CBU nurses last day at St Vincents

Thursday, November 6th

As I was ready to walk to get the bus the bottom of sandal just fell off my. Literally, I took a step and the bottom part of the sandal stayed on the floor. It should have been an omen! 

The team was promptly at the end of the long drive at 8:27; August and our bus were not. We waited!!!During the wait Stephanie, who was already dealing with a jumping stomach started to feel really sick and went back to the guest house. At 9:05 the bus was still not here so Noel took us to St. V. It seems the bus would not start.

Once we get to school we find Diane, in what were are referring to as “the box” and our clinic just crying hysterically. She was guarding and really seemed to be in pain; no temp, no + signs for an appy but still seemed in pain; we did get her calmed down and checked on her later and she was sleeping. Of course we did not have any children’s tylenol or ibuprofen.

Since we needed some children’s tylenol on Tuesday, I wanted to check out the pharmacy at the brace shop area. First, Brittany PharmD. thank you so very much for the label guide it was a priceless treasure. Second, you do not have a pharmacy!! The suitcase and cardboard box system I set up looks like CVS compared to what is left of the pharmacy at St. V. There is a closet at the brace shop building with various bags, and a big box of all kinds of dusty medications. It looks as if the shelves of the old pharmacy was cleaned off in a hurry and loaded into what ever could be found. UGH! It was an arduous process to get to these prescription meds and I did not see any vitamins. If the children have been receiving vitamins, they must be stored somewhere else. I did try to speak with Ms. Elizabeth about the children getting vitamins while Mdme Noelle is on maternity leave and she said they are thinking of something. ????

CBU nurses visit Mirebelais Hospital

Wednesday, November 5th

We began our journey to Hospital Universitaire de Mirebalais at 730 AM. This Dr. Paul Framer’s vision of health care for the underserved in the north of Haiti. It is quite the place. The hospital has 3 intake areas; ER which can get up to 1,500 people a day (not all are seen), women and children’s 400 to 500 a day, and general medical that sees 450 people a day. For about 5.00 one can register and receive a medical record card and been seen for life at the hospital. Sounds great!! The hospital is a 90 minute drive up and over the mountain from Port au Prince with numerous S curves and a great deal of goats, donkeys, cows, tap taps, people and semi-dump load of rock also trying to traverse the mountain. I spend a good deal of time with my eyes closed; one because I have motion sickness in this type of terrain and two, because I thought I might die!! It is not a trip for the faint of heart!! It was worth the trip and much, too much information was obtained to share in a note from Haiti. Just let me say they are doing wonderful work. And, there is not a nursery for the OB department, mothers want their babies immediately. We heard the cry of a newborn as we were touring the department. 

CBU nurses Day 3 in Haiti

Monday, November 3rd

It was a day, a glorious day. Each time a plan for this journey, I ask myself, is it worth the effort, numerous challenges, students coming and canceling and all the rest. And then, and then, I go to the special children’s room and I see Baby Margaret, who is no longer a baby and I touch her sweet face and say in English of course “hello Margaret - how are you sweetie”. I touch her face and look into her crib and her eyes and she smiles. Her face lights up and I pick her up and hold her and kiss that angelic face and I sing to her and she blinks her eyes and moves her head to my not so angelic songs. She knows me and this child with her shunt responds. This is why I come. This is my purpose. JoJo and Marie Carmel - so glad to see a friend to glad to welcome me back to Haiti. 

CBU nurses in Haiti Day 2

Sunday, Nov 2nd.

Yesterday when Chloe provided our group orientation she said “not to worry, we will always have electricity.” She went on to explain that the local electric company rotates the electric power in zones throughout the city but the guest house has a generator and we will have fans and lights; use the green receptacle. At 5:15 Marie woke up saying “the power went out - the fans are off.” What Chloe should have said was we always have electricity - except when we do not. It appears all bedrooms do not have the green receptacle and someone must be present to turn on the generator. We had lights about 6 AM when the cook came in for the day.

CBU NURSING TEAM arrived safely in Haiti

Evelyn Sue Trzynka

Saturday, Nov 1st. 

Lots of sleepy but excited faces at Memphis International Airport today. Processing the 9 of us went as processing goes for a group very smoothly. Dr. Nelson came to see us off, wish us well and thank all of the team for making a difference at St. Vincent. It was good for the returning member, Heather Ayers, Tiffany Gardner, and Denise Watkins to see Dr. Nelson again. It was also good for the new group, Dr. Marie Bredy, Stephanie Baggett, Suzanne Wilson, Heather Leland, and Laura Scott to meet Dr. Nelson.

We had a very short turn around at the Miami airport - but with lunch to go we were on the plane. And what a plane - wide body, nice leather seats and about 50 rows. 

Things went pretty well at the Haitian airport. Pretty well means the air conditioning was working or really that they now have AC, the line for immigration was long - sort of merging through a cattle shoot style to pay the all NEW $10.00 U.S or Canadian Recreation Tax; on to get our forms stamped and down to get the luggage. Being at the end of the line has advantages - all of porters have already found “marks” and were not there to attack us. Once through customs I found Jude, who had a piece of paper - Suzanne - St. Vincents. I explained to him I only had a small amount of money already planned and not to get too many people or he would not make very much money! It worked, we only had 3 men not 13 trying to move the luggage trolleys and us through the parking lot. Thanks be to God - in about 5 minutes there was the St. V bus and August our driver. 

Off to Helping Hands and almost no traffic for a Saturday. Apparently, all the people were at the cemetery. There is major road work being done from the airport to the guest house. August managed to get the bus up the hill into the drive by approaching from a different direction and “gunning it” to get over the curb. The back bumper of the bus may be a bit more worse for wear!! Now getting the bus turned around was a lot more of a challenge. Good news, most of the driveway has been concreted - I said most. The area in front of the guest house and beyond is still dirt with a few stones mixed in for traction. 

Chloe, the new guest house manager is delightful. She is 23, American educated, very eager to please and delightful. Pork was on the menu and when I explained I cannot eat pork she immediately had the cook fix a chicken breast for me and it was enough to share with others. Marie as well as others were very happy with the red beans and rice. Everyone was happy to get an ice cold Prestige - the local brew. 

I have spoken with Gail, the previous Guest house manager and she is going to help reintroduce Haiti to Dr. Bredy, our CBU adjunct faculty and Nurse Practitioner who is Haitian and left her homeland 42 years ago. By 7:30about half of the team had called it a day and were off to bed. I am not far behind.