Some Hard Lessons and Hope

Early today I learned that when a person dies in Haiti you do not cover their head with a the sheet. Charlie woke up at 6 am and was immediately called to the ER for a pediatric emergency. A few minutes later I went down to bring him coffee and found him putting an interosseous line in the leg bone of a baby that was septic, within a few minutes the beautiful boy stopped breathing, we did CPR which failed. So sad to let him go.

It was Monday morning and the hospital was buzzing, we all took our stations. Forget the plan of Charlie coming to help me round in the pediatric ward. The ER had Charlie I was on my own. Yesterday we decided that I needed to take responsibility for the peds unit. In Ukiah we would fly these babies to a pediatric/neonatal intensive care unit, no kidding. Nine critically ill infants depending on an ER PA to keep them alive. Leanna stayed at my side and we made it through. Here is a list of the diagnosis: Typhoid, severe dehydration, kwashiokor, staph bullous empetigo sepsis, newborn umbilical cord infection, pneumonia, septic newborn, and so on. I have the perfect volunteer translator Jean, a teacher who studied linguistics, the earthquake took his school. He stayed with me the whole day with every patient, attentive, kind and so accurate, I am worried that he has no income and is hungry.

The twins are doing well, the little one is taking formula and seems spunky, I hope she makes it. It was really hot and humid in the afternoon, our 3 day old with the cord infection would not nurse. His Mom had milk and needed help. The perfect boy was getting dehydrated, there was so much hope for him this was an emergency! We set the Mom up with a new receiving blanket like a throne, tried every stimulation trick to no avail. He was hot, lethargic and would not suck. Leanna stayed with them and finally got a cold washcloth and wiped him down, that freaked him out, he woke up and started sucking like a mad man, everyone in the unit cheered.

At the end of the day Laura, Tami and Sheila gravitated to the Peds ward to get their baby fix. One baby's mother offered to do hair in corn rows to show appreciation for their loving service to her baby. Laura said it felt like a village, the women hugging, braiding, laughing, and feeding each others children.

Lin and Kathleen were sequestered in surgery until after 9 pm. Dale wandered the halls doling out drugs. Patti was the ever steady wound nurse, she says, " I feel like my patients are warming up to me and vice versa, they are very warm and affectionate people when they get to know you".

Famous quotes of the day:
Tami: I will be happy if the only thing I come home with is scabies.
Lynn: My goal is to use every condom we have.
Patti: I love being around all of the volunteers and their contagious enthusiasm.
Tami: I will never complain about not having supplies again.
Charlie: Doing this work makes you so appreciate your friends, family, and the opportunities we enjoy.

Remind me to tell you about Charlies late night machete guy.