The most common question people have asked since returning from Haiti is "What did you do?" I still don't even know how to describe everything we did, but to say the least--it was amazing. Our full team was 30 people, but we were divided amongst three subgroups. There was a team that worked at a local orphanage that cared for children from 0-3 years old. They allowed the employees of the orphanage to take a break/vacation, so the team provided total care for some of these children morning, day and all through out the night. The rehab team spent their time at Christ of the Benediction Hospital, a facility that worked specifically with patients from the Port-au-Prince earthquake. Their main task was to organize a huge storage container as the hospital has been inundated with donations. In addition, they did in class presentations for local nursing students at different universities in the area.
The group I worked with conducted mobile clinics to remote villages outside of Limbe and Milo. I knew this was our task going into Haiti, but for some reason I thought we would be assisting these clinics, NOT completely running them. It was expected that we would have a doctor to work with during our time there, however the three different doctors we had lined up were all unable to participate. But just like the Haitians do so gracefully, you make the best with what you have. And what we had was a lot of heart, determination and Hope. Yes, Hope, a seasoned nurse and complete Godsend. Her name couldn't be anymore fitting as she was really the glue that brought our team together. Hope is from Canada and is currently a professor in nursing, but she has spent years in Sierra Leon (Africa) providing medical care to the community. She volunteered to be part of our team and in large part to her I can confidently say we provided safe and effective treatment to our patients. We were constantly consulting with her, and she was always teaching and guiding us. I don't know how we would have done it without her.
Like I mentioned, the mobile clinics were in outlying villages, and we would usually use a church facility. For example, on our first day we hiked close to two hours to get to the church. We crossed through rivers, walked up hill after hill, all with our supplies in tow. But Haiti's land is absolutely breathtaking and you couldn't complain, even when the rain began to pour down. We were even told that one community we went to hadn't received any healthcare in the past 6 years, and making the long trek to the nearest big city for care wasn't an option for most. This explains the mass number of people we would see when first arriving at these churches, and to be quite honest it was an intimidating site. One day we saw close to 300 patients, and in our time there we treated over 1500 people. It was hard work, but worth every second.
We met with patients aging from just a few months old to close to 100 years old. Many were unsure of their age and just estimated, especially the elderly. Then there were children who said they were 16 or 19, yet they were the size of a child in grade school. We treated an array of infections, rashes, especially fungal rashes since they bathe in the same water they clean their clothes, cars and even dinner (aka slaughtered goats, chickens or pigs). There were also patients with malaria, typhoid and dengue. Other common ailments included dehydration, anemia, osteoarthritis-because of the demanding nature of their jobs, heavy on the manual labor, and a lot of GI problems-parasites/giardia. We transitioned from student nurse to nurse practitioner in days, as we were responsible for assessing, diagnosing and prescribing medications.
A large part of our time too was health education, as we would teach about proper hand hygiene, the importance of lowering blood pressure and how to do so, increasing iron intake and water intake. I even spoke to a young girl who was pregnant for the first time. Since prenatal care doesn't really exist in Haiti, we talked about the signs and symptoms of labor and what to do in her last trimester of pregnancy. All of this information I had just learned a few short weeks before in my Maternal Health class. I was shocked at how much of what we learned this past year really came together. I could actually implement what I've been learning in the classroom and hospital. It was incredible! With that, I also realized there is still a whole lotta I have yet to learn!
The piece of nursing I love the most is the relationships and people you come in contact with. During our second week of clinic, things became a little more comfortable and I felt like I was getting into a routine. I wasn't as bothered by the looooong lines of people waiting to be seen, because I knew we would get to them...eventually. There was one man in particular who had been in line all day, no matter how many people we had gone through, he always seemed to be at the end of the line. But finally, it was his turn and he was our very last patient for the day. He was a man in his 50s, missing many of his teeth, frail and slender. It didn't take a medical professional to tell that this man was extremely ill. However his poor health wasn't the first thing I noticed about him, it was his sweet demeanor and genuine smile that warmed me from the start.
As soon as the man sat down he began to cough, and he shared that he had been coughing up blood for the past few months. I found that he had a history or smoking, and after listening to his lungs it was evident that there was more going on then we could treat. It was likely that he had Tuberculosis (which is highly contagious, and we were not protected) or possibly lung cancer, so all we could do was refer him to see a doctor. But the likelihood of him having access to a doctor, let alone being able to afford the services was poor. Healthcare there is completely different than the US. If you have an injury and need to go to the ER, they will assess you and decipher what supplies they need to help you. But it is up to you and your family to go to the cashier and pay for those supplies before the doctor can treat you. If you can't afford it then you don't get treated, end of story. Nonetheless, after consulting Hope we spoke with the man and explained that his condition was quite serious, yet we couldn't provide him with the tests he needed and we referred him to go to Cap-Haitien. Thinking he would be distraught or frustrated, he said with a smile that he understood. He went onto to share too that he had some problems with watery and itchy eyes, allergies. So we prescribed him a box a claritin and he was incredibly happy and appreciative.
One of the worst feelings in the world for me is one of helplessness, and I hated watching him walk away with his prescription for a measly box of claritin. As we packed up and left I couldn't shake the image of this man, and how sick he was. There was nothing I could do for him. While driving away from the church, we passed by the man a few meters up the road. He was walking and as soon as he realized who was passing him, he began to wave vigorously with his huge toothless smile, and the box of claritin flying in the air. I waved back and as soon as he was out of sight I just bit my lip, I broke.
This man was thankful for so little. It truly reflected how gracious the Haitians are. They may not have a lot, but they are content with what they do have and are appreciative of any support. I still struggle with wanting to do more and hold back tears writing this, but it was a reminder that I can't control everything--there is only One that can do that. As cliche as it is, the little things really do make a big difference.
I gave so much of myself in Haiti, but I can never match what they taught me both professionally and personally. I will forever be indebted to these beautiful people.
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