Haiti Day #5 (Medical clinic #3- Bedoranj) Dehydrated Children, Gunshot Wounds & More

 

 

 

This felt like the very long, never-ending day! We were supposed to leave the mission house by 5:00am to head to Light Baptist Church in Bedoranj. However, it was probably closer to six am. when we left the mission house. Most of us were up around four am anyways and ready to go by 5:00am. But in Haiti it’s “Haitian time”! First breakfast wasn’t quite ready, then the motorcycles did not show up right away, so it took us a while to get going. 

Eventually some of us went by motorcycles and some of us went in the truck as far as the road went and then walked. Those that went on the motorcycles arrived at the church building first, and Garett and I were in a motorcycle. It was a bit of a crazy ride as I felt that our driver has watched a few too many motocross you tube videos! The trail is bumpy, narrow and rocky to start with, and our driver seemed to feel like he needed to get us their quickly! At one point I told Garett to tell his dad that I loved him and his siblings! The rocks were going by a little too quickly for comfort and I’m not one to get nervous about such things! But we made it to the church building where the clinic was going to be held all in one piece- thank you Jesus! 

The construction team was going to be working on painting again today. Another church building, but the same painting style! I know that Garett and some of the others are a bit weary of painting but sometimes it’s doing the little things that can bring the biggest blessings to someone else. It was hot outside today so both Garett and my dad finished the day with a sunburn on the back of their necks. A few other painting crew members also have sunburns. It was also a day where we didn’t have enough water for all those that were painting and outside. It’s a challenge to get clean drinking water in Haiti, and it’s not easily accessible. 

We started the day of clinic after the preaching service, and it was probably around 8:30am. It felt like a very slow morning, but I think it’s due to the fact that most of us are very tired! Hannah must be beyond exhausted as she wears many hats on clinic and many people look to her for a second opinion or advice. 

One of the first patients that Hannah saw was a little nine year old boy. His parents said that around a year ago he had spiked a very high fever. Since that time, he hasn’t been the same. He can’t walk anymore, or control his body functions, and while very sweet, his mental capacity is not the same  as a typical nine year old. His parents wanted Hannah to fix their child. Hannah asked Emelie and I to do a malaria test to see if that was what had caused the original problem. Emelie and I went to do the malaria test which requires two drops of blood. At the first poke of the needle, the little fellow freaked out! We couldn’t even manage to get the two drops of blood required for the test, and I’m pretty sure that Emelie and I were just as traumatized as the little boy! Finally, Hannah rescued all of us and told us that she had another plan. She drew some blood from his arm with the help of Pastor Falde to translate and hold the child’s arm. I ran the malaria test....twice. That did not appear to be the problem. Hannah had the difficult task of explaining to the parents that their child was not going to get better. The looks on the parents faces was heartbreaking. It’s unusual for both parents to come to the clinic with their child, so I feel that they were really hoping for answers and help. 

A little while later a mom came in with her little girl (probably around four year old). The little girl was lethargic, eyes glazed over and unresponsive. The mom said that the little girl had been like this since Monday (it’s now Friday) and everytime the little girl drank water or ate anything she would throw up. When the little girl would throw up, worms would come up too. Hannah said that the little girl really need an IV first to give her some fluids. Hannah could do the IV, but the supplies to put one in were back at the mission house. Hannah really couldn’t leave the clinic, and while I offered to go, I could easily make a mistake in what to bring. Moriah hopped on a motorcycle for a crazy ride back to Seguin to get the supplies needed. 

By this time, it felt like it should be around 3:00pm, but it was only about 10:30am! Moriah arrived back at the clinic, and Hannah, Moriah and I worked to put in an IV. Actually, I did very little of the work! I just provide an extra set of hands, and do whatever Hannah tells me to do!  Nothing about the situation was ideal today as the surfaces were dirty, the environment is not sterile, but sometimes you just have to make do! Hannah managed to get the IV in the little girl, and God provided a nail in the cement wall exactly where we needed one to be! 

I forgot to mention that during this time at the medical clinic, some men from the church were working on the church building. In the same space as the clinic, they were mixing up cement to get ready to build a stage in the building! It’s a different experience for sure! 

It was now lunchtime...finally! But the line of people to see was still really long, and there didn’t seem to be a good time to take a break. So some went to lunch and then some others. Emelie went to lunch and brought back a bowl for Hannah and I to share. Moriah also hadn’t eaten lunch, so the three of us hovered around one bowl of rice, fried plantains, and potatoes! We never did finish the food as the line of patients was not shortening! (We set the bowl on the table. When we left clinic, about six kids came in and clamored over the few bites left. It was a bit overwhelming and sad to see all those kiddos clamoring for a bite of food)

The afternoon adventures of clinic continued with a man with a gunshot wound coming in and a baby with failure to thrive! Hannah said that at one moment in the afternoon she looked over to see the little girl laying on the dirt floor with the IV in her arm, the man with the gunshot wound sitting on a cement block in the very area where cement was being mixed, and a baby who was about four months old and weighed seven pounds (failure to thrive). It was a bit overwhelming, but sometimes you just have to focus on the next thing that needs doing....whatever that might be! 

The man with the gunshot wound had been shot about a month ago in December 16th. He was in a bad place, as the wound had gotten so bad that it was compartmentalizing (meaning that he was losing feeling in his fingers on that arm). He had gone to the hospital after he had been shot to get the bullet out, but the hospital had failed to realize that the bullet had broken the bone! Infection had set in, and by the time he came to clinic the skin on his arm had split due to the swelling! Hannah and Moriah told him that he needed to go to the hospital to get that broken arm taken care of. He replied that he couldn’t go to the hospital as he didn’t have any money. Pastor Falde and Pastor Colburn (pastor of the church there) worked out an arrangement to pay for his hospital fees when he goes to the hospital on Monday. Moriah was assigned the task of bandaging the sores on his arm. While she was doing that, she began to share with him the Good News of the Gospel. She shared with him about the love of Jesus and as much as she could in his language. She said just as she was running out of words to explain the Gospel, one of the Haitian pastors walked up. Moriah and the pastor were able to lead the man to the Lord! Now, that’s amazing!! 

Around four pm, we started packing up for the day. There were still people waiting to be seen, so Pastor Falde and Hannah walked through the crowd that was left to make sure that if anyone was really sick they wouldn’t be overlooked. We saw so many people today that we had run out of vitamins, Tylenol, ibuprofen, iron tablets, cream, and a lot of other stuff! At the end we had so little to give away that we gave away the little toothbrushes with toothpaste samples as vitamins- everyone can use a toothbrush anyways! We just didn’t have the supplies or time to see anyone else! 

When we got ready to head out, the team left in shifts. Some went back on motorcycles, and some walked back to the truck. Some of those that were taking motorcycles left before the rest of us. I was in the walking /riding in the truck group on the way back, but before we left, we were able to be part of an amazing experience. The Haitian pastors and some of the led people in the church came into the building as we were getting ready to leave. They wanted to say thank you and to pray for us. They sang a beautiful song, and then started praying. I don’t recognize most of what they are saying, but I recognize “thank you to Hannah and Pastor Falde”. Listening to them pray was one of the highlights from my day. They all prayed at the same time, but it wasn’t like a speaking in tongues. It was like they were so thankful to talk to the Lord that they couldn’t possibly pray silently. Many of us had tears in our eyes as we listened. 

It’s late and I am super, super tired! However, if I don’t write down some of these other highlights, I will never remember when I go home! 

 We had a sick baby come to the mission house tonight. Congestion, drool, and mucus had run into the folds of this little girls neck, arm, and other skin folds. The mama had put some type of “powder” on the little girl and the baby’s skin was now like raw! It was painful to watch  Moriah and Hannah clean the baby, but that baby will be so much better with clean skin. Pastor Falde asked the mom what was the name of the baby. Then he started laughing, and we all wanted to know what was so funny! He said that mama had named her baby “Sexy Love”! She had probably heard the song on the radio, and decided to give that name to her baby! Needless to say, the Americans had a chuckle! The Haitian Doctor that has worked with us this week said, “Oh, she will need to get her name changed!” It did provided a light hearted moment, which we needed because another baby was one her way to the mission house. 

Baby #2

This one was very, very hard for me as this was a badly burned toddler. This family has a small house, and the toddler had been running around and had fallen into a pot of boiling corn meal mush. She had suffered burns on her face, hands, chin and arm. It was quite overwhelming to me to see the toddler as you could see the burn was bad, but then the parents had put black ash all over the burns. All of that ash needed to be washed off so that was not a fun job for Hannah, Moriah and Ashley. While I don’t like what I see, it’s like I can’t be pulled away. I’ll do whatever I need to do at the moment to make something easier for those who know what they are doing. Sometimes that means holding a flashlight, sometimes digging around in a tote for some supplies, or any number of other tasks. Hannah, Moriah and Ashley did the best they could had washing off a lot of the black ash. Our Haitian doctor, Dr. John, told Pastor Falde that the people think that oozing skin is always bad. They don’t recognize that as the body at work, so they’ll put just about anything on the skin to stop the oozing, including cooled fire ashes, coffee grounds, motor grease, or a paste made from horse manure. They don’t mean to do harm, but they don’t know what to do. A few weeks ago, a child had fallen on a pick ax and had a gash in his head. Someone had packed the wound full of coffee grounds. Eight days later the boy turned septic and died. These stories are heartbreaking to see and to hear!  My heart hurts for all these dear little children. I think I’d want to build a feeding and hygiene place. A place where kids could get one healthy meal free every day. A place to teach them the basics of hygiene and health care basics...that’d be my dream. Sure do love these dear people! 

Garett gave away his head lamp to the daddy that had come to the mission house with his little burned daughter. They live a little ways away and it was dark outside when they left. I told Garett to get his headlamp and to give it to the man. Garett did not argue or open his mouth, he just handed it to the man. It’s a simple thing, but I’m proud of him. It’s probably not the easiest thing to watch your mom give away your stuff! 😀 Hannah sent the man home with medicine, lots of water for the girl to drink, and instructions to come back tomorrow night. 

What an exhausting and tiring day! Tomorrow morning we are leaving at 7:00am for clinic, so it’ll be nice to sleep in until 6:00am! 

God has continued to protect us, give us strength, and He will continue to do so. Good night!