Late Night Entry
Good Evening Friends,
Sometimes I feel like I am on an outward bound course in some respects: the group dynamics, learning, growing and seeing new things together and in different ways. Tonight we had a fun time talking about where we are coming from, little tidbits and a few embarrassing moments....funny stuff, had to be there:) Now I find myself typing away, while the rest of the gang have found themselves a bed and gone to sleep.
I went solo today to the Center of Hope where I worked with a great Haitian nurse doing HIV consultations and ante partum exams. I learned a lot and got some practice at finding heart beats and measuring fundal heights. Speaking French would have been helpful so I could have understood more of what the nurse was saying to me and the patient, but heck we did alright. Noah, my interpreter where are you?:) I guess I should start practicing my French a little more. In the afternoon I shadowed the doctor at the HHF clinic. Saw all sorts of things, lots of high blood pressure and scabies. He was quick and often knew right away what the patient had, but also asked me what I thought. An eye opening experience to add to the many others.
Like our trip into the mountains yesterday. Three of us were lucky enough to catch a ride with Katy, a doctor from the states who is building a clinic in the mountains. We went with her to some remote villages to do a resource assessment by talking with several of the village leaders. I was amazed by how rocky the high mountain villages are. The Toyota truck we were driving took them with stride, but a flat tire seemed inevitable!
The folks we met were very welcoming and we heard perspectives from a lot of people. Katy always asked as her final question, if you were president what three things would you do? Any ideas?
Consistently the answers were 1. clinic 2. roads 3. schools
Keep in mind that none of these villages have electricity, running water, toilets.
Tomorrow three of us head back into the mountains and across the big river (good thing we have land rovers with their long air filter stacks!) to go to a health clinic with some of the HHF health agents.
All the best,
Emily