Monday, 2/27/2012

Psalm118:1   Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
I've asked the team to come up with what they are thankful for today, and I will go first since they all disappeared.
Cindy- This might sound a bit strange to anyone who hasn't been here, but I am thankful today for nose hair. God in His infinite wisdom equipped our bodies to spare us from a lot of stuff. Today my nose hair prevented all the dust I was breathing from going straight to my lungs. My lungs appreciate that very much and so do I. :)
Phil-  Thankful for seeing people working the land in small plots and harvesting crops, after seeing all the big farm equipment sitting and not being used. (We saw a lot od farm equipment just sitting with flat tires today.)
Barb- Thankful for all of our interpreters and drivers. Without them we could do nothing.
Dan- The whole group of people we had today, working together.
Cassedy- Water!
Becky- Undergarments. A lot of women here don't have any.
Carlton- E'Tienne!
Dena- Cold showers.
Tim- All 3 of the nurses, E'Tienne, Aubrey and Brooke.
 Some of this seems silly, or simplistic, but we are sincere. Being here makes you thankful for small things as well as big things. And of course we are ALL thankful for God's enduring love for us.

We started the day working in the clinic on campus to help them get a jump on the day. Dr Edmond came to work, but wasn't feeling well. We put a few patients through so she could get finished earlier and go home.
We then did a clinic at a village called TrouCaima. It was VERY dusty, and very windy today. E'Tienne was our nurse/pharmacist/translator/question answerer today. It's amazing how well she has picked up the language, and fun to watch her interact with the Haitian people. All of the nurses are awesome in the work they are doing here. They are organized, loving, strict, compassionate, passionate, I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

Our heartbreaker for this trip was my last patient today. A 5 month old baby boy who is about the size of a newborn at home. 8 pounds at best. You could tell he was desperately sick just picking him up. Cassedy handed him to me and said "You really need to listen to him." I had no need to listen. He was burning with fever and his lungs were so congested you could feel his little chest rattling. He was retracting pretty severely with each labored breath. A check of his temp went immediately to 103.2 F. axillary. A quick listen to his lungs confirmed what we already knew. Pneumonia. Mom stated that he refuses to nurse, so she no longer breastfeeds him. She didn't seem overly attentive to his needs. We asked her if she could get him to hospital, and long story short, the answer was no. She said maybe next Monday. We told her that would be too late. Well then she said maybe Friday. We again told her that would be too late. She then pretty much ignored us when we said he needs to go to hospital. We did what we could with what we had. Tylenol for fever, vitamins, formula and pedialyte to boost nutrition and fluid intake,(I syringe fed him 20 cc before she took him home) and a dose of Rocephin to at least get a little antibiotic into his system. I showed her how to percuss his little chest to loosen secretions. He really needed IV antibiotics and hydration over a longer period of time, but we know it won't happen. We can hope. We can pray. We cannot force. So pray for this little one with us.

As we are sitting here, the wind is picking up from what it was earlier. The coverall buildings are trying to take off, and are rather noisy. Maybe some rain tonight?? It would be welcomed.

Tomorrow morning our plan is to get packed, and then help in clinic until it is time to leave for the airport and home. Our time here has been too short, as always. We would love to just stay another week or two or three.......

We will be home late tomorrow as long as our flights all go well.

For the team,
 Cindy