Nurse Leona in Haiti...

7/21/11

OH MY! Ok, next mission trip I lead, everyone is signing a contract that says they will do their utmost best to not get hurt! No wonder I was starting to get nervous and Mother Hen-y at the end! So far on this trip, my "patients" have had mysterious bug bites, hand laceration, splinter in a finger (didn't have to deal much with that), and a cut while shaving. And now, mod-severe heat exhaustion...had to start an IV, give 4L of IV fluids, lots of meds for nausea and pain, and giving a lot of Gatorade...on one person. He's now sleeping, IV is out, and we're heading to the airport in 6 hours. Best time to get sick, just as we're heading home.

Other than that, we went to Canaan, Haiti. It's one of the Tent Cities where some of the displaced Haitians live outside of PAP. Another ministry called AwakenHaiti is helping out Pastor Nathan that decided to move closer to his congregation that were displaced by the earthquake, and his congregation grew as he continued to minister to his members and the neighbors. Right now, AwakenHaiti's goal is to work along side the Haitians in the building process, not building it for them. Today, they're setting down the foundation for their new church. They've been meeting under a tent, which is already falling apart. The boys on our team came to Canaan to help with the foundation laying. They also asked the nurses (nurse and nursing student) on the team if we can come as well for the Medical Clinic they have there every 2 weeks.

During this trip, I've seen how sheltered I've been in the hospital, with the supplies I need at hand, and doctors that are a phone call away or even on the unit. This Clinic and the Cholera House do not have Doctors that are available. It's just the nurses doing the best they can to care for these patients. Some Doctors have come to visit and given advice and even taught them a few extra skills like suturing wounds and such so they can continue their care for the communities. I came to this Clinic definitely out of my comfort zone, but learned that a lot of the issues can be taken cared for with Health Education, and occasionally meds. They've learned to give meds when absolutely necessary, but its not the primary solution.

I learned a lot here about healthcare with limited resources, and also had to use that nursing judgement and LOTS of prayer when we returned to the Guesthouse. One of the guys worked so hard today that he had heat exhaustion. After I noticed that having him drinking fluids were not enough, and he was getting worse, I had to make a judgement call and start an IV. Thank God for the Maternity Center and their supplies. Now, like I said earlier, he's resting and feeling much better. Now that's cutting it close. In less than 6 hours, we're heading to the airport to go home, and I'd love all of us to get there HEALTHY! At least we're not sick from infections, just have silly self-inflicted injuries...

Thanks for your prayers. Putting the miscellaneous physical injuries aside, God has worked in us in many ways. Please read www.haititrip2011.wordpress.com when you have a chance. A few of us wrote our experiences on that blogsite, and pretty much mirrors everyone's thoughts on what we're returning with. God met us here, and did more in us, than we can ever do in Haiti.

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