Baby Alison! (photo from Peter Ackerman) I am up early which appears to be the only time I can now use the computer. There is a large Italian press contingency here, the place is really crowded and its hard to even use my own bathroom! I have 2 new roommates- staff from NPH- one from Nicaragua and the other from Michigan. They were telling me this morning about how upsetting it is to have these celebs going around getting famous on having their picture taken in the disaster. Father Rick has a policy that no one can stay here at this volunteer house unless they are working here. I wonder does he know what's going on? It has become a party scene- beer and alcohol are easily available now, and they are rowdy, loud and don't clean up afterthemselves. I guess now that things are safer, they come to do this. The nuns are mortified. It is hard to take. I will never have a good take on Italians at large again. I know they do a lot of fundraising for the organization and have done huge work financially for the relief here in Haiti, but they are agressive and disrespectful.
Yesterday was a much better day than the one before. I am feeling back to myself. Bravo! One of the mothers, Edmonde, who I spent all day taking care of- she had a Cesarean after many days of labor after losing her water, she had become septic, as well as her baby. By the end of the day, she and her husband had a talk and they approached me and asked if they could name their baby Alison after me. I of course was honored and delighted. Everyone came to take pictures of us, and Peter said he sent one to you. She will be a big beautiful healthy baby, just like I was! It was also a big day because the 16 year old mother, Marie Michelle, is able to be discharged after a month in the hospital. Unfortunately she waited all day in her pretty dress for her sister to come from Leogonne, and she did not arrive. She became listless and depressed by the end of the day. Hopefully she will arive today. Four new babies came yesterday and one mother who lost hers. It is dificult becayse they have to stay on our unit to recover even after the loss and see all the other mothers with their babies. Very sad, but many do die. Mostly because the mothers have not had prenatal care, do not realize they are at high risk- such as breech or preeclampsia or just very high blood pressure- also rampant here. It will be a busy day. The coffee makeer has broken so we have created up a crazy drip system- one has to be very creative here in Haiti- I wish you could see the things I have rigged up to run IVs! Loving you all. -Alison We've received a few more donations in the past few days, and wanted to, as always, keep on mentioning people by name. We've far exceeded any goal we set and we'll be able to send a very generous donation to NPH!
Thank you to: -Alexandra Leake -Alejandro & Barbara Miranda-Sosa -Dalton Anthony -Demetrios Sotripoulos -Michelle & Phil Robertson -Lionel & Mary Anne Romain Thank you also to those who have donated tents! We are still collecting tents to send down there next week, so contact Pearl if you have a tent you'd like to donate. Best, Sadie I have been pretty sick for the past 24 hours- I woke up in the night with awful stomach pains, vomited multiple times and had diarrhea and more dry heaves this morning. I went briefly to the hospital to tell Dr Aupoint that I was ill. I learned that Father Rick had convinced everyone to go back inside this morning. This was a relief to me, but I know that if there are any more aftershocks they will all be back outside.
By the end of the day I was terribly weak and unable to really walk around. My friends from Seattle came to visit me and started an IV and gave me a couple bags of fluids. I ate a bit this evening and am feeling a little stronger. I'm not sure if it's something I ate or drank, as I did drink the water at the hospital yesterday out of necessity, something I have not done before. I also learned that Sister Lorraine was also sick like this but not as bad. I guess I needed a day off as I was unable to do anything else but lay on my cot. I am missing home a lot and start to realize I will be back soon- 9 more days! I hear I missed a huge snowstorm. It has been very hot and hazy here the past coupe days. Thank God for no more aftershocks. lots and lots of love, -Alison Alison says: "I came downstairs to have Peter take out my IV. They had bought some beer again and insisted on taking my picture with the IV still in and holding a beer- it was really about the last thing i wanted, but everyone thought the image was very funny- I'm glad I could be their
entertainment!" Hello everyone-
Today was one of the hardest days I can ever remember in my nursing career- at 1:00 am I was startled from my cot, bolted upright, the building was shaking- I flew down the stairs and outside where many volunteers were crying and full of fear after a very large aftershock. It was the first time since I have been here that I actually feared for my own safety. It took a long time to quiet my pounding heart and long after I returned to my bed I was still awake, imagining what it would be like to have the ceiling fall down on me. I still have not decided if I will sleep inside tonight.... I felt fragile and shaken as I walked down the path to the hospital this morning, but never could have imagined what I found. All the patients had moved outside and were in the courtyard. They were so scared, they refused to go back inside. It took me a half hour to find everyone from my unit- the anemic woman was separated from the group, still unable to pick up her head, the babies were out of their incubators, the moms were all stressed and frightened, saying they were going to leave. Thank God that the unit was at a low census and with only 2 critically ill patients, despite 3 very fragile babies. In all my wildest dreams I could not possibly describe this scene for you in the way it truly was- babies with IV fluids hanging from bushes, catheters and NG tubes, broken bones, amputations, bleeding mothers, bandages, deformities, burns, and everyone all laying on the ground, on sheets or small mattresses, no water or electricity, people peeing on the ground, naked, flies everywhere, breastfeeding, eating, sleeping, mayhem, chaos.... Haiti. I could not find a bedpan, IV fluids had run dry, my mother still needed another blood transfusion- running blood in 100 degree heat. I was up and down the stairs, moving people as the sun moved, into areas of shade, the staff hung up huge tarps spanning 1/3 of the courtyard to keep people out of the sun. By 1:00 pm when I stood up from carrying a mother back to her bed on the ground, I felt dizzy and the feeling did not go away within a couple seconds. I realized I had been working my butt off in crazy heat outside, with minimal breakfast, no sunscreen or water, and if I didn't take a break and get some food, I would probably faint. Note to self- if I dont take care of myself, how can I take care of anyone else? To make matters worse, the degree of fear and stress became overhwelming as we approached another night of terror for the Haitians- the mothers, as well as staff and people I do not even know began demanding food, tents, water, supplies. Everyone seems to think I have an endless supply of tents. They pull me aside and all tell me the same story- I am wet at night, I am cold, my mother is sick, I cannot live another night without a tent, you must give me a tent. When I say I'm sorry I don't a tent for you, I wish I had a tent for you, I wish I had a million tents for all of Haiti, they say you must be lying, you must have a tent because they each need one so badly. By evening, even the mothers who know me well are accusing me of promising them tents and not coming through- my favorite little girl who I play with all day whenever I get the chance, her mother is saying how can you turn me away, how can you not give my little Jernillia who loves you so much a tent to live in- I want to stand up and scream Mon Dieu! I am only one person, I am only one small person. I am trying and loving and working and giving and sweating and running every which way and taking care of all of you so well- PLEASE, I can't do all this, I can't provide everything for you! But I don't say this, I just keep smiling and sweating and wiping brows, and changing diapers and hauling water, and I come back to the volunteer house, and I am so exhausted beyond belief. And guess what? someone has found some beer- cold beer- for all of us- and I don't even like beer- and I drink 2, and take a shower and put cream on my sunburn and will get ready to do all this over again tomorrow. Lord, give me strength. All the Haitians believe another earthquake is coming, they feel it in the ground rumbling, and it is so scary, after feeling it myself. Please pray for me....as I know you have been. This just may be the hardest thing I've ever done. I love you all.... so much. - Alison I just got off the phone with my mom. She said that last night there were two aftershocks, the second one was very strong. She got up and ran outside. All of the patients have left the hospital building and refuse to go inside even to go to the bathroom. Luckily the visitor's house is a sturdy building that was unaffected by the earthquake- the hospital building, however, has cracks and damage. There are rumors going around that there will be another big earthquake, and people are in a panic. It's now being broadcast on the news, and she doesn't know if its reputable information or just people getting themselves whipped up. Either way there is a feeling of fear and tension and people she has never seen before have been coming up to her and demanding tents because they don't want to go inside. She said it has been a hard day, and she has been treating people outside since 7 a.m. She's going to try and write something later for me to post, but she said she's not feeling well. She's exhausted and very shaken up. She said she's looking forward to coming home. The aftershock was magnitude 4.7. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/23/AR2010022302431.html Sadie Hi everyone-
I am on a quick lunch break and am going back to negotiate my first blood transfusion. It is very dificult to get blood here and I have had several women postpartum, Cesarean section who have lost huge amounts of blood. They have hematocrit and hemoglobin that in the US would be considered critical and mostly they just have to wait until it comes up. But today I have a mother whose H and H are 3 and 10 (I hear my coworkers gasp), so we have started the long process of getting her a blood transfusion. I drew some blood for the lab to type and cross, a family member of hers- God willing she has one- has to take the sample to the Red Cross which is somewhere out there in the city, wait for the blood to be checked, give a sample of his/her own- and if it's a match, then he/she will donate the blood, bring it back and we can transfuse the patient. Can you imagine how many things can go wrong with this plan? And how long will this all take? Meanwhile she is so dizzy she can't lift her head, much less get out of bed, and her palms and feet are a weird greyish yellow color. I hope she can get the blood. More later. - Ali P.S. there was a large aftershock in the middle of the night which many people felt- according to Kepsey, many people out in the streets were terrified and there was much screaming and running out of tents in the middle of the night. Apparently many of the patients ran out of the hospital also- one can only imagine their fear...... My day off was quite a day- I left early for church with Kepsey- we took a motorcycle through the city- we negotiated a price of 5 American dollars to get all the way- they ride 3 on each motorcycle. so there I am between 2 haitian men driving through Port au Prince, the driver being the only one with a helmet- don't think about it, Mom! It was actually really fun, despite the dust and incredible array of smells- from rotten food to thick dust to urine, feces, and God knows
what else. The roads are full of ruts and mud but we had a good driver. The streets continue to get cleared and people are getting back to life- there were many people on their way to church. Most of the population of Haiti goes to church on Sunday. The earthquake somehow has actually renewed many poeple's faith. They believe that if God has spared them it's because something important is here for them, or that the earthquake was a warning that Haiti has to change and somehow become better. So everyone dresses to the nines and goes to church. Kepsey was very proud of his church, which is a Baptist mission church. There was a full band complete with drums, electric guitar and a full chorus, a rocking show. I was hoping for a real Haitian spiritual service on the streets, and the church was a mission Baptist church, run by Americans. I think there is a lot of this here- the influence of Americans, trying to in some way convert the Haitians. Kepsey was very proud of his beautiful American church, and it really was, but I somehow wonder about the lack of meeting the Haitians even halfway. I appreciate very much how Father Rick's services are in both English and Creole. Kepsey and I sang very loudly and danced around a bit, and he was so happy to have me there. Then we walked through the city and he showed me his neighborhood, his "real" house, the one that fell down in the earthquake, and I met his neighbors. No one will go in their old house at night, even if parts of them are still standing because they are so afraid. We rode the open air taxis, called tap-taps, home- we had to change three times, and we really had a wonderful time. I was covered in a thick layer of dust and sunburned when I returned. And get this!- I went to visit the US embassy down the street with the US Ortho team from Seattle- we walked there this afternoon- we always know it's next door because so many helicopters come and go from there. We got a tour, and off-handedly asked if we could swim in their pool (our REAL reason for being there)and the tourguide said he thought we could- so the next thing we knew we were all swimming in the outdoor pool at the US embassy! I jumped in with my scrubs on! What an incredible treat! Life in Haiti is always surprising! Peter sent you a picture of us outside, as they took away our cameras right away. It was a very fun day off in Port au Prince. Isn't it good to know there is also fun to be had? I did end up workign for 3 hours this evening becase there is often a gap when nurses leave, and the next shift can't get transportation in. The unit would be deserted if it weren't for me. The moms were all glad to see me. Thinking of home and sending lots of love. - Alison |