Make Memorial Day Happy

It’s Memorial Day, and I have been seeing a lot of the following drivel on Facebook:

A normal person has 1,000 wishes. A Soldier only has one, to come home safe. I know 97% of you won't post this as your status, but the 3% that do are my friends. In honor of someone that died, a wounded warrior, or who is fighting (or has fought) for your freedom, please re-post in their honor. Memorial day Weekend! God Bless all those serving now..!!!!

Well, uh, no, I am not going to repost, of course, and that might mean that I am not one of those lucky 3% that get to be your friend for a few keystrokes. (Kind of slutty, don’t you think?) But I am one of the 0.09% that actually DID something to help make the lives of vets a little more bearable.  You can join me, and here's how:

1. Call your local VA to volunteer or donate, even just stopping by to chat with a vet. As part of my job, I have to call hospitals all over the place. When you call a VA, the first thing that the recording says is “Thank you for calling the VA. If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, please call the Suicide Prevention Hotline at …” followed by the local number. (FYI, the national number is 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and they have a special page for vets.) That’s right, enough vets are calling the VA because of suicidal thoughts that they had to stick a message on their recording. That’s f’ed, people, and a FB status isn’t going to make these people feel better.

2. Call or write your congressman and ask them to vote against activities that cause violence in the region of your choice. No, I am not just talking about Iraq, I am pretty much talking everywhere. I suggest that you ask for the School of the Americas to be closed, which is a training camp for Latin American dictators and basically teaches one how to throw a coup and then trash the country afterwards. One such graduate was Michel Francois, who threw the coup in Haiti that removed Jean-Bertrand Aristide and caused the death and torture of more than 5,000. How will writing your congressman help? Well, the School of the Americas in in Georgia. That’s Georgia, USA.

3. Give money. Pick a charity of your choice and sned 'em $$. Too busy for that?  Then send a text message "DAV" to 90999 and you will donate $5 to disabled vets.  Or give a dollar or your lunch to a homeless guy, who is probably a vet. (If I was a vet standing on a street corner, I would personally want to deck every idiot who thinks that some FB status is going to get me fed that day.)

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” I am sure that when Mahatma Gandhi said that, he was hoping that it would be more then the FB status of a bunch of spoiled westerners.

You can make it so.

You have a pal in Palestine

Well, my next move has been decided, and that move is Palestine.  It was between that and Haiti, actually.  Funny story.  You see, one fine day I woke up and found the following in my email inbox:

Thank you for contacting the Palestine Red crescent Society.  Being a nurse, we would like to have you volunteering at the Hebron branch Hospital. I have already contacted them, they need you for at least 8 months. Is that suitable for you? They will provide you with accommodation and meals.

This was sort of a shock since I barely remembered applying.  I sort of took a rapid-fire approach when I got back to Haiti and realized how much I wanted to work overseas.  My preferences where Haiti, Palestine, and Nepal.  Most of the places that I applied to wanted me to basically write a disertation before they would even consdier rejecting my application.  So to be accepted outright was sort of a rush and terrifing at the same time.  Give a girl some warning, will ya?

You might also have noticed the definite lack of information that the email gives.  I actually really had to beg to wean more information out, but it looks like I would be staying at a hospital in Hebron.  In fact, I think that I am going to be doing something like this:  http://www.ms.dk/sw187323.asp

So, my next question was how to get there.  Like a moron, I assumed that I would get a working visa, etc.  What I found out was:

We prefer that you get one way ticket or an open ticket that you may change later according to the situation over here.  You will get the ticket to the Airport, that you are coming for Tourism to Jerus'm and so. After 3 months here, volunteers actually go to Jordan, stay there for a couple days and then come back through the same bridge an get visa on borders for new 3 months.. so we may only have for 6 months instead of 8, unless we figure out a way for you to stay here more.

As Lando said, "This deal is getting worse all the time."  Uh, you want me to lie at the airport and you can't guarantee eight months?  Of course, I felt like an idiot to think that the Red Crescent was going to get me a visa.  The Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC) has about as much authority to hand out visas as I do (perhaps even slightly less!)  So I figured, well, this is the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), right?  Perhaps I can appeal to the Israeli version of the Red Cross (MDA), to let me in, citing the impartiality that the Red Cross inflicts on it's members.  (They aren't called that, but I am using that name so that this post doesn't pop up on too many search engines.)

Now this is interesting.  Turns out that there was a huge debate and the ICRC wouldn't let them in.  While I was researching this debate, I figured that the ICRC did this because the MDA was stopping PRC ambulances and accusing them of hiding terrorists.   I found out that in fact, the dely of letting Israel in was actually due to a squabble over what symbol they would use. MDA wanted to use a Red Star, the ICRC demanded that they use one of the three designs that they already had.  I mean, what the hell?

It was around this time that I heard back from an organization in Haiti.  This post is getting long, so I will wrap it up to say that I did not get the Haiti job, and I have since chalked it up to God or fate or whatever telling me that I need to go to oPT, where I am probably more needed.  I felt like a bit of an ass anyway for choosing Haiti over them simply because Haiti was more convenient. 

Third Goal



Third goal: this kid is counting on me

Well, it's been about a week since I have been back, and I have found although it's nice to be able to take showers with running water (although I am still feelign guilty over the waste) I miss being overseas a lot more then I thought that I would.   

I did a presentation at work (which was really more of a slide show) to show them the type of work that I have done, and unlike the other countries I have been to, I would really like to try and fufil what Peace Corps calls "The Third Goal".  Peace Corps has three goals: to help the people that you visit, to teach the people that you visit about America, and then to bring whatever you have learned about this country back to America.

I think that Haiti has learned all they really want to know about our grand country, thank you very much, so the second goal wasn't really a priority to me, but the third goal is.  It's also probably the most challenging, as it's nearly impossible to not learn about a country and teach them about yourself when you are in the borders (well, maybe for some Americans) but when you get back it's really easy to forget what happened and just concentrate on enjoying different types of foods again.



On second thought, maybe Haiti's better off without me.



Speaking of which, I could really go for some Eithopean.  I had sushi the other night.  Yum.  (See how easy it is to get distracted?)

Anywhoo, my PP presentation was a step in that direction.  I mean, aside from the fact that it's one of the poorest countries in the world, has been overrun by coups and recent natural disasters, what do people really know about Haiti?  What do they really know about US policy there?  Or even about voodoo?  Why should be care about Haiti when there are so many other places that also deserve attention?  And what the hell is up with the School of the Americas that is still running for some very odd reason?

Yes, all good questions.  I'll leave it to Paul Farmer to answer them, most of which he does in his great book, The Uses of Haiti.

Meanwhile, I am looking for more work down there.  Or in Palestine.  Or maybe Nepal.  Or Burma.  OK, so I suck at Third Goal.  I know I don't want to go back to Samoa is all.



Goodbye Haiti :(

Goodbye Haiti, I will miss you!

What I have learned:

1. ALWAYS study the language. Learn “it won't hurt” “sit here” at the very least.

2. You never have enough clean clothes

3. You always have more electronics then you need

Things I will look forward to at home:
1. Secularity

2. A REAL shower

3. Flat surfaces

Things I will miss:

Everything.

Another satisfied customer

This is my last blog entry from Haiti, but there is still so much to say. We had the last day of clinic, and we mostly had schoolchildren and older people. Mary Kay, when signing the contract for the iStat, agreed that all 300 cartriges needed to be used to show that the machine was really needed in Haiti. The problem was that we had to struggle to get that number, especially since the tests would take about three minutes to read. Since we had about 75 tests still to run today, I was really running with those stupid tests.

So to run a test, I had to pierce the patient's skin with a lancet and squeeze the hand to get the blood. I needed a ton of blood as the cartridges needed quite a lot. As a result, I had to squeeze the hell out of those Haitian hands (many of which were badly callused, and my hand is very achy from 5 days of squeezing, or as I liked to put it: “My hand is as sore as a NYC hooker!” (Take a sec, you'll get it.)

Andrew, Amanda, Mary Kay, Kristen, Judi, Norma, Glenn, Chelsea
Maia, Kimberly, Naomi, Linda, Lynn, Margie, Kelly, me, Suzette, Julia, Julie, Sherry

I think that another thing that this trip has done is really recharge my desire to get out and join a medical team. I am going to really work harder towards this goal.  I loved the people that I worked with, they were such a great mixture of people with varing talents and humor.  As well as Haiti, I will miss them terribly.  I hope that we are able to keep in touch, perhaps even have a party later.

I have learned so much from the people of Haiti and my teammates, and I hope to come back soon.  I hope that I have helped to make Haiti a better place in even a small way, helped to make someone's life a little brighter, and helped give Haiti a butterfly's breeze push to a better future.

Thank you Haiti, I will miss you.

It's a Hard Knock Life

Mary Kay had promised had promised Rachel, who ran a local orphanage associated with MTM, that we would test all the kids for anemia. This news was not well received my me as I hate testing kids for anemia, as they scream and fight and don't bleed well. Plus you have to stick them in the heel, rather then the finger, and often they are able to give a well-aimed kick to the face.

Mimose seeing Suzette at the airport in Haiti

In Haiti, you are considered an orphan if you have lost one parent. Many single parent households will put their kids up for adoption if they can't take care of them. One girl in my group, Suzette, was actually adopted by her mother Kelly (also in the group) when she was nine, she went to live with Kelly at 12. Her birth mother met us at the airport and stayed with us for a few days. We have often wondered what Suzette is thinking as we see her with her biological mother. Kelly, her adoptive mother, is obviously who she thinks of as her real mother. Suzette does not seem to hold any anger towards any party for her situation, but seems like a well adjusted young lady with two mothers. She was adopted when she was nine, but didn't get to live with her current other until three years later.

Suzette and Mimose

Rachel told us a bit about adoption while we were driving up, stating that the mothers can come and visit thier kids while the kids were in the orphanage, and many often do.  This can be very hard for thier kids, and sometimes the mothers will change their minds.  Single fathers generally balk at the idea of a closed adoption (which all are by default) while mothers tend to view adoption as an act of compassion towards kids and feel that they would have a better life.  Rachel's kids are generally gone in about 18 months, which is a very short time here.

Attacked on the couch (Judi, Kristen, and myself)

We pulled up to the house and saw a kid, standing in the driveway staring at us.  I got my supplies out of the car adn started to walk towards the house when two more kids came running out.  The first kid ran to me and threw his arms around my legs and squuezed for a second, looking up at me with angelic eyes before moving on to Kristen.  The next few kids did the same, and soon we were surrounded by enegetic and outgoing todlers who had obviously never heard of stranger anxiety.  After we got into house, Krisin sat on the couch and three kids hopped into her lap.  I saw next to her and was similarly tackled.  I wondered if Rachel had trained the kids to act this way to help encourage perspective parents to take them home.  Whatever she was doing, it was working as almost all the kids already had homes.

Me comforting a munchkin

Work time.  I got out the kits and started on the kids and almost immediatly became very unpopular.  The caretakers would hold the kids while I poked them.  One of things that I noticed was that the caretakers, like the translators, were very disengaged.  (You can sort of see what I mean in the picture.)  I wondered if this was because it was the end of the day.  The kids were pretty interested, however.  They gathered around and watched with interest as I poked thier compatriots then screamed like banshees when it was thier turn.  I needed to scream myself (for help) periodically as they started to crawl onto me as they fought for attention.

Drawing blood

Many of the kids, sadly, were anemic.  Rachel feeds the kids well, lots of greens, meat, and milk, but almost half had low hemoglobins.  We left them with some children's vitamins and instructions to give iron with juice, and not give milk within an hour of getting the vitamins (milk prevents the absorption of iron, while vitamin C enhances it.)  This isn't easy when you have 15 kids that you are caring for (most meds are given with meals) but I know that Rachel will try.  With so many kids, she was able to keep them very straight.  She knew the background and active illnesses of every kid.

Orphanages like Rachel's, that focus on adopting out kids, are only one type.  There are others that focus on keeping kids in Haiti and trying to help them become productive members of society.  What Haiti doesn't want is for mothers to receive funds from overseas to support their kids, since this would encourage parents not to work. But there are a lot of kids that need homes and food, and no real solution.

The damage doesn't look as bad from out here

My roommates made me buy chocolate
(Julie, me, Mary Kay, Lynn in back,
Kristen and Norma in front)

It turns out that that I didn't have to walk all the way over to church, it came to me as the music flowed over the valley into the guesthouse.

Although I had been worried that Sunday would be a fairly dull day (the clinic is closed that day) it turned out to be a pretty interesting one. During our morning prayers, Beth (who runs the guesthouse) announced that she would be heading to grocery store in a little bit. I immediately volunteered to accompany her on this normally mundane task. We bundled into her four-wheel drive and headed out. The grocery story brought back memories of Samoa, where I saw packets of cookies and other foods that I had not seen since I left there, leaving me to wonder if all developing counties shop at the same store. The people in the group that could not fit in the car asked me to pick up some chocolate, after much debate Judi and I found some Peperidge farm cookies that appeared to be the best bang for the buck. We exchanged some money and added them to our possessions. We made another stop for ice, driving past the mansion of the former president Rene Preval. Beth told us that since she doesn't have a freezer, she buys ice every day when she takes the kids to school. Judi and I also examined the meat, which was grey and suspicious looking. One pack was labeled “dog meat” and Judi wondered out loud if dogs where the intended recipient or the contents of the package. (It turns out that dogs are not eaten here, however cats are!)

There were rumours in the guesthouse that Willham was going to take us someplace after church. Perhaps Port-au-Prince! He was at a religious conference, and his return was perpetually imminent. Shrotly after returning from the store, Beth asked me to come with her, and bring my iStat! mary Kay (the pediatrician) and Norma (a NP) were also summoned. As I gathered up my supplies (it takes an amazing amount of crap to check a few drops of blood) I learned that a pastors wife had been found fainted in a diabetic coma, and we were need to come check her out.

What we found when we got there, however, was a very different story. She didn't have diabetes (the person who lived in the house just thought that she had) and had not actually fainted. she was, however, pretty sick with a fever. Her blood levels were fine, so we advised acetaminophen and rest.

Willham had returned by the time that we got back, so we, as they say here, had to “hurry up and wait”. We gathered up water and food and other supplies, wondering where we were heading to. By the time that we got in the car, we were told that we were heading to a place called “lookout point”. So desperate were some of the people in the group that they didn't out where we were going until after we got into the car and were on our way.

You can barely see the waterfront at Port-au-Prince

The trip up was quite lovely. Most of it was on a “real road” (such a road in the states would have caused worldwide riots) and we enjoyed the breeze and the change of scenery. “Lookout point” was exactly what it sounded, what we didn't realize that was it was looking out on Port-au-Prince. I really wish that we could have gotten decent pictures of the awesome view that we witnessed. We saw the presidential palace, the airport, the ports. I couldn't help but think of the line from Star Wars: “That's funny, the damage doesn't look as bad from out here!” We also noticed that for such a big city, there should be a lot of hi-rises and major buildings, but there were only two builds that rose above the others. Most were only two or three stories.

It's easier to see PoP in the painting!

After we had our fill of the view, we went to try to barter for some of the stuff that they were selling. There were a few other trucks of white people, they were all with NGO's or churches. As far as I can tell, Haiti has no tourists right now, so the souvenirs sellers were a touch desperate. I had already bough a few things, so I wasn't very interested until I saw a painting that I really liked. The guy wanted $40 for it, I told him that I only had $20. All part of the game, apparently. Beth had told us to pick a price that was half to a third of that offered. The sellers were very good at looking offended at our bids, but I was told that it was all part of the game. However, when I pulled out my money, I found that I only had $15 left. He took the money and demanded $5 more. I told him that it wasn't a matter of me holding out, but that I really didn't have any more. He demanded $4, then $3, then $2. I put down the painting and tried to get my money back, but he refused to both surrender the cash or stop asking for more. Finally, I took the paining and walked away. He pocketed the money, but followed us to the truck loudly proclaiming that I was ripping him off. All part of the game.

People sold art at the viewpoint

Stuff on sale

But the most interesting part of the evening was when we got back and I was told, once again, to grab my iStat. I actually have to run, so I will write about this later.

So Many Patients, So Little Time

The front of the line waiting to get into the clinic

With church today, it's hard to believe that we only have one more day of clinic here.  I could easily stay for at least another week before I start to wish to come home, and it feels like we could stay for a month before we actually start to help the population of 2000 here.  (The population in Haiti is 9 million.  With about 20 people in hour group, it's easy to see how Haiti's resources have been completely overwealmed for health care alone.)



Back of the line.  Willham is walking up.



When we open, the line for people puts the Star Wars episode 1 lines to shame.  Often, the people will start  waiting the night before to get into the clinic.  Siblings bring siblings, mothers nurse in line, they wait in the sun.  All to see a health care provider for five minutes and get a few pills.  Some people have aches, stomach problems (gastroreflux from worms, generally) and others have things that are much more serious.  We ask people to come back the next day to wait in line, some can, some can't.  We see as many people as we can and still turn away people at the end of the day.  It makes me never want to leave.

Julie giving stiches

(Sidenote: I have decided not to go to church.  I have already sat through many church services in other languages and I really did not want to go to this one.  When we found out that the truck was not available, and would have to walk there and back in dresses and nice shoes, That did me in.  Sorry.)

I was back in the lab today, but I did see a few people that came in for pretty serious stuff.  We had one kid that was seen who needed stitches in his scalp.  Julie, the pathologist, sewed him up and gave him some antibiotics.  He had fallen while traveling up some stairs.  (In the picture you can see that the boys have a school uniform with a plaid design on the shirt, the girls wear blue skirts and suspenders, looking sort of like "The Wiz" version of Dorothy.  I hate school uniforms  It is a plot to confuses the hell out of exapts.  Anyone who has been overseas and had to deal with them knows what I mean.)

Linda's holding a little one with an extra finger removed

We also had a little one who had an "extra finger".  I don't have a picture of the before picture, but here are the after ones.  Although mary Kay (the pediatritian) said that it was indeed an extra finger, it looked more like a skin tag.  She just got some sterile scissors and cut the thing off.

After the surgery

The waiting room.  Linda, the trip leader, is in the back

Once the people get into the clinic, they are "triaged" with their weight, pulse and blood pressure taken.  If they are pregnant, have hypertension, or are a kid they are triaged to the lab.  Otherwise, they see a doctor.  It's kind of crazy trying to explain to people where and how they should sit and we try really hard to not have any confused patients wander out after they have gotten their lab work and see that they are done.  We are also able to give them eye exams and have a full pharmacy.  For such a small clinic and a smaller number of workers, we do a good job.  There are 23 of us.  Four are providers, four are nurses, and the rest are non-medical personnel.  (Some of them have medical backgrounds, such as working in a medical office.)

Pharmacy

The eye examination room

Yes, even speech therepy!!

One of the volunteers, Glen, is a speech pathologist with a specialty in stuttering.  It turns out that one of the interpreters, JM, has as stutter.  It's hard to tell, as the pauses when he is speaking English and generally attributed to his grasp of the language.  Glen has been working with him during lunch breaks, teaching him a few techniques that he can use to treat this.  It really is a miracle that of all the people in Haiti, there happened to be a person with a stutter and a speech pathologist in the same place.  So Glen feels like he also has a special place here in Haiti.

Who is happier, Kristin or the baby?

On the way home, we ran into one of the familes that we helped, and we were able to get them a ride home.  Kristen had started to walk and decided to stop one of our trucks when the rain started, and that truck stopped to pick up the family.  They handed over the baby for her to hold, and as she said, she was in heaven.

Hopefully today we will go to Port-au-Price to look around, then we will have one more day at the clinic.