Last night at about 1:30, I heard what I thought was a small animal walking around my sleeping bag. I turned on my flashlight and saw a cockroach the size of a gerbil. It quickly scurried away.
There were quite a few mosquitoes last night, so I had rigged some mosquito netting around my head (malaria is a big problem here)
I decided to drown out the roosters with my ipod, so I plugged in my headphones and listened to my favorite album side of all time, the flip side of Abbey Road.
A little while later I felt something crawling up my neck and across my face. It was the cockroach. Because of the mosquito netting, I kept flicking it off but it kept coming back and eventually crawled down my shirt. I finally was able to shed the mosquito netting and squash it. My team members were shocked to hear the run of “expletive deleted's“ which I was quickly able to string together. Deann said she couldn’t wait to get back to the OR to tell them that she heard me swear !
Trying to get back to sleep, I then heard a large group of people led by a man with a megaphone. They kept getting closer and closer, chanting all the way. They got within a quarter of a mile, and stopped. I was relieved. An angry, chanting mob heading your way in a third world country is generally something to be avoided.
We had actually witnessed a CNN type scene yesterday while being driven back to the compound. In the center of town, the Red Cross was dispensing water. They ran out. Talk about anger. Unfortunately we had to stop right in the middle of it because of traffic. Couldn't get out of there quickly enough.
I have come to a conclusion during this visit which I hope may be unfounded. Observing the manner in which the third world nations deal with eco issues, I believe our efforts towards the development of a green planet will be for naught. Although buying an auto that get 25 versus 18 mpg may make us feel better, it is but a drop in the ocean compared to the flood of various pollutants dumped by the third world nations. In countries where the average annual income is two hundred dollars, to think that they will consider spending $100 for a filter for the motorbike is ludicrous.
Being a pilot and aircraft aficionado, I must admit that I have seen some very strange planes circling overhead this week. Our coordinator said that last week at the airport it was like a scene from Apocalypse now. There was a B1 bomber on the runway, an AWACS over head, and 2 large Chinook helicopters guarding the perimeter.
One of the guys in our group (from DC) was waiting in line at the airport bathroom, and Harrison Ford walked out. Apparently he is personally helping with the delivery of supplies in his own plane. It was a surreal experience to Indiana Jones in his big hat, flying in a tropical country
I’m not sure if I should thank, or curse Mike Kettenbach and Market Basket, but I have become absolutely addicted to beef jerkey !
Can you believe that our orthopedic team has been performing admirably all week without the benefit of xrays?
I hope the US insurance companies don’t find out about this and consider the tests non-essential. We also have no lab or pathology department.
Gary Loudermilk is our energizer bunny. Wind him up, assign a post, and he goes all day without a break. .
Dr. Roman needed bolt cutters for one of his patients today (don’t ask). There are no hardware stores (or any stores for that matter) in Haiti, so we were in a quandary. The Canadian Army to the rescue ! Captain Meghan personally delivered a bolt cutter in her troop carrier.
There have been a lot of medical supplies donated from around the world, some absurd. We go through the warehouse each morning to take the appropriate supplies.
They have $20 thousand dollars worth of vascular access grafts which will never, ever be used in Haiti.
Very early each morning we have a meeting to decide where our personnel resources will be distributed. It is very reminiscent of the meetings we have at golf tournaments, where we make or receive assignments. These surroundings quickly bring you back to reality.
A fifteen year old girl came in for an appendectomy two days ago. Uneventful. Last night, unknown to us, she started to develop shortness of breath. When we saw her on rounds this morning she was gasping for breath, confused, and had pain behind the left knee. We immediately diagnosed pulmonary embolism based on clinical exam (remember, no Xray). This is easily treated with great success in the US. Unfortunately we have no heparin in Haiti. I asked that she be helicoptered out to the USS Comfort as soon as possible. I went to operate, and came back after surgery with VJ to see how she was doing. When I didn’t see her in her bed, I was greatly relieved that they had been able to get her airlifted expeditiously.
That is not why her bed was empty. She was only a teenager.
You do this long enough you get somewhat hardened. Not in this case. A simple medication that is available in every hospital or clinic in the US would have saved this girl’s life.
From a distance, I watch Marie Dupic-Washburn, an ER doc at Saints, work tirelessly and with such great compassion. She makes me proud to say that I am a doctor.
A couple of guys went to the Cuban tent this morning and had espresso! I find this out on our second to last day ?
I must say that I have made one observation.
We Americans and French are frequently at odds for a number of reasons. However, these world aid organizations are saturated with French volunteers. It is my impression that over the past few decades, while other superpowers(out of necessity) have been involved in military efforts around the globe, the French have been dedicating their efforts on the social issues, and they have been doing a great job.
Along those lines, I have not seen any effort here by the UK. This is surprising, as we even have teams from the likes of Antigua.
We are scheduled to work tomorrow, and be airlifted out of country to the Dominican Republic. We now find out that there may be a glitch getting out of Haiti. They’re working on it.
PB
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