The children

Happy Birthday Haney!!!!

After being up all night we came home to sleep but the sounds of the compound and heat make it impossible. The children are so adorable it is almost too much to be able to take. They have nothing that belongs to them except a few clothes. No individual toys or books. They are so well behaved and courteous to us. Focus on learning English is intense. They live in communal homes of one "big boy" and 7-12 smaller boys. They all eat at the same place, usually rice and beans. Barb brought books that are in creole and English, and they were so excited. They helped us with the creole words. It is so dear to see 16 year old boys reading children’s books and being so proud. We walked through the village and the area is so poor. Nobody has anything. A store may have a few containers of flour, some rice, beans and oil. However we did manage to score some "prestige" beer, which was quite good.

Haiti continued

The days are full, very hot, i am bound to lose a lot of pounds in sweat. The orphanage is run by the Xavierian brothers. They support the preferential option for the poor (like Paul Farmer and Father Romero. what resources available should go first to the people who need them the most. Brother Harry is 82 and an incredible man. He has lived in Haiti for 20 years. He is now "retired" and is our host. Brother Mike is younger about 55 and very enthusiastic. They are sponsoring local students to be able to go to college in the states. One of the young men, Pierre Louis, has been staying with us; he has a remarkable story. Pierre Louis was in the earthquake and his building/college collapsed. He and the other students were able to get out but it was the end of schooling in port au prince.

Today we did nights at the local hospital with 3 students. To say it was different is an understatement. As I described there is no water or bathrooms. Family are responsible for bringing all linens and food in. The area is full of family members; they sleep with the patients on the floors in the hallways. The first night we ran into trouble with the staff who shooed us off to sleep and sent the patient on pitocin off to the antepartum unit with her pitocin running free flow. I couldn’t sleep and when I got up the entire staff, nurses, Sage Femmes, students and housekeeper had pulled mats out and gone to sleep. barb and I went out to the floor concerned about the patients we thought should still be in labor and delivery. The patient with free flow pitocin was having contractions every 1-2 minutes and her bottle had run in about 1 hour. The other patient was very active so we brought them both back to labor and delivery....woke everyone up and the patient on pitocin, we settled down and stopped her pit.(No fetal monitoring other than auscultation every 1-4 hours. The other girl was very agitated and BP elevated she ended up getting MgSo4 after a lengthy discussion with the senior midwives. Its a different world...patients labor on plastic sheets and it is very hot. The only water is what their family brings them.

My arrival in Haiti

Well....I have a lot to report. The flight from Miami to PAP went well...but the scene at the PAP airport was wild. So many people swarming all over us wanting to carry bags everyone asking for money...the driver Moliere rescued us and put us in his car with our huge assortment of bags including all of our 300lbs of medical supplies. The devastation from the earthquake is apparent everywhere, the tents are any where there is space. It is about 90 degrees and humid. we drove 5 hours from PAP to Hinche. The roads were sometimes good but mostly horrible. Incredible people, animals, mules, and motorcycles everywhere never saw a stoplight or a stop sign. The town of Hinche is moderate sized very poor, very little economy...but the people all trying to sell things everyone is out on the streets. Everywhere women are carrying big plastic containers on there heads full of water and things to sell. We are staying at an orphanage, about 200 children plus 60 refugees from PAP. The guest house we are at has electricity and running water some of the time. The water is cold but that is great as I am as hot as I have ever been. We have mosquito nets for our beds that work well...I kind of feel like a princess in it.... Our first night I got very little sleep, the dogs bark all night and the roosters start crowing at 3am. . At 5:30 in the morning the children were up reciting their lessons. I have never seen cuter children...they swarm all over us and sing to us wanting us to take their pictures so they can see themselves. We got picked up at 8am in a "TapTap" truck. we went to the hospital. i truly am in cultural shock. The hospital has no running water, no bathrooms. People get a bucket in labor and their family is responsible for any dirty clothes and for their wastes. Everyone sleeps on the floors and there are few sheets...already we are a hit with the medical supplies, drugs, suture equipment and sheets and towels. I saw 3 births today...the midwifery students are smart and wonderful...I am so saddened I do not speak any french or creole. Barb and Tricia were able to communicate but i am not. We do have a translator that helps but it is burdensome. The Induction of labor today had free flow Pitocin and no monitoring at all. The next 17 y/o had pre eclampsia and was given cytotec and no monitoring. Every patient has lost at least one baby. One woman has been here for 4 weeks and had a cesarean. she has a wound infection that is oozing constantly and her lungs sound like crap. Only one Obstetrician...no communication, and no system. we walked home and the streets are full of people, no one has anything but everyone is as friendly as can be. Tomorrow we teach a class on birth positions and home birth. Then Barb and I will do a stint in the hospital overnight. Wish us well. This place is of the greatest need, that I have ever seen.

my arrival in Haiti

Caribbean night/birthday send off

Leaving for Haiti today! last night my kids had a birthday/ farewell party.....Theme was caribbean food..included black bean dip , mango guacomole,fried plantains with crab dip, jerk chicken, curried shrimp skewers, fruit salad, red beans and rice and great coconut cake. Of course lots of wine and you guessed it "Mohitos"
I must say I am a little nervous, but mostly about how to get all the bags I am bringing where they need to go. A huge thank you to all of my friends and family who have supplied me so abundantly....I only hope that I can help...that in some little way what we are doing can make a difference to someone. Great parable in "Half the sky"
A little boy on a beach saw thousands of stranded starfish, he slowly, carefully threw them back into the sea. His grandfather said....how can you possibly make a difference...you can never save all of these starfish...to which the little boy picked up a starfish and said But It will make a difference for this one.....Wish us well

Preparing for Haiti

Hello, my name is Pat, and I am a midwife. I have the incredible opportunity to go to Haiti to teach. I will be working with Haitian women to teach them how to deliver babies safely as part of Midwives for Haiti. Haiti has the highest infant and maternal mortality in the western hemisphere. Because of the generous contributions from friends and family, I am able to bring desperately needed supplies and medications. I will be leaving Sunday May 2nd and will be there for two weeks. I have been so fortunate in my life and welcome this opportunity to provide help at such a critical time for Haiti. Because electricity is limited to one hour a day there, I will try to post entries as frequently as possible. So stay tuned because my countdown for Haiti has officially begun.