Emails from Haiti Team 3

2/20/10
No rain Friday night so we slept well and were up early. There is a cat here who thinks he's a rooster so there is a whole chorus going on each morning. In fact, there are goats and pigs and dogs everywhere...all scrounging for food. After devotions led by Annie we headed out for Carrefour and brought some extra food for Patrick Jean and family. Then we went to a neighboring camp called the Camp of the love of Jesus. It was a fairly small camp that had asked us to come and give them medical care. The camp was half way up a mountain so when we pulled in we were greeted by an amazing view of Port au Prince and the harbour. You know I had to pull out my camera! I just don't think the lens can do it justice. In fact, I haven't had as much of a chance for photos as I would like because we have been so busy, but I am not sure I could even capture all the devastation. Just when you think you've seen it all, there's more. Just when you think it couldn't get worse, it does. The saddest ones for me are all the schools destroyed. So sad to see the desks and chairs hanging off the buildings and the levels crushed...and now the children have nothing to do and it hinders their future. To get back to the camp, Annie and I saw patients and Pastor Mimsie and Michel ministered to people. We saw a case of the mumps and diabetes and a lot of dehydration. The pastors asked the people if they were mad at God for the earthquake and the people looked at them like they were crazy. They said no, not at all, they love Jesus. Wow, how amazing! Then we went back to Carrefour to pick a woman we saw yesterday who had a possible femur fracture. She was injured in the earthquake and hadn't had any medical treatment in the 5 weeks since! She was reluctant to go to the hospital because she thought they would amputate her leg. She brought her son and sister for comfort. The blessing is they also get fed at the hospital. Again, wonderful doctors! They took her in and X-ray her leg. It was a femur fracture and the bones were side by side instead of in a straight line. When Celemese (patient) saw her X-ray she freaked out and thought they would definitely take her leg off. The doctor asked her to wiggle her toes, and she could, so he told her she could keep her leg! She was so happy! The put her in a cast and scheduled her surgery on Wednesday when the ortho docs come to put a rod in her leg and straighten it out. So wonderful! Another life changed. When we were finished at the hospital with Celemese our team realized we hadn't eaten all day! So we stopped for food and went back home. We spent a few hours re-packing and doing inventory for the next group. We also ate Mama's signature soup for dinner and a cake we bought to celebrate our last night at Mama's house. Carla asked Annie to examine some of the people staying at her house, which she was happy to do. Two young women lost their mother to breast cancer last year and were afraid they would get sick. Annie examined them and she was able to show them how to do self-breast exams. What an amazing privilege! Annie has been such a God send to this team, to this family and all the camps. We finished packing and off to bed...big day on Sunday!


2/19/10
Today was a looooong day! We got up and out on time and headed back to Carrefour. We were there from 8am to 12 noon providing medical care and ministry. As we began we prayed with those on line. One woman came forward and began leading worship...it was so beautiful. The funny thing is they pronounce Jesus as JayZ...sounds really funny, especially if you don't know what they are saying. Before we started seeing patients. Pastor Michel called people off the line who were feeling depressed and wanted prayer. Half the people came off the line! Many people were just battling the emotional effects of the earthquake. We were able to see over 60 patients, most of the same complaints, some impetigo and 4 people serious enough to transport to the hospital. We brought Max who has elephantitis (really large swelling) on his face, he is scheduled for surgery tomorrow. Little Patrick is 4 years old, but looks like 8 months. He was so malnourished and basically failure to thrive. They gave him pedialyte, vitamins and food. He began to perk up on the ride back home. He loved the dried cranberries I gave him...man after my own heart. Everyone who saw him fell in love with him, even the nurses and doctors at the hospital. BTW...the nurses and doctors at the hospital were awesome!! So helpful and caring. Many of them were from the Southern Baptist Convention International Relief Team. Big Paul, who ran the inventory, was a huge help loading us up with all the supplies we needed, he was from Arizona. The third patient was Pascal, who got a small piece of wood lodged in her ear. It was so far in that they couldn't remove it (too close to the eardrum), so they gave her drops and antibiotics. Patient 4 is our miracle of the day. She was not actually seen or assessed by Annie, she is the sister of patient 3 (Pascal) and we thought she was just riding along to be with her sister. She did say her chest hurt on the way over, but again we did not think it was serious. All four patients were registered and examined relatively quickly (thanks Paul). When they examined Sybile (patient 4), they had her take her shirt off. Annie said she could see the lump in her breast from across the room! Sybile is scheduled for a life saving surgery on Sunday AM. She will have a radical masectomy, which is tragic for a 26 year old woman, but due to lack of radiation or chemo, this is the best chance she has for survival. God only knows what her fate would have been if God did not bring us together. As Annie and I stayed at the hospital, the rest of the team brought more food to Delmas 62. We met back at home base, ate, de-briefed about our day and are now ready for bed. Still can't see the stars...too cloudy. Oh yeah, both Carrefour and Delmas made out OK in the rain. Today was hot and sunny so it dried everything up.
Goodnight from Haiti!
Tara, Annie, Mimsie and Michel