Things are never easy in Haiti. Here 3 days and finally getting an internet and phone connection. Very, very intensely hot….Haiti in the summer. Our accommodations are really not bad at all. Military style large tent, on very comfortable padded cots. Cold water, refreshing showers.
Still lots of international presence here since the quake, but hospital back to its normal volume, trauma over, but malnutrion, typhoid, etc., making a huge impact now.
Sister Judy feels the country and the people have had no time to grieve… they’ve endured…no choice, and are now surviving and numb.
Tuesday (6/8/10)
A patient was seen here from “Doctors without Borders.” Little boy of 6, living in one of their camps. Playing on a roof, fell and hit his head. The call here was that he had “brain coming out.” There’s only 3 neurosurgeons in all of Haiti, and never one here at this hospital…until yesterday when happened to have a visiting neurosurgeon from Italy arriving! Kid came here. Looked great, but with depressed skull fracture and laceration. Went to OR here with the visiting neurosurgeon. Did great, kid smiling and thumbs up to us today.
Wednesday (6/9/10)
Tough, very hot day. First baby of the day died. I saw mom enter the hospital front with a little, very pale looking 4 month infant, had vomiting, diarrhea, fever. The infant died during the first 20 minutes here. The resuscitation is so different than in our hospital at home. Mom stands right at the bedside, out in the open in a very crowded room, with many other very sick kids and their families. All watch. Seems as if they are all accustomed to this frequent vision of death and accept…no choice.
This afternoon we met with administrators and Haitian doctors about working together in the future. Exciting but very challenging.
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