Reflections

The following paragraphs were written by Nefthalie Suglia, one of the interpreters who went with us to Haiti. When I read her words, I got a big lump in my throat. I know what an effect this trip had on me - I can only imagine how it must have effected Tali. She says it well:

I still can't believe that we have moved on with our busy lives, but I know that Haiti will remain deeply in our souls. Who could forget the pain and agony that my people have endured? I think we saw evidence of how resilient we Haitians are and how we remain standing with our heads held high and our hearts full of hope, even though we have been subjected to so much devastation. The stories we heard were so similar and yet so personal to each individual. As a listener, I found myself feeling weak, speechless or even numb when I heard my people have no place to stay, don't have families, don't know where the next meal is coming from and yet they retain their hope and faith.

I will not forget where I came from. I remember as a child climbing a mango tree (I always wanted to go to the highest branch, soooo competitive - LOL!) to eat some delicious "Madam Fransik", picking some almonds and breaking them with a soft rock, "Roch galet" to get the meat out and lounging on top of our roof listening to my grandmother's folk stories while eating some delicious "Labouyi Banann."

I cannot thank the Apostolic Christian World Relief Team enough for giving me the opportunity to see my country again. I am certain that one day my people can rise again, because I believe in their self determination and their drive to move forward. I know that they can surpass the devastation that mother nature has caused and focus on a new beginning. Yes I believe...

It was a deep pleasure to have met you all and you were so wonderful, sensitive and sincere. I cannot thank you enough for giving me the chance to be a part of the team. This is not the end but a new beginning for me.

Love,

Talie

Updates

I took the time tonight to go back through all of the posts and edit them, trying to add detail to the days when we were too busy to blog.

We feel a bit exhausted, and very lonesome for our team members and all of those we met in Haiti. It is amazing to me how quickly we bonded together as a team, and how God provided the right mix of people on the team. Highly qualified orthopedic surgeons, so desparately needed, physical therapists, also desperately needed by the patients at the hospital, translators, desperately needed by the rest of the team so that we could carry out our work, and nurses who learned so much from the people we served. And those who came along to organize and distribute supplies, who ended up being invaluable, wearing many hats - massaging limbs, helping to change dressings, running for supplies, being everywhere all at one time.

It is hard not to look at the big picture in Haiti, at the probability of epidemic-proportion disease among the refugees living in tent cities, at the patients who have undergone surgeries and amputations who will need follow-up care and further surgeries to be able to use their limbs, at those who are most assuredly going to lose limbs that surgeons have tried so hard to save. Who will go to help these people? Will you go back? Will I?

Contrasts

Coming into the US through Florida and then making our connections home brought many contrasts to my mind.

After the scene at the PAP airport (getting off the bus and having our Haitian helper who was on the top of the bus hand our luggage down with the hopes that it would go into our hands and not be snatched by someone, people pushing and shoving in lines to get through the gate, trying to stay together as a group, security members trying to keep order in all the chaos, chatting with other teams leaving the country and hearing of their experiences) we arrived at the Ft Lauderdale airport and were ushered through Immigrations, then Customs, collected our bags, passed through security THREE times (don't know quite why) and then entered the relative peace and quiet of the terminal where we got our boarding passes and then nine of us were able to be together for a last lunch together before we parted from the doctors from Spokane and went to our gates, two heading for Illinois and five of us still together to Charlotte where we parted company.

There were some contrasts that stood out vividly. I went in to use the restroom. It was clean. There was paper. It flushed. I waved my hands and got soap. I waved my hands again and a towel came out of a little box on the wall.

People were standing in lines at some of the restaurants in the terminal, but they didn't look gaunt and haunted. Not one person came up to us and begged a "dolla", not one rubbed their belly and said "hongry!". There were stores and kiosks everywhere with goods that are readily available - trinkets, really - nothing substantial that sustains life - and people were there browsing and buying such trivial things as a book or magazine or a trinket to take home. Well-dressed people in expensive clothing were everywhere, discussing their latest shopping trips and how it makes so much sense to spend more on everything they buy because it lasts longer. I was wondering how many times they actually will wear what they purchased before discarding it and purchase something else.

And through all of this, I am thinking of the Haitian people that we became so attached to in our five short days at the hospital and how they will fare.

About the man in 4A (can't remember all of their names, but I won't forget their faces) who was discharged and ready to go, but needed a pair of shoes to be able to hike down the mountain - with a femur fracture, mostly healed.

About little Jodelynn, who lost her parents and siblings in the quake and had been carried by an uncle and grandmother from the hospital grounds and back to whatever her new life will be - in a hip spica cast, with an above-the-knee amputation on the right and a broken hip on the left. About Bethlie Paul and Naika, two little girls who after numerous surgeries and treatments will most likely still lose their legs. About resilient little Kervin and his engaging smile. About Harold, who winced and trembled as he removed his dressing each day so that I could clean his wounds and apply a new one, and then grinned at me and thanked me profusely.

About the resilient teen-age boys who are so bound together by their eight week long experience in the hospital that we wonder how they will adapt when they eventually leave and go their separate ways.

About the extended families who are beside the bedside of their loved ones 24/7, sleeping on the floor with no pillow, possibly just a sheet, and go back behind the hospital twice a day to cook some food for themselves and their loved ones over a crude charcoal fire, do all the bedside care - batheing and dressing their family members and emptying their slop pots - all with smiles on their faces and a song on their lips - praising God for preserving their lives, despite the losses they have suffered.

About the patients who we cared for who never smiled, but are going through some inner trauma that we will never understand, and who have not found a way to express their grief to anyone. About some of the patients who have no one beside their beds because their loved ones have been lost. About the patients who have physical wounds that are slowly healing, but emotional wounds that may never heal.

About the crude conditions that the nurses of the hospital are trying hard to work with - no running water, dim lighting (we at least had head lamps), limited supplies (a man with a blood sugar over 500 without the right insulin to give him), patients with cardiac conditions with no medications to help them. Open buckets or basins being used as sharps containers, which then get emptied into the regular trash and dumped in a big pile out behind the hospital. Mice scurrying across the floor right next to where children are sleeping. Charts with notations and orders written by english-speaking doctors and nurses that they can't decipher and therefore are not following through with.

And here we are back at home. And I wonder how long it will be before their faces leave my mind and I get caught up in daily life. I promised so many of them that I will never forget them and that I will pray for them every day. And I will - at least for a while - until my busy life pushes the memories into the background. But God does not forget any one of them. He hears their cries of anguish and their songs of praise. He knows what their futures will be. He sees all of the tent cities that have sprung up, thousands living out in the elements with only a layer of tarp or a sheet or a canvas tent, lining up by the hundreds, solid walls of people standing in lines to get what? a cup of rice or a small loaf of bread? And we passed through them on our air-conditioned bus and left them behind and came to our beautiful homes with our healthy bodies, weary physically, but inspired spiritually. We commit the Haitian people to God, praying for them and hoping that the memory of what we have experienced will linger long.

Highs and Lows

We just got back down to Cayes to the complex where we will spend the night in the Lumiere guesthouse. Just want to let you know that we are safe and enjoyed the luxury of hot showers. We will go to the Haitian linen store this evening, but plan to turn in early because we have to get up at 3:00 a.m. for another bus ride back to Port-au-Prince. There are so many experiences to share from the past few days, but not enough time to blog. We all have so many pictures on our cameras to upload also. But not enough time for that tonight. We will share a picture of our entire group, including Sheila Moser, who wears many hats here in Haiti (and is always on the phone) and was with us all week at Bonne Fin, and Drs. Rudolph (Haitian) and Adele, a retired Navy commander doctor from Florida and several hospital staff who served us as interpreters.

addendum:

On Thursday evening, the doctors finished surgeries earlier than usual and so we did rounds before dinner and had a late dinner back at the guesthouse. After dinner, Sheila suggested that we all share the "lowest" part of our week and then go around the room again, this time sharing our "highs". This was such an emotional activity and increased the bond that we all have even more. Tears flowed, laughter rang out, and the evening passed all too quickly. We discussed patients who still need procedures done tomorrow before we leave and changed a few things around and had to go back up to the hospital to make one of the patients NPO (nothing per oral) after midnight so that they can sedate her in the OR in the a.m. So we all traipsed back up, visiting with patients and finding little tasks to do. On the way back, those who wished to went tarantula hunting -they are as big as your fist!! We had a cockroach in our bedroom and one in the bathroom when we got back tonight. You just have to block it out and go to sleep.

One of Alice's chores today was to measure people's feet for shoes and she went around the wards and handed out shoes. As soon as the people saw shoes, they all crowded around and wanted some. It was supposed to be patients first and then families, but after a while, you just kinda figure that they all need shoes! they all need snacks! they all need nutrition! they are all exhausted, both emotionally and physically. Alice also handed out toys, teddy bears, bubbles, coloring books and crayons and other treats that each of us had brought along from home.

On Friday morning we went into the chapel where the people meet each morning to pray before they go into the hospital to work. It was emotional once again as the people thanked us for coming and helping them. Dr. John forgot his Claritin (his excuse for having tears running down his face). A highlight of this service was when the pastor's phone rang during a prayer. He shut it off once and it immediately began to ring again, so he left the room and about five other people all started praying at once, out loud. Something I have never heard before!

We scrambled around all morning trying to finish dressing changes, trying to educate the Haitian nurses and nursing students who have arrived, flushing IVs, doing pin care, checking orders in charts, organizing supplies, setting up medications to be taken over the weekend (the big concern is the antibiotics) which we left with families at the bedside in case they are short-stffed again this weekend, walking patients and doing range of motion exercises, handing out snacks and nutritional supplements again and in short, trying to tie together loose ends before we leave. A few of us got to go into the OR, where an open reduction and internal fixation of a hip was being done on a woman who had arrived the evening before, having fallen and broken her hip.

The plan was to all be back at the guest house at 3:30, load the luggage (not near as much as we had when we came up as most of it was donated) and head down the mountain by 4:00 p.m. Mid-afternoon, people started arriving at the ER. There had been an accident between a Tap-Tap, a bus that carries many, many people - not at all safely, and a motorcycle. Some of our team went to the ER to try to assess people's wounds and begin treatment on them. There is just never-ending work to be done, and as the afternoon wore on, we simply had to turn away and leave, some of our team not even having the opportunity to go back to the wards to say goodbye to these patients who have wiggled their way into our hearts so deeply in just five short days. Those of us who did have that opportunity were so touched by those goodbyes, knowing that the possiblity of ever meeting these people again here on earth are pretty slim. But also knowing that we can think of them daily and remember them in prayer, that God would heal their broken bodies and also their broken hearts and lives.

All work no play makes Doctor John a dull Doktar! He is our all around man!

Check out the engaging smiles on these children. Little Jodelyn lost her parents and siblings, lost one of her legs and has a broken hip on the opposite side. She is being discharged with her grandmother. Ben and Alice organized some group therapy activities for the younger patients outside. Alice also is very useful, wiping people's bodies with her cloths and then massaging their limbs with lotion. They love it!!Pin care is such an important part of treatment. More than half of the patients we are seeing have some sort of an external fixator attached to one or more of their limbs. These apparatuses are leftovers from the States, rejected by U.S. doctors because they don't really allow bones to grow together completely, but rather they hold the fracture apart a little too much, not allowing the fractured area to fuse together. But they are better than nothing and have allowed broken bones to begin to mend on many of the patients. Drs John and Mike are doing many procedures which they call Dynamization (sp?) where they tighten some pins and loosen others, allowing more flexion on some of the joints. Weight bearing on the bones is so important also and our physical therapists, Margaret, Ben and Vickie are helping people get up and moving.One of the operating rooms.Getting folks outside was a real treat for them. One of the operating rooms. Drying X-rays A view from the helicopter ride. The Haitian countryside is truly beautiful! Kerven stole all of our hearts.

When you are sick or hurt in Haiti where will the Baby sleep?

Lots of pictures today! Check them all out.

Where to begin?? Each day is a myriad of experiences, from nurses stepping in to be ER docs - two men came in to the ER and had been sitting for an hour and a half and no one had spoken to them yet. One had a hand laceration, requiring stitches and the other had minor abrasions on his arm and knee and needed stitches in his chin. They had fallen off a motorcycle (Motorcycles are Everywhere! in Haiti) and had made their way to this little mountain hospital for treatment. We had to pull one of the docs from between procedures in the OR to stitch them up and sent them on their way.

Making our way from the guest house to the hospital.

Rounds by headlamp and flashlight.

So many complex dressings. So many serious infections!Three wound vacs installed in the past two days. Dr Rudolph (Haitian) and our team's excellent Ortho Docs are putting in such long days and accomplishing so much. The US docs are seeing procedures done in ways that they haven't seen in years. The Haitian people truly "make do" with what they have to work with. One autoclave for the OR, so they have to prioritze surgeries so they can sterilize instruments between procedures. Dr. Rudolph has done more procedures in the past 8 weeks (without a day off!) than the US docs do in almost a year!

PT working hard to get patients up and walking.

Wendesday 3-3-10 We are busy to say the least. Last night Doctor's rounds again ended around midnight. Doctors Mike, John, Adele (retired Navy) and Rudy are tireless and and can keep the midnight oil burning ! Nurses Karen and Dorothy are all over changing dressing up to 50 a day. The PT's are making real progress getting people up and around.

In Haiti when you are sick, your family takes care of you - they are your own CNA's. Yes 24/7, so a place to sleep is under the bed, baby and all.

Today was started with a worship service and a welcome by the local minister.

Mona, our cook at the guest house.

Little children walking through the compound on their way to school.

Family and friends lean through the windows to watch whatever treatment is going on in the wards. And we have noticed - whoever screams the loudest draws the largest crowd!

Relaxing at the guest house after a long day and a good hot meal.










"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." II Timothy 1:7

Monday to Tuesday on our trip to Bonne Fin

Well the wonders of technology! I just lost every thing that was typed due to Internet issues! Nothing is easy in Haiti! So I will try to hit the highlights. Our trip was an adventure of real Haitian proportions! Helicopter ride for Alice, Margret and some luggage. The rest of us piled into the Land Rover and were able to drive up to about the last two miles before the hospital, again witnessing devastation all around, as people's homes were flooded and all of their belongings out in the open to try to dry them out. Some of the staff came down from the hospital and helped us with of our luggage. So we did a Haiti hike.

We had supper at the guest house on the hospital compound and then went and did rounds, changing many dressings until 12:30 AM. Because the nurses were unable to get to the hospital over the weekend, dressings were unchanged for several days. These injuries are very traumatic with most being amputees, some of which are healed, but many that are still open. The hospital has had over 300 orthopedic procedures since the earthquake. Dr. Rudolph here has amazing stamina! The orthopedic surgeons on our team are quiet impressed and are stepping right up and scheduling surgeries. Right now they expect to do over 20 procedures while they are here. The major problem with a lot of these patients still here is that they are dealing with serious infections.