Help Joseph expand his business in Haïti

Joseph, my interpreter and friend.

This is Joseph, AKA Jorgen. 

I introduced him earlier in my blog as my interpreter and he proved to be a true friend throughout my time in Haïti.  He was always there, not only to be my interpreter but as an advisor. He's the kind of guy that everyone wants to know, and is always watching your back.


Since I left, he has no consistent income except for a small business that he started while I was still in Haïti, selling laundry soap out of his Mom's home. His mom has chronic health conditions and she needs medical attention regularly, but doctors in Haïti don't usually give out months worth of medication. Most doctors give out 14 or 15 days worth of pills and then you have to come back for reassessment. This doesn't happen for the 1st follow-up appointment but is ongoing, so for someone with diabetes or hypertension you really will have a rough time, since you have to pay so often for care.

Joseph and I enjoying some downtime at MamaBaby Haiti in 2011

Let's help Joseph get ahead.

If you are going to Haïti and need an interpreter, Joseph is one to get in contact with, so send me a message. If you want to help him expand his business, that would benefit not only him, but his family and community. Joseph's the pay it forward kind, and a game changer. My friends Sarah and Sean Hesler started a campaign for Joseph, so that he can expand his business in Vaudreuil, just outside of Cap-Haïtian, Haïti.


Please consider even a small donation to assist him in his goals by hitting this link: 

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If that doesn't work, I apologize and ask if you can cut and paste this address into a new tab: 
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/207705?a=980300

Joseph is part of the solution! A hard worker with goals, just what his community in Haïti needs!

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Mesi Anpil, Anpil, Anpil!

My Haïtian Grandma, with soap from a donor.
The 1st day I met her.

     I've been back from Ayiti aka Haïti, for 9 weeks and 2 days.  I was SO excited to come home and to eat New Mexican food and not be seen as the "blan" or white person. I can't imagine people who are stigmatized all their lives with a title that limits them, for I was tired of a title that wasn't limiting. Almost everywhere I went in Haiti I would hear people calling me "blan", trying to get my attention, my resources, my english skills and who was I to say no.  Everyday I would hear, "M'grangou" (I'm hungry), "Give me one dollar", or "Bum mwen" (Give me).  At times when I heard "blan", I felt they were really saying,"I see a dollar symbol, not a person", but deep down I know people saw opportunity for connection. It took time to except that I wasn't each person's savior. I was a friend, and sometimes that meant giving through a kind word, a joke, my nursing skills, and yes, sometimes it meant being a financial resource.  It took time to build the relationships, I now cherish.

     I never thought it would be such a challenge to give.  I have SO much and yet as a volunteer I didn't have the same resources I would have as a working American... and I wanted to give so much more.  More to the child begging on the street, the woman with 9 children, the man who needed surgery.  It seems there was always one more hand outstretched to receive and I knew being at the hospital, I would need to use resources for emergencies. People mostly would say thank you, but the woman pictured here was an amazing receiver.  She would glow and start saying things like, God bless you and wave her arms in the air with joy! She would come to get her blood pressure checked regularly at the clinic, but had no income to pay for medications. Thankfully I had the connections to the right people to place meds in her hand and they worked, her blood pressure was consistently improved.  Not that I expected or even wanted that response from every patient. I must say it wasn't that she thanked me, it was that she was present with me and real with me.  If she never said thank you, I wouldn't have cared.   She's one of those people who you couldn't ruin their day even if you tried.  She is a dynamic woman of faith, and an example to me of strength and joy.

The day before I left Haïti, March 27th.  How I miss her now!

I thank God for people like her and all Haïtians, for smiling and laughing with me.
I thank people like you who care through their presence in this world. Family and friends gave during my time in Haïti and through them, I was able to pass on lifesaving resources during emergencies.  Catholic Medical Mission Board supported me financially, Fr. Geordani sheltered me and fed me. For a few months of my time, MamaBaby Haiti provided room and board while I assisted with births and in both their clinics and at Hospital St. François de Sales.  To everyone who gave, I want to say Mesi Anpil, Anpil, Anpil!  Thank you very, very, very much!  Joy beyond joy be yours! 

Ti Bouk de Port Margot

 An opportunity presented itself to work in a rural area just outside of Limbe with Our Lady of the Lake Medical Mission at the end of February.  

The river in Ti Bouk de Port Margot.

The trip through the mountains and through the shallow river, to Ti Bouk revived my senses.  This community has no clinic and bringing medication and an ear of compassion added a layer of hope to those suffering from daily ailments.

The clinic space where we worked. 

 The mission brought practical medications and packaged them neatly with instructions in kreyol and english, which I thought was impressive.  They set up in what used to be the town's theater, which housed a locked storage area with shelving where we could organize medications.  I worked under a Nurse Practitioner one week and a doctor for a few days the next week.  Many had very high blood pressures and needed dietary counseling. I was proud to give them education in kreyol without much use of the interpreters, who verified my linguistic abilities and made corrections as needed. 

The hills of Ti Bouk

Assessing a pediatric patient

Care at what Cost?

Each visit to Justinian Hospital I ponder the cost of care and the time that proceeds treatment.  It's difficult for the doctors who care so much for their patients, but often don't have resources at their fingertips.

Let's say you're in labor and are hemorraging and your kouzinn (cousin), is with you. First things first, she'll have to get you to the main hospital on a dusty road by tap-tap, taxi or pay for an ambulance if she can find money and the driver in time. When she arrives she'll have to buy your chart just outside of the ER.   Your kouzinn has to bring your chart to maternity where when it's your turn the doctor hands her a list.

She is expected to coordinate care for the following: 

Hemoglobin, Hematocrit

IV catheter 

D5W 1 liter

Oxygen 

2 PRBC (2 bags of blood)

pitosyn

She'll have to go to a the hospital's laboratory and pay for your lab tests, the pharmacy down the block, the red cross across town and also must find a vendor for oxygen. 

Once she finds oxygen in a huge tank, she must pay for it to be transported. 

Of course sometimes a few items are in stock and doctors have supplies at their disposal or perhaps God has reserved an oxygen concentrator that's working and the electricity happens to be flowing through the outlets.  

After transporting a newborn with a fever to Justinian, my interpreter helped me bargain for a fair price for each of these items at 2 pharmacies nearby.  I recall quoted original prices for each item was drastically different.

Delays in care can originate in the doctors running out of gloves. The list handed over could include personal protective equipment. Perhaps your kouzinn might even have to call a bunch of relatives pleading for money prior to hunting down each item. The time to procure all items could take hours and the doctors hands are tied to proceed with care. 

There are so many unanswered questions:

Will the Red Cross be open? 

Is it almost shift change at the blood bank? 

Will you need an operation and what costs are involved? 

Will some pharmacies be more expensive than others, and should your kouzinn compare prices so she can maximize $?
What will you and your kouzinn eat? 

The 1st patient and last patient I was able to transport on oxygen from Hospital St. Francois de Sales.
I kept attempting to coordinate with administration for the small oxygen tank to be filled, but without success. 

Our oxygen tank was very low and the family could not find money to buy a large tank, the oxygen concentrator was occupied. I was thankful to see this patient the next week with her family at HSFS. 

The doorway to the pediatric department at Justinian.
Thanks to contributions from home, a tank of oxygen that cost $37.50 was able to be purchased for the department. 

This woman was a patient at Mama Baby who needed an operation for an ectopic pregnancy.
It cost roughly $75 for all her care.
Once again, I was able to give her donated money.
She has no family in the area and her neighbor ran around to care for her.

Assisting Midwives

The wall right outside the Mama Baby Haiti gate reads:
Prenatal and Postnatal Care
Center for Birth
Family Planning
Breastfeeding support

Since mid-October, I’ve been assisting the midwives at Mama Baby Haiti in Morne Rouge with births, post-partum care, well baby visits and transports to Justinian Hospital. I’ve also been providing reproductive health education to women on Friday mornings including a brief discussion about NFP. I still volunteer at Hospital St. Francois de Sales 3 days a week;  providing health education, working with the doctors and nurses to provide care for inpatients and for those who come to the a.m. clinic.  
I usually give a talk to all the patients before their vitals are taken about sanitation, cholera prevention and lifestyle choices. Today I spoke about diabetes. Many Haïtians eat a very high fat, high salt diet and I see a lot of patients come in diabetic ketoacidosis and hypertensive crisis. Today, I transferred an elderly woman to Justinian hospital who's blood sugar was 486. I knew the doctor who was on the receiving end at Justinian and hope she'll  find the care she needs. 

Mom and Aunt of baby boy who was delivered this past Saturday.
It's wonderful to support the moms and midwifes! 

This past Saturday, I was about to go for a walk with one of the midwives, when I was told a client at Mama Baby Haiti was about to push! I was happy to standby to assist and to watch the midwife and director of the center, Sarah Taylor, go into action. The baby had a shoulder dystocia, but Sarah was calm and provided the care needed to deliver a big baby boy! 

Operating Room

Upon my return to Haiti, after a 2 week break in the states, 

I was very excited to work with Dr. Sandro Visani, Urologist and Surgeon, who came to volunteer at Hospital St. Francois de Sales for a total of 5 weeks in September and October. I was honored to scrub in and assist with surgeries for his last 3 weeks. Hernias, hydroceles and circumcisions were the primary cases that this facility could support. Dr. Visani has vast experience with prostatectomies and nephrectomies but with no blood bank and other limited resources he was limited in his practice. St. Francois de Sales would love to have the capacity to provide radiology services, a full laboratory and blood services. Almost every team that comes here compliments Fr. Geordani's efforts to make the O.R.  one of the nicest ones in Northern Haiti. 

Assisting Dr. Sandro Visani in Hospital St. Francois de Sales O.R.

Interpreter Joseph Fils Inelus and myself in the O. R. 

Fanm Se Fòs Pou Ti Bebe

Fanm Se Fòs Pou Ti Bebe talk in Shada with Melissa, a volunteer with Mama Baby Haiti!
Melissa is a doula and raw foodist. She spoke about how to be in labor with less pain.  

 After a period of frustration and disillusionment in late May and June, during that time I came across several stumbling blocks and shear exhaustion, I've discovered energizing community health education talks. I adore the process of teaching and listening to the community. I've given two talks in Shada, two at St. Francois de Sales Church and several to medical/nursing students in Monte Rouge. On most occasions, I have the privilege of giving co-talks with an amazing natropathic doctor, Dr. Zeenia of Mama Baby Haiti. One of my talks is called Fanm Se Fòs Pou Ti Bebe, which by direct translation means, Woman Is Power For Little Baby. During this talk, I review the World Health Organization data regarding the top 3 reasons why neonates, and children under 5 are at risk of death in developing countries such as Haiti.  Possible preventive measures and actions plans to curb these risks are discussed by engaging the community members with questions. I've found that the questions women ask during this time really reveal cultural norms and challenges present in their communities.

Fanm Se Fòs Pou Ti Bebe talk in front of approx. 600 people involved in the local chapter of the Catholic organization Caritas at St. François de Sales Church. 

My interpreter Joseph and I in front of a group of medical/nursing students in Morne Rouge. 

Dr. Zeenia and I with a group of women, after speaking wtih them about STDs and partner violence.