Today in Haiti, nurse Mark worked in the clinic and saw many patients. We also continue to work on...

Today in Haiti, nurse Mark worked in the clinic and saw many patients.

We also continue to work on translating the protocols for the clinic into Haitian Creole. We are almost done!

Yesterday in Haiti we said goodbye to Dr. Derrick and physical therapist Mary. Nurse Mark arrived...

Yesterday in Haiti we said goodbye to Dr. Derrick and physical therapist Mary. Nurse Mark arrived safely also and he will be working in the clinic.

Good news from Brooke in Haiti. A little boy came into the clinic and had stopped breathing. Dr...

Good news from Brooke in Haiti. A little
boy came into the clinic and had stopped breathing. Dr Derrick was able to revive him and send him on to Medishare. He is okay!!

Field Notes: The PID Staff Blog 2011-01-28 21:08:00

Today, the team in Haiti got a save. A three day old boy presented to the clinic in distress with apnea and a low heart rate and was quickly transferred to MediShare with active recussitation in the car and required more extensive recussitation upon arrival. The team came back in the afternoon to visit and the baby was doing well.

Also, the team visited other hospitals in the area and was able to make additional contacts to help with transferring care of children.

The garden is being planted by the clinic, and we started putting an irrigation system in today. One day soon, hopefully we will have our own corn, squash, and tomatoes!

Yesterday, we said good-bye to Jon and Kate (plus 8). They will be missed!

Today was a big day for the clinic in Haiti. The medical professionals met to discuss the implementation of a set of protocols, so that each patient will be treated the same. We are one step closer to redefining the clinic in a new direction since the earthquake, so that we can provide the best quality consistent care to every patient.

Today was a good news day. Looks like the ultrasound room at the clinic is almost finished. Brooke...

Today was a good news day.
Looks like the ultrasound room at the clinic is almost finished. Brooke has started working with another clinic that is run by another woman named Brooke . One year after the earthquake and PID is redefining itself to match up with what happened because of the earthquake.
Our program in Guatemala was accepted by village to village.

This morning in Haiti the clinic saw patients as usual, but we closed at noon to have a team conversation. We discussed cultural differences and ways to learn from each other. This was one of the first opportunities for open conversation. The goal was to learn how to treat patients uniformly, and the medical team had a great conversation.

Mary, our physical therapist here for the week has been seeing physical therapy patients. Today she was given a tour of the PID houses.

I am in Miami waiting to get home and see our new grandson. I am excited about all the progress in...

I am in Miami waiting to get home and see our new grandson. I am excited about all the progress in Haiti. We really feel like we ate moving past the earthquake. Although everything is not repaired and it is going to take a long time , it is like everyone breathed a sign of relief on the anniversary.

This family is one of the families from the tent city by the pig farm. See their house behind them. This is the village we want to do 50 houses for!!

Today Mary arrived safely in Haiti! We’re very happy to have her join us. She will be working in the clinic.

Yesterday we ran a mobile clinic in the village by the pig farm. We saw over 100 patients. We also taught a class on family planning and cholera.

Ran a clinic in the village by the pig farm. Found some very sick kids.

Heard from Guatemala. Things are going very well. Susan and Michelle are doing prenatal exams.

Yesterday in Haiti the team discussed the death of the little girl. The team was able to express their thoughts and we were able to come closer in working together. The medical team saw the prenatal patients that came on Thursdays normally. There are staff that are moving into different roles to keep up with the social needs of the families. The clinic is building a stronger relationship with the patients. Yesterday the Haitian staff and visiting health care providers came together in remembrance and became closer. 

Yesterday Mr. Genois and John discussed with visitors Ben and Ricky about some of the programs of PID, especially child sponsorship and small business. After, they were given a tour of all the houses PID has constructed in Blanchard. Today, they tried their hands at the construction site, building the foundation with big rocks and cement for the new house. 

Mary , an old friend from Haiti, stopped by to see our clinic and housing program. Last time she saw the clinic the office was a file box we carried around and the clinic was in the back room of a house. She couldn’t believe
The change.

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Samuel interviews a mom in the medika mamba program.

From Guatemala: Susan and Michelle
Arrived safely at the bunkhouse in Guatemala. They will be ready to work at the clinic
Tomorrow.

Very tough day at the clinic today. One elderly with congestive heartfailure transferred. A little girl came in with cholera and died at the cholera center a few minutes after we transferred her. Her mother was also sick. I think she will be okay. We will visit the family tomorrow.
Good news Daphnees mom is officially moved in.
Isabel is our new official social worker for the tent village at the pig farm. She will begin interviews for first families to get a house.

Ben and Ricky arrived safely in Haiti today from Connecticut. They will be here until Saturday to learn more about PID’s programs.

Today was a hard day at the clinic. A 5-year-old girl and her mom with cholera came in to the clinic, but it was too late for us to save the little girl. She passed away in the car on the way to the cholera clinic.

On a lighter note, Woodeman and Daphne’s mom have the keys to their house and Daphne’s mom has moved in already!

Great news for Woodeman: he went to the embassy today and was granted his visa! Felicitacions, Woodeman!

About the Email from "Brooke" in London

It’s a scam. Somehow, someone hacked into Brooke’s personal email account today, and sent a message to everyone in her address book, pleading for help from London. Thankfully, we can assure you that Brooke is safe and sound, and working hard in Haiti for PID at this very moment — and definitely not in London!

And please, if you ever receive and email from someone at PID that seems at all questionable, call our office, and do not reply to the email. Hoaxes like this are unfortunately common, and this may not be the last time we’re affected.

Today we went to see the land that the government would give us to build houses for the people in the tent village. We didn’t realize that it would be on the other side of a mountain. But it was. It clearly was a stretch to picture getting building materials and water to mix concrete there. We met another person who recognized us from a food distribution we did on Duvivier and he offered land at the bottom of the mountain. Much better. We will continue looking tomorrow.

Woodeman and Daphne’s mother’s house is finished they will get the keys tomorrow. It is such a happy thing when people get new houses .

In Haiti safely. Baby Doc also arrived
In Haiti about forty five minutes after me. Can’t wait to see what happens.

Today Martha, Kathy, and Allie left Haiti for the U.S. They will be missed by their friends here in Haiti.

Gale arrived later on today! We are very happy to see her. She’ll be staying until next Sunday.

Yesterday we visited the pig farm. One family welcomed us immediately by putting out chairs for us to sit in, which immediately became a mini clinic. People kept coming to us with various sicknesses, and our doctors and nurses were able to help most of them. We even had to shave a little girl’s head to treat an infection on her scalp.

On Friday we saw an 111 year-old woman at the clinic. She gave one of our doctors, Kate, a blessing.

Leaving Guatemala at 3 AM for Haiti.

Guatemala

One more day of work with the power house team. The septic system for the new clinic was completed in four days. Jack left this morning and they continued. They dug a well and dug all the ditches for the plumbing pipes. I have had a wonderful time back in Guatemala for the first full week since the earthquake. It was wonderful to spend time with all the leaders and kids in the village. Today I visited Monica and the the Coroys house. They made banana pancakes for the whole team. AS we sat there Filipe talked about how much they loved the house, how much they appreciated the help of sponsors for the kids, ect ,ect. Lastly he was so thankful for the water filter. He said my family was sick all the time with stomach problems, we are not sick anymore. The reality of sitting with this family, in a remote village in Guatemala, hit me. PID’s programs are working. I am so blessed to be a part of this effort.

Today in Haiti we said good-bye to Kwan, the infectious disease doctor.

Nurse Kathy tried out construction for the first time, and she enjoyed working with the sifting. We sifted out fine sand for the floor of the almost-finished house, and began digging the foundation for a new house.

At the clinic today, a boy who fell from a roof was seen, and John gave him stitches in his forehead. A baby who was seen two days ago with a serious eye infection from birth was able to be treated by a pediatrician in our clinic, and now the baby will be able to see. Overall, a busy day in the clinic.

Today was the one year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti. We went downtown Port-au-Prince to Champ de Mars for a memorial service. It was a large gathering of people in the road and preaching, remembering those who died and thanking God for our lives.

Later, we went for a ride to the mass grave site for those who died in the earthquake. Over 200,000 people are buried there. Rows and rows of small crosses were lined up, and a large cross which read “12 Janvye. Nou pap jamn bliye” (January 12 We won’t ever forget).

This team is a power house. In two days the septic system for the new clinic is almost finished.

Hello from Haiti

Today Doctor Derek arrived safely! He will be spending 3 weeks with us. Lizzy also arrived yesterday.

At the construction site, we finished laying the floor down for Woodeman’s and Daphne’s family’s house.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the earthquake. No work tomorrow.

Team has arrived safely at the house. Ready to work on clinic and water filter tomorrow.

Team left for Antigua and will spend the night and leave for airport in the AM.

Yah!!Our new grandson arrived on James birthday. Beckett Michael with his Dad born at 8:53AM. 8.4oz , 21.5 in. Mom and baby are doing excellent.

Made it to Guatemala smoothly. Waiting for the bus. It is warm and sunny. I can’t wait to see family, team and people in the village.

No grand baby yet. Now that I missed it our next hope is that he will be born tomorrow on my husbands birthday.

So many wonderful volunteers have worked so hard on the tax receipts , newsletters and the mini coupon books.
Watch for them soon. I am off at
3:05 AM for. Guatemala and then Haiti.

Jack made it to Guatemala the Internet is not working but the team is healthy and doing well. Nick said there are lots of laughs on the construction site.

The team arrived safely back in the US and the lab people are already thinking about ways to improve the lab. I am so excited because the lab is my pet project. Brooke met with Staff and they seem to be okay from the traumatic day yesterday . Kwan, Martha, allie, jon and Kate wait for the next arrivals. I am here in the US digging my way through piles of paper work as I wait for the grandbaby. Hope it is tonight or tomorrow so I don’t have to wait two weeks to see him.

Today was a hard day at the clinic. An elderly, blind woman with congestive heart failure came in and died. This was the first time we had someone die in the building.

Last work day in Haiti for us 1/4/11

Today we woke aware of this being our last day together in Haiti. Through work and play we have grown fond of each other and work today was mixed with melancholy about parting tomorrow. However, we all had determination to accomplish a lot on this final day.

Here Megan is playing duck duck goose (kanna, kanna, bef in Creole-sort of) with some children who are looking for sponsors here. These children are precious and you will love them. See their photos at www.pidonline.org

This is the house we worked on all week. It is a duplex with two rooms on each side plus the front porch pictured here. Each two room house will provide housing for an entire family, sometimes up to ten people. The families moving into these houses live in the most dangerous slum of Port au Prince. This new home is considered excellent by Haitian families.

Anna and Sarit are filling a wheelbarrow to fill in the floor hole to prepare for pouring floors. It was a big job and a hot day but Max would not leave before the hole was full. The team all worked together to complete the job. Well done.

Hi, I’m Showty. I’m so happy to see the teams come to help in Haiti. Thanks for your help. I am here with my amazing friend, Max….joking, hanging out, “I love you man.”

This has been a great experience for all involved. Our team loves our new Haitian friends and look forward to meeting again soon. Martha and Allie will miss their team. Safe travel everyone.

January 3 in Haiti

The clinic was opened and everybody was back to work today. Thuy, Jason, Sarah, Brett and Christine worked in the clinic while Ken, Max, Alllie and Robin headed over to the construction site. Megan spent a quiet day rehydrating  after a long night. By dinner time she was back in action but her dad had taken to bed……

Anna and Robin sifted gravel to make mortar and got to know each other while they were at it. Anna spent the day at the construction site sifting fill in the morning and digging a foundation in the afternoon. Go Anna.

Brett and Christine work in the lab with Ledy, who has been working in the PID clinic lab.  They also worked today to teach others to man the newly stocked lab after they depart from Haiti.

Sarah, hailing from Lee NH (Go New Hampshire!) works with a patient in the PID medical clinic.  She accomplished a lot with the short amount of time she had after her trip was cut short due to the blizzard.

With the unsponsored kids coming tomorrow for a party, a few members of the group took to the kitchen and prepared gift bags of popcorn and cookies for the kids. Meanwhile, the rest were being entertained by one of the sponsored children in a fun game of soccer (football). At dinner, we all reflected on the week and shared what we each are going to take away from this unique experience. A common observation was how happy these people are despite not having most of the things that as americans, we take for granted. Tous les personnes ont eu un bons jour et nous sommes tres excite pour le prochein , j’espere que ca c’est raison.

First team landed in Guatemala and
Are safely at the house . The second team will land in Ft Lauderdale for the night and fly into Guatemala tomorrow.
I am so grateful to Nick , team leader in Guatemala , and Martha , team leader in Haiti. This is the longest I have been home since the earthquake. I hope Noel will have the baby before I leave next Sat.

January 2, 2011

Today the clinic was closed and the contruction crew didn’t work.  Instead, we got to spend most of the day at the beach!  This morning we all piled into a colorful tap-tap and headed north out of Port au Prince towards the coast.  On our way we stopped to attend a colorful church service.

After church, we made our way to Wahoo Bay Resort where we had a delicous lunch and then spent the day in the sun, sand and waves.  The beachcombing was good and there were some impressive shells to be found.

We also said goodby to Amar today, as he had to leave the fun at the beach early to head to the airport.

The tap-tap ride back to Port au Prince was fast, bumpy and dusty.  Brett, who is prone to motion sickness, had an especially long ride home holding a zip-lock bag.

Back to work tomorrow!

Happy New Year!!!!

Martha’s husband Ken is in Haiti for the first time w/ both of his girls, Allie and Megan. Family that works together, stays together. After 10 yrs of the Murray family coming to Haiti on various trips, they finally are all here together. Yeah!!

Robin and her twin boys.

Max and his Haitian twin, Max, posed during the construction break. Max modeled his PID shirt which is available for sale for $10. Nice shirt, Max! We are sure everybody will want one now.

We are pleased to report that the last of our team has safely arrived in Haiti. Sarah and Anna from Lee, NH (also victims of the blizzard0 finally arrived this morning. Welcome!

Jason has, until today, worked with Dr. Sem. He was not ready for what he has witnessed in the clinic here in Haiti.  He was quite surprised at the degree of illness being treated at a community clinic. There were many injuries, resulting from the earthquake, which were untreated for almost a year. For instance, a diabetic old man, who came with edema (swelling) on his knee, had to have his old wound cleaned & drained. It had been festering for almost a year.

Showty (pronounced Shorty, we think) has been entertaining the team with his singing and his sparkling personality. He is one of the security people who watch over the clinic, but he adds much to the atmosphere here. Besides him, we have been entertained by Amar the wall climber, Maxwell the stone juggler and Maxim the gymnast. Yes coming to Haiti is like being at the circus.

The clinic did not open today so Thuy, who has been working in the clinic, tried her hand at physical labor at the construction site. She had a lot of fun, but is more determined than ever about Medical school.

Finally, our team had it’s first ride in a tap-tap (a pickup truck with bench seating, the main method of transport here) today so that we could take a closer look at Port au Prince. The city is stilll in a state of devastation with crumbling buildings, including the Presidential Palace as monuments to the nearly one year old quake. Every patch of park is covered with tents, shacks and a million homeless people. We are proud of our contribution, but Haiti needs everybody’s help and prayer.