Monique and Dave’s Haiti Blog

Pharmacy Highlights

Life in the Pharmacy has been very enlightening.  We have been fortunate to have the experience of Elva, along with our translator, Rosemytha.  It was an unexpected challenge to be involved with training a Haitian nurse, Ezguere, to man the dispensary in the future as the clinic becomes more self-sufficient, but he’s coming along nicely.

The medication supply has held out well, however we are running low on our first line choice of drugs and also have had to buy some medication locally.

It is amazing to think there can be five or even six of us in a 12 x 12 space and still not get in each other’s way… much.

An honest day's work.

School Visit

Monique spent a brief time on Friday morning in the school next door with a grade 4 class and was amazed at the “open concept.”  Ten classrooms - Kindergarten to grade 6 - no doors, three quarter height walls, one blackboard, one teacher and over 32 students per class.  With all the surrounding noise, it was questionable whether the students could even hear their teacher.  It was also interesting to note that even in Haiti when behaviour is not appropriate students are sent to the principal’s office.

Nearly 400 children attend the School on the Campus



 Dave and Monique`s Unforgetables: 

• Mango/cherry smoothies almost every morning are a heavenly treat.
• 

  

  BioHazard bread

  Buns are delivered in a biohazard bag!
• Fresh mangos at lunch!
• Roosters do not have “snooze” buttons.
• If you’re shivering, you are either in the shower or experiencing heat stroke.
• No, Dallas, there still isn’t a slurpee machine in the Pharmacy yet, but we’ve beefed up the shelving a bit.
• Yes, Joy, we are trying to keep the Pharmacy as organized as you had it.
• Filling 515+ prescriptions in 8 hrs and being more concerned about falling behind than the 32 degree temperature in the room (not to mention all the soap, sunglasses, heat packs, toothbrushes, and baby clothes we are responsible to hand out).
• Pill-popping parties (repackaging) almost every night.



Mobile Pharmacy

• Being able to watch James Bond Skyfall in Haiti (but too exhausted to watch the whole thing!)

Mobile “Pharmacies” that defy words…

Everyone has a cell phone – except us!

Spending 5 days on a Carribean Island before our first visit to the beach.

Haitian church service

Goat can taste better than chicken.

The people we have met: Haitians, Haiti Arise missionaries and our medical team

Sharing early mornings and evenings on the roof with our team and now life-long friends.

Posted by Monique and Dave


 

     

 



A Weekend in Grand Goave

Time for some factual information….

COMPOUND:  Beautiful park-like setting, with mango, banana and palm trees, just loaded with fruit, closed gated with 24 hour guards at gates. On the premise we are accommodated in a beautiful old-colonial –style house, sleeping in air conditioned rooms, mosquito nets around beds/ sleeping on the roof at night in the open skies, with the mosquito nets. Dawn is officially pronounced by the roosters and devotions and coffee on the roof around 6 30 in the morning.  Awesome breakfasts and meals, Haitian and North American style, 3 times a day.

BUILDINGS:  A Technical school is in the process of being rebuild on the premise for education of students,  also use the assistance of Canadian engineers. The days are filled with the cheerful  voices of children attending  a kindergarten on the same premise. The clinic where we are currently delivering services are also on this premise.

CLINIC: Consists of 8 rooms, inclusive of an administration or file room, pharmacy (tiny), 5 examination rooms, weight and eye testing room.  The clinic days start off at 7:30 till 12:00 – lunchtime and then 12:30 till everybody has been seen.  The clinic is staffed at this time by our group of medical professionals, Haitians are highly involved in delivering the services with us, and we each have an interpreter to assist us in communications with the Haitian patients. The Haitians are great, humble, friendly people, well dressed for their clinic visit, filled with gratitude for the services delivered at this clinic.

MEDICAL CONDITIONS:  Interesting pathologies presented themselves so far while we were here:

Suturing wounds, Upper eyelid cancer, small finger amputations, Tongue cancer, Ear washes, and severely dehydrated babies supported by IV fluids, Trigger finger cortisone injection.

Common medical conditions:  Diabetus mellitus, Malignant Hypertension, Acid reflux and Asthma, Gastro-Enteritis, Ear infections, Pregnancies, Eye pathologies.

CHURCH:  Church services on several weekdays and on Sunday morning are held, attended by well-dressed families and their children with motivational services and great music, and an interpreter to take us through the services. 

Walking in the Community

First Glimpse of the Beach

WEEKEND:  Some members of the group visited the Cross Roads Market yesterday, visited some of the Haitian families at their homes and engaged in a beach visit, swimming in the great, warm Caribbean water.. so nice!

We had an official visit by 2 Officials from the Canadian Embassy yesterday, who were concerned with  the safety of the Canadian workers in Haiti at this time. Great visit, so highly appreciated!

SUNDAY……

Today (Sunday) was an easy day, after church and lunch, some lighter duties and organizational aspects were addressed by some of our hard working members at the clinic. Dave, our pharmacist, let us help him  put medicine in bags for monthly applications!



The SOMA Staff Goat

Elva & Sharon's Mom's Goat

This stubborn goat wouldn't walk!

 

 

 

Then it was goat-time…..some of our friends and families and hardworking staff members in Canada raised funds in order to buy goats (CAD100 for a female goat, CAD80 for  a male goat and about CAD25 for a chicken…..bought and brought to the compound and a selecting of members of this society each received one of these animals, a formal ceremony to hand these animals over to the deserving family with the help of an interpreter……moving to say the least…off they go in gratitude for the riches that has been added to raise a family with better nutrition.

Dining Out on the Town in Grand Goave...this evening 31 of us from Haiti ARISE went out on the town for dinner at Mondy's restaurant.  The menu options were goat or chicken, served along side was super spice coleslaw, pasta salad, plantain and a slice of tomatoe.  Everyone agreed it was delicious.  Because of the unrest in town we all got a ride home, either in the van or the back of the HINO dump truck.

GOOD BYE FOR NOW TO ALL OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS
Dr. Braam and Elma

 

TGIF in Haiti

Pharmacist Dave and Dr Braam



Xray left elbow consultation Dr Fritz and Dr Braam

Today was our biggest day ever! we saw more patients today with a total of 168 topping yesterdays patient count of 146.  There were more serious cases, 3 sets of twins, and the day started with a bang, literally, with Dr. Braam stitching up a child who had fallen at the school.

It’s now 5pm and the day is winding down.  Dr. Braam is sitting with a 4 year old child who is resting and waking up from a procedure requiring ketamine anesthesia.  The nurses and support staff are chatting about cases seen.  The overworked pharmacy team is still filling the last orders, with a group of 6 working in a small room that was 32 degrees.  It’s a tired but satisfied feeling among all.

There was a very serious case today involving a 3 year old girl with severe gastro-entireties.  IV rehydration was administered with nurses taking great care.  The child improved but still was poor however she miraculously improved after prayer with Pastor Wade and members of the clinic.  Dr. Fritz took over her care and discharged her in the afternoon.  It was amazing to see her walking out of the clinic, compared to how she was brought in lethargic and flat.  Miracles happen all the time.  

Despite the busyness of our day, we still take time to appreciate the warm Haitian weather, admire the grand Mango trees and enjoy the absence of snow here.  We start the day in a beautiful way; gathering on the roof top of the house at 6:30 am.  The sun is up and the roosters are crowing.  Team members are taking turns leading in devotions, “I will rise up early in the morning and praise you”. 

Injured child at beginning of school day.

Soft tissue tumor of right upper eyelid

Gastro with severe dehydration



Lynnise loves being in the clinic room.

Betty having a break in the staff room

Under the watchful eye of Dr Braam

Lynnise started an IV on this little one.

In pharmacy all day but a nurse at heart.

A Trip To Port au Prince

CAT in Haiti

Full service station - oil and tires

Shoe store

Rick and I went to Port Au Prince today and it was a memorable day. We visited a couple hardware stores, both in secure compounds. There were armed guards and we were okay with them. However, the civilian who walked by with a pistol in his armpit with no holster, looked at us and said ‘good morning’ made us uneasy. We also went to a wholesale grocery store and got supplies for Haiti Arise. We fueled the van and the cost of diesel was 1625 GDS or $.97 CDN and gas is about $1.20 a litre. We took many pictures along the way which we have included above.

 Martin

Thursday Clinic Day

Well it seems like we don’t have volunteers for the blog tonight and most of the team retired early so I will add a bit more. Today the clinic saw many babies and young children. We saw people who wanted food and I noted Elma running off to find clothes for an elderly woman who was her patient. Teresa is doing an exceptional job in the front but she has very competent Haitians who have now got the registration process learned well. We implemented a couple of things that has made registration and finding old charts very easy. We are seeing about 40% new patients and 60% who have records already. There is a male RN in pharmacy who is learning how pharmacy runs under the very capable hands of Dave and he is being groomed to work there when the clinic becomes operational. A nurse from Manitoba, Diane Sampson, is here working with us and is staying until June to assist with the process of getting the clinic running under Haitian hands. Dr Fritz was absent today but will join us again tomorrow. He is the Haitian physician who has helped with a couple other Canadian team
clinics.

Sharon

Diane Sampson helping us

These little ones make us all stop and admire

Elma riding her broom at the end of the day



This little guy melted everyone especially Dave and Monique

Noreen helping prepare pharmacy needs.