Haiti Post Jan 27 2010

pent a while this am doing a little networking around leogane, trying to find some meds and deliver others . Met Canadians, the marines, and the wonderful team over at FLIS, also known as world wide village. They have a very impressive operation going there at one hell of a major tent city. Some pics to follow.
Good and nonstop day at clinic site-- hot, hot, hot and humid! But we all smell pretty badly so no one cares. Today, the UN or someone was distributing boxes of food and water to the people, so there were armed guards(army or marines I think) blocking off the streets to control flow in and out. Razor wire barricades. Line of people waiting for these handouts was so long, but it all went off fairly uneventfully from what we saw. Sometimes guards had to escort people out with their boxes to prevent them from being mugged for them, but it worked.
Saw for the third day in a row a girl with awful infected foot wound, who had been sent twice to hospital stations around town but never seemed to get treated. Dont know if she was being turned away or just not going or just didnt really understand the gravity of wound/-- or just didnt understand her instructions. Logistics and communication is a challenge here for sure. Finally, a nurse from the WWV camp came by at the fortuitous moment that she was back again ( and getting worse) and I showed her to him. He actually took her himself back to their hospital right then and there to get the care she's needed. Hope they can save her foot. But after meeting those guys this morning and seeing their setup and dedication, I this time have full faith that she will be taken care of.
This eve Dr Morsch (HTH founder and operations commander here in Haiti ) brought film crew around and they interviewed some of us. They now call me ' Indiana jen'-- mostly cause I looked pretty rough at the end of the day and was wearing a funky hat. I'll take it, though! They are gathering some pretty powerful stories from the locals as well as the volunteers. Can't wait to see the end product.
We've been staying at a Mennonite compound that is actually girl's shelter primarily. They continue to blow us away with their hospitality, and one of the American girls, Abigail, is fast becoming the best wound nurse in town! She is only 18 but so sharp and on the ball. This young lady will undoubtedly be headed to nursing school someday. And will already have such fantastic experience.
Looks like this team will be heading back to our main camp base back in Port au Prince sometime tomorrow afternoon. Time to regroup, restock/ raid base supply hold, and send off the next team to Leogane on Friday.
We'll do work in P au P Friday and maybe wash some clothes!
I leave Saturday, and I wish I could stay on longer. But going hone will give me a chance to pack a few things differently next time, ho read up on sone tropical medicine and some wound care, and be even more useful next trip. I do feel I've been well-utilized here, and that is good. I go to bed tired and wired (which is why writing this is good for me) and wake up refreshed and ready. It's a nice way to live, actually.

Jen

January 27 at 7:44pm via Facebook for iPhone