Despite the fatigue of the day yesterday and the chores last night, we did muster enough energy to enjoy some cooling off on the roof before bed. We did manage to catch up on all our chart filing and we are finding out just how many patients there are on this island who will be accessing care at our future clinic. With this and the 2 previous trips where records have been kept, we are already well over 1,000 patients and at the rate we see patients on every mission, I foresee a patient population numbering 5-6,000 at a minimum.
I think most, if not all, slept like rocks last night and it was nice not having to rise so early this morning. Some dressed in their “Haitian Sunday Best” and made their way to church and others completed the task of med sorting for the remainder of our clinics, but it was a low stress morning for all, I think, and we were much more ready for clinic this afternoon.
Before clinic began, we had a great meeting with Léon, Nora, Steve and Scott to discuss the progress of the Clinic Project and the necessary steps ahead to both complete and sustain it. There are many seemingly daunting details ahead-not the least of which will be securing the necessary funds, but we have cleared every hurdle so far and feel certain we will continue to do so, with our hard work and with the help of our supporters. We all left with a good feeling that this dream is on the cusp of becoming reality….just one step at a time.
We headed down to the church for the last time this trip to run our final half day clinic at this site. We started up at 2 and finished today at 4:30. The extra rest and preparation definitely served us well, as clinic ran quite smoothly. In case you are wondering, for a change, I had the most gruesome wound to care for today. I will hopefully see him again tomorrow, but he may ultimately require Xray and surgery on the mainland. I also got to see the baby born “Underneath the Mango Tree” last March. His name is Jean Emanuel and he is a chunky, healthy almost 14 month old!!
Finally, I also got to see the oldest patient in clinic today at 90 yrs old. It was like hitting the Trifecta! What a sweet little lady…this pediatrician still seems to have a knack for geriatric medicine…when in Haiti, that is. Anyway, the team managed to see another 82 patients this afternoon and will likely have treated over 600 individuals by the time we shut down clinic tomorrow night. I hope we continue to earn their trust and respect with every return.
Once we packed up and returned to the guest house, we quickly changed into swim suits. There would be no missing our trip to the ocean tonight…and it was just what we needed before dinner. We have enjoyed another delicious meal and will have some minimal filing to do again tonight, but surely more than enough time to share with one another and our new friends Steve and Scott, before they must depart in the morning. We have truly enjoyed sharing this time with them and pray for their safe return home to their loved ones, beginning with the first leg of their journey tomorrow.
That is all for tonight. More again tomorrow after our final clinic.
Love to All,
The Team