Monday, June 28, 2010
Haiti Update June 28, 2010
New update from Christy:
Hi all!
Yesterday was good. It was not busy at all as everyone rests on Sunday- go figure? It was an amazing church service and it was a treat to watch these people worship. No homes, no material possessions and not always knowing where the next meal will come from but these joyful people worship and praise and trust the lord for all their needs. It was truly amazing!
We got a special treat and were taken to one of the beautiful beaches of Haiti and were given lobster, conch, and fish. It was very special and once again we got to travel by way of the open air truck. They call it a Haitian car :) We then came home and relaxed late into the evening talking as it poured rain.
Today has been really busy in clinic. By 1PM we had seen over 40 patients. We were so excited that 2 people from Texas joined our team late Saturday night. One is Scott and he is an associate pastor at a large cowboy church in San Antonio. The other member is Michael who is is a registered nurse in Dallas. He is from Nigeria and came to the states 15 years ago with his family. He came to the states by way of winning the visa lottery they used to have. It's an awesome story but he is a great man and does amazing in clinic as he is used to this type of nursing. Both Scott and Michael will be here until next Saturday.
Tonight we actually have to start packing up to get the stuff we are leaving for the people of the community organized. We have tomorrow and then we have to leave for Port-au-Prince by 6am Wednesday morning. Our flight leaves at noon and we get into LAX by 8:50. I can't believe we have to start packing. Time has gone so fast and we are sad it is ending. This is something I have grown to love and while I miss the comforts of home I could do this much much more - and I know we will - as a family. This is for sure not a fad- this will continue!
I write my emails throughout the day and started it at 1 and it is now 7 and we still have a line out the door with patients waiting. It's been a crazy day and we are exhausted - completely and totally! Our translators have left for the day so we have a Haitian who speaks Spanish translating to one of our team members who speaks Spanish who then translates it to us in English. Totally funny looking especially when we are trying to translate about sensitive subjects.
I'm exhausted so I'm gonna end this email so we can finish up our final patients and eat dinner. Lo and I are exhausted.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Haiti Update June 26, 2010
New email and pics from Christy:
Today was Saturday and the clinic was slow. We had a few of our missionaries who had been here for 3 weeks leave and 3 members of our team took them to the airport in Port-Au-Prince (3 hour drive) to drop them at the airport and to pick up the new 3 team members from Texas. So our team was small today but lots got done in the work team. It was a crazy hot day. Thermometer said 103 in shade. Almost unbearable but we made it.
Clinic was really slow today. Probably a mix of heat but also it was Saturday but still good. The creator of the Haiti rubble house was in our camp today. They are building 5 houses in our area for people in our church here. It's really a cool house and they already built the prototype right here by our camp. It's the coolest idea and Kev is jazzed and is planning on coming back to build one. The total cost of the rubble house is about $2500 and you can have one totally built house in 7 days. It's crazy and can really work to help rebuild Haiti.
We also did bubbles with the kids and they loved it. Overall, it was a great but slow day. Other team-members were really busy with construction and loving every second of it.
We just finished dinner and are waiting for the rest of our group to get here.
Christy
Friday, June 25, 2010
Haiti Update June 25, 2010
Hi! Things are well but Laura and I have been so busy in clinic that I have hardly had time to stop for meals. I swear I am getting good at this medical stuff. I know a lot of info on symptoms and meds and all kinds of stuff. Feeling like my next project to tackle needs to be medical school -lol- can you imagine? Anyway things have been busy but good. We are enjoying the work we are doing.
We have gone out into the community a few times and those are the experiences I love. Getting to see the reality of Haiti and experience the people first hand has been awesome. It's hard to see but good to experience.
Today Laura and I went to the home of a old woman who had a stroke and can't walk and lays in bed all day and her daughters care for her. We were told about her and that we would have to change her catheter and clean her huge bedsores so you can imagine how freaked out I was with that idea. All my worst nightmares wrapped in one. Well I am happy to report it was not too bad. The smell was fine and it was amazing how clean they kept their little tent. The sores were pretty bad- like spoonfuls of flesh taken out with sores all around the missing flesh. It was gross but not as bad as I thought. It stretched me a bit but I'm glad about that. Laura was amazing. She is such an amazingly loving and skilled doctor. I am continually impressed with her graciousness and loving heart. Will put the patients above her needs constantly. Completely impressed.
Our construction team is doing great work. It's been really hard to adjust to the heat but they are working hard. It is also interesting to watch the women in the kitchen cook. It takes hours for them to prepare the food, as they cook on charcoal and have no running water or anything. They do a great job. My husband Kevin is captivated, but the women laugh at him because only the women cook in Haiti. Our male translators think Kevin is crazy for cooking. They just laugh but Kev is in heaven in the kitchen watching them. The kitchen is attached to our clinic so we get to watch them cook everyday but the others don't so our team has taken up watching them cook and asking questions. It really makes the women proud!
It's been even hotter today if that's possible. There has not been any rain so the sun is out and bright. We are wet pretty much 100% of the time - dripping- shirts with sweat drips all over - just wet. Hard to get used to. Still not used to it.
Other than that we are good. Another team is joining us tomorrow and we are told there are 2 nurses with them so we are looking forward to sharing the clinic responsibilities. It's overwhelming the steady stream of people waiting for Laura and I to help. Glad to have others helping.
We miss everyone but happy doing the work here. I will write again soon.
Christy
One last thing - Laura texted me today and described the pharmacy to me - it is a tiny cement room with literally no working light (Laura used her cell phone for light and had to get really close to the meds to see anything). You walk in and it's almost completely dark and there is only one tiny little window that offers no circulation. They bought some hydrocortisone cream today, which again was ridiculously expensive for the Haitian people. She also described just how limited their supplies are. Really sounds like there is a great need there in Grand Goave.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Haiti Update June 24, 2010
No written updates from Christy today, but she did send several pictures- I wish I had more explanation for them, but this is what I got. I also heard briefly from Laura that they had a good day - they were able to make it into town to run errands and made a stop at the local pharmacy - I believe they were looking to buy some albuterol inhalers for their asthma patients. Laura said it had very limited supplies and was small and dirty, and the meds were very expensive for the local people - she sounded discouraged by that. She also mentioned that the people seem to like to negotiate prices and take their time - not much "rushing" around going on like there is here at home. And, it sounds like they had another busy day in their little clinic! The only other information I heard was that it was more breezy today, which helped with the heat, and Christy did post on facebook that the need there in Haiti is huge. I can't wait to hear more details of their trip, but in the meantime, here are the pics!
June 23
We are doing great. Tons of rain so it's been hard and muddy but it's not been as hot as usual so that's good. Its still crazy hot and we are sweating wet all day. Kev is soaked and dripping constantly. Yesterday he drank about 30 24 ounce bottles of water and only peed 2 times. It's still hot but the rain makes it tolerable- if that's possible. Food is ok but portions they cook for 13 people are equivalent to a portion for maybe 5 in the US. It's minimal but we brought other snacks so we're fine. Days start at@5am and bed @8 so it's not our normal schedule. Also with the rain the mosquitoes are minimal as well. So we are happy about that. Again it's primitive but ok. We are loving the kids and workers. Everyone is so loving and sweet. Most of them are already Christians so we just fellowship together every day.
That was pretty much it for Christy's email, but my sister, Laura, also texted that they were very busy in their little clinic all day! Lots of patients lined up and they are so happy that they are able to help some of them. Laura said that Christy is an excellent medical assistant and has learned so much already! And she has been just great with the patients. For those of you who haven't had a chance to meet Christy in person, I'll just say she is known to be very outgoing and sociable! She enjoys talking and getting to know people, so I can totally imagine her doing great in this capacity in the clinic. They are seeing mainly people with respiratory, skin, and stomach complaints. Many of the patients are children. The group brought a load of reading glasses with them and have found that many people are requesting them. They are also seeing a lot of itchy, allergy-type eye issues. The people seem to be opening up a bit and are becoming more friendly as the days go by. It sounds like they are becoming more comfortable with the group of volunteers. From what I hear, the construction work on the new school is going well also.
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