Today, I was excited to find out that Merlin, a non-profit doing medical work in Haiti, has taken my offer to help in our clinic while we have no support teams from the US.

I was also ecstatic to get an email from the director after she made her first visit. She said, “What beautiful setup you have there, congratulations! It’s the nicest clinic I have seen in Haiti, if not in any ‘developing’ country!”

Tomorrow they will go back with 2 doctors and 4 nurses. God is good — I was so worried about the Haitian staff before.

I can’t believe that I will be on the plane on less than 12 hours. I still have about 50 hours of work left, but I don’t care. I think I will always have 50 hours of work left.

Our clinic has evolved from a 1/2 finished building to a beautiful building. We have gained a reputation for having good care and medicine. Our recently-trained lab girl did her first malaria slide alone and actually found malaria.

Our doctor told me he is so happy to work here because the patients are getting the medicine they need and are getting better. He said every place else he worked, even the general hospital, the patients could never afford the meds so they never got better. New patients tell him it is the best place they have ever been treated.

But now unfortunately we are critically under staffed until May 10th. Merlin, a British operation, we have worked with on surgeries may come in to help on Wednesday. I talked to them today and they are interested.

It is hard to believe I am going home in 36 hours. I am looking forward to taking a warm shower, getting rid of this heat rash, and drinking ice coffee. I will be happy to see friends and family. I will be sad because I don’t think , Lexi, my grandaughter will write me such long emails once I am home. I am so extremely grateful for all I have been blessed with. I happy that when I return on May 9 th it will be with Gena. She will train to take my place so I can go home and to guatemala and play catch up on work. I will search for teams to fill the whole year, construction with three medical team members.

I was apprehensive about my move to the clinic, but I am so happy now. There have been torrential rains for the last 20 minutes. I would otherwise be floating away…

There are times that I have to laugh or I would cry. Living in Haiti, in a tent, and sometimes in the mud, has given me more new insight into Haitian life. But tonight has to be the ultimate Twilight Zone experience. I am in a car, have been looking for gas for 2+ hours. I am a closing in on 60, white woman in a gas station, with about 70+ 20-30 year old Haitian men with gallons in their hands. A policeman sits in the middle of this screaming, fighting, mess with a gun to”keep order.” Soon I will return to me new home at the clinic. I will see what is like to stay overnight before the first team comes. This is my “life” for now and has been for the last 3 months… This is truly the Twilight Zone

Well tonight is our last night at the Augusts house. It has been three months since we landed. The team will
Leave tomorrow for the US and I will move to the clinic in blamchard. I have learned so much during this time. I have traveled with so many people who have become friends.

Today we saw 94 patients at our Bon Repos clinic and about 160 at the Blanchard clinic. Today I closed the doors of our Bon Repos clinic because our last full medical team is here. After this our teams will be more construction and hopefully include 3 medical people. Our Haitian staff will not be able to handle the satellite clinics. All the patients are welcome to our clinic in Blanchard where we can provide more services. Tomorrow our mobile clinic will be the Duvivier Clinic (DFO) — this is our poorest and sickest clinic.

We are now at 15,566 patients. Today we started the sickle screening. The last patient was our first positive. Our rescheduled prenatals continue to return. Had 7 emergency beds today. Our diabetic who we sent out came back untreated. Dr. Michelle worked on her all day and got the blood sugar down from 600 to 320. Tomorrow she will return.

Today, Doctors Without Borders referred patients to us.

Last night it poured. Just about everyone’s tent got water in it. Most of the team has moved to concrete but some have stayed on the lake. Now, I have one week left until I head home — I can hardly believe it.

Well, we saw about 230 patients today. It is so hot — no rain, and no breeze. I had an interview for the documentary today at the clinic. We’ll see how that goes…

Tomorrow starts the beginning of our post-earthquake clinic. We will have one more clinic in each mobile area this week, then all patients will be referred to Blanchard. Our lab will add many new tests this week. We will also add a new position of patient advocate to follow up on long term.

The team has arrived safely. Almost everyone is in their tents resting up for tomorrow. It looks like no rain tonight. We have so many new medical supplies. We finally found an organization that will come to evaluate the leprosy patients and do treatment. We found baby Rose, after weeks of looking she showed up at the clinic with her grandmother who heard we were looking for her.

The team has gone now. We still managed to see 100 people at the clinic today, and Pouchon spent 8 hours trying to buy gas for the car. I am the only one left in a tent. The next team arrives tomorrow.

Today we saw many patients in Blanchard and Bon Repos. We keep waiting for the patient numbers to go down, but it just keeps going up. I am very proud of the work that PID has accomplished with the help of our relief teams.

We have definitely entered into rainy season. It has poured every night for three nights. Today, we visited two hospitals today in search of new referral places.

Also, Happy Birthday Ayden! Sorry I missed your birthday.

First confirmed case of leprosy. Now the question is will the WHO (World Health Organization) give us the free medications they promised?

We have now seen 14,638 patients.

Today was a typical day in Haiti. When I arrived at the clinic, paint was on everything. Then the generator broke, so we couldn’t use the pump or get water or do what we planned on the computer. We then had 4 emergencies and one of the beds we bought yesterday broke. Next: the vaccine refrigerator refuses to get cold. But at the end of the day, we at least received some good news: we are going to get a new vaccine refrigerator.

Raining again tonight, but I think we are ready for our next phase now. The team is working on database for the clinic. The question is, can we develop it and make it sustainable?

Tonight, I miss being home and I miss Guatemala.

It’s raining — really raining. Many of the team members’ tents have flooded. They are sleeping inside. I can’t believe that another great team has arrived.

Today, the old team left and the new team arrived. Four suitcases will arrive tomorrow, but everything else went as planned. This morning the driver took the man who’s blood sugar was over 600 to a clinic we found. The clinic lied about the price, so we don’t think they can afford to go back. The driver arrived back at the clinic at 7:30 to find a nine-month pregnant woman lying outside the clinic with eclampsia and very high blood pressure. Tish and Jaime went to Doctors Without Borders’ with her where they were told to leave her because no doctors where there yet. I have prayed for that poor woman all day. The healthcare shortage continues. We have seen over 14,100 patients since we arriving on January 24th. Tomorrow we will continue with medical care and also construction.

Exhausted beyond words. Lab is finished today, and the final three rooms of the clinic will be finished Monday. Got to go to sleep.

I hardly know what to say at this point . Today we had 5 emergencies at blanchards clinic and 2 at Bon Repos.
We have so many people with high fevers . This team has done a great job in rising to the occasion.

Today the clinic opened with a line of emergency patients. We set up an suite to house our IV patients using Pedialyte cartons. When I checked on the patients at one point, I found not only the patients sleeping but their caregivers on the Pedialyte beds sleeping with them. The lab and all its furniture and counters will have Formica put on them tomorrow. Our lab tech comes in a week and 1/2 and we hope she will be able to unlock some of the mystery diseases. Tomorrow our 16 year old with the tumor will finally get into a hospital. Also today, I drove in our new (to PID) patient transport car. Driving was not as bad as I thought it would be.

We walked into the clinic this morning to find 150 people. Within 15 minutes we had 5 emergency people who needed IVs and had to be placed on makeshift beds on the floor. The construction crew kept on building and the reporter turn into a medical assistant. We had the bitter taste of reality when our sickest patient was not accepted into a single hospital. We had to send him home. If he makes it through the night, he will be back tomorrow. At the end of the day, we had a going away dinner with the teams, both Haitian and American, and for Amanda, who worked with PID for 6 weeks on our prenatal program.

It was a really hot day today, and is only raining just a little right now. Tomorrow morning, we’ll go to a little church in Achai, and then later we’ll go to the beach.

Today, I went to a UN cluster meeting. Also, a new team arrived. I always have a hard time with switching of the teams. It has been two months and one week since the first team arrived, and we’ve seen over 13,000 patients. This week, we will start to cut back on how many mobile clinics we’ll run.

PID has a new office!!

We are pleased to announce that PID has a new office space in Ipswich, MA. We are now located at 55 Market St., Suite 201 in downtown Ipswich. 

Feel free to stop by and see us anytime!

(P.S. If you live locally and have any office furniture - desks, bookshelves, chairs, etc. - that you would like to donate to PID’s office, please e-mail info@pidonline.org with a brief description of the items and we’ll be in touch with you. Thanks!!)

Guatemalan team did construction. They will work on a rug tomorrow as part of the Easter celebration.

A most interesting two days medically. We have to unconfirmed cases of leprosy in two different locations. Three fevers of 105. We are amazed at the many different illnesses we are seeing. Horrified at how many of our referral places are closing up to go home. Shocked at the tent cities conditions we are seeing. Grateful for CAM who gave us a huge donation of medicines and vitamins and more pedilyte. The whole taptap was full as was the car and the roof of the car.