Bump in the road...

Well, things haven't worked out quite as I had planned.  Unfortunately after being in Haiti for a few weeks, I got pretty sick.  I had a wonderful crew of doctors, nurses, and medics looking after me; and I'm so grateful for all of them.  But after being sick for more than a week and ending up back on IV fluids for the third time, we decided it was probably best for me to come back to the States to get better.  I've been home since Sunday night recuperating.  I definitely didn't expect to be back in Florida so soon.  I've had quite a bit of labwork done, which hasn't really revealed much, aside from being a bit neutropenic.  I was so heavily pretreated with broad spectrum antibiotics that it's pretty unlikely that anything will show up in my cultures at this point.  So I'm not really sure what it was that made me so sick.  All that matters is I'm feeling better!  I'm trying to decide what my plans are next.  I'm hoping to return to Haiti sometime in December.  I'm eager to get back to my patients and friends at Hospital Bernard Mevs!  I'll keep you posted on what's next...

Day 17: You Know You're In Haiti When...

Stolen from Sammie...

You know you are a long term volunteer in Haiti when:

1.) You ask if breakfast is the ketchup sandwich again
2.) Security guards are also your Coke supplier
3.) You think mosquito spray smells like cologne, and compliment men on it
4.) The lights go out when you are in the shower and your roommates illuminate the bathroom with headlamps till you are safe.
5.) GI issues are openly discussed and Typhoid is always the diagnosis.

6.) The roof is the cool hangout/laundry area/bathing area/bar/hideout ect.
7.) You are curious about unknown white people in the hospital compound
8.) 7:30pm is UN bus time....or 7:45....or 8:00...or whenever the driver shows up
9.) The only Creole you know is "Prestige"
10.) Saturday is grocery day/volunteer departure day.
11.) Picking out your scrubs for the day involves the 'sniff test' and the ultimate decision to use Febreeze
12.) Carbs, sodium and snack food are your breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
13.) You wake up to Geckos on the wall...next to you.
And finally, the main reason you know you are a long term volunteer in Haiti is...
14.) You wake up everyday, with all your new friends, ready to work, look like crap and and help the most grateful people on the planet.

Day 16: Pizza and Glowsticks

On Friday night we had a glowstick and pizza party in the Peds ward.  The kids, staff, and volunteers all had a blast!  I have a feeling that these will become some of the most memorable moments of the trip.  These kids are awesome!

 

With two of the awesome Haitian Peds nurses, Severe and Winnie

Samantha enjoying her pizza

The Peds crew for the week with a few of our favorite little patients

Day 14: Never a Boring Day

Sunday was an eventful day.  I was working in Triage that morning and things had been pretty slow.  Then, around 10:00, a truck raced up with a badly injured 13-year-old American boy.  He had been in an ATV accident and obviously had major head trauma.  When I got to the truck he was minimally responsive with blood coming out of both of his ears.  His mother, a pediatrician, was down in Haiti for the week volunteering at a clinic.  The staff at the clinic knew that Medishare is the only facility with a CT scanner, so they rushed him here. We got him into our ED and began to assess and stabilize him.  He clearly needed a head CT, but since it was the weekend, our CT scanner wasn't up and running.  But a technician was able to be called in, and after the power initially went out, the generators starting working and the scan was able to be completed.  The CT revealed multiple skull fractures.  But since, the patient was stable and he didn't require any immediate neurosurgical intervention, the staff at Medishare was able to get him med evaced back to a hospital in Fort Lauderdale.  Sammie and I transported the boy on the ambulance ride from the hospital to the airport.  It was kind of cool getting to ride right onto the runway. The pilots and medics that were transporting the patient back to the States were fabulous.  They even brought us some special treats.  We definitely enjoyed our Dunkin Donuts flown in from America :)  Overall, I was very impressed with how well everybody worked together to provide this boy with such exceptional care in less than ideal circumstances.  The fact that he made it to the hospital, was stabilized, got scanned, and was already on a plane back home in less than eight hours from the time of his initial injury is amazing.  Project Medishare did an awesome job!

Day 8: Farewell to the MN Crew

Well, today was the day that I knew would be difficult.  The rest of the volunteers left this morning to head back to the States.  Even though I'm far from ready to be going home, it was tough watching my friends load up and head to the airport.  Sammie and I definitely had a few tears in our eyes as we hugged everybody goodbye.  We had an awesome group here last week.  This past week was definitely the easiest week I've ever had down here, because everyone worked together so well.  I'm glad I've got Sammie for at least the next two weeks!

Day 5: Finally in Haiti!

I arrived safely in Port Au Prince on Saturday.  Today is day five of the trip and so far things are going great!  After all of the planning and prep work, I'm happy to finally be down here.  I've been blown away by all of the progress they've made in Pediatrics since my last visit in March.  I've kept busy seeing pediatric patients that come in to triage or the ED, although today I enjoyed some down time on my scheduled day off for the week.  It's weird to have a day off down here but I've realized I definitely need to enjoy the down time when it comes, because things can get hectic pretty quickly.  It's also nice to have the opportunity to leave the hospital every once in awhile, so I don't go stir crazy.  I have no doubt that coming down here was the right decision.  I'm already wondering if I'll be ready to come home after two months!