Haiti 2014
Good news for the trip, I had my wife along, bad news for the trip, we left in snow and came back to another snowstorm!?!? No one being part of a group like this can be "unchanged." The Kenya trip last year was an eye-opener and this trip also made a believer out of me once again, as far as "the human spirit."
Who knows how to "start a clinic" out of 80 suitcases and totes and see 79 patients on a day of orientation? Many of us were just happy to find a bathroom that had a "flush" capability. At the end of the day in the heat and humidity of Haiti, a cool shower was a treat. The people we met and the memories shared make an impact on each of us, especially as we "decompress" from what seems "normal" to the Haitian people.
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| Port au Prince airport totes. |
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| One of many supply cupboards. |
I told my wife how I felt when we came back from Kenya last year... nothing seems to fit anywhere. I felt like a square peg trying to fit a round hole... no other analogy makes sense. Our sense of purpose here is "production, outcomes, and patient satisfaction..." There seems to be an odd disconnect between here and there, us and them.
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| Kevin and Kim on the 'mountain'. |
We were thankful for little victories each and every day and although many were tiny (a baby with Molly as a Godmother) we learned from each other and from our patients and interpreters. In the end, again we realize we are more alike than different, no matter the language or the color of skin.
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| Mary with one of the Haitian workers. |
The kids seen were so happy to have the colors and the paper to draw on (a BIG thank you to Shawna Booth and her girl scout troop in Platte Center, Nebraska and also to Eakes Office Supply here in Columbus for donating the coloring book pages. Some kids ~ and a few interpreters were able to share their creativity and skills). Thank you so much for the gifts and God Bless you...
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| Dorlens, a pediatric patient before surgery. |
Many people would walk for hours, ride a few moto's (taxi motorcycles) or "tap-taps" to get to a clinic and line up for hours in the heat to be seen. When asked about family, the parents are like any other... they light up as they explain to the interpreter how many, ages and any details about the family. Many are without work and live simply. It is a sad comparison to the "things" we have or think are important. Maybe that is what turns my insides more than anything else. However, they seem to be a pretty happy bunch for the most part. Even in illness, a touch or a handshake brought a smile or "merci." I know for fact we received way more than we delivered to Haiti.
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| A Tap Tap. It's like a taxi. You flag it down for a ride, then tap on the side to signal the driver to let you out. They were everywhere and always bright. They often had people riding on top. |
Our trip to OSAPO, a small hospital in the mountains was also a public health victory for Haiti... better outcomes by showing people how to do things themselves, not doing things for them. The fact that people can pull together a program in the mountains of Haiti and do public health on a small scale to make such a difference is something we could copy here if only...
There was an inscription on the wall at OSAPO, something like, "We must be the change we wish to see in the world..." Ghandi
And another seen somewhere else that said, "To whom much has been given, much more is expected." Not sure who said it, but those two inscriptions brought tears to my eyes one morning. Ladies and gentlemen, we are them... coming home to what we have ,we know we are blessed in more ways than the folks of Haiti could ever imagine. Oddly enough, a trip to the pharmacy showed one bottle of antidepressant medication... Out of the whole pile of meds in the pharmacy, one bottle. The patients I saw either don't know what depressed is or maybe there is no word for it. I did have one grandmotherly woman who had her daughter with her and she did tell me she was suffering from "grief." Her spouse had died and her only son had also recently died. She had the far away look that said to me, "this is hard no matter where you are from." To lose 2 men in your life seemed to be a large cross to bear, for anyone, but her faith and her family seemed to be doing the job for her. For her and many like her I have a new prayer list to work on...
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| OSAPO |
I am thankful to have shared this trip with the most caring and dedicated people I have ever met. Many from New England and many from Kansas and Nebraska I am glad to call friends. Watching Cole do his run on the main highway was inspiring, watching John Diedrichsen become the gentle giant to so many little Haitian kids was enough to bring a tear to my eye as well. Everyone from the construction crew and McGuyver people to physicians and allied health and nurses seemed to do the job that needed to be done and make the operation run as smooth as it could have. I am very thankful to Dr Joe Miller for the invite and the opportunity to serve.
Thank you for supporting the medical mission team and if you are so inspired, please feel free to contact anyone on the team. Your efforts will not go unrewarded and you will be forever changed. God's Blessing's
Kevin
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