Moto tumble...

Good morning everyone!

Over the weekend a troubled moto driver arrived at our gate, bearing an elderly lady on the back and calling for us to open the gate for him.

His distress?

Apparently on his way to his destination he lost control of his moto and crashed, throwing his passenger (the elderly lady) off; she was then promptly (supposedly) run over by another moto!

We opened up the gate and let them in. They set the lady down on the porch so they could examine her injuries and assess the situation. Obviously the most important thing was to make sure there were no broken bones and no internal injuries and then go from there...

She was groaning and letting out cries of pain as Michael examined her. After checking for the aforementioned conditions, he determined that she was probably ok. She was just very upset and shook-up!

So, to help her calm down and feel better, they took her down to the clinic and gave her a shot for pain and some medicine for the next few days... After that she seemed to be doing just fine, so they set her on the moto and they were on their way!

Pictures below!

While we were at clinic a little boy came in needing his toe re-bandaged, so Thea took upon herself the responsibility of taking care of it :)

Announcement

Today we have some very exciting news!

For a few years now we have been doing a program called “Nourishing the Needy”; a ministry in which we provide milk for babies here that are in need. Maybe their mother has died, and the family needs to care for them; maybe the parents have cholera, and the mother is not well enough to nurse; or perhaps the mother has another ongoing physical condition that prevents nursing.

Whatever the situation has been, we have seen tremendous results from this program. Today we have a more interactive, enjoyable way for you to learn about, and be involved in, the program!

Before, we would send out small information cards to our supporters; now you can just come online and get current information, pictures and updates, all on our new site. Information will be updated as often as possible, usually monthly, so you can check up on the little one you’re supporting. We have some extra stuff on there too: information on how the program works, and a donation button for those of you who just want to make a one-time donation to support the program.

Check it out, get informed and get involved! The fact is, we would love to branch this program out to something much bigger than it is… but we need people to support the babies in order to do that!

So click the link below, bookmark it in your favorites, and help us feed these little babies in need. AND- please forward a link to your friends that may be interested in helping, so that they too can have the opportunity to reach out to these precious little ones- in a substantive way!

God bless you for your interest!

www.NourishingTheNeedy.blogspot.com


Note: if you experience problems viewing this new site, try opening it up using Google Chrome. Not all the features work with Explorer or Firefox...

A trip to Petit Guave

Greetings in Jesus' name!

Yesterday morning we had a lady come into the clinic that was going into labor. She was having complications, so we decided to take her to Ti Guave. She had high blood pressure as well as the possibility of needing a C-section because of other problems. The trip down the mountain went well, and upon arriving in T-Goave, we first checked to see that they had a doctor available for a C-section should that be necessary. If there wouldn't have been a Dr. available we would have had to take her on to Grand Goave or Leogane, but thankfully they told us there was. So we helped check her in and headed on our way.

This time, we decided to take you along with us on our journey! Hopefully through these pictures you'll get an idea of what it is for us to take someone out to the hospital; all the time, effort, and energy that it takes, all the bumping, jostling around, the sights, scenes... thankfully not the smells :)

Join us as we started out at the clinic, and finish up in the hospital compound in Ti Guave...

Here we are, getting the Gator into position for our patient.

Steve waits outside the clinic, as the woman
gets ready inside.

We gave her a mattress, pillow, and blanket to rest on.
One of her relatives rode along with also.

Everybody is ready to go!

The road was very muddy.
Rainfall from over the last few days has soaked everything.

Thankfully Jackrabbit hill wasn't muddy at all.
The cement tracks added earlier this year make all the difference!

As we got higher, the road dried up quite a bit.
That was a blessing, but the rocks were still very bumpy.

Here's a small stream we crossed.
The man in the picture was washing his feet :)

And here's a bigger stream/river.
This one was a lot sloppier than the rest of them.

Here's another view from the river.
VERY muddy.
Thankfully the Gator made it through just fine.

Another shot from the riverbed...

Ah! Dry land again!
Here's a nice stretch of road which, for about 75', is actually paved!

Here's a look at Ti Guave from up above in the mountains...

Entering the busy city life is very energizing,
especially after being back in the mountains for weeks!

This is the entering drive of the hospital.

Anita went inside to check the patient in
and Steve backed the Gator up.

After dropping her off we had to make up a dossier for her
and give them some contact information, in case they needed further help.

With the mission completed, we headed back.

The Aleg valley... home, sweet home :)

Beginnings of the Clinic Remodel!

NOTE: You can now track the current progress of the clinic rebuild at

www.clinicrebuild.org!

This week Steven Shankster from Indiana came down to help lay out and refine the design of the clinic project. He and Steve (our Steve) could be seen down at the clinic measuring, talking, and planning things out. After a few days of planning and gathering up a material list, he went out to Port yesterday, pricing out everything and getting bids. This is the first BIG step in our preparations for the clinic remodel, and we're really looking forward to the rest!!

A small cut...

Hello to all!

Last night we had a young man came to our gate with a cut on his finger... he had been working at the school up the mountain and apparently got a machete cut!

A nice slice! It was pretty deep, but very clean.

Anita sterilized the cut and surrounding area.

Butterfly bandages... the instrument of choice in a situation like this!
It wasn't bad enough for stitches, yet big enough a normal bandage wouldn't do. 

On goes the butterfly bandage!

After the butterfly bandage went a large standard bandage
and then some

All finished! He's going to be coming back to the clinic today
for a fresh wrap and bandage. He should be healed up in no time!

New Baby!!

Last night we had a lady come in that was in labor...

 It was around 9pm when we got the call.

Some of us trekked over and checked the situation out.

The family waited as Anita and Virginia assessed the situation...

They decided to come back later that night, and spent the evening there

until morning, when she finally had the baby around 9am.

It's a GIRL!!

Virginia cleaned the little one and bundled it up!

Virginia with the precious little bundle...

Here's Mommy and baby!

Everything went well, and they look very happy :)

Anita with the Mom and baby.

It was a long night, but it was worth it!!! :)

Update on Ernest

Many of you will remember Ernest, the boy with two broken legs, which we reported on earlier last week.

We have received some pictures of him in the hospital, after his operation.

It turned out he had multiple fractures and breaks on both legs and his left knee was crushed.

Here are the pictures!

Clinic woes

We apologize for the lack of updates coming your way! Our Internet has been having problems with the recent storms surging past, making it difficult for us to post things on here :)

But we now have fair weather, so let the updates go on!!

With the rain comes woe for the clinic. Excessive winds have driven more water inside than normal, soaking things that would ordinarily be ok. I walked in to snap some pictures today and was greeted by a muddy, watery and soupy mixture all over the floor. Anita was in an exam room checking out a patient, and Virginia was taking care of the pharmacy; both had to slop through the water and mud as they worked. A man and his boy were coming out of the exam room- but he had to carry the boy so he wouldn’t get all muddy and wet.

“This is pretty sad,” I was thinking, “Here we are, a medical clinic, and we have to deal with un-sanitary conditions like this each time it rains. People come here to get well, and we can’t provide them with a clean environment because of the roof being the way it is. I can’t wait until we can remodel this place!”

I walked into one of the hospital rooms, noticing a bucket and kivet on the floor and bed. There was water everywhere; on the floor, on the bed, on the table, dripping down the ceiling. It was all damp and wet. Nobody should have to stay in a room like this. The next room wasn’t any better; it too was soaked, as if someone had taken a garden hose and sprayed the whole thing down.

Returning to the hallway, I asked if I could start moping the water up.

“No,” answered Anita, “We usually mop the floor before we start clinic, but we were lacking staff here because of the rain. It will probably rain again soon, so we’d just have to mop it twice. We’ll wait until tomorrow, when the rain's gone.”

It is so unfortunate that everyone has to be subjected to the wet, damp, and unhealthy conditions here; not just the patients, but even more so our staff, who have to work in it all day long. Hopefully once we get everything lined up, we'll be able to start the much-needed remodel.

Imagine going to your family doctor, and having to wade through puddles of water and mud to have your ear checked out… what kind of an experience would that be for you? The Haitians are no less human than the rest of us...

Here are some pictures of the clinic after the rain today: