Good evening everyone! Last night was another nice night for sleeping but there was another false alarm at 3 am and apparently singing and drums at that same early hour…for those who heard them.
Now to the day. After breakfast we divided again into main clinic and bush clinic teams. I thought I had seen the most remote location on the planet last year when we stayed in Haus Mustique, but today I believe I have seen the end of the earth. We spent an hour traveling up and down mountains getting ever farther from civilization when we finally arrived at our destination, Coton. We then had another 15 minutes walking up and down rutted paths to reach the clinic location. I cannot fathom how a group of people would decide to establish a village in this location, mainly just because it is at least a 2 hour walk to the nearest water supply and at least a 3-4 hour walk to Bassin Bleu, the nearest center of commerce. There were farming plots on nearly vertical slopes and nearly all adult patients have aches and pains in their back, shoulders and legs…no surprise!! Surprisingly though I had a great cell signal – go figure!
Clinic was set up in a very makeshift shelter with patient waiting outside under cover and the clinic inside a small building which also served as a kitchen. It was a true “Hotbox “. If I were a high school wrestler, I would be sure to make my weight for the upcoming match! We all introduced ourselves before the start of clinic and despite introducing myself as a doctor for children, I continue to be a gerontologist when on loan to Haiti.
For those who recall the incredible shrinking lady from last year, I believe I saw her older sister today. She claimed to be 98 years old….and I believe it. I only wish Rachel and Josi could have been here to see her too. Hard to believe one can survive to that age in these conditions – shows how clean living and hard work can extend life! Just as an aside, her daughter had brought her to be seen and was interrupted by a cell phone call while we were getting the medical history…I guess she did not see the sign asking to turn off cell phones while in the clinic. I felt right at home.
Later in the day I think I saw the other sister but she could not remember her age – I imagine she was not far behind. I rarely know what I can do for these patients – seems they really don’t need me if they have made it to such an age. I generally attempt to treat any discomfort they have and congratulate them for reaching such an esteemed status!
I had another gentleman who claimed to be 35 years old and all I could think of was Josi’s unforgettable quote from last year…”if he is 35 years old then I am not born yet!” I saw fewer than 20 patients today in this little clinic but I think my patients have collectively lived a full millenium or more….so much for being a doctor for children. I am certain Kitty and Brooke were bribing the nurse to send the children to their stations.
Caleb and Lindsey (our new friend Lindsey) did an awesome job in the makeshift pharmacy just as Roy and Lindsay had done the day before! I think they all had a more challenging task than the providers as the patients waited for their meds.
Once we finished seeing patients we were treated to a locally made meal of cabrit, rice and beans, fried plantains and my favorite, spicy pickles. We then made the walk back to our vehicles and proceeded on the steep, bumpy, hour long ride back to Jolivert.
Now that we have all made it to and from our bush clinics this week safely, I can share our mode of transportation…motorcycles. The ride today was typical for the surrounding roads – steep, rutted, rocky and very dusty. Those who traveled last year will recall the last leg of the trip from Bassin Bleu to Haus Mustique – imagine that on the back of a “moto”. The best I can describe it is like riding down a double black diamond ski slope with moguls on a unicycle. There were times of exhilaration, times of white knuckle anxiety and otherwise just stretches of teeth rattling, spine bouncing and spleen racking bumps.
Once we returned to Jolivert we jumped into the main clinic to find a few additional patients left to be seen and of course Kitty was immediately suturing a wounded child, bitten by a dog earlier in the day. Anyway, we rapidly finished the work, wrote prescriptions and cleaned our things up before our last exit. We took a group photo with our Haitian partners – nurses, doctors and translators. We ascended “agony hill” for maybe the last time and found our shaded, breezy spot behind our building and enjoyed a cold soda and dreamed of another kind of cold beverage, while we watched roosters and chickens do rooster and chicken kinds of things.
Before dinner we bid farewell to 2 of our translators, Wedze and Ancy. Tomorrow we will say our goodbyes to both Mildred and Charlene. They were all such pleasant assistants and we could not have accomplished what we did without them. We wish them all well in their schooling and work and maybe we will be lucky enough to work with them again some day.
After dinner we all met as a group with Blaud, Christophe and the board members from MOL and shared our experiences and suggestions with hopes of sustaining this good work. Now we pack and prepare for our travels back to our oasis in the big city before our eventual departure to home. I know we will all revisit our experiences repeatedly over the coming days and will probably drive some of you crazy with the recounting of our stories. Please be patient with us and next time, and I can assure you there will be a next time, maybe consider joining us on our adventure to what is really a beautiful country, despite its obvious poverty and harsh conditions.
For now, wish us a restful night after an eventful week. And pray our vans ride just a tad more smoothly on the road to Gonaives. I will fill you all in on tomorrow’s adventures before we turn in tomorrow night. Good night for now though.
As always love to all,
The Team