It is hard to upload photos to this site, so there is no real order to these photos, I'll find a way to do it better this weekend when I am not so tired.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Days 9 & 10 - Heading Home
I am sorry that I was not able to post yesterday. The last 2 days have been a whirlwind of emotions and travel. We had all felt that things had slowed down considerably and with the guy from Atlanta and the new Mexican team, there were not that many cases to do. Everyone felt it was time to head home. We were not sure we could get out until Friday because we had to wIt for space on the relief flights. We were able to get in touch with Abraham at the Bahamas Methodist Habitat, the had a plane that could take 3 of us to Nassau on wednesday. Karmen, Cynthia and I were ok with staying for another day or two, I felt that there was still some followup care we could/should do. I felt so torn. There is still so much to do there even if it isn't surgical. I also miss my kids and am looking forward to seeing them soon. Not to mention how badly I feel about all of my patients that have been so understanding about being away.
The plan was to take all of our gear to the airport and at least get our bags to Nassau. Then Mona, Ron, and Hector would head out on the second plane coming into Les Cayes.
We spent the morning packing up, visiting with the kids and buying some gifts, all that the kids had made and sell in a little shop at the orphanage. We decided to all head to the airport to see everyone off, the remaining three of us were going to go to the beach for the afternoon. At the airport we unloaded our gear and waited for the plane to arrive. The first plane was bringing supplies in, it had no seats but we were able to get all of our bags on. Ron was able to ride with the pilot in the jump seat. That opened up one seat on the second plane. The plane was able to take 4 passengers, there was supposed to be another doctor heading back to Nassau, but he never showed up. That meant that we were all able to get on the plane to nassau. Cynthia decided to stay for a few more days and continue to work at the Orphanage and help out with the sisters of mercy.
Had a great flight to Nassau, our pilot was a great guy, he buzzed the beach on the way into Great Inauga island and then again on the way into Nassau. I was in the jump seat and it was a lot of fun. Karmen decided she wants a plane now.
We got rooms at the Wyndam hotel. It felt so strange to be staying in such a fancy hotel. I must admit it felt great to take a hot shower! We all had a great dinner at a steak restaurant. Some of us went to the Casino to unwind before heading to bed. I think we all slept well with out the roosters and dogs keeping us awake all night.
We got up early and got to the airport, got our bags checked and then to customs. The customs guys were very interested in our trip and we showed them some of the photos, I forgot that not everyone likes seeing the gory photos and one of the customs guys almost passed out.
The flight to orlando was quick, we had a 4 hour layover there. Karmen got to see her parents who were flying down to spend a few weeks in florida. The flight back to Maine was uneventful as well. It is cold here! Was strange to say good bye to the team at the airport, but I think everyone was happy to get back to their families. I got to see my kids, was good to hug them! Makes me realize how fortunate we all are!
I will try upload a bunch of photos in the next post. Sorry I couldn't post more of them during the trip, we had limited data transfer ability while in Haiti.
Thanks for everyones comments and well wishes, I hope that my blog was informative, wish I was a better writer.
The plan was to take all of our gear to the airport and at least get our bags to Nassau. Then Mona, Ron, and Hector would head out on the second plane coming into Les Cayes.
We spent the morning packing up, visiting with the kids and buying some gifts, all that the kids had made and sell in a little shop at the orphanage. We decided to all head to the airport to see everyone off, the remaining three of us were going to go to the beach for the afternoon. At the airport we unloaded our gear and waited for the plane to arrive. The first plane was bringing supplies in, it had no seats but we were able to get all of our bags on. Ron was able to ride with the pilot in the jump seat. That opened up one seat on the second plane. The plane was able to take 4 passengers, there was supposed to be another doctor heading back to Nassau, but he never showed up. That meant that we were all able to get on the plane to nassau. Cynthia decided to stay for a few more days and continue to work at the Orphanage and help out with the sisters of mercy.
Had a great flight to Nassau, our pilot was a great guy, he buzzed the beach on the way into Great Inauga island and then again on the way into Nassau. I was in the jump seat and it was a lot of fun. Karmen decided she wants a plane now.
We got rooms at the Wyndam hotel. It felt so strange to be staying in such a fancy hotel. I must admit it felt great to take a hot shower! We all had a great dinner at a steak restaurant. Some of us went to the Casino to unwind before heading to bed. I think we all slept well with out the roosters and dogs keeping us awake all night.
We got up early and got to the airport, got our bags checked and then to customs. The customs guys were very interested in our trip and we showed them some of the photos, I forgot that not everyone likes seeing the gory photos and one of the customs guys almost passed out.
The flight to orlando was quick, we had a 4 hour layover there. Karmen got to see her parents who were flying down to spend a few weeks in florida. The flight back to Maine was uneventful as well. It is cold here! Was strange to say good bye to the team at the airport, but I think everyone was happy to get back to their families. I got to see my kids, was good to hug them! Makes me realize how fortunate we all are!
I will try upload a bunch of photos in the next post. Sorry I couldn't post more of them during the trip, we had limited data transfer ability while in Haiti.
Thanks for everyones comments and well wishes, I hope that my blog was informative, wish I was a better writer.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Day 9 - the pace slows
I want to thank Rhonda for the suggestion to use rum as a sleeping aid, had a full 8 hours of sleep last night. Going to load up again tonight!
Valarie I can't tell you how honored I feel to know you feel that way. I hope all my patients are so understanding. I hope all my patients know that I feel it is an honor that you put your trust in me to take care of you, and that even though I don't always have enough time with each of you, I strive to take care of each of you like one of my family.
Since today is Karmen's birthday I have asked her to write the first part of the blog.
Hi. It is my birthday! I told the Haitians I was turning 54 yrs old and they were impressed. Figured they are so beautiful and young looking that it wouldn't hurt to make myself look good.
All in all it was a good day . Not a normal "birthday" though not a big fan of my
birthday so was ok. The surgery line up has decreased which is good but was left to do were all sad surgeries. The last was the saddest of all. We had to tell this young man with a destroyed right arm that even with the work we were going to
do today, his arm would stll not work. Though we've seen many amps and disfigurment etc it was so hard to look into this young
man's eyes and tell him his arm was dead. I'm not sure what sank in. He had such trust in us "blanca" people in our blue scrubs that he thought we could turn anything into gold. Wish I had such faith.
I'm not sure what will happen to him. Best case this arm will be a functional paddle for him. I'll never forget his gentle voice and calm mindset in such an awful senerio.
So after that, we drove to a Mother Theresa covent that has taken in a lot of our post op pts and done a fantastic job with them. It was uplifting to see family members who had been trained properly in some basic PT moves that will improve their rehab significantly. It was so good to see our pts smiling, fed, and hydrated.
This covent normally takes care of babies born with various defects but has taken on these earthquake victims because they could . Seeing these babies was really hard but knowing they were in such capible hands helped. Who knew you could be a nun and a surgeon?! Between the young pilots working for Methodist missionaries that flew us into Haiti for free and these surgical nun doctors, my
highschool career counselor neglected to fill me in on so many possibilities!
Not that I would've chosen to be nun but a surgical nun is bit more appealing.
We drove couple mins from there to the water where we had a cold beverage at a beach bar which was a nice place to sit and bask in the nice breeze. Prestige- the local beer- was cold and refreshing even for a non-beer
drinker.
We returned to our oasis, the orphanage, and showered and got ready for dinner. After a very tasty dinner of mac and cheese they presented me with a birthday cake- complete with candles! It tasted so good and was so thoughtful, I almost cried. I'm so lucky to be with such caring people. I've been reminded of this multiple times each day during this trip. I think my 37th (no not 54th) year if off to a good start. Not where I thought I'd be spending my birthday but feel fortunate that I can be here doing what I can and learning from them all. Thank you all.
Valarie I can't tell you how honored I feel to know you feel that way. I hope all my patients are so understanding. I hope all my patients know that I feel it is an honor that you put your trust in me to take care of you, and that even though I don't always have enough time with each of you, I strive to take care of each of you like one of my family.
Since today is Karmen's birthday I have asked her to write the first part of the blog.
Hi. It is my birthday! I told the Haitians I was turning 54 yrs old and they were impressed. Figured they are so beautiful and young looking that it wouldn't hurt to make myself look good.
All in all it was a good day . Not a normal "birthday" though not a big fan of my
birthday so was ok. The surgery line up has decreased which is good but was left to do were all sad surgeries. The last was the saddest of all. We had to tell this young man with a destroyed right arm that even with the work we were going to
do today, his arm would stll not work. Though we've seen many amps and disfigurment etc it was so hard to look into this young
man's eyes and tell him his arm was dead. I'm not sure what sank in. He had such trust in us "blanca" people in our blue scrubs that he thought we could turn anything into gold. Wish I had such faith.
I'm not sure what will happen to him. Best case this arm will be a functional paddle for him. I'll never forget his gentle voice and calm mindset in such an awful senerio.
So after that, we drove to a Mother Theresa covent that has taken in a lot of our post op pts and done a fantastic job with them. It was uplifting to see family members who had been trained properly in some basic PT moves that will improve their rehab significantly. It was so good to see our pts smiling, fed, and hydrated.
This covent normally takes care of babies born with various defects but has taken on these earthquake victims because they could . Seeing these babies was really hard but knowing they were in such capible hands helped. Who knew you could be a nun and a surgeon?! Between the young pilots working for Methodist missionaries that flew us into Haiti for free and these surgical nun doctors, my
highschool career counselor neglected to fill me in on so many possibilities!
Not that I would've chosen to be nun but a surgical nun is bit more appealing.
We drove couple mins from there to the water where we had a cold beverage at a beach bar which was a nice place to sit and bask in the nice breeze. Prestige- the local beer- was cold and refreshing even for a non-beer
drinker.
We returned to our oasis, the orphanage, and showered and got ready for dinner. After a very tasty dinner of mac and cheese they presented me with a birthday cake- complete with candles! It tasted so good and was so thoughtful, I almost cried. I'm so lucky to be with such caring people. I've been reminded of this multiple times each day during this trip. I think my 37th (no not 54th) year if off to a good start. Not where I thought I'd be spending my birthday but feel fortunate that I can be here doing what I can and learning from them all. Thank you all.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Day 8- Still lots to do
Another night without much sleep, it was dogs fighting that kept me up most of the night again. Need to remember to bring earplugs if I ever come back here. Think I'm going to take Ronda's advice and drink a bunch of rum tonight!
This morning the woman with the crushed foot came for followup, it looked a lot better today. We also recasted one of the workers who broke her arm a few weeks ago.
Then we headed to the hospital, had a bunch of cases today. Started off by fixing the woman with an amputation on one side and a broken femur on the other leg. Hector took an extra finger off a kid. We did 2 amputations today, one was done by one of the new guys, he is very brash and cocky, aparently he rushed through the case and ended up having to go back to the or to find vessels that were bleeding. He also tried to reduce a 3 week old shoulder dislocation. As you can guess it didn't work, he just tortured the poor guy. It is surgeons like this guy that give us a bad reputation. I think he means well but is trying too hard to be the hero. I have been trying to teach dr alexi as much as I can, I try to help him and show him the tricks I know, he has taught me a lot too! We spent a long time in fracture clinic today too. We ran out of plaster at one point and everything came to a grinding halt. The staff just left and we waited over an hour for the supply depot to open up so we could get more stuff. It is obvious to me that there will be many mal unions to deal with down the road. Although I amazed with how stoic these hatians can be. We are still seeing people coming from PoP with untreated injuries, but it has slowed down considerably. We made rounds in the wards today too, we were able to send some people home. But many people have no where to go so they just stay in the hospital. It is amazing how patients are not mobilized, they lay in bed with a foley catheter and an iv with an empty bottle of fluid. It is a status symbol to be in the hospital with all of those tubes coming out of you.
We are still having issues with patients not getting meds. We have taken to giving patients a baggie of meds after surgery so they don't have to deal with the nurses.
Cynthia was able to talk to the health minister today, he doesn't think they need another group of surgeons, he feels like they are caught up and all they need help with is post op care. I'm not so sure that they are out of the woods yet. I agree that there is a lot of wound care that needs to be done, but there will be more amputations to do and lots of skin grafting to do. .
I wonder how things are going closer to PoP, I Imagine it is much like here. Only a lot more patients.
I was hoping to go to PoP tomorrow to get medical supplies and check out the destruction, but the trip fell through. I am a bit disappointed but maybe I'll be able to go later this week.
We did pick up a bunch of rum on the way home tonight. I need to get some sleep tonight, we have another busy day tomorrow. Looks like we we be heading home Saturday!
If you have not been reading the comments I suggest you do. We all look forward to reading your comments. Nice to feel connected. Sorry if there are lots of typos I am doing all of this from my iPhone! Thane again to Sam and Irl for talking me into getting one.
This morning the woman with the crushed foot came for followup, it looked a lot better today. We also recasted one of the workers who broke her arm a few weeks ago.
Then we headed to the hospital, had a bunch of cases today. Started off by fixing the woman with an amputation on one side and a broken femur on the other leg. Hector took an extra finger off a kid. We did 2 amputations today, one was done by one of the new guys, he is very brash and cocky, aparently he rushed through the case and ended up having to go back to the or to find vessels that were bleeding. He also tried to reduce a 3 week old shoulder dislocation. As you can guess it didn't work, he just tortured the poor guy. It is surgeons like this guy that give us a bad reputation. I think he means well but is trying too hard to be the hero. I have been trying to teach dr alexi as much as I can, I try to help him and show him the tricks I know, he has taught me a lot too! We spent a long time in fracture clinic today too. We ran out of plaster at one point and everything came to a grinding halt. The staff just left and we waited over an hour for the supply depot to open up so we could get more stuff. It is obvious to me that there will be many mal unions to deal with down the road. Although I amazed with how stoic these hatians can be. We are still seeing people coming from PoP with untreated injuries, but it has slowed down considerably. We made rounds in the wards today too, we were able to send some people home. But many people have no where to go so they just stay in the hospital. It is amazing how patients are not mobilized, they lay in bed with a foley catheter and an iv with an empty bottle of fluid. It is a status symbol to be in the hospital with all of those tubes coming out of you.
We are still having issues with patients not getting meds. We have taken to giving patients a baggie of meds after surgery so they don't have to deal with the nurses.
Cynthia was able to talk to the health minister today, he doesn't think they need another group of surgeons, he feels like they are caught up and all they need help with is post op care. I'm not so sure that they are out of the woods yet. I agree that there is a lot of wound care that needs to be done, but there will be more amputations to do and lots of skin grafting to do. .
I wonder how things are going closer to PoP, I Imagine it is much like here. Only a lot more patients.
I was hoping to go to PoP tomorrow to get medical supplies and check out the destruction, but the trip fell through. I am a bit disappointed but maybe I'll be able to go later this week.
We did pick up a bunch of rum on the way home tonight. I need to get some sleep tonight, we have another busy day tomorrow. Looks like we we be heading home Saturday!
If you have not been reading the comments I suggest you do. We all look forward to reading your comments. Nice to feel connected. Sorry if there are lots of typos I am doing all of this from my iPhone! Thane again to Sam and Irl for talking me into getting one.
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