What a day! I truly thought I was prepared -- at some level-- for Haiti but I wasn't. We arrived at the hospital at 7A and by 7:30 there were literally hundreds of people in line, it was hot already, the smell was overwhelming. I saw things I haven't seen in 33 years as a nurse. And we have so little we can do--- and yet we can do so much more than the Haitian hospitals.
Everything is in tents-- the people are truly afraid to go into buildings.
The picture attached is the ER. Behind it are two inpatient tents and behind that an orthopedic tent. We had heart attacks, pneumonias, gunshot wounds, rape victims, asthma, wound infections, fractures--- and all compounded by dirt and poverty and poor nutrition. We're back tonight at this gorgeous hotel-- it really is amazing-- and yet its surrounded by tent cities. It's so hard to reconcile the two. That's the other image above
Just found out at tonight's team meeting that tomorrow I'll be going to a small village on the southern peninsula about 2 or 3 hours away so we'll stay there until Saturday. Four of us going and we'll see mostly primary care. I feel like such a chicken booking out of the city after 1 day...but I have to believe I'll be more useful there. I'll try and post from there.
I am so grateful for everyone's support.
Love,
Laurie
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