Sunday, June 13, 2010
week two. done.
So another week completed in Haiti. My goodness this week was tough.
The new team at the hospital was fantastic and I met some really wonderful people. One of the women, Barbara, has led the life I aspire to lead one day. I guess I'm already starting to, but her stories are incredible and I love talking to her about her year in Indonesia and working for the Air Force and the clinic she goes to in Central America. It's always reassuring and quite exciting to meet new people who have been where I want to go and still love doing what they're doing.
The hospital itself was a little frustrating however. A little boy came into the ER having a ton of general pain and he was moaning in bed. We tested him for malaria and found it to be negative. After about an hour of asking for more symptoms and getting a more complete history, we found out that his mom has Sickle Cell Anemia. Sickle Cell is passed on genetically so we concluded that he probably has Sickle Cell and was having a Sickle Cell Crisis. Basically the treatment is supportive. A crisis can bring on severe generalized pain so you give the patient pain meds, oxygen and hydration and usually treat for infection (which can precipitate a crisis). We started treatment in the ER and sent him over to the inpatient unit. We don't have a ton of nurses this week so we had the Haitian nurses taking care of our admitted patients. Well the next day, the boy isn't doing well. Turns out the Haitian nurses didn't give the kid any of his meds throughout the day. He ended up dying later that night after the team intubated him and bagged him for several hours. He was 8. I wasn't there to experience all of craziness that happened through the night, but I do work closely with the nurses that failed to look after his care and it's been hard to know how to best approach the lack of quality care in our hospital and best be an agent of change in that place without being insensitive and crazy bossy.
Monday when I was just about to grab my bag to leave the hospital, I heard an ambulance pull up outside. We've only had a handful of "ambulances" pull up to our hospital in my time there and it's not always been an emergency. This time it was a brown land cruiser with a siren (good enough to be a Haitian ambulance) that came to us with victims of a car accident. I've not really been around a lot of trauma so what I saw next was a huge test for me. The woman who got out first was kinda moan-cry-yelling and was completely covered in blood and dirt. Her jaw was huge and her mouth was full of possibly broken teeth and blood. She was shocking. I was the first one to get to her and I almost kinda froze. Two big men helped walk her to a bed so we could start cleaning her up. The next guy was my guy. He was walking fine but had huge abrasions all over his face. We got him to a bed and started cleaning him up too. At this point in the ER was have a Pediatric Neurologist, a resident an ER nurse (Barbara) and myself. Was I kinda freaking out? Yes. Just for a sec though. I wasn't sure if we were going to have a ton of head injuries that we wouldn't really be able to treat and honestly, I didn't know if I really knew what I was doing. After maybe 10 minutes, a bunch of other nurses and doctors came to help out with the 4 other patients that came in from the same accident. My guy ended up needing some stitches in his arm cause a huge chunk had come out and some staples in the head. I ended up helping staple his head shut so... that was kinda cool. I'm also kinda awful at injecting lidocaine into a skull. Practice makes perfect though right?
I've also been really helpful here on base. I've been ceaning up wounds, squeezing out some cellulitis puss, handing out Cipro for some intense diarrhea, consulting people regarding their different wounds and what to do. I love it. It's been so good this week to feel really helpful at the hospital as well as on base.
I went rubbling with a group earlier this week also. We started working on a two story house that collapsed during the earthquake. I was lucky enough to also help finish the project and see how much of a difference it's going to make for her. She lives with her 6 month old daughter, sister + her kid and their mom. The house wasn't super big to begin with but apparently they make do. It's amazing what you can do with a bunch of shovels, pick axes, sledgehammers and wheebarrows. I mean, seriously. To see that house pre and post was incredible.
Now we're dealing with some management issues within the non profit that hopefully will resolve themselves soon and bring about a more unified place to work.
I love you guys. I feel at home here though. I feel loved and helpful and encouraged everyday to continue to do what I've been doing. It's glorious.
The new team at the hospital was fantastic and I met some really wonderful people. One of the women, Barbara, has led the life I aspire to lead one day. I guess I'm already starting to, but her stories are incredible and I love talking to her about her year in Indonesia and working for the Air Force and the clinic she goes to in Central America. It's always reassuring and quite exciting to meet new people who have been where I want to go and still love doing what they're doing.
The hospital itself was a little frustrating however. A little boy came into the ER having a ton of general pain and he was moaning in bed. We tested him for malaria and found it to be negative. After about an hour of asking for more symptoms and getting a more complete history, we found out that his mom has Sickle Cell Anemia. Sickle Cell is passed on genetically so we concluded that he probably has Sickle Cell and was having a Sickle Cell Crisis. Basically the treatment is supportive. A crisis can bring on severe generalized pain so you give the patient pain meds, oxygen and hydration and usually treat for infection (which can precipitate a crisis). We started treatment in the ER and sent him over to the inpatient unit. We don't have a ton of nurses this week so we had the Haitian nurses taking care of our admitted patients. Well the next day, the boy isn't doing well. Turns out the Haitian nurses didn't give the kid any of his meds throughout the day. He ended up dying later that night after the team intubated him and bagged him for several hours. He was 8. I wasn't there to experience all of craziness that happened through the night, but I do work closely with the nurses that failed to look after his care and it's been hard to know how to best approach the lack of quality care in our hospital and best be an agent of change in that place without being insensitive and crazy bossy.
Monday when I was just about to grab my bag to leave the hospital, I heard an ambulance pull up outside. We've only had a handful of "ambulances" pull up to our hospital in my time there and it's not always been an emergency. This time it was a brown land cruiser with a siren (good enough to be a Haitian ambulance) that came to us with victims of a car accident. I've not really been around a lot of trauma so what I saw next was a huge test for me. The woman who got out first was kinda moan-cry-yelling and was completely covered in blood and dirt. Her jaw was huge and her mouth was full of possibly broken teeth and blood. She was shocking. I was the first one to get to her and I almost kinda froze. Two big men helped walk her to a bed so we could start cleaning her up. The next guy was my guy. He was walking fine but had huge abrasions all over his face. We got him to a bed and started cleaning him up too. At this point in the ER was have a Pediatric Neurologist, a resident an ER nurse (Barbara) and myself. Was I kinda freaking out? Yes. Just for a sec though. I wasn't sure if we were going to have a ton of head injuries that we wouldn't really be able to treat and honestly, I didn't know if I really knew what I was doing. After maybe 10 minutes, a bunch of other nurses and doctors came to help out with the 4 other patients that came in from the same accident. My guy ended up needing some stitches in his arm cause a huge chunk had come out and some staples in the head. I ended up helping staple his head shut so... that was kinda cool. I'm also kinda awful at injecting lidocaine into a skull. Practice makes perfect though right?
I've also been really helpful here on base. I've been ceaning up wounds, squeezing out some cellulitis puss, handing out Cipro for some intense diarrhea, consulting people regarding their different wounds and what to do. I love it. It's been so good this week to feel really helpful at the hospital as well as on base.
I went rubbling with a group earlier this week also. We started working on a two story house that collapsed during the earthquake. I was lucky enough to also help finish the project and see how much of a difference it's going to make for her. She lives with her 6 month old daughter, sister + her kid and their mom. The house wasn't super big to begin with but apparently they make do. It's amazing what you can do with a bunch of shovels, pick axes, sledgehammers and wheebarrows. I mean, seriously. To see that house pre and post was incredible.
Now we're dealing with some management issues within the non profit that hopefully will resolve themselves soon and bring about a more unified place to work.
I love you guys. I feel at home here though. I feel loved and helpful and encouraged everyday to continue to do what I've been doing. It's glorious.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
week one over.
My first work week is now over. I've had my ups and downs like I thought but at the end of the day, I'm still pretty excited to be here right now.
I worked in the hospital for two days helping out in the ER. They had discharged all the inpatients so we were fairly quiet this week. The ER was slow, the clinic was as it always is, busy on Monday, quiet by Thursdayish.
Thursday through Saturday I worked with HODR. First planting some cherry trees then rubbling. They just started a new rubble site where I was able to see all the destruction on the very first day. It's amazing how devestating the earthquake was to certain buildings. The house we were working on was a two story building with a shop out in front. The roof had been taken off by a different NGO I think but the remainders of the house were left to be manually destroyed and carried off the foundation of the house. Crazy if you ask me. You seriously look at a 4 bedroom, 2 story house and it's in pieces. The floor is still sometimes intact... which means you have to sledge it to small pieces. And you have to do this all strategically so that you don't sledge the floor out from under you. Oh right... it's also like 100 degrees and you're in the blazing hot sun. You know when you sweat so much it's running off your face? Literally dripping, continuously down your face. Maybe you do cardio. Maybe that's when it happens. For my yogis you know how I sweat in our yoga classes... well imagine that kind of sweat but for 7 hours a day! Also imagine that your shirt doesn't ever dry and your eyes kinda sting from the sweat that's gotten in your eyes. It's glorious. Really, glorious. It's a beautiful way to be helpful and encourage others near you and I've even been known to do some small nursing stuff on site. Minor injuries but still good stuff.
I also got to meet the co founder of the hospital this week. Josh White. Really great guy, fabulous doctor and new friend. We got to talking about the hospital recently and the future of what's going to be happening to it. I've heard rumors that it may be closing down due to funding and now after talking with Josh it sounds more political than financial. I'm sure I'll find out more and while I started freaking out right after we talked about "what am I gonna do if the hospital shuts down?" Instead of freaking out I have decided to just be present here...now. Just be.The hospital is still open. People are still sick and hurt. Everyday still makes a difference. We also just got a huge donation of supplies which is always so amazing. I will continue to split my time working at both places until something happens that makes me have to look elsewhere.
Love to you all. Sorry for the infrequent updates. Once a week might be all I can swing.
xoxo
I worked in the hospital for two days helping out in the ER. They had discharged all the inpatients so we were fairly quiet this week. The ER was slow, the clinic was as it always is, busy on Monday, quiet by Thursdayish.
Thursday through Saturday I worked with HODR. First planting some cherry trees then rubbling. They just started a new rubble site where I was able to see all the destruction on the very first day. It's amazing how devestating the earthquake was to certain buildings. The house we were working on was a two story building with a shop out in front. The roof had been taken off by a different NGO I think but the remainders of the house were left to be manually destroyed and carried off the foundation of the house. Crazy if you ask me. You seriously look at a 4 bedroom, 2 story house and it's in pieces. The floor is still sometimes intact... which means you have to sledge it to small pieces. And you have to do this all strategically so that you don't sledge the floor out from under you. Oh right... it's also like 100 degrees and you're in the blazing hot sun. You know when you sweat so much it's running off your face? Literally dripping, continuously down your face. Maybe you do cardio. Maybe that's when it happens. For my yogis you know how I sweat in our yoga classes... well imagine that kind of sweat but for 7 hours a day! Also imagine that your shirt doesn't ever dry and your eyes kinda sting from the sweat that's gotten in your eyes. It's glorious. Really, glorious. It's a beautiful way to be helpful and encourage others near you and I've even been known to do some small nursing stuff on site. Minor injuries but still good stuff.
I also got to meet the co founder of the hospital this week. Josh White. Really great guy, fabulous doctor and new friend. We got to talking about the hospital recently and the future of what's going to be happening to it. I've heard rumors that it may be closing down due to funding and now after talking with Josh it sounds more political than financial. I'm sure I'll find out more and while I started freaking out right after we talked about "what am I gonna do if the hospital shuts down?" Instead of freaking out I have decided to just be present here...now. Just be.The hospital is still open. People are still sick and hurt. Everyday still makes a difference. We also just got a huge donation of supplies which is always so amazing. I will continue to split my time working at both places until something happens that makes me have to look elsewhere.
Love to you all. Sorry for the infrequent updates. Once a week might be all I can swing.
xoxo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
