First Day in the Clinic

I am doing a mobile clinic here in Haiti, which means each day we will be going to a different site. Today we conducted the clinic at a church/school. I have two options, which is triage or pharmacy. In triage I take the patient's vital signs and then send them to see the doctor. In pharmacy the nurse distributes the medications the doctor has prescribed and explains how and when to take the meds. Resources are limited with what the doctor is able to do. There are a couple cots in the exam room, but the doctors ask the patients about their chief complaint and prescribe them antibiotics, vitamins, or Tylenol accordingly. Most of the people go home with Tylenol for a fever or pain. Common things seen were high blood pressure, vitamin deficiencies, pain, and worms. Thankfully no TB today, because we are not wearing masks to safe guard us. Many of the medications being distrubuted are meds not commonly used in the US anymore. They are probably meds that were donated, because they are no longer being used. After getting the medications the patient goes to see the pastor, who inturn prays with them or shares the gospel if spirit led.

The things I saw today........

There was a lady pretty much wearing a rag. Her shirt had holes and covering her barely. The people down the hill were living in tents. Making food with dirty hands that don't have the proper hygiene. They were frying food over a flame from firewood underneath the pan, cooking in oil who knows how many times it had been used. It rained twice today, and there were children walking around barefooted with mud squished between their toes because they had no shoes. I saw many children along the roadside with no pants or underwear or only underwear. I've seen dogs and a dead donkey (whole new meaning to "dead donkey")laying in the middle of the road. Donkeys and horses grazing everywhere without being tied up or fenced in. Many of the vehicles here are painted multiple colors of grafitti and in one instance a car had bling on it. Many of these vehicles I see on a daily basis seem to be Godmobiles taking people to church, because they always say something about God on them. 'Papa Nu' is the word for 'Father God' in creole! Finally my shower room is outside, when I look above my shower I see palm trees. These are just a few of the cultural and ways of life that I can think of that are different from America.

Franklin Graham also has a helicopter. The helicopter flies the doctors up into the mountains on Saturdays. It's a 2 hour drive between the 2 Samaritan's Purse bases here in Haiti, but a 14 minute flight. We would have taken it to get here, but it doesn't fly on Sundays. The helicopter flies between bases atleast once a day, and there is a high estimate on how many lives it has saved from not driving. Driving is dangerous here! I still have to somehow manuever a ride on the chopper, and it's more difficult now that I'm on the base where the helicopter is not parked. But when I do I will make an aerial video.

The Haitian doctor tonight explained what Vodoo is. I didn't have a good understanding of it before. I wasn't sure how it was different from Christianity. Vodoo came about because Catholicism was forced upon the Haitians, which they knew nothing about. Many Haitians know that Jesus doesn't accept vodoo, and don't want his name around in the midst of their practices for fear Jesus may bring harm upon them. They don't understand that Jesus is love. The will attribute death to a spirit they follow in Vodoo, because of something they did bad. These people need a lot of prayer to be released from the bondage and fear that these Vodoo spirits have over them!!!