As I prepare to fly home next week, I’m here thinking, and wondering how a year has passed so quickly. It’s impossible to sum up everything that has happened in the past year, but I’ll try and give a glimpse. There’s been times filled with joy, and times of discouragement and tears, but through it all God is always faithful.
It’s always a a joy to hold a newborn baby, and sometimes somber to ponder what their lives will hold. I’ve had the privilege to help out after many wonderful births in the months I’ve been here, and it’s def been one of the highlights.
A special baby for me that we had come through is Ivana, she came in at 4.5lbs, at 1 month old. Giving her a bottle when she barely had strength to eat, and then watching her blossom over the next months, turning into a plump, happy little girl. It’s those little things, that are such bright spots here.
During the first 3 months of my time here we had around 50 cholera patients come through the clinic here. The sleepless nights changing IV fluids, and emptying waste buckets, was wearing sometimes. However watching people rapidly recover, from a disease that would quickly kill them without treatment, was also very rewarding. Thankfully we saw our last cholera case in November last fall, and we hope it stays that way:)
The many trips I took down to Fond Des Blanc, for a bigger hospital and more advanced care that we can’t provide. It’s a 3hr ride down rough trails and across a couple rivers, that are sometimes high from recent rains. It often means you need to degaje the machine to keep it going. Sometimes if you miscalculate the water depth the river will catch you.. (hopefully never again)🤦🏻♂️ together there’s a lot of memories, both hopeful, and sometime desperate.
There’s a unique feeling of hope that comes with the helicopter. It means there’s more advanced care for a critical patient only a few minutes away. Unfortunately the helicopter has been out of service since the unrest that started in February. We now have a helipad right here at clinic, and pray that service will resume soon.
Sometimes we take to the trails to help out. One night it was going out in the middle of the night to check on a mom and baby that was born mid route. Another time it was taking our cot up to carry a lady the last mile into clinic.
Spending several hours praying for a young boy possessed by demons, and watching them dance in his eyes and manifest themselves by controlling his body. We saw a number of them leave him, but his dad took him home before they all left him, and he went home still tormented😢
Jlinks, was a young boy who had been severely burned on his back, arm and chest. He spent nearly 5 months living at the nurses house, and receiving daily bandages here. He became a part of clinic here for awhile, and wasn’t quite completely healed up, when he went down to Tgoave, to stay with family there. I’m sure he will have a difficult road ahead dealing with scarring and the limitations of medicine here in Haiti.
We had year end cleaning and painting to do during the 2 weeks we closed in December, thankfully many hands make the work lighter.
There’s a host of other small moments in the course of clinic here. A child sleeping with his grandpa that wasn’t feeling well. Stitching cuts, and bandaging people’s injuries, all blend together in a multitude of memories:)
The monthly birthday parties after clinic, that involve cake, singing, prayers of blessing, and time spent telling stories and laughing together.
In the time I’ve spent here, there’s been multiple people that have come and gone, it’s been an honor working with each of them, and I will fondly remember the time I’ve spent here working with them:)
Keep praying for Haiti. Lately it has been very difficult to find the meds we need to provide the patients we see with the best care. We’ve been waiting 3 weeks for a load of stuff to come through from Port au Prince, but the gangs have kept the roads impassible. The country continues to be plagued with unrest from the gangs, and needs Jesus more than ever. When times are uncertain, we can only rest in the fact that Bondye Konnen(God Knows)
Stan