Refreshed after a shower, I am sitting in the guest house listening to
the nightly rainstorm. Haiti rain is like no other rain I have
experienced. It comes suddenly and loudly, with crashing thunder and
torrents of water. Sort of like a summer storm in Memphis, except every
night it's the same. Thunder, then the power goes out, then we listen
to the downpour. The fans stop spinning, but the wind from the storm
blows through the windows and keeps us "mostly" cooled off.
We work so hard and exhaust ourselves during the week at St Vincents,
that I often dont get to say to my team members how much I value their
time and sacrifice. At the end of the day its all we can do to eat
dinner, take a (cold)shower and withdraw into our selves or our Ipads to
regroup for the next day. Not to mention the thousand items we want to
remember to get done the next day.
Now that I am vacationing in this beautiful place, I have time to
reflect on the many members of our team and what they did for our
ministry and the children of St Vincents.
Mimi and Tim, thank you for your dear hearts and willingness to do
anything and everything I asked you to do. Mimi, you asked me before
the trip what a retired first grade teacher could do on a medical
mission trip. I think you learned quickly that it takes an entire team
to get kids lined up, weigh them, help get their correct names and keep
them calm and entertained while waiting to see the doctor. You blessed
us all with your gentle manner and somehow always looked clean and
stylish in the Haitian heat! Tim, what can I say except thank you for
being a willing dental assistant to our incredible dental team. And
your first aid skills on the overheated bus were very important! A
fellow Texan, you made yourself invaluable.
Brittany brought another pharmacist, Katie, and together they counted,
among other things, about 1500 ibuprofen, reminded me not to prescribe
two similar BP meds, wrote out each and every label in Kreyol and
explained medication directions carefully to about 50 people. In
Kreyol. And sign language, with Sheryes help. What a gift for me to have
confidence in the careful dispensing of medication and know that we did
our absolute best to make sure each patient understood their medication
Minda, Sarah and Sonya worked with the children painting and drawing.
This is a treat for the children as well as some of the adults, to
create something beautiful. Thank you for bringing all the supplies and
your creative encouragement. Thank you for working in that hot little
classroom all day. None of you ever complained, not even once.
Sonya and Hana, her daughter, also helped me in the clinic. Hana, thank
you for being willing to help anyone and everyone and not complaining
when you were sent three different places at once. Thank you for
accepting my teaching of a few " medical tricks". I enjoy teaching, and
its fun to have a student who listens and learns quickly!
Sonya, I always enjoy being on a team with you. Your quick wit and
astute observations always make me laugh! Teams are much more fun when
youre around.
Ashley quietly and cheerfully did the least favorite job of all,
pricking the kids' fingers to check their iron count. John has managed
to teach Ashley this important skill, so he doesnt have to do it
anymore! That leaves him "free time" to find the keys, open the clinic
room and pharmacy, unpack all the supplies for the clinic, find the kids
when its time to leave their classroom and come down for clinic, find a
working power supply, locate clean water or send someone to buy some so
he can refill our water bottles all day, and take blood pressures on
180 patients. Surrounded by screaming children. Oh, and find me when
Frenel comes around, or another of my favorite students.
At the start of this parade is Vickie Baselski, "Mama Vickie" who to my
great delight has made it her mission in life to keep us organized.
Thanks be to God. When asked if she has any tape, for example, she
responds, "scotch tape, masking tape or duct tape?". How does she DO
that?
She produces a manila envelope when asked for something to keep loose
papers in. She has medications for every emergency. She's like the
porter in those old Hollywood movies that carries the silver tea service
into the jungle so the British Captain can have his morning tea. It
gets to be a team game, to see if we can ask for something Vickie doesnt
have.
My partner in the clinic was Dr Judy, retired from St Judes but not from
offering her medical skills in the service of others. Brittany and
John agreed she is the best provider we've ever had on a trip. She was
not overwhelmed by the difficult working conditions (occasional fan, no
light, deaf kids with no interpreter, no lab available other than
hemoglobin, and 10 people in the same room speaking in different
languages all at once). She could quiet a screaming kid with a word or
two, she found three new kids with heart murmurs who will be referred to
a local cardiologist. Thank you thank you thank you for helping me
serve these children and keeping a smile on your face.
Sherye splits herself into 3 people on these trips. This time she was
not only interpreter for the medical clinic, she spent one day with the
dentists and the entire week helping organize which classroom came next
and avoiding duplication, or trying to. This is her second of three
trips to Haiti this summer so she has gone above and beyond by all
measures.
My daughter Sienna is now one of our interpreters for Kreyol. I had
hoped to show her some medical exam skills, but she was so busy
interpreting for the children I couldnt pull her away. To her credit,
when I sent for her to come examine a patient with an interesting heart
murmur, she declined because she didnt want to stop the flow of the
clinic or interfere with what other people were doing. I was proud of
her for supporting the team above her own interests.
Phil Caldwell was our intrepid dentist, who braved sweltering heat and
exasperating inconsistent transportation for the children to declare
victory on Saturday
after seeing 16 kids at the dental school. Organizing anything in
Haiti is a challenge, but he managed to enlist private dentists, and
dental students, as well as the dean of the dental school, to provide
much needed care for the St Vincents kids. I still dont know how he
pulled it off. He told me it was all because of Phil Cloutier, the
dental hygienist who came on our November 2014 team. Phil "Junior" was
the first person to bring dental care of any kind to the children since
the earthquake of 2010. I remember him telling me about the "sixty
kids" who needed urgent dental care and that I wasnt sure at the time if
that would happen. But, convincing Dr Phil Caldwell to join our team, I
now had two dental personnel, and together with Tim, the jeweler cum
dental assistant, they did magical things this week. Phil "Junior" is
very persuasive and energetic, and supported "Dr Phil" so they could
accomplish their work. I believe they saw 50 or more patients this
week all counted, filling cavities, extracting abscessed teeth and other
things we doctors dont even like to think about! Now that dental care
is off and running, I hope we can keep bringing dental teams down in the
future.
Lastly I must thank Drew, our deacon. Drew first inspired (begged,
pleaded, cajoled) me to come to Haiti in 2008. He sits quietly with the
children or holds them in his lap when they are frightened by the
doctor. His beaming grin begins at the airport in Memphis and continues
through our exhausting week at St Vincents. He provides spiritual
support for our team members and a steady hand when one is needed.
Thank you Deacon Drew for your love in abundance and your example to us
all of selfless service.
To all my team members, forgive me for unintended sharp remarks when I
was tired and hot. Thank you for the offers of a cooling face wipe or
granola bar when I needed it Thank you for coming with me to this
heartbreaking place Drew calls "the Cathedral for children", and for
giving up air conditioning, water pressure, comfortable beds, soft
towels and knowing when things are supposed to happen. I hope to see
you all back in Haiti again.
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