I had my backpack with medical stuff, my passport and a change of clothes with me as well as a second small bag of medical supplies. The kids, Chris and Kathleen had helped me to pack right before leaving home. Thankfully my roommates at OMS and this team helped me out with some of the personal items that didn't get packed.
Two buses arrived after breakfast ready to transport us to Leogane. One of the drivers had lost two children and had a daughter trapped under the rubble with all her limbs broken. They could talk to her but couldn't reach her-I can't imagine his pain.
I joined the 'A' team bus. I'm grateful that Scott, the team leader riding shot-gun would warn us when not to look on the right or left side. He saved many of us from graphic images at a personal cost to his own life. I did see a few things that I wished I hadn't-they served to intensify my prayers for the suffering even though they were past any suffering on this earth.
As we traveled closer to Leogane more and more buildings were damaged. We were now close to the epi-center less than 48 hours after the quake. In a small two room building we set up 3-4 clinic stations. Most of the helpers didn't have formal medical training but were willing to help.
Some of the following stories are graphic!
I don't know how many patients we saw that day but someone guessed close to 40. By the end of the day I had a efficient team to split legs. One pregnant lady had been carried on a door. Half of her neck was severely swollen-I feared for her airway. She was 8 months pregnant and hadn't felt any movement since the quake. Her right knee was heavily bandaged and had been soaked with a dark dried liquid. I came close to leaving the bandage alone fearing to disturb a clot and cause massive hemorrhaging. But a team member gently pushed me and so I decided we really should clean the wound. Part of the dark liquid turned out to be from the black stinky mud that her smashed, open knee had been packed. As we cleaned and splinted as fast as we could -her groans echoed in my head.
One of the first patients I saw here was a young boy. He had amazingly survived the earthquake that collapsed parts of the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince where he had been a patient in serious condition. His conjunctiva were deathly white, indicating the very low blood count that had prevented him from receiving the bowl surgery that he so desperately needed. He lay quietly moaning on the mattress under a tree. They reported he vomited anything they gave him and his bowl sounds didn't exist. I could only do one thing-I prayed for a miracle. I talked to his mom and explained that without the Lord's intervention he would not live much longer. After that I asked them to try to give him a few drops of water and if he kept that down we'd try some Tylenol for pain. Hours later we tried the Tylenol as we had nothing else and he promptly threw it up. We gave them a ride back into Port as that was likely the best location for them to find the kind of medical care that he needed. We dropped his mom off at a street corner. I couldn't look at her with her son in her arms as we drove away. I pray that the Lord was merciful.
2 comments:
That must be heart breaking.
I can't even imagine . . .
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