Day 3: June 8th, 2010 Journal

        Today, Tabitha, Harry, Rachel, & I were picked up by two Haitian gentleman who drove us to a village, now a tent city, that had sustained damage from the earthquake. Upon entering, a thin older Haitian woman walked up speaking to us in Creole. At this point we had no translator so we guessed what she was trying to communicate shook our heads “yes” in reply to the unknown. The woman invited us into her home, a large blue Coleman tent, donated by a relief organization. It was setup on a spread of cinderblocks and rocks keeping the floor of the tent about 12” off the ground - this was because of the frequent downpours at night since Haiti is now well into the rainy season. Inside the tent it was pristinely clean and about 20 degrees warmer than the already 100 degree temps. We graciously accepted the invite and took a seat on the large blanket that laid in the middle of the tent floor. The woman charaded that this was where they slept at night - In fact, about 16 of them per tent. The only other items in the tent was a basket of clean laundry and a 5 gallon bucket full of pots and pans for cooking. I thought about how luxurious my home was.

Once we were inside about 5-10 minutes, a crowd grew outside the door. Many Haitians were staring in whispering “blancs” and watching us closely. One woman handed Rachel her 3 month old baby thru the door. This scene was kind of crazy, now that I think of it - I can’t image walking around in Franklin and seeing a foreigner, and then immediately handing them my infant. Just another cultural difference. The story gets even better about 60 seconds after the infant is handed off to my friend. Rachel begins firmly nudging me and peering down at the puddle of urine forming in her lap. The infant did not have on a diaper (not unusual) and had relieved himself on her. Once the Haitians noticed what happened they erupted in laughter - we laughed along with them, as to not look offended by what had happened. 

We left the tent city shortly after we loaded up about 12 people in the back of the truck. These folks had been told we were going to setup a medical clinic and they wanted to come be seen. To get to the clinic we traveled about 1 mile and then entered thru a crowded angry mob of Haitians at a market - a market that was clearly not meant to have F350 diesel trucks driving through it. Chaotically people on the pathway were pulling their goods and produce out of the way as our driver laid on the horn continually(another cultural difference). The driver was knocking into people's carts, running over produce that was not moved quickly enough, and ultimately pissing people off. Just as I was beginning to get a little nervous a small riot broke out - women were yelling angrily and slapping the windows - I'm certain many 4 letter Haitian words were being tossed around. Everyone was crowded around the truck peering in - looking at us “blancs” with wide eyes. The Haitian man in the passenger seat who was in charge of our travels today opened his window and tried to explain (in Creole) to the people that we were only trying to make it to the clinic. After much screaming back and forth, the Haitian leader motioned for us to get out. The Haitians in the back of the truck were already jumping out, grabbing the medical bags, and walking away with them. I was uneasy at first but soon realized they were carrying them up to the clinic for us. 

At the clinic there was a check-in desk, several empty exam rooms, and a Cuban doctor. I realized looking around that this was a for-profit clinic - a list hung near the door of fees to be charged for each type of service/visit. (most were around $30 - not sure if this is Haitian dollar/Gourdes/or US$) I spoke with the Cuban doctor and told him I could see patients for him. Basically we setup in the check-in office and saw first those who had already signed in - but for free of course. I was unsure how this would go over because we were ultimately taking away business from the clinic & pharmacy...but it turns out they were happy to have the patients seen and treated. In fact, midway through, the MD was sending out his patients with prescriptions to be filled by us with our medication supply, instead of his pharmacy. We saw approximately 50 patients and were pretty efficient as far as keeping the flow going. I felt very comfortable having figured out the best strategies in March on my first trip. With each patient I listened to heart and lung sounds, took a manual blood pressure, and listened to their complaint via a translator. Then I sent them out with medications and education on caring for their illness. The translator was a Godsend and did a great job keeping up with my Southern dialect. The common conditions I saw and treated were hypertension, cough, fever, headache, abdominal pain, & many many vaginal infections. We had feminine hygiene kits that I began giving out to each woman who was being treated for a vaginal infection. The kits were packaged in a ziploc bag and included: A washcloth, towel, bar of Irish Spring soap, lotion, and about 8 Kotex pads. This quickly got out of hand as word spread quickly about where they had received this merchandise. Women began crowding the door and pleading for the kits. We gave out all 50 kits. I had great help from Tabitha and Rachel running this clinic - they did a great job packaging up the their prescription while I finished each exam & gave medication instructions. This was a great day -  I felt we really touched a lot of people and met many needs that would’ve otherwise been neglected. I could tell with each patient that there was a void being filled as I touched them & listened to their needs. I’m certain the biggest accomplishment here was not the medication or the diagnosis, but it was simply letting them be heard. 

After clinic we drove to the nursing school, which was a plywood warehouse-type building that housed about 12 classrooms out in the open (no dividers). Primary school was held here until 2pm, then nursing classes were taught after that. There were 97 nursing students at this time, 36 had been killed in the quake. The students were divided into 3 different classes - I assumed this was 3 different levels because they were wearing different uniforms. Each class was held in front of a chalkboard where their lesson was written. The translator from the clinic had joined us here at the school to translate for the students. Harry welcomed me to each group of students and told them I was an RN from the states. From there I spoke with the students and encouraged them in their studies. I told them I was so proud that they had chosen a profession of service, just as Jesus had chosen to live a life of service to others, and this gave them so much opportunity to show love to their neighbors and community. I also told them how desperately Haiti needed them as educated leaders during this time of hardship and how influential each of them could become in changing their country for the better. They were very happy to hear these words. Several students had questions for me about the structure of American healthcare/nursing and each class asked if I could come teach a conference or workshop for them. Oh, how I would love to make this happen. I plan on scheduling something of the sorts in the future with Harry, the director of Healing Hands Intl., who understands my passion for these girls and their importance for Haiti’s future. 

After I talked with the classes we handed out a stethoscope to each student and a blood pressure cuff to each classroom for the students to practice with. I wasn’t entirely sure that the students would know what to do with the stethoscopes. One said “It’s not complete”...and confirmed my suspicions. “Not complete?”, I said....then I realized she was referring to a BP cuff. In their mind the only use they knew for the stethoscope was to take a blood pressure, so I put the stethoscope over one of the girls hearts and showed them how to listen. This was an awesome thought...that these 97 young women would now graduate nursing with their own stethoscope. This could really change their realm of understanding and their assessment of every patient they care for in the future. Now they can learn to identify abnormal heart and lung sounds, listen for bruits over the carotid artery, listen to bowel sounds, etc. If in fact, it works out for me to return to teach a workshop for these ladies it would surely be on how to fully assess a patient. I’m thrilled just thinking about the possibility of this happening. Also very excited to visit the blind man tomorrow.