Last Day - January Medical Trip

Today was our last day of clinic. We have seen many people we can help and a few that we cannot. We all find that incredible difficult to deal with, and we have to remember where we are and what can and cannot be done. Elade always says that "healthcare" and "Haiti" don't belong in the same sentence. The limited options available cannot be called healthcare. Yesterday, it was a young man that was incredibly ill and we were not sure what was wrong or which course to take. Today, it was an elderly gentleman who had a stroke and had been carried 2 1/2 hours by his family to the clinic. That is Haiti.

Nights have been interesting as we have been serenaded by a choir of barking dogs, braying donkeys and crowing roosters. As a result, I learned to say "shut up" in creole, but I forgot how by the time the choir started again. The snoring could not hold a candle to it.

Tomorrow we leave here to travel the bumpy ride to Gandou. Somehow I think bumpy is an understatement. We will see the beginnings of the new clinic there before traveling on to Bainet where we will spend the night. Saturday will be an incredibly long day as we travel from Bainet to Port au Prince before boarding the flights home.

We all look forward to seeing our families again and bid a fond farewell to Haiti.

- Susan