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!