Giving Thanks

It is Friday night after Thanksgiving and I finally have some time to add photos to the blog and to add a few reflections of the trip.

Things were quiet after the election, which resulted in a run off in the presidential election which will be held in December. Jude Celestin is expected to win, so we shall see.

Since all was quiet, we were able to travel to Jacmel and enjoy a relaxing day at the Hotel Cyvadier before returning home the next day.

The Atlantans had an early flight home, but the Minnesotans were able to visit with Pere Kerwin and his family while awaiting their flight. 

Going to Haiti makes us thankful for those whom we now call our friends - our Haitian team mates, our patients, our priests, those who staff and take care of us at the guesthouse, our drivers, the staff and teachers at our schools, the lay leaders and their families, and all the families at St. Phillippe and St. Jacques and at St. Joseph's. We are thankful for those who live in Haiti and serve at Hopital Ste. Croix and at FSIL, the Episcopal Nursing School, and who provide care for our communities. 

We are thankful for the opportunity to go to Haiti ourselves and for the small part which we play in improving our communities. We are thankful to all of you who support us by your prayers and donations so that we can continue to improve the lives of those we serve, one small step at a time. 

Thursday Night

It's after 10 and only the night owls are still up - Sandra, Bob, and me. We had a long day of organizing and getting prepared for the next trip. In the late afternoon, Dianne spent some time up at her partner, St. Phillippe and St. Jacques, learning about their plans to add a 10th grade (Secondary 1) in the 2016-2017 school year.

Yesterday was another eventful day in Jasmin. It seems that at each clinic there is at least one patient who is gravely ill. This day, it was a 17 month old boy, who had pulled a pot of boiling water over onto himself that morning. Luckily, our clinic was operating and Dianne was there. The young mother was understandably upset, and the little boy was in a great deal of pain. After giving the boy some Tylenol, Dianne had to abrade some of the burns, and then cleaned, treated, and wrapped the burns and blisters. The Mom told us that she lived close to the church, and lived in a house with a dirt floor. Dianne was concerned about dirt and the risk of infection, but unfortunately, this is the situation.  Although we gave her medicine and more dressings, the dressings needed to be changed daily, and Dianne told the Mom to take the boy to the hospital for this. We hope and pray that she is able to do so, but the closest hospital is where we stay which is about 1 to 1 1/2 hours away by 4 wheel drive vehicle. This mom was barefoot when she came to our clinic carrying her son. It is so difficult to describe the conditions in this mountanous community if you have not seen it. Her best hope of getting to the hospital is by moto. So, just try imagine what it would be like to carry your 17 month old toddler who has sustained second degree burns to his torso, arm, and back, down an extremely steep and  bumpy road, on the back of a moto, before reaching the main highway to get to the hospital. Then, think how easy it is for us to access medical care in the US.

Today has been an interesting day. The results of the Presidential election were announced in the late afternoon. There will be a runoff in December. There was concern about unrest after the announcement. Pere Sonley had been in Port au Prince, and said that there were some demonstrations, but things in Leogane are calm. We enjoyed a walk around town before the announcement and hope to be able to go to Jacmel tomorrow. We shall see how things are in the morning.

Everyone has now deserted me, so I am heading to bed, also.

Tuesday Night

This is my second attempt to post to this blog tonight. I'll save frequently this time!

Tuesday night is one of my favorite times in Haiti. We have completed 2 days of clinics (340 and 296 patients) and do not have to pack up when we leave Jasmin (and don't have to haul bags down the stairs and up into the trucks in the morning.) We have little meds to pack because most everything is already up the mountain. So, everyone is relaxed.

The acupunture clinic opened tonight courtesy of Cynthia, and both Bob and Brenda took advantage of Cynthia's expertise. Both are now very relaxed, having capped off their acupuncture sessions with a few rousing rounds of Bananagrams.

In the past, I have written about the sounds and smells of Haiti. The sounds of Haiti have increased in  volume. HSC, the hospital where we stay, is now the center of maternity health in Leogane as MSF no longer delivers babies. We met the on-call OB-GYN Saturday night, and the next morning he told us he delivered three babies. Judging by the sounds, there have been at least that many babies born each night we have been here.

It must be the season. We saw several new babies in clinic both days. They were very cute, but a couple were also quite sick.

This is my second Presidential Election in Haiti. It is quite interesting. This time, there are more than three candidates, with the front runners being one supported by the current President and former rock star, Martelly; one supported by former President Aristide; and one supported by former President Preval. Apparently, the wife of a former President is waiting for there to be a provisional government with her appointed as President. The election was 10 days ago, but no results have been announced. They were to be announced tomorrow night, and now will not be announced until Thursday night, the last we heard.

We have had a grand time getting to know our new priest, Sonley Joseph. He is very nice and seems to be getting along well with the congregations and schools which are now under his care.

 I met with him and the principal of our school tonight, so they could fill Sandra and me in on the expansion of the school to include 10th grade, the plan to build 2 new classrooms to accommodate this and additional class expansion, and the great news that all of our students passed the national exam for 9th grade. Our school is the highest quality of the 3 in our community, and it received a commendation from the government. Everyone is excited and very proud of the students!

Sandra and I gave 4 computers to the principal today. He was thrilled when he discovered that the cases contained computers! He has a room set up for a computer lab and they plan to add internet via a Natcom "stick" and wireless router. A computer lab is a 10th grade requirement, so the timing could not have been better. Our school has come a long way in a few short years.

We reacquainted ourselves with people at both locations.

Today, I was excited to see Sofini, her mom, and her brother at the clinics. They just came for a visit today and will return tomorrow for treatment.

Marie, the woman who made the crocheted skirts for me in the spring, brought another 15 skirts today, and Elise made 3 for older girls. So, if you need a baby gift, contact me! These skirts are a way for these women to earn money to help support their families and for us to earn money for the clinics.

I'm pleased that I finally got an update on the blog tonight. Now, I will leave Cynthia to finish her homework and go to bed like the rest of the team. Until tomorrow. Terry