Day 2

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

Cockadoodledoo!!!

In the morning we are awakened by the resident rooster, his abrupt crow is broadcast throughout the entire compound above a chorus of various other sounds. Roaming freely among the tents: the rooster, some chickens, a puppy, a kitten, two goats, & although I'd never seen it, apparently a pig lives somewhere in the garbage ditch. It's a symphony of squeaks, chirps, barks, meows, baas, & of course, doodledoos from the menagerie & it's time to get up. Because, frankly, there's no snooze button!

First thing today we had a group meeting & were told that we'd be assigned to our tasks. But because such a large group of people arrived the same day we did & there was much commotion, we were left aside in the rush & were not given any assignment. They had forgotten about us! So we took matters into our own hands & headed to the clinic.

Today they had a special clinic set up for the interpreters & their family members. The interpreters are an integral part of the organization & without them, much of what is done would not be possible. We had a great orientation day with Sally Kupp, a nurse from Revelstoke, British Columbia, who gave us a warm welcome. She had been there for the last two weeks & showed us the ropes. We were thoroughly impressed with her knowledge & confidence after just a few weeks (especially with her keen ability to identify pelvic inflammatory disease in one of the patients, as confirmed by one of the physicians, after asking just the right questions!). And as much as there's a huge learning curve, we were excited to get the chance to gain those skills. While Heather helped organize items that had been donated to the organization with the Union group for the interpreters, Carissa was oriented with Sally. And as Carissa started taking her own patients, Heather later oriented to the clinic. I oriented with Maria Nueva, a physician from a medical team out of Uruguay. We were also later shown around by hard working volunteers from Phoenix, Arizona: John-Mark, a respiratory therapist, his sister Lilly, as well as Ali, both registered nurses. They had all worked together as a cohesive team in the last few weeks. And by the end of the clinic, we had seen & learned so much already.

Carissa in the pharmacy of donated meds

An IV started with unfamiliar tubing & IV catheters donated from foreign countries.

The bag was hung on a clothesline with a clothespin

Since there were no masks available to administer an inhaler to a baby, Maria made one by cutting the top of a plastic water bottle & placing tape around the edges.

Ingenuity at its best!

After the clinic, we had all afternoon to ourselves. Sally brought us over to the hospital next door, Hospitale Adventiste d'Haiti, & we got the opportunity to see the pediatric ward there.

Heather, Carissa, & Myself

Heather giving a stuffed animal to a baby,

donated by one of her nieces

Nurses starting an IV on a baby

Nurse's station

For our nursing friends...

The Top 6 Differences between the Pediatic Ward of Hospitale Adventiste d'Haiti & Unit 2 of the Alberta Children's Hospital:

1) At home, we give vanco over 1.5 hrs. In Haiti, they push it.

2) At home, we like to tape our NG tubes. In Haiti, they let them fly free.

3) At home, we like to keep the kids inside the crib with the siderails up. In Haiti, they like to give the kids free reign & leave the siderails down.

4) In Haiti, the windows & doors are open to keep the ward cool & mosquito nets protect the babies. At home, the windows are permanently shut to keep the cold out & we never see mosquitos in the building.

5) In Haiti, nurses go in the break room & lock the door at night to sleep. At home, Mary makes us stay up & work all night long.

6) Oh yes, & in Haiti, there are no beeping sat monitors!

Notice the NG tube

Mosquito nets

Siderails

The break room/napping room in the back

All joking aside, we were very grateful to be shown the pediatric ward. The family members were incredibly gracious in allowing us to photograph their children. And in spite of the differences from our unit, the children there are in very good hands & are well taken care of. A medical volunteer explained that they had been working hard to educate & help the local medical staff in being fully functional, which is an excellent sign of progress following the earthquake.

As we walked around the hospital, we noticed that most patients were outside of the building under tents. We were told that this was mainly due to the dangers of being inside the building during aftershocks & also because of fear from staying indoors following the earthquake.

A little boy with pins in his leg.

The stuffed animal is from Heather's other niece.

Such generous girls!

Sally & Carissa with a woman with pins in her leg.

This woman thanked us for visiting her.

She told us that talking with healthy people made her feel better

After visiting the hospital, Carissa & I later walked with John Mark, Lilly, & Ali towards a University down the road. Children's faces lit up with joy at the simplest of things - stickers. Amazing.

For the rest of the day, we hung out at the compound.

Compound entrance

Our humble abode

Carissa with our trusty mosquito nets

Heather filling her water bottle up with the carbon- & UV-filtered water

Lilly with a very special patient

Every so often a breadfruit will fall from the trees above.

It can actually be quite dangerous.

This is Carissa after one graced her elbow on its way down

During the meeting that evening, the donated supplies (including items such as blankets, clothing, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, & tents) that were organized earlier today by the Union group were given to each of the interpreters in appreciation for their much needed volunteer services.

That night we decided to pass on the meal they provided & had our own dehydrated, rehydrated 3 cheese lasagna dinner & melted chocolate for desert (who knew melted chocolate spooned right out of the packaging could be sooo good!). We then eventually settled down & went to sleep on our lovely thermarests.

Mmmm!

Under the mosquito nets, writing in our journals about our busy day