Dear Friends,
It was really nice to see many of you and some family on my short visit home at the end of October. I really appreciate all the prayers and support that have been coming my way. I've been encouraged a lot by the amount of support and it has helped me to try and be a better person down here in Haiti. The past month has been a busy and intense one, especially the past three weeks. I've been hosting two different medical teams, an OB/GYN physician and nurse for a week followed by an anesthesiologist for a week. We were working in northern Haiti at a Haitian-run hospital not too far from where Sara volunteered. I got to spend a lot of time seeing the physicians in action which I really enjoyed. The OB/GYN did consultations each day at the hospital and also performed 5 or 6 surgeries, including a couple emergency C-sections. The anesthesiologist did an assessment and some training of their anesthesia staff, so that entailed a lot of time in the operating room with him. On top of hosting the teams, I also taught English classes for the hospital staff while I was there. Lets just say I have a new appreciation for teachers!
We had a couple really sad and traumatizing cases during our time there. The very first day the anesthesiologist was here we were literally giving him a tour of the hospital when we walked by the pediatric ward and a couple nurses were performing chest compressions on a 3 yo girl. The anesthesiologist basically went straight into code mentality and took over CPR. I was the only translator there which was definitely not ideal, and the OB/GYN had to run around the stock room looking for supplies while the anesthesiologist bagged the girl (tried to pump oxygen into her lungs) and I did chest compressions. We found out later she was admitted for a lost appetite/stomach pain and also had a couple convulsions, after which she stopped breathing. We performed CPR for about 10 minutes before giving up. It was exceptionally sad because neither of her parents were there at the time. Typically in Haiti when someone dies close relatives start to wail quite loudly, but it was only quiet after she died.
A patient that was operated on during our time there was a young teenage boy who broke his arm and somehow got an infection at his hand/wrist. It was honestly the worst injury or illness I have ever seen. The extent of the infection was such that the boy's arm had to be amputated at the forearm and there was hardly any living flesh below that point. A lot of the interior anatomy of the boy's arm was visible and it was quite disturbing. People can get infections in the US that are similar, but I have a hard time believing such an infection wouldn't have been preventable with better access to healthcare and treatment.
The realities of what Haitians face day to day have been a good reminder of what I should be thankful for and what I should learn to live without. Despite the despair of the cases outlined above, I remember in some way being happy that the 3 yo girl that passed away got a level of care that very few people receive in Haiti. Although I really wanted her to live and to see a positive outcome, I've been trying to teach myself that service is not necessarily all about that: it's about solidarity and the human relation you have with people you serve. I hope however or whenever you serve others over the holidays and after, you find joy in doing so regardless of the results. Blessings to you and yours.
It was really nice to see many of you and some family on my short visit home at the end of October. I really appreciate all the prayers and support that have been coming my way. I've been encouraged a lot by the amount of support and it has helped me to try and be a better person down here in Haiti. The past month has been a busy and intense one, especially the past three weeks. I've been hosting two different medical teams, an OB/GYN physician and nurse for a week followed by an anesthesiologist for a week. We were working in northern Haiti at a Haitian-run hospital not too far from where Sara volunteered. I got to spend a lot of time seeing the physicians in action which I really enjoyed. The OB/GYN did consultations each day at the hospital and also performed 5 or 6 surgeries, including a couple emergency C-sections. The anesthesiologist did an assessment and some training of their anesthesia staff, so that entailed a lot of time in the operating room with him. On top of hosting the teams, I also taught English classes for the hospital staff while I was there. Lets just say I have a new appreciation for teachers!
We had a couple really sad and traumatizing cases during our time there. The very first day the anesthesiologist was here we were literally giving him a tour of the hospital when we walked by the pediatric ward and a couple nurses were performing chest compressions on a 3 yo girl. The anesthesiologist basically went straight into code mentality and took over CPR. I was the only translator there which was definitely not ideal, and the OB/GYN had to run around the stock room looking for supplies while the anesthesiologist bagged the girl (tried to pump oxygen into her lungs) and I did chest compressions. We found out later she was admitted for a lost appetite/stomach pain and also had a couple convulsions, after which she stopped breathing. We performed CPR for about 10 minutes before giving up. It was exceptionally sad because neither of her parents were there at the time. Typically in Haiti when someone dies close relatives start to wail quite loudly, but it was only quiet after she died.
A patient that was operated on during our time there was a young teenage boy who broke his arm and somehow got an infection at his hand/wrist. It was honestly the worst injury or illness I have ever seen. The extent of the infection was such that the boy's arm had to be amputated at the forearm and there was hardly any living flesh below that point. A lot of the interior anatomy of the boy's arm was visible and it was quite disturbing. People can get infections in the US that are similar, but I have a hard time believing such an infection wouldn't have been preventable with better access to healthcare and treatment.
The realities of what Haitians face day to day have been a good reminder of what I should be thankful for and what I should learn to live without. Despite the despair of the cases outlined above, I remember in some way being happy that the 3 yo girl that passed away got a level of care that very few people receive in Haiti. Although I really wanted her to live and to see a positive outcome, I've been trying to teach myself that service is not necessarily all about that: it's about solidarity and the human relation you have with people you serve. I hope however or whenever you serve others over the holidays and after, you find joy in doing so regardless of the results. Blessings to you and yours.
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