Wednesday
The road to Jasmin, where we returned on Wednesday to serve the people of Jasmin, is a long, steep, and winding road. We opened the clinic by 9, and finished about 5. We ran out of the 750 medical record forms I had brought with me, and then started using scraps of paper for assessment, diagnosis, and prescriptions. We estimate that we saw about 780 people over the 3 days, more than 1/3 of which were on that last day of clinic. I had little time for photography, or lunch!
Nicholas is about a 4 hour, one way walk from Jasmin. When Kerwin travels there for church, he goes as far as he can by moto, and then rides a donkey the rest of the way. The remoteness of the community adversely affects the health of the people we see. They have more respiratory issues, more malnutrition, and more high blood pressure. Our dentists found that the dental health was worse than in the other communities. Consequently, they were not able to restore as many teeth and had to resort to extractions. As the day progressed, we ran out of medications, but in most cases we were able to make an adequate substitution.
Thursday - a day of moral conflict
Kathie left us early Thursday morning so that she could take care of her ill sister-in-law. We were sorry to see her go, but it was the right thing for her to do.
We were all surprised to learn that the school now has an "annex" which is located in an old school building up the street from the main location. The youngest kids (pre-k and K) are in this location. The school now educates 420 students.
We were excited to be there when the kids were being served a hot lunch of rice and beans. The lunch is prepared over an open fire in the LaBorde's (layleader) backyard. We visited a little while with the women who prepare the meal for the kids. The "head cook" offered to sing us a song, which she proceeded to do beautifully. It was another thin place.
After a light snack at the LaBorde's house, we returned for lunch at the guesthouse. Watson, one of our translators, had offered to walk with us to the nursing school so that our new team members could see where our nursing students are educated. Along the way, he regaled us with stories about Leogane pre and post quake. When we were in Leogane 6 months ago, there were still hundreds of people living in tents or other temporary shelters in the city park. They are all gone now, moved into better housing. The streets in Leogane are clean and free of trash. There are still open sewers with trash, but overall, the city looks much better than it did in the fall.
The nursing school is starting an expansion to add an administrative building and more dorms, another exciting development. There are plans for a science lab where the administrative offices are currently located. The school has been repaired and refreshed since the quake and is a very pleasant, inviting space for its 100 students.
While at the nursing school, we met Tim, an American nurse and administrator, who works at the school periodically. He told us of two very sick children at a local orphanage and asked Dianne if she would be willing to examine the children. Of course, she was. So, instead of continuing our planned walk out to the beach, we motored off to an orphanage on the Leogane "bypass".
The orphanage is a tent city behind a large concrete wall. The tents are on wooden platforms and are joined by wooden paths around the property. The two kids were in one of the farthest tents, lying on blankets on the floor. The little 14 month old girl was severely malnourished and had pneumonia and the 18 month old boy suffered from a congenital problem which affected his breathing and ability to eat solid food, but not his ability to play. If Dianne were writing this, she could be more specific. Dianne recommended taking the kids to Hopital Ste. Croix and to the Children's Nutrition Program where they could be thoroughly evaluated and treated.
The heartbreaking part of the visit occurred when the young woman who was serving as the girl's care taker proudly told us that the mother had left the girl with them two weeks ago, that there was already a family in America to adopt her, and that her name had been changed to an American name. Well, Dianne told them exactly what she thought about that, none of which was good. We then learned that the little boy had been with them for more than a year, after his mom left him with them, and that a US family was trying to get him a medical visa. While Bob, Dianne, and I were with these two kids, Jess and Callan were talking with some of the girls with the church group that were helping over spring break. They learned that expecting mothers come to the facility during their last three weeks of pregnancy, give birth there, and then leave their babies there, presumably to be adopted in the US.
This visit generated many conversations among our team members about the approprate kind of aid which Americans and others might offer in Haiti. The questions this visit raised were many, with no easy answers.
Friday - our day of R and R
Friday, we traveled to Jacmel by rented van. The HSC truck, which had carried us to our clinics was not well enough to make the trip over the mountains, and Kerwin's van had suffered a broken axle earlier in the week. Luckily, Joseph Chery, came to our rescue. He worked at HSC for about 20 years, and now owns and operates a two vehicle transportation service out of Port au Prince. What a great find! The other team from Oak Ridge, TN, which had been with us Saturday night had returned Thursday night, so three of the younger team members, Chris, Mike, and David, joined us on our trip. A great day of fun in the sun and playing in the ocean was had by all! We enjoyed the private beach at the Hotel Cyvadier. We're thinking about staying a night there on a future trip.
Saturday - and then we had to leave
While there is a certain symmetry to both arriving and leaving in the truck, a closed vehicle certainly gets you to the airport a lot cleaner! We had the foresight, to take a clean outfit and wet wipes in our back packs, so we were all good. Hopefully, everyone gets home safely. We just had some bad news about Kathie's sister in law Cathy, so please add her to your prayer list. Terry
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