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Half Way

Hungry For Life Medical Team Blog:

Well…Day # 5 coming to a close and not a dull moment from sun up to sun down! Started the day off on the rooftop with a cup of Haitian coffee.

Today was another fantastic day in the Clinic! It’s a shocking experience from my perspective in that I can send patients from my assessment room (door #3) two doors down to Door #5 where they can get an ULTRASOUND. Yet, we are having to make our own sharps containers with duct tape and empty medication bottles. I’ve learned that one of the best survival skills of being on this team is the ability to improvise.

Highlight of the day for me….a visit to the Petit Goave Hospital. Yikes. Yesterday we sent a patient from the Zanmitay San Sans Clinic (our clinic) to the Petit Goave Hospital for a Surgical Consult and he was admitted for treatment. Yes, despite the vast capabilities of our team and our ability to MacGyver things in the clinic, we did have to send this patient out for a possible abdominal surgery. So today, we set out to do a check-up visit on our hospitalized patient. As it turns out, he has improved significantly and has thus far avoided any surgery.

Tomorrow, with the grace of God, he will be discharged home in fine health. By far, my greatest memory of the hospital visit was seeing our patient in a much improved condition than when I last saw him. But also, stuck in my mind’s eye is the vision of the laundry services at the hospital. On my way out of the Medical Unit I spotted a mass of green hospital linens, gowns, surgical drapes etc. all hanging up to dry on clothes lines in a courtyard!! Off to the side of the mud and dirt courtyard I noticed a three walled, one roomed structure where a few ladies were hand washing the dirty linens!!! It’s this kind of awakening that makes me all the more grateful for my life in Canada and all the opportunities that I’m granted…such as serving on this amazing Team of Hungry For Life volunteers.

--Martha

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