Friday . . . Babies and An Aftershock

Keith called this evening and told me they had a good and busy day today. It began and ended with delivering babies. One highlight is that he was able to start the day at 6:30 a.m. by delivering a baby girl. Both Mom and baby did just fine. The crazy thing is that although given the option of staying at the compound, the Mom decided she would be more comfortable at home. So, just 2 hours after she delivered, she drove off side-saddle on the back of a motorcycle. A friend walked behind her, carrying the newborn baby.

One sad thing that happened is that an 8 year old girl with a broken femur came to be checked. Her father had died years ago, and her mother had abandoned her to flee the country. Someone had splinted her leg after the earthquake, but it was not properly set. She was in a lot of pain, but they had to take off the splint to make sure she didn't have an open wound. They didn't have an orthopedic surgeon or anesthesia, so they needed to send her to a Dutch hospital in Port-au-Prince with those capabilities. The team just fell in love with her. Nate Bobbett, one of the team members, spent half the day with her, comforting her, as she waited for transportation.

The team saw about 400 patients. At times, the crowd would get a bit unruly because of the pressing need for medical care and the scant availability of personnel. The team was thankful for the presence of the Marines, whose presence pacified the agitated crowds. The Marines completed construction of a makeshift operating room, as well.

Keith did say that the other teams at their compound are from Canada and St. Louis, and they are sleeping very comfortably in army tents with bunk beds. What an unexpected blessing! He sounded tired after a long day.

Please continue to pray for the team's health, as I read an email that mentioned viruses (including a stomach one) going around. Also, there was an aftershock in the evening, so pray for safety.

Petit Goave

At Petit Goave, you can look out over the sea and see a Spanish warship that is acting as a hospital ship. On land, the marines are building a more permanent clinic building, but meanwhile clinic is taking place under a tarp.

Heading to Petit Goave

The 15 member team slept on the floor of the preschool classroom last night and headed for Petit Goave, on the coast 30 miles west of Port au Prince. They will set up a clinic with OB/Gyn capabilities for the next 3 days at a primitive tent camp there. For the past few days, people have been leaving Port au Prince in droves, so the medical needs are in rural areas now. They will be spending at least the next two nights in this tent city.

Keith took this picture of rubble as they drove out of Port au Prince. He sent the email of Janet Dorrell and the adorable little girl late afternoon. He had promised Claire Conradt he would take a picture of a little Haitian girl. Absolutely adorable!

I spoke with Keith about 7:30 tonight and he said the day had gone very well. The bus ride from PAP to Petit Goave took a long time because it was over the mountains, but they are now by the sea and it is beautiful, with a nice breeze. The marines are there building some type of clinic for them. The team that was there for the past several days worked with them today to get them acclimated and will leave tomorrow. Keith did some hands-on things like putting IVs into dehydrated babies, and he dug a 4 inch piece of bamboo out of a man's leg. It had been in there since the earthquake.

The Haitians cooked an unidentified type of fish for them for dinner. Please pray for good health, as one of the nurses has gastroenteritis. He did not know yet where they will sleep tonight, so pray for a sound night's sleep as well.

The team arrived safely in Haiti. They travelled to the school, El Quesqueya, where they will sleep tonight. In the morning they will travel 3 hours to a primitive tent village where they will set up a clinic with OB/GYN capabilities. They will spend the night in that primitive tent camp tomorrow night (not the army one pictured here). Keith commented on how amazing the organization is between the Army and National Guard officers as far as assessing the need and assigning workers to those areas.

The part of the team that arrived earlier spent Wednesday seeing 110 patients, as many of the cases were severe. They tended to a dying baby, a couple of ladies with eye infections that had to be lanced, and many others.
They worked all day under the hot sun without much rest.

The Flight in to Port au Prince

Living it up! A private chartered jet funded by an anonymous donor, complete with stewardess and all.

In the Hop-a-jet lounge of the Miami Airport. Getting ready to hop on over to the chartered jet, which I thought was leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale.

In the hop-a-jet lounge at the Ft. Lauderdale airport. Preparing to board the jet.