Haiti Jan. 8, 2013

I had breakfast with French toast, fruit, coffee. I spent half of the day at Bernard Mevs helping out in triage. Disturbing and memorable cases included: a 13 year old girl being carried by presumed family members who’d been shot randomly in the buttocks on her way to the store in Cite Soleil (a place we’ll do mobile clinics within); and an elderly woman brought in on the floor of the back of a taptap (mini-truck) seizing uncontrollably in my arms, possible poorly controlled blood glucose levels- she lost consciousness and was sent to the ICU. It’s all preparation for the kinds of possible cases to be encountered in mobile clinics. I was Blessed by the Lord’s awesome Grace to get transportation (which can be hard to come by) and made arrangements to pick up the medications ordered from Sophia Pharmacy in Petionville. He added extra meds free and I bought extra medications and inhalers at the hospital. My Dad came with me to stay the night at the guesthouse after we hung out at the hospital that evening. An ICU nurse Sarah, an EMT Nathan and Haitian medical students expressed interest in mobile clinics. Earlier that day I talked to staff /others about doing a book on recovery from trauma. The idea is inspired by all of the many Haitians I have interacted with who have shared some of their devastating losses from the earthquake of parents, siblings, friends, homes, businesses… The strength and resilience they have had is remarkable. It would give those interviewed for the project the chance to share their stories and inform others on how to recover from traumas, share coping mechanisms and survive major losses in life. I would like to end the book with the success stories of mobile clinics and how those who have endured such a magnitude of losses found the strength to give back and help others through mobile clinic work in Haiti. Sadly, it seems like a normalized issue to have suffered major losses in the 2010 quake, so probably not something that many Haitians take time to discuss with one another which can be cathartic and therapeutic. This would be a long-term project to be developed through interviews with a focus on healing as the mobile clinics become more established.