to do any of it. Please continue to pray for Haiti, for all the people; the Haitians themselves, and the many people that have made this their home to provide love and support to the people that are in most need. Prayers and support is what they need the most right now. See you soon in MN, Becky:)

Kerry logging on...
Sight seeing was interesting. At times I felt more like a voyer. Our truck ordeal was very much like a wounded warrior slinking home. Everyone kept their cool and we worked as a great team. Tony was awesome! I am also sad to leave tomorrow. Sometimes I feel really great about the work we have done here, but other times I feel like we just put a bandaid on an enormous wound. On the bright side, I am going to get some big hugs from my little ladies very soon.

I cannot believe how quickly this week as gone. I'm am saddened by the fact that we all are packing to go home tomorrow. (Well, really, right now we are sitting having a beer, but earlier we were all packing). This week has given us the opportunity to really grab on to the essence of what Global Dirt and the We Advance clinic is doing in Haiti. We have met some amazing people and have been able to experience some pretty incredible things. The soul of Haiti along with the people who live here are like no other. I am truly going to miss everything about it. Thank you Haiti and I hope to be back soon!! Judy

I don't have too much new to report on, everyone pretty much covered it. The fabulous cook, Carlene, made us an AMAZING going away meal. We are stuffed to the gills, enjoying some Haitian beer or pineapple smoothies and reflecting on a wonderful week. So many mixed emotions now. Happiness at what we were able to accomplish, overwhelmed at what needs to happen here, disappointed we weren't able to accomplish more, excitement over what we can do NEXT time. I am amazed at all that I learned in such a short period of time. For anyone hoping to arrange a mission trip to Haiti, we can provide some amazing contact information. Global DIRT has been a Godsend. And we didn't originally apply to come with them. We have had a perfect week. We are all tired, sunburned, covered in mosquito bites, but excited and really really happy. Heidi

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Can a hug mend a soul?

As stated below, by Becky, we spent the day at a safe house. I am so glad we had a chance to go there. For me it was a mix of feeling today; happy, sad and ill! HAPPY: to have helped those with limited resources, and who trusted us with their stories. SAD: about the violence people inflict on others everyday! ILL: about doing a phyical exam on a 6 year old that had been raped! My other incounter, that will live in my heart for the rest of my life, was examining an 18 year old girl. To keep it short, she was gang raped and beaten 2 months ago. We think this was the first time she shared her story outside her family. At the end of the exam, I told her how sorry I was that this had happened to her and held her hand. After that the flood gates opened for both of us. We embraced and she held me tightly for a long time. SHe insisted that I stay with her for the rest of her time at the clinic and I walked her out to the entrance, where she hugged my tightly and thanked me. Is it bad that I wanted to bring her home...
Sad that today was our last working day. We are off for some fun sight seeing tomorrow. It will be good to decompress. Hugs to all, Kerry.

I can hardly believe that it was only just over a day that I wrote last. It seems like I have done so many things in the meantime. I finally got to go to Cite de Soleil to the We Advance clinic. What a day. It was wonderful to meet the kids I had heard so much about. Shaylo was one of our favorites. He would dance like Micheal Jackson and sang Justin Bieber songs. I'm sure everyone will be hearing about him soon. We believe he will be famous and you can say you heard about him here first. It was so amazing to be able to meet these people and be invited into their homes. I hope we were able to provide some encouragement and knowledge that would help them get through their day. I was so touched by the mothers that asked us to take their children home with us. We ended the afternoon with a visit to an orphanage. There were about 20 kids ages 16 months- 14 years. We presented them with stickers and beanie babies and played soccer and volleyball with them. I think we really impressed them with our crazy soccer skills. Either that or they were so surprised at the absolute lack of talent that we had. Either way there was a lot of running around and laughing. That was both the end of my afternoon or the start of a busy night. I worked night shift at the Medi-Share hospital. It was great to follow these little patients this last week. I feel like I know what to do to comfort them, what things they like and don't like and I can start to contribute to their care. I am amazed at the talent of the nurses I worked with this past week. They were all so able to adapt to their circumstances and get done what needed to get done. The end of that shift was just the start of our day. We were going to be providing a mobile clinic for a group called Cof-a-Viv, a group for survivors of gender based violence. It was quite an emotional day for everyone. I am so proud of our team that worked so hard to make everyone feel welcome, loved and safe. The clinic was a huge success and we were invited to come back whenever we wanted. We are just finishing another amazing meal by Carlene of spaghetti with some really spicy tomato sauce. We are being absolutely spoiled here. Now for an evening of R and R to decompress and, some sleep for me. I am so lucky to be travelling with such an amazing group of women that never complained about the task that needed to be done, were patient and kind to everyone they met and excited about every new experience. Haiti is a special place to visit and brings the best out of everyone who travels here. Heidi

On days like today, it's hard to know what to say. I knew that we would be doing a clinic in a safe house, but i guess i am a bit naieve. I haven't had much exposure to this sort of thing, and truthfully didn't really know what to expect. So when a six year old sat down in the chair, and a women that works at the house said that she had been raped, i didn't really know what to think. what do you say? what do you do? Like Kerry said, little girls like her should be worrying about this sisters being mean to them, playing with dolls, or running around enjoying life, and shouldn't have to be worried about this. Traumatized for life, i am sure. I am pretty sure she will always be on my mind. If you could only offer her a toy and things would be better, kiss her owie and make it go away, anything so that this won't be something that she will have to live with for the rest of her life. On a brighter note, the weather today was beautiful. Not sure of the temp, but the back sweat was a little less...something that has been a constant this week! Yet another beautiful day filled with love from the Haitian people, surrounded by smiles. until tomorrow, becky:)

Running the Safe House Clinic!

Today was a great day. We went to a safe house called KOFAVIV. KOKAVIV is an organisation that deals with rape victims and other gender based violence, they have support groups and also house women there too. We set up a clinic where we were the doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. We split into three groups: triage, examiner and pharmacy. We ended up seeing about 60 patients, three of them victims of rape. One was only 6 years old. The women we saw were so grateful for anything we could do to help them even if it was just multivitamins. It was an awesome experience.

Since I haven't updated for a few days I thought I would update on my hospital shift. I never thought I would do nursing that required counting drips. I had two kids and both were on 3 antibiotics all requiring estimating the drips so it would run over a certain amount of time. A few hours into my shift the cleaning lady was cleaning under my pt's crib and bumped the crib, causing it to break. The pt. fell but was caught centimeters from the floor. If that had happened in the US there definately would be a law suit to follow, not here. They were understandable shaken but the also know they are getting the best that is available and sometimes that is a broken crib. The doctor just said "that's to bad that his crib broke" (in a sympathetic tone not reprimanding tone). You do what you can here and that's the best. It is so rewarding here and would love to come again somethime!! Hope everyone is having a great week. Johanna

Friday, October 28, 2011

A lot of soccer, and a little volleyball!

Today was our last day at the Mobile Clinic. Allita who runs the "We Advance" clinic is doing some pretty incredible things. She has been able to provide medical care/support to people in the area who would otherwise have no type of care at all. We did some more walking through the area to find folks who were having medical issues. We were able to see some of the people we had initally seen at the beginning of the week. It was nice to see them a few days later to see how they were doing. It would be great to be able to see them a few weeks from now for further follow up. I guess that would require some of us to come back soon. I will gladly volunteer for the job. The people of Haiti have been wonderful. This afternoon we got to spend some time at one of the orphanages. They had just started to eat when we got there, but they sang us a couple of songs to welcome us to their place. Once the meal was over, it was soccer,whiffle ball practice and lots of running around. We brought stickers, balls and beanie babies and had a blast. I'm not sure who wore out who with the soccer playing but I think it was probably a score of Children 1: Nurses 0. Overall, it was another amazing day in Haiti. Judy

I agree, another AWESOME day in Haiti. I hope the deep eyes and big smiles of these people will live in my heart forever! Each day as we drive around I feel like I am seeing lots of busy bee's. Reuse is a strong notion here. From sifting rubble to use the dust again for concrete, to pounding out old re-bar to create a new structure, its amazing to watch the small changes we have noted her in one weeks time. One week does seem too short, but we must keep in mind that we have done some good work here. I must say I am already mentally planning my next trip! Hugs and smiles to all :0) Kerry

Hey Everyone. it's been another lovely day. Another reminder of why i think this is one of my favorite humanitarin trips. Do I think this experience has been amazing, you bet! Would i come back again?....when are we leaving? Global Dirt has provided us with an invaluable experience. once in a lifetime? hopefully not. This concept of mobile clinics, is a really incredible if you ask me. In the last few days, we have been able to walk through the community of cite solei, looking for people that have medical needs, providing those that we can with care, and referring them to the WE Advance clinic if needed for further eval. The community is not that large, although i am sure that many live there, and for the most part not many have heard of the clinic. Telling people about a wonderful clinic where they can get free care, and providing awareness in general has been pretty rewarding. I still can't believe that we are able to be in these people's homes, walk the streets that they walk on, and interact with them with such ease. Probably some of the most kind hearted and welcoming people i have ever met. A culture that is super receptive to learning, this is a dream for someone that has such a passion for public health. On one of our rounds today, we were able to followup with a woman with a breast mast that has yet to make it to the clinic, a young man with a huge head cut that needed stitches from the local hospital, and another who was transferred yesterday for antibiotics because of a very infected leg. Tomorrow we are going to run a clinic at a safe house. With supplies and medications in arms, we are ready to provide the care we can. that's it for now, becky:)

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Stickers do make everything better!?

Greeting here from Kerry. I am up doing the night shift at Medi Share. The patients are all asleep, so I escaped to check on some email. Great day today. Becky and I went off to the orphanage with a group called European Disaster Volunteers. Awesome group that has been busy rebuilding, teaching English, and providing health screenings. Their group will disperse in 40 days due to lack of funding. If you know anyone with an extra $35,000, that would keep them running for another year....
About 30 kids were at the orphanage. Super cute. We started with wellness screening. Overall good health was noted, but many are loosing weight, due to lack of food. That was a harsh reality to witness! After the check-ups we handed out the donations I had brought. Talk about a flash mob! Finally the caretaker had to take most thing away, to save for later. But before that the smiles were incredible! Kids playing with balls, applying stickers all over their bodies and shaking all the noise makers! We also got to ride in a 'tap tap', which are the pick-up taxi's popular around here. Crowded, but not a bad ride. Well I should get back to the babies...

A Little Bit of Everything

Our group separated into 3 smaller groups to get more done today. I (Heidi) went back to the Medi-Share hospital. I am starting to feel more comfortable there. It was a varied group of patients. 4 Hydrocephalus patients, one burn patient and a young lady who was in a car accident. One boy is finishing his antibiotics after having 60 mls of pus removed from his brain. We are trying to coordinate a couple discharges to orphanages. And I continued to struggle with programming my NJ feeds to go in over 4 hours by judging the number of drips a minute. I have bolused my poor patient so many times this week. One weird thing happened to me today. I went to the Pharmacy to find Nystatin Cream. I was told to talk to the Director of the Pharmacy, Martin. When I met him, I realized that I travelled with him to Haiti last year with No Time For Poverty. What a small world. I was talking to Becky today about how this is turning into the trip we couldn't have even dreamed up. We are going to have the opportunity to work in a Haitian hospital, mobile clinics in the poorest neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince, an existing clinic, set up our own clinic in a safehouse to work with victims of gender based violence, visit orphanages, souvenir shop (of course) and see the city center square. We are tired but excited. Heidi

Judy plans on writing later, she is off to the bar...priorities.

Hey everyone,

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Another day on the Hydrocephalus ward

Our day started out a little slower today, which was nice. The Neurosurgery team arrived today. All the families waited anxiously to hear what they would say. They came with the capability to do thirty surgeries so had to prioritize. They are able to operate on one of our patients. But, they did pull all of our EVDs and consulted on all the patients. I finished my eight o'clock cares before noon today. So I was able to learn more about my patients, bathe and hold them, and attempt to bottle them. I was so much more comfortable today. One patient attempted to teach me Kreyol. Apart from Bon Jour and Merci, I don't remember too much. I think the Haitian nurses felt more comfortable with me as well; we attempted to communicate today. Our hosts have taken such good care of us. Our meals are great, the house is beautiful, and we have running water for daily showers. I had everyone set their expectations so low that we are all pleasantly surprised. all in all, the trip has been great, we are healthy and enjoying our stay. Heidi
One more thought from Kerry... Working a mobile clinic is like being a super south!

Technically, I guess it's a new day! while the others are sleeping, i (Becky) am rocking out a night shift in the Peds ICU at Medishare. If i said that it was anything like where i work at home, i would definitely be lying. We work with children that have hydrocephalus and shunts at home, but never have i seen kids with heads as big as these. Maybe once, but it is just strange to walk into a room with five children of such sort. a visual might be of an adult head on a toddler size body. As i left to take a break, the kiddos were all sleeping in their beds, and the parents were sleeping right there next to them. Not on a nice futon like we have a children's, but on a piece of cardboard on the tile floor. I did take some pictures for the next time i hear a parent complain that the futon in their room isn't good enough! The concept of community remains throughout...some meds are drawn up by the pharmacy, others are retrieved from a community bottle of tylenol, phenobarbital, or whatever else they may have in the cupboard! I like that they stick to the basic TPR (temperature, pulse, respiration) with their vitals. BPs every 4 hours??? It would take a lot to explain, but pictures will show just how nice we really do have it in MN. On the walls, of the unit read many quotes that have to some up a lot of things....

1. "You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you. John Wooden." How perfect was today?
2. To whom much is given, much is expected - perfect quote as i think of some of the families that we work with at childrens. only wish i could do something to change this.
3. my favorite of them all, okay my second favorite. "We all smile in the same language."

Just a few more hours to go, and then off for yet another adventure.  

Wednesday, October 26th

Kerry reporting for 'Ladies in Haiti'...
Becky, Johanna and I spent the day again with 'We Advance'. Today was much busier, since the clinic was opened. Lots of excitement at the start of our shift. A GSW (gun shot wound) had just arrived to the clinic. The two doctors tried to fish it out, but now luck. She was transported to 'Medi Share'. This is a Haitian hospital that has a partnership with the University of Haiti. This is also the hospital we are all taking shifts at this week. After the excitement settled down, we split into two groups and began to triage the clinic patients. So many people we saw yesterday, on the streets, came to clinic today!!! Very excited. Once through the mob, we hit the streets again. On our second outing we saw many more patients. Chest pains and loose stools, main complaint. We did have a run in with some punks that wanted money. We quickly left that area. We ended out day at the clinic with lots of excitement. A dude had just come in with a gushing wound on his scalp. He had jumped onto his bed and there was broken glass in it. The dr put two stiches in to control the bleeding and we did a pressure dressing for the transport. We then took him to Medi Share on our way home. We just finished dinner and again, it was awesome. It will be hard to go back to bland food!

Hey Everyone...it's Becky. As we made a few more trips into the community by the clinic today. things started to get a bit more familiar...the trash is starting to stand out more, for me, the poverty is starting to become more evident, and as we enter more homes...the life that these people live is starting to pull at my heart. What is also becoming more evident is the number of people that have come to Haiti to help these people. Searching out the people that are ill to provide them care, taking the time to educate on how they can live a healthier life under circumstances, and looking out for the general well-being is amazing. Volunteers come to haiti to work for a couple of weeks, and I have met so many that have now instead been hear for months. tomorrow is a new day, with many new lessons to learn.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

With eyes open wide!

Hello once again...
We decided today that we would each write a few thoughts for you all, being that there are six of us, being that we probably can each tell you a completely different story of how we shared love with Haiti today. Today after a thirty minute ride in the back of a pickup truck through the many different areas of port au prince(pap) we arrived at we advance, a small little clinic near a shipyard, on what looks something like the ocean. Turquoise indeed, but definitely the exact opposite of your beach vacation. The clinic is closed aon Tuesday's so were part of a mobile clinic today, as in we took our services to them. One never really does get a sense of another culture until you get a chance to be with them in their space, their neighborhood, and sometimes their home. Haiti is considered one of the poorest slums, and the neighborhood we were in was one of the poorest of Haiti. The neighborhood had Rivers of dirty water full of everything you could imagine, homes were made of tin, cardboard, or anything in between, and pigs ran around the neighborhood like dogs.

Hey it's Johanna. Today was a great day. Still trying to get used to the humidity here :) we went and saw people in a "slum" city today. We walked with an interpreter who would ask people as we walked if they needed anything from the clinic. Most of the people had "chest pian" aka reflux/heartburn, baby's with diarrhea, skin rashes, fevers and eye infections. We would give out Tylenol for pain and fevers. We also saw a man who is a double amputee from the hurricane. The people often bathe in the rivers of dirty water running through the neighborhoods or rivers of rain water in the street. There are goats, dogs, pigs, and chickens roaming all over the place. The driving is something else as well, definaletly no structure to it except for a few stop lights.

I got to spend the day at the hospital in the PICU. Their shifts start at 0600, so it was an early day for me. Thank God for the rooster that kept crowing every ten minutes or so starting at 0400. I didn't know what to expect. There was a 1.5 kilo baby on a ventilator that had a pulmonary hemorrhage during report. Otherwise, it was a unit of hydrocephalus, VP Shunts, and ventriculostomies. I have never been so grateful for all of our team members as I was today. I did all the dosage calculation and mixed and diluted my own drugs. I had to dig really deep to manage an LTV ventilator. If you want to run dopamine at 5mcg/kg/min on a 1.5 kg baby, how many drips a second is that? Some drugs are in the fridge, others in the cabinet, and if you don't see it there, check the boxes of all the other patients. If you still don't see it, you are going to have to go to pharmacy and request it. The charting was in English , French, and Kreyol, depending on the nurse or doctor that is on. It was a great day. I was busy until the end of the shift. I did volunteer to go back tomorrow, so best get to bed. There is a dog next door that is going to compete with the rooster in the am. Heidi

Hey all, its Kerry. Great first working day today. I actually rode in the back of a pick-up truck, sitting on the side, for the 30 minute ride out to the slum. What a sight, five white chicks, in scrubs, riding in a pick-up bed through Haiti :0) The clinic 'We Advance' is a work in progress. It is already a wonderful place for the local people, but will be amazing some day. The clinic was closed today, so we hit the road on foot, weaving our way through the slum. This area was uneffected by the earthquake because all the structures are made of tin, cardboard and some cement. Chest pain and eye infections were the big complaints of the day. During our break at the clinic, school children played soccer. During our second trip out that day, we had about 12 children join us. So off we went into the slum, holding hands and smiling.
The sight that sticks in my mind the most today is seeing the kids in their school uniforms with a sprawling slum in the backround. Then 20 feet away, kids would be running around naked. I had two small moments when I felt like I was choking up, but thankfully it passed quickly. Safety has been an issue in this area in the past, so not many groups provide care here. We felt totally safe and had no issues. Three of us will be returning there tomorrow. Two others will be at the hospital and Bridget will be sleeping off her night shift. My night is not until Thursday.
The food has been great. Local women have been hired by Global Dirt to cook for us. So we are getting a real taste of Haiti. After dinner we walked down the road and had a supper yummy ice cream treat! It has been so hot, so an icy treat hit the spot. It is fun to see so many people following along. We hope to post some pictures tomorrow.
ps. Ginger, you made us all laugh! I'll try to rock it out on our drive into the slum tomorrow!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Greetings from Haiti!

We made it! Boy is it nice to be back. Our flights were surprisingly uneventful....and we arrived to a crazy Haitian airport. The baggage claim was something like i had never seen. half of the bags were taken off of the belt and thrown all over the floor, others were still on the belt. Anyhow...it was interesting. It's a tad warm, but tolerable.

We arrived at the compound safe and sound. something similar to the JP house we stayed in last year. none the less, we will be safe for sure. In fact they were sure to tell us that the UN was down the road on one side and the US embassy was done the road the other direction. good thing!

Some are staying in the house, Heidi and I made our home for the next week in a tent. Comfy cot, fan, tent, what's not to love?

It's going to be an exciting week. A little bits of lots of things, we found out more about where we will be helping out. Some on a peds ward in one of the local hospitals, some time in the we advance clinic, lots of mobile clinics, and not to forget some education in some orphanages. mostly day work, but we are also taking turns on the night shift! I think we are all looking forward to the week ahead.

well, that's it for now.
more later
becky
and the rest of the crew (Heidi, Johanna, Judy, Bridget, and Kerri)