As many of you may know, I traveled to Haiti at the end of March with a group of Boston College nursing students. While our trip was shortened due to fuel shortages in Miami, we still spent a total of 6 very
full days providing care to the people of Haiti. Base camp was in Leogane, but each day we traveled about 45 minutes away from the city to set up clinics in various villages. Each clinic was unique in its environment and population served.
Day 1: Unfortunately due to a fuel shortage in Miami, our flight from Miami to Port-au-Prince was cancelled. We spent about 6 hours in a long line and on several different cell phones trying to arrange alternate plans. Not only were things complicated by flight cancellations, but
every hotel in the Miami area was booked! Finally we managed to find a a couple hotel rooms at two different motels in Ft. Lauderdale.
Day 2: Thankfully we managed to get out of Miami on day 2 of the trip. The first day was sensory overload. New sites and sounds and smells. It was a lot to take in and process. Most people were excited and very intrigued to see this group of mostly white girls, others were less...umm shall we say positive?...giving us the middle finger. On our first night in Leogane (while we were packing supplies for our first day of clinic) we heard some music coming from outside. We ran to the rooftop to see a parade of instruments and people on our street. This group, called a RaRa band, plays every weekend night during the season of Lent.
Day 3: On our first day of clinic we drove about 45 minutes to the ruins of a church in Bonyette. I think L, C, and E would all agree that the first day was overwhelming. While the 4 of us (all masters in nursing students) were used to environments where we worked in a highly supervised environment, in Haiti we were independent practitioners. Well....I think we can all agree that on the first day we asked D a lot of questions. The lack of many medical resources was also a challenge to navigate. For instance we had to perform pelvic exams on a floor using headlamps to see what we were doing...not the easiest set up.
Day 4: The second day of clinical was a unique experience. We drove about 45 minutes up a fairly dry river bed and proceeded to unpack and hike about a quarter of a mile up the hillside where we set up clinic in front of some one's home in La Berger. While it seemed like we were out in the middle of nowhere we still say about
200 patients. It was amazing to see how far these individuals walked to receive care. It started raining shortly after lunch and because there was some concern about the riverbed filling up we had to scramble to pack up the clinic. This was the only day where we did not get to see all the individuals who came for care. As the truck was not there to pick us up we started to walk back. We collected quite the parade of children following us. We spent the afternoon taking a walking tour of Leogane and one of the tent cities.
Day 5: Mid-week we joined up with a group of dentists and headed about 2 hours away from Leogane to Basin Bleu. Once we reached the city of Jacmel, most of us had to get out and hike (as the van could not cross the river to the mountain). While some individuals chose to catch a ride on one of the various scooter taxis, a few of us braved the full 5k hike. While it was a hot, sweaty hike it was a
beautiful view. And it's always fun to get out for a hike :) That night we had a dinner, drinks, and dance with some of the locals. The three little girls I danced with most of the night had far more rhythm than me!
Day 6: Let's just say our group got very little sleep the night before. Roosters crowing all night, dogs fighting, 13 girls crammed into one hot, sweaty room, and no working toilets. But the morning started out with a pleasant 6 AM hike to the beautiful blue waters of Bassin Bleu. It was a great swim and a great way to rinse off. After our last day of clinic in Bassin Bleu we hiked back down and headed back to Leogane.
Day 7: Our last day of clinic in Leogane area. Set up clinic in a tent in the tent city of Grand Riviere. The 4 NP students and 1 of the NP's on the trip got to practice our suturing skills on the big toe of an 8 year old boy.
Day 8: Packed up and went to Port-au-Prince to visit 2 orphanages. While we thought we would be providing well child exams, it turns out that it was just hours of playing with the children. Nothing like a little therapeutic touch and laughter.
Day 9: Back to Boston.
Week back in Boston It was overwhelming to come back to Boston. Joined E and her family for dinner when we landed. It was tough to have so many choices and to realize how lucky we are! All me stresses seemed trivial in comparison to the worries of the individuals in Haiti.
And just in case you were wondering....Sak pase? N'ap boule! is a Haitian saying. In essence it means "What's happening?...I'm on fire!". Which it was so hot in Haiti, it was quite fitting.
For more check out:
http://csoninhaiti.blogspot.com/http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/newton/2011/04/boston_college_professor_refle.html?camp=localsearch:on:twit:HLnewton
