Last night was remarkably cool after the lights went out and I think Blaud must have had his tonsils out because it was blessedly quiet through most of the night. Or it may have been that the mama grizzly was next door?? Either way, it was a pretty good night’s sleep to a point and nobody awoke to find blood in their urine this morning, though I am not certain there aren’t a few splenic lacerations as yet undiscovered after yesterday’s drive.
We were promised by Dr. Asa that the roosters would announce the coming day around 4:45….sadly they seem to be closer to Central Time as they began their songs at 4am on the dot! After that, very little sleep was had…at least for this camper. Once the sun came up we prepared for our first day in clinic and had a nice breakfast all together. We were introduced to our translators – Charlene, who has a beautiful singing voice; Wedz, who seems to have a wonderful sense of humor and is the father of a 6 month old daughter; and Mildred, who is finishing nursing school here in Haiti and hopes to come to the USA to train as a Physical Therapist.
Carey, Peter and I set to work in the main clinic while Kitty started her post doc training in Ophthalmology. We also worked with 2 Haitian resident doctors, still in training for their degrees. By our usual standards we were not terribly busy and clinic was essentially over by 1:00. I think our Haitian docs saw more than the other 3 of us – they were camped in the check-in area and of course speak the language. No complaints here as long as all the patients were seen. Luckily no apparent serious illness, though we had to give a shot of Rocephin to a 7 month old with pneumonia. I can only hope she will recover with no trouble. Peter discovered another positive use for the road between Jolivert and Gonaives….lithotrypsy!! Carey got to follow up on a diabetic patient who had not been seen since our trip last year….in fact, he had not been back to the clinic since last year. I guess noncompliance is a real problem here too.
Kiki immediately endeared herself to the local population with her mastery of the language, though it may be she was actually calling them all crazy and Peter was attempting to create a new language – a mix of Spanish and Haitian Creole, a source of great amusement for our translators! Lindsay spent time in the pharmacy helping translate American doctor writing to English so the Haitian pharmacist could try to fill the orders – fewer trips up and down “Agony Hill” for her. When Caleb wasn’t helping with this, he was busy being Vanessa’s “Boy Friday”. I believe every toilet in this place has been fixed and he has been here barely more than a day!
Once we closed up in clinic the guys went for a hike up the bluff and were immediately joined by a group of Haitian boys asking for anything we might be willing to part with while Caleb and Roy were challenged repeatedly to arm wrestling matches. The ladies opted to start sorting meds for bush clinics and wait for the day to cool down before their hike, though I must say, the place to be during the heat was on that hill with the wind blowing.
This evening we were treated to special Chez Peter prepared grilled cheese and home cooked chili prepared by Mama V. We then spent a good 30 minutes with simple math problems before calling a day to any real thinking. All that is left is a good game of cards, a cold shower and hopefully a good night’s sleep.
Hopefully the grizzlies will be quiet and the roosters will get on the right time zone.
Love to All,
The Team