Earthquake Reflections Trip 2-Day 5-6

By now your all aware of the general pattern of our days. So from now on I'm going to focus just on the interesting stories or unique situations.

On Thursday afternoon our family took a walk down town TiGoave. We visited the Wesleyan church but otherwise just walked up and down some of the streets. Most places folks knew my name. While it surprised me it shouldn't of as I had interacted with thousands of people during the three weeks of triage.

One home we looked into the lower story. Major structural damage spoke to the force of the quake. The Happy Birthday banner and decorations still visible from the open doorway touched us. A family celebration interrupted by a national catastrophe. We could not help but wonder if everyone in the family remains alive.

This spot once housed a historic hotel that had stood for over 100 years. When it fell 198 people lost their lives, with only two survivors. One boy lost his leg but rejoiced at his second chance at life and accepted eternal life the week after the quake.

Interesting emergency case of the day-a 26 year old lady brought in unresponsive and barely breathing. Reportedly an asthmatic who complained of abdominal pain prior to the collapse. Resuscitation started immediately with an ambu bag breathing for her, IV's started, breathing treatments given, epinephrine given, solbutamal given. Then her breathing improved and she could shake her head in response to questions.

After a few more minutes she could talk. Then the family with her shared that a similar episode had occurred the year before but no medical care had been sought. She improved without care after a three days. After being observed for a while she returned home-with her diagnoses remaining a mystery.

An additional bit of excitement during her care came when a slight breeze dumped the rainwater collecting on the tarp over our heads down. The water exploded the hot light bulb hanging on the side of the tarp causing a loud bang, while plunging us into semi darkness. Some parts of practicing medicine in the field come as a surprise.