Last Day in Haiti

Today I went ashore in Haiti for the last time. I walked around in the morning to see what there was to do. We dug a ditch and picked up trash. Then we helped move water off the M8 boat that had arrived from the Colombian ship. It was hot, and we palletized it. Just before lunch, we were almost done, when we were told to stop. There was an admiral coming in the afternoon, and we needed to by busy then. We waited for his helicopter to land, and then we started moving the water slowly. He didn’t end up walking down the pier, so it ended up being a waste of time, but hopefully it looked good from the air as he was flying in.

Angel Boats

Today I witnessed a sad but interesting incident from several perspectives. Yesterday, 2 children died on the USNS COMFORT. They were supposed to be returned on an “Angel Boat”, but it got rescheduled for this morning. The mother of the baby waited all night by herself. One of our warrant officers sat with her and comforted her in the morning. In the afternoon, the baby arrived, but they couldn’t find anyone to drive it home to be buried. They decided to place it in one of the tents nearby and wait. Unfortunately, the tent they placed it in belonged to the Haitian executive officer of the base. He was very upset because of the evil spirits in the body. In many cultures death is bad luck, and having a dead body in a tent like that, there is a big risk that evil spirits will get into the tent. In the end, the whole mess got sorted out, but I got to hear this story from several different people.
1. The Haitian Coast Guard officer was upset and talked to me about it because of the evil spirit situation. No cab driver would pick up the mother and dead baby, and the Haitian CG did not want to drive it because of the evil spirits either.
2. The warrant officer was upset because she wanted to advocate for the mother and felt that not enough was being done to comfort her and help her.
3. Later this evening, the chaplain talked with me concerning his frustrations with the warrant officer. He said the day before the mother was screaming and wailing by herself and going through the grieving process. When the warrant officer came to comfort her, the chaplain accused her of stalling the mother’s grieving process. Additionally, he was upset because she encroached on his territory--experience in death.

This incident was very interesting to me because 3 different people chose me to voice their opinions over the situation to me, and I was able to sympathize with all 3 viewpoints. It just goes to show, not everything is as it seems, and there are many angles of a story, even one that seems simple.

Routine Support is Not Always Routine

This week, and especially today, we have been having more problems with the Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBS). These are the boats that we bring people and supplies ashore with every day. We have 4 of them, and the auxiliaries division is responsible for keeping them in good working order. The boats were not intended to be driven as long and hard as they are every day. Additionally, we face many challenges running them inshore to Haiti because of all the trash in the water that gets sucked up. Today I spent all day contacting other ships trying to get parts to fix the steering system and water jet buckets on 2 different RHIBS. 2 of the boats are loaner RHIBS that did not come with the proper spare parts. This evening I pulled out plastic trash bags from the exhaust system. I am very proud of my division for the long hours they have spent fixing and refueling these boats all day and often into the early hours of the morning.

Trip To Colombia

There are about 20 different ships from different countries anchored in the harbor now. Since every ship is considered a part of a country, you could theoretically visit 20 different countries just in the Port-Au-Prince harbor. Today, I went on a cultural excursion to the Colombian ship to help offload all the goods they brought. It is common for us to help offload ships because we have big M8 boats to do it. It is interesting to see how much food the ships hold, and how disorganized it was. In the U.S. Navy, we palletize all our goods so they can easily be craned off the ship and transported. This ship looked like they just told their country the Navy was going to go help Haiti and threw a food drive. All of the food was in plastic bags or just cans laying out as if individuals had just thrown a bunch of food on the ship, and it took off. I acquired some large cardboard boxes and plastic wrapping and we began putting all the food into the boxes. The boxes started to rip, and I was the only one small enough to climb around through the boxes and try to duct tape them so they would hold. Duct tape can solve anything. The Colombians not only brought food, but interestingly enough, several hundred coffins from baby size to adult size. That struck me as a little eerie and sad. On the ship, I met the auxiliaries officer, who was only 3 inches taller than me and the only female engineer. It was kind of like being in an alternate universe that spoke Spanish. She was very excited to meet me and gave me a tour of the ship. After the tour, she gave me Colombian coffee and invited me to lunch, which was homemade soup, vegetables, etc., and of course, Colombian coffee. I told the CO I wanted to switch navies, and he said he would be happy to have me. It was fun to have this unique cultural experience, and now I can say I have been to Columbia because I have touched Colombian soil.

Happy Belated Birthday

Today my roommate surprised me by having the cook make a cake for me to make up for not having one on my birthday yesterday. It was a really good strawberry chocolate cake, and it made me feel really good that she thought of me. I am getting along with the other female officers really well, which is very important since we live in such close quarters.

I've Done it All At 26 (From the Song, "High Flying, Adored")

Yesterday I went on a food delivery trip with the UN and Sri Lankan army. If you've never 4 wheeled up and down a 2 ton truck loaded with 280 boxes of food and stalled it in the middle of nowhere Haiti with a bunch of Sri Lankan officers who don't speak English, it's a good thing to do on your 26th birthday.

This experience was very interesting. We called the "community leader" before we went, and he said he had 280 families. We brought 280 boxes of food, each enough to feed 12 people for 1 week.

Little kids had chased our truck up and down the mountain in the hot sun hoping for some food. We slipped a few rice packets out to them and sent them on their way when no one was looking. You have to be careful with that though because you can start a riot, but is hard to watch a small child chase you all the way up a steep mountain in the hot sun hoping for food and not give him anything.

When we got to the top of our 4 wheel expedition, the community leader told us he had 350 families. As soon as I heard this, I started thinking, I do not want to see what happens after the 280th box. The crowd had tickets and we handed each family representative 1 box per ticket.

I was standing on the ground handing out the boxes with a few other sailors while the Sri Lankan army officers stood around us for protection. I got back into the truck when the crowd started getting angry. It was very, very sad to see the old woman standing there with a ticket in her hand and no box of food after it was all gone. I don't think I will ever forget the sad expression her face.

Another life experience to chalk up; now I really feel like I've done it all at 26.

Lost in Translation

Today I had a Haitian nurse working with me as an assistant. I was showing her how to clean wounds and treat other minor injuries. I had a little boy come in who had a bad rash on his bottom and in front. I cleaned his rash and put ointment on it and then covered it in non-stick band-aids and taped it up. The Haitian nurse had watched me, so I told her to do his front side while I went to get some antibiotics. When I returned, his legs had been poorly taped with tape that wasn’t sticking and she was in the process of wrapping up his penis! It was hard not to either yell at her or burst out laughing, but I corrected the situation while acting like it was intentional. Sometimes depending on where injuries are you have to do a little creative engineering, but sometimes you are just not going to be able to wrap up everything the same way.

The Work Slows Down

Recently several babies with medical cases are coming into the clinic. Today I gave several babies children’s Tylenol. Mothers are very thankful even when they just get Tylenol and vitamins, and it is a good experience for me. I am developing better communication with the Mexican doctors. I consult them on X-rays or anything I need, and I can understand when they sign to me that it is not broken and I just need to splint and do medication or when it is more serious. They have a sign for not serious with the illness cases also and then I know to just get Motrin and move them along. Sometimes if the clinic is slow, I’ll put a little extra care into cleaning up some minor cuts and putting Bacitracin and Band-Aids on people. Even if it is something minor they can do themselves, I think sometimes people just want some attention and someone to show they care.

Taken For Everything

This morning I had another patient, Angilee, who nearly died when her house fell down. Her entire side had been slashed from front to back. She was very lucky that she was not a very skinny girl. The slice was about 3 inches deep, 4 inches tall and went nearly all the way around her waist, but it did not reach her organs. She said her house fell on her and she was trying to roll out of it. It had been over a week since the earthquake, and her wound was extremely infected. I wondered why she hadn’t come earlier. Her mother explained that she took her daughter to a doctor out in town. She gave this doctor $3000, her entire life savings, in hope he could heal her daughter. The doctor had not cleaned the wound properly or given her any antibiotics. He just stitched it and it got very infected. This mother was sad indeed. Her husband and sons had all died in the house, and her daughter barely escaped only to suffer this injury. She then lost her life savings with no cure. All she wanted was for her daughter to be healed. The wound was deep, but through a painful cleaning process over several days, antibiotics, and prayer, Angilee started to recover. We kept her overnight in our clinic. Her mother was so happy the next day because it was the first time her daughter had slept all through the night. Eventually Angilee was healed and went home with her mother. We documented Angilee’s injuries and case and took a few photos to give to her mother. We pointed her in the direction of legal advice so maybe she can sue the original doctor and get some money back.

Sometimes the Answer is Right Next to You

Recently we are seeing more and more crush injuries. This morning a woman came into our clinic whose face had been smashed. I was helping clean and debride her wounds, but I was thinking she would really need plastic surgery someday. Through the translator, she was asking me what the next step was, and I knew we didn’t offer plastic surgery. I knew I was going to have to tell her that she would need to be referred to a plastic surgeon out in town. Meanwhile, I was wondering what the chances were that Haiti really had any good plastic surgeons and whether she could afford it. We focus on life/death issues at the clinic, and she wasn’t really in that situation. However, appearances mean a lot, and a significant change to facial features can have a lasting impact on a person. Then something happened that only happens in the movies. I thought, I wonder why Mexico brought such a huge team. I walked over to one of the Mexican doctors. Habla Englais? Are you a plastic surgeon? “Why, yes, I am.” He replied. What a miracle!, I thought. I walked him over to the girl, and he did some measurements and said he would set her up for surgery the next day. I was so relieved that this girl has the possibility of rebuilding her face and her self esteem.

Working in a Tri-Lingual Clinic-23 January 2010

Today the Mexicans came and brought whole surgical teams. We were speaking French, Spanish and English. It was very confusing and at times overcrowded, but it was good to see so many people from different languages and cultures working together with a common goal of helping the Haitians. Additionally, the Mexicans brought 8,000 boxes of food which we loaded into trucks and distributed until we were mobbed and then brought it all back. Yesterday, we saw 160 cases between 8am-5pm. Today we had seen 140 cases by 2 pm, so our clinic is becoming more efficient. The cases today were also less severe, and in the afternoon, everything really slowed down. It was even hard to get helicopters for non-critical patients. Additionally, the media was present in full force. It was another long day, but it was still very rewarding. It is interesting to watch an operation like this, that is built from the ground up. The first day was mass chaos just trying to treat the flood of patients with limited supplies. Now we have tents set up for patients to wait in, a check-in table, 2 operating rooms, a labor and delivery room and even an area that is just for changing out bandages. It is neat to see the evolution of field medicine and what many people can do with limited time and supplies.

Rewarding Work- 21 January 2010

Today was another busy day at the clinic. I am however amazed at how much more organized things are becoming--from triage, to tents for people to wait in, to all the labeled supplies, it is getting much better. Today I learned how to do a fiberglass cast, how to clean a burn and how to treat a gunshot wound. A bullet can actually stay in a person his or her whole life, unlike the movies would lead you to believe. I am so thankful for this training opportunity. Today I also learned more about giving injections and treating children. It is sad to see so many children going through so much trauma at such a young age. I am glad I can help out though. I really enjoy this work. I can’t wait to learn more at PA/medical school. I really like a having a day job again where I sleep at night. I am so glad my chain of command is supporting me in this operation.

OJT

I am saddened by the circumstances which have brought me to Haiti, but I am thankful for the training I am receiving. I don’t think I could buy training like this anywhere. In 4 days, I have practiced splinting arms and legs, treating burns, treated gun shot wounds, cleaned and debrided numerous lacerations, and I even assisted in delivering a baby. I am glad I got my EMT certification, and I am thankful for the opportunity to expand my knowledge and skills here. Today I treated a gunshot wound, and I learned it is not like Hollywood--unless you can see the bullet, you will do more harm than good by pulling it out, so you just leave it in there. The patient who I cleaned and dressed the gunshot wounds for was so thankful he gave me a kiss on the cheek when I was done. Additionally, I met my bravest patient today. I had an 8 year old girl with a huge skin laceration on her left leg. So much of her skin is missing that she is going to need a skin graft. When I started removing her bandages, she stopped me and wanted to do it herself. She also helped me put clean bandages on again. If I had that much of my leg missing, I don’t think I would even be able to look at it, much less help clean it. I think she might become a doctor some day.

Humbled by Haitians

In the past, I often wished for a nice bed in my own room not on a ship. Sometimes it gets old sleeping in a bunk bedroom with several other people. However, this experience has made me very grateful for what I have. I am so grateful that at the end of the day I have a hot shower and clean covered bed waiting for me. Additionally, it makes me sad to think of the trauma all the children I am seeing are experiencing in their young lives. My childhood was all rainbows and lollipops compared to what these children are living through. It is difficult to listen to screaming children all day as I treat them and to think of the sad circumstances in which some of the kids endure, but I am glad I can help. I feel like I am really making a difference here in Haiti.

Stork Pin

Today, I earned my stork pin. I actually got to help deliver a baby, and it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. The mother of the baby was extremely lucky. I had been thinking at lunch that someone might deliver a baby and we should be ready. I put together a delivery kit and set a table aside in the operating room. Sure enough, a woman in a truck whose water had already broken happened to find me. I brought her into the room and called Colonel Dominguez, the doctor in charge. This woman was about to deliver. I helped her through the contractions for and hour and a half, and at 535pm, a baby girl was born, but she was not breathing. I found an infant size bag valve mask to try to get the baby to breathe manually. One of the army technicians ran out to the helicopter pad. The helo was about 5 minutes from taking off. They unloaded all the patients already on the helo and put the baby girl in. She was flown to the comfort where she was intubated and started breathing again. Being able to help deliver a child was an awesome experience I will never forget. I thank God that circumstances were as they were, and we were able to help save the child.

Multinational Operation

“I thought of you out on the beach today when I was having champagne and wine on my ship”, the French commander said to the German commander and me. US ships are some of the only military ships not to have beer. As I rode the motor boat in to the beach in the morning, the German commander emphasized that he could not go to much longer without a beer. He is having trouble surviving with our American dry ship policy. He even told me all the solutions such as the French and Italian ships we are near. I think he is very funny. He makes me miss Germany. However, I am getting good practice at German. I try to sit next to him every morning and evening on the boat ride to and from shore so I can practice my German. This gives me 2 fifteen-minute conversations in German per day. I am becoming quite fluent again.