Final Words and Photos.

                                         

Thanks for following our blog and to end I will add a few random pictures that speak more than words. Again, thanks to everyone who supported us in any way. May God so richly bless you all.    Sharon



View of clinic as seen from top of Technical School

    

Entrance to Medical Clinic

      

Strangers brought together to serve



Evening debriefings brought laughter and tears



Marc (founder of Haiti ARISE) and Marc Eddy, who works at Haiti ARISE

 
 

We would all learn to worship from the Haitians.



Rewarding to see improvement in this little boy's severely burned hand.

 

Dave patiently teaching the Haitians in pharmacy.



Monique working as her husband's assistant



Relaxing at the beach.



       

Elma sparked a huge interest in Makenson her translator to become a doctor!





Each clinic day began with a song and a prayer

I worked with Many, his first time in role of team leader for the Haitians and he did a fine job.

This ends our blog for 2013......... thanks to all.   Sharon





Reflections of Haiti

It’s Thursday and we are flying home.  It’s a happy sad time….happy to be heading home to my family and home but sad to be saying goodbye to our Haiti Arise family.  Going into this adventure I did not know what to expect, however, the experience has far exceeded anything I could have imagined.  It’s hard to believe it was only 11 days ago that Mike and I joined up with the rest of the team at the Miami airport.  Sitting down to dinner with everyone that evening the faces and names were a blur but now I call each one a friend, a friend that I share a unique and special bond with.  Before this trip I could count on one hand the things I knew about Haiti; poorest country in the world, the earthquake and the corruption.  Today I know so much more; Haitians are incredibly strong, the children have amazing eyes, they love Jesus, they worship with more zest than anything I have ever witnessed, mangos are delicious and super juicy, they drive like maniacs and when they drive they use all the lights the vehicle has, you have not seen a pothole until you’ve seen a Haitian pothole, and Haitians sing beautifully.

Sharon assured me I would be a viable resource to the team but I was unsure what I had to offer in skills and knowledge as it was a medical team and I have no medical background.  Coming home today I feel a great sense of satisfaction for what I was able to contribute and am so grateful to Sharon and all members of the team for their guidance and support.  The records room made sense to me; it was essentially file management which I have similar experience with and I enjoyed my first two days working with the records.   But my next role, being the first to interact with each patient by taking their weight and blood pressure, was where I really felt challenged to grow.  I was their first impression each Haitian had of the clinic and it was important to me that I make it a positive one.  How wonderful the reaction was when I would pause to look them in the eyes and sincerely say “Bonjour Mademoiselle”.  Their eyes would light up and they would greet me similarly in return.  It was super cool to learn how to use the blood pressure machine.  When taking the patients’ blood pressure I realized this was an ideal opportunity to connect with each individual by resting my hand on their arm.  It also felt right to close my eyes for a moment and pray for each person.    To take their weight I had to ask them to remove their shoes and wow, was I shocked to see the condition of some feet and shoes.  It was good to know I could write a note on their chart and it time allowed Lynnise would give foot care.  Wednesday morning Mike came to me and said, “if you see someone who could use my running shoes I would like to give them.”  Within an hour a man of about 75 years of age was into the clinic and his footwear was so old, worn out and obviously too large for him.  When he took off his shoes for the weight scale I could see how sore his feet looked.  I knew this was whom Mike’s shoes were meant for.  We learned that the gentleman lived in the mountains and walked barefoot.  The skin on his feet was peeling off.   The joy this he  expressed when Lynnise put Mike’s sock on his feet was like “over the top”!  How soft and glorious they must have felt.  The shoes fit him like perfectly and again, his joy was expressed in his eyes, his creole words spoken with such animation and his smile.  I also had the privilege of making recommendations of who we should “prescribe” chicken for.  And the children! oh what a delight from the newborn baby to those who were similar in age to my own son of 10.

The rest of my days were filled with awesome experiences.  Church Tuesday evening gave me an opportunity to share some of my story with the congregation and to witness worship through music and dance to a magnitude I never dreamed possible.  I expected the children to dance and jump, but to see the elderly come alive in praise was a sight that will warm my heart forever.    Rooftop team meetings were a time of connection and openness, I am grateful to have been a part of this special group.  Together we accomplished so much. 

My time in Haiti has left me with a valuable book of mental images, emotions and thoughts that I know I will be processing and growing through even though I am back in my “regular” world again.  My gratitude runs deep for this, thank you Sharon, fellow teammates and Haitians.  God Bless.  Teresa.

Last Evening on the Rooftop

As we met for the last time on the roof of the guest house, we had many laughs as we reflected on the previous day. We had a very hard working group of people who gave and gave from morning until night. As we wrapped up the clinic, it was hard to believe that we had treated 951 patients in a mere 6 1/2 clinic days and we will go home forever changed. Each person gave a sentence about what they had learned in Haiti.

Noreen – Haiti taught me that despite abject poverty and starvation, there is a tremendous amount of joy.

                                    

Betty – Haiti has taught me that people who have and have not have the same basic needs.

Elma – Haiti reminded me that “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”.

Rick – Haiti taught me that I don’t want to work in pharmacy!

Lynnise  – Haiti taught me that I want to work with Dr Braam forever and that with a little you can give a lot.

Monique – Haiti taught me that simple things are important.

                                        

Dave – Haiti taught me that just when you think you’ve done it all....... you dispense a chicken!

                                  

Dr. Braam –Haiti taught me - Ubuntu – “we are” because of You.

Mike – Haiti taught me that a country can heal and recover.

                                          

Martin – Haiti taught me that in traffic as long as you have an inch between vehicles, you’re good to go

Sharon  - Haiti taught me that it is a wonderful blessing to have ongoing healthcare!!

Elva –  Haiti has taught me that smiles and hugs are a universal language that validates a person’s worth and sparks a common connection.

Teresa – Haiti taught me the value of pausing a moment to truly look someone in the eye and smile when you meet them.

Power in Haiti

We would not like to leave this blog and not comment on "power in Haiti". Having a power engineer on our team made us realize all the more, the very uncoded sources of power we saw. Here is a glimpse of things we saw. The plugin on the tree was for the man's radio as he sat by, fixing people's sandals. Sharon

Our Team Import

It has been a great pleasure to join this amazing medical team. I am a fellow Canadian and former Saskatchewan girl in Haiti helping set up the medical clinic at Haiti ARISE. The goal is to have it operate and staffed by Haitians starting April 1 this year and run three days a week and eventually increase it to 6 days a week. This challenging task has been made so much more attainable by all the work and support I have received from this talented wonderful fun group.

They have accomplished so much during their stay here and have been such a blessing to me. I wish each one of the the best and hope to see them back here again soon. Thank you guys for making me feel like one of your team.   Diane Sampson (Winnipeg, Manitoba)

Dr Jacob, Dr Braam, Dr Fritz

Chickens on the Script??

Just a wee update on why chickens are on the script - our team brought funds so 8 goats and 7 chickens were purchased on Saturday. The goats quickly had owners but we didn't know who to give the chickens to - so we decided that the medical team could identify needy people who came through the clinic to give a chicken to and so the first 2 were chosen yesterday and the chickens were given away to very grateful ladies. Sharon

Patients kept coming

Just realized a post was duplicated so will do some editing... Wed the 13th was to be a followup day but since we had been doing several followups during the week, we decided to see some new patients as well. There were more than expected and some very hardbreaking situations; like the 25 year old lady weighing 31 kg with active TB. The local hospital was not assisting us with ultrasound, xrays and labwork - in fact they were asking for money and making diagnosis and care of patients quite difficult - this was pretty frustrating for Dr Braam and I as it seemed we had to leave a lot of loose ends. I was able to have a good chat with Drs Jacob and Dr Fritz and we trust that some arrangements can be made so that when future teams go to Haiti ARISE  patients can be treated in a circle of care provided in Grand Goave and surrounding area.    Sharon

We ate many mangos and the Haitians laughed at our style of eating these juicy fruits and
 in fact we all laughed at each other as we all had about the same technique!!

A very important part of our day. Morning Devotions.

Last Full Clinic Day

Well another full day at the clinic brought new adventures. This newborn baby born yesterday created quite a stir. The mom had some post partum problems and the dad had malaria.

Monique lovin' the babies

      We all felt sad about the little 4 year old with a burnt arm.
                Dr Braam and Elma gave him to best of care.

 

 

 



We enjoyed giving more chickens away today and seeing the absolute joy

and thankfulness of the people.

Noreen getting some advice on her script

Teresa qualifies now as a full fledged medical worker!



Martin, Rick and Mike completed the shelving for the medical records

and by the end of the day,had it installed

 



Good job and they didn't miss much of what was going on in the clinic!

So that's it for the blog tonight - we are very tired but will definitely add more as we see patients and followups in the morning and pack up and inventory tomorrow.   Sharon

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Haiti Is Alive, Full of Hope and Energy!

Blog by Lynnise

Tis Monday evening and the supper dishes are done, the pill counting party has started and it is time to wind down from even a more busier day of 176 people and scripts totalling 541 under the heat of the country. The pharmacy temperature was 93 degrees! Dave and the crew in pharmacy are getting more creative with the medication containers and substitutions as the supplies are starting to dwindle – pharmacy goodies are going home in pillowcases now - chickens are even being ordered on the  script!




Gramma, Lynnise and David

My day started out with such a blessing – I had been watching all last week for my sponsor child and his Gramma and today I was told someone was waiting for me – there was little David (almost 3 yrs) and his Gramma waiting for me at the guest house – the biggest smile and hug you could ever get. I will back up a bit on my story..this is my 3^rd medical mission trip to Haiti Arise – on my first trip in 2011 Pastor Marc came to me and asked if I would consider  taking a little baby boy – he had been a “rape baby” from the earthquake and his mother tried to suffocate him when he was about 4 months old – when she was caught , the mother ran away and the Grandmother was left to take care of this little one- who did not have any income to support her and this little ‘failure to thrive” baby. Well it didn`t take much deciding to take on the financial support of this little one and of course both my daughters Lynea  and Amber would have the “little black brother “ they had always wanted! When Gramma and baby David were brought back to be told that they had financial sponsorship the gleam in Gramma`s eye and the burden of worrying about food, clothing and medical support was  gone now…Lisa and Marc would send me picture updates and the change in both of them were amazing..Gramma started coming to church soon after..last year on my visit David was not too keen on me even being close to him so no pictures were taken – all he did was kick and scream – he didn`t want to be close to any “blanche” white person! Well today was totally different – I received a hug and a kiss on the cheek from my little guy…and when I pulled out the green Nerf  soccer ball David`s eyes lit up and the biggest giggle came out of him! I had gifts for Gramma too – always a new outfit, sewing kit, microfiber dishcloths and tea towels and for David of coarse a new Saskatchewan Rough Rider t-shirt- Gramma even commented that this was my favorite team!! I had a lot of other short outfits and a homemade denim rag quilt for him THEN the monies that I send each month goes to food for them so today was food delivery day a HUGE bag full of rice, beans, box of Cornflakes, powered milk, oil, margarine, cheese, fresh vegetables.  

What $35 per month can do.

 – I was speechless and overcome with emotion that a $35 monthly donation could do this!!!PLUS a bag of clothes and new shoes..today David met me in his school uniform – he is soon 3 years old and that means SCHOOL! Gramma`s greatest fear that she opened up to me today about was her fear if she died thorough the night “who would take care of him?” All along the plan has been when the first Children`s village duplex is completed, David will be placed there – I reassured Gramma that Pastor Marc  had a plan and I promised her  right there that I would financially support David right thorough so she need not worry…she laid her head on my shoulder and we hugged…as you can guess there was no a dry eye around! I was able to spend about half an hour then it was back to work…David came to clinic this afternoon – Dr. Bramm gave him a good looking over – we are concerned about a lump in his neck and has been having chest infections over the past few months so we sent him off for an x-ray – and will return tomorrow so we can make a plan of action.  All along we thought Gramma was in her 70`s well she is only 55 years old!! Let us all pray that it is nothing too serious and we will be able to treat with the medications we have left!


Smiles for the ROUGHRIDERS

Now for the action of the day..one raging lower leg infection (cellulitis) tracking up to the groin –another successful  IV for me,  heavy doses of antibiotics today and sent home with a saline lock ready for another dose in the morning, a serious acute case of malaria – how can one shiver in this heat! , a 2 year old with a 3^rd degree oil burn of Friday of his right hand and lower forearm– Elma was in charge of this little one with dressings, a young pregnant mom with pre –eclmapsia (very high blood pressure )was sent to hospital for closer observation and possible delivery sooner than later we hope!, Noreen had diagnosed 3 abdominal aortic aneurysms last week along with some aortic stenosis`s-here is where 17 years of cardiology comes in handy! I had a newly diagnosed diabetic last week with blood glucose levels of 26.0mmol – we kept adding more medication each day she came – finally on Friday Dr.Bramm decided that we max her out on 3 oral agents – she came back this morning with a glucose level of 9.8 mmol – we did it! So with some good numbers I went to work strongly encouraging this lady to return for routine follow-ups and cutting out all the sugar possible…she definitely had the understanding ,,I could go on for a while longer but now is it 9pm or 10 pm?? Mmmm ..We had a time change yesterday – did anyone get the memo or email?? The Haitians who didn`t attend church sure didn`t get the message so that meant everyone was late today and we were getting up in the dark…not nice!!


Elma sizing shoes for this deserving Haitian woman

Hatian Gratitude

Just want to say hi to my daughters Lynea and Amber- can I say - sell the house and send money – I am staying!!!   LOL
Posted by Lynnise