Answers.

Before coming to Haiti, I had not really experienced the difficult and challenging parts of medicine.  I have been on the receiving (family) side of it a few times, but never on this side of the deal.  All of my shadowing and volunteering before this summer never put me in the position to witness/deal with extreme circumstances.  And of course, a career in medicine includes having to address difficult health and welfare issues with your patients and their families, so experiencing this is essential.

 I especially realized this on Thursday.  We saw a patient who we had seen a few times already this summer and I've kind of fallen in love with her.  She is this fantastic old lady with the biggest smile and such a pleasant demeanor.  I mentioned her in a post several weeks ago as she is the woman that had the pleural effusion.  We thought that that may be caused by tuberculosis, but, unfortunately, those results came back negative.  As silly as it sounds, TB would have been the best case because it is treatable if the patients maintains a good course of antibiotic treatment.  We then found a mass in her breast, which we removed.  Cancer.  So, what it looks like is this small cancer in her breast metastasized to the pleural space, which is inoperable.  And that is what was discussed on Thursday.

As a student, I want so badly to have all of the answers to all aspects of medicine, or at least in the area that I specialize.  But that's not realistic.  Because we can't have all the answers, which is hard for me to accept at times.  And it's hard for patients to accept that from their physicians who they put so much faith and trust in.  

But as humbling as that truth is, I am glad that it forces me to realize our place in all of this.  God is ultimately the greatest Physician; He, and He alone, offers true healing and life.  Medicine fails and has its limitations.  But God does not - cannot.

The reality of this situation is that we have no treatment options to offer this lady and she does not have much time left here on this earth. 

But, there will be a day when her pain and suffering will be no more and she will rest at the feet of her Maker.  

She became a follower of Jesus Christ that morning.

Requests.

I am over halfway done with my summer here in Haiti and I would love to share with you all some prayer requests!

Please pray for..

1.  Fast construction of the clinic.  Having a better quality clinic is absolutely essential and will allow for more patients to be seen on a daily basis.  It will also provide them with a surgical area as well as area for intensive and specialized care.

2.  Patient education and compliance.  Everyday in the clinic, I encounter cases where problems and illnesses could be avoided if the patients were properly educated.  Things like malnutrition and out of control diabetes don't have to be so common and we can definitely do something to better educate the patients.  And unfortunately there are quite a few stigmas and misconceptions regarding healthcare here, which makes the task of providing quality care a little more difficult.

3.  God to be glorified in this place.  It has been my prayer throughout this summer that these patients may come to know Christ and that they see a reflection of Him through us in the clinic.  I've been praying that what we have been doing shows the love of Christ and that we are bringing honor and glory to His name.

4.  My last few weeks here.  I have seen and done so much this summer and I have learned an incredible amount.  This summer has definitely forced me to stretch and adapt - it has been so great.  Pray that all of that continues to happen, that I can be a blessing to these people and this clinic, and that I will be receptive to God's will in my life.  

5.  And and if you feel so led, you could pray that I get some sleep.  I have always struggled with sleep issues and, unfortunately, this summer is no exception.  

Thank you so very much! 

Vanille.

The last three Sundays that I've been in Haiti, I've been going to a Haitian church that is pretty close to the clinic.  Sometimes the sermon is translated and sometimes it is not.  Sometimes there is a nice man who helps you find the songs in the hymn book so you can try to sing along in Creole or French.  And, if you are lucky, a dog named Squirrely will come sit at your feet.  Everyone is super friendly at that church - I shake a lot of hands and am greeted by quite a few people.  Very pleasant and welcoming.  

Today, however, we decided to go to church in Port-au-Prince.  We went to an English speaking church, heard a good sermon, and sang a whole bunch of beautiful hymns.  It was great.  

Then we got lunch at a Chinese restaurant.  That's right, really good Chinese food in Haiti.

In addition to serving good Asian food, Haiti is also known for their coffee (one of their biggest crops) and some super awesome vanilla.  And if you know me, you know that I live on coffee and love to overuse vanilla in my baking - so I made some super great purchases today.  Also, I paid less than a dollar for this vanilla and if you try to get it in the States, it's twelve dollars.  Wonderful. 

So, there's a little bit on my day in Port.  Happy Sunday to you all and have a great week!

Jezi.

Sometimes I forget that I'm in Haiti.  That sounds crazy - I know - but, it's true.  I know that I'm working in 100 degree weather in a hot tent because they don't have a clinic built yet.  And I'm thousands of miles from home.  And I'm surrounded by mountains.  And I work with, smile at, give shots to, talk with, and place electrodes on Haitians all of the time.  And even though so much of my life is different and temporary right now, it feels so right.  I just know that I am where I'm supposed to be and I am doing what I'm supposed to be doing.  And the people that I work with are just people - God's people - and there is no distinction between 'me' and 'them' or black and white or Haitian and American or rich and poor, we're all the same.  When I think - or don't think - of all of this that way, then I start to understand how I forget that I am somewhere else and just land on the fact that I am where I have been called to be.  And then peace closes in all around me.

Peace that I cannot explain, that I don't need to explain.  

One of my favorite parts of my day is early in the morning, before we start seeing patients and the busyness sets in.  The staff lead devotions for the patients and they always start with a hymn.  It is loud and beautiful and I can't understand a word except for the occasional 'Jezi', but I know that they are worshiping and praising my God.  And in those moments, their pains and worries are quieted and there is peace.  Not in ignorance, but in knowing that God is in control and He is good.

Over these last several years, that is what has been holding me together - God is good and God is in control.  I need to hear that truth all of the time.  I needed to hear that this week, because this week was not easy.  I wanted so badly to be with my family and my extended family through some hard times this past week.  And we faced a lot of sad and challenging moments in the clinic these past few days.  And I'm wresting with my future and where that may or may not lead.  But even still, God is good and He is in control.  

And that brings me peace.

Bambi.

I'm taking a break from the Haiti updates to talk about someone I love so incredibly much.

One of the greatest blessings in my life is being a big sister to a few amazing people.  I can't tell you how awesome my siblings are, but I will try.  And today, we are talking about this little guy:

My little brother leaves for Basic Training tomorrow.  And I won't be able to see him until December, which breaks my heart.

William, you are amazing.  You seize life with this incredible zeal.  You are so compassionate and loving.  You are brave and confident.  You have all of Alex's best qualities, which brings me to tears.  

You make me so proud and I am so blessed that I get to be your sister.  I cannot wait to see all of the great things that you will do with your life.

Thank you for your strong desire and willingness to serve our country. 

I love you so very much, my baby brother.

Report.

I've already been in Haiti for two weeks, which seems crazy.  I feel like I just got here, but I guess time goes so fast when you're keeping busy in the clinic all day.

I still can't believe all that I've seen and been able to do...which is infinitely more than I could in the States.  

Here's my list of the top five things that I have seen/done thus far:

1.  Assisted in a surgery where we removed a breast tumor slightly larger than my two fists.  

2.  Drained an extreme pleural effusion (excess fluid in the pleural space), which is likely TB.

3.  Treated a lady that likely had Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which basically means that her bones break rather easily and do not heal properly, leaving her with a short stature (she was about 3 feet tall) and prone to many more breakages throughout her life.  

4.  Biopsied an upper jaw tumor.  Her tumor was rather large and we are hoping that she will be able to have surgery this fall when a maxillofacial surgeon comes to the country.

5.  Drained a few abscesses (these really aren't that special or unique, but they are rather gross and pretty cool..)

Happy Sunday, friends!

Have a great week!

Fourth.

Well, you know what's better than a post on the Fourth of July about the Fourth of July?  A post on said subject nearly a week later.

Truth is, I wanted to post that day, but I was busy and then got a little distracted and alas, here we are - six days later and I'm finally getting around to it.  

I didn't think of making plans for Independence Day this year, because I was leaving the country and knew that my schedule wouldn't really be my own.  But, I was super excited when I found out that we (the people who live on this complex) would be celebrating - I love the Fourth of July!

We ate outside and enjoyed super American-y foods, which included 'red, white, and blue' cupcakes - precious!  [Side note - I did not bake these cupcakes...but I am hoping to clock some baking time while here this summer.  I need to!]

For our entertainment for the night, we watched National Treasure together because it was the most American movie (that they own) we could think of...I'm serious.  The whole evening was great and made me feel like we were some cute little family...of clinic employees.

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And to conclude this post, I give you a tidbit on my day in the clinic.  We can now start a tally on the number of babies I make cry while here this summer with my first coming today.  I gave the cutest baby boy a shot in his leg for pneumonia...and now I'm certain that he will hate me forever.  You win some, you lose some?  

Jacmel.

Yesterday, I went on a little journey with some friends.

We headed off for the beach in Jacmel, which is on the Southern coast of Haiti.

The drive was about two hours, but every inch of it was completely worth it.  Most of the drive was on a winding road through the mountains.  I wish so very badly that my pictures could do justice to how amazingly beautiful this country is..

We drove through all of this...

...to get to this:  

I didn't get quite that pink..but close. 

And I watched this:

They weren't that good..but the effort was there:)

And I ate this:  

Lambi and bannann - fried conch and plantain.

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The whole time we spent at the beach and driving to and from it, I couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful this country is - just truly beautiful.  And then I realized that I get to see the beauty in this country every single day through the patients that I work with.  God made no mistakes when He carefully and wonderfully made this country full of these beautiful people.  

Twenty-one.

Last year on my birthday, I gave you a list of twenty things that you may not know about me.

And this year as I turn twenty-one I had to think of something to do for my blog.

Ah, so here we are.  Twenty-one things that I will do before I leave this life:  

1. Jump out of a plane.

2. Go to the Olympics.

3. Swim with sharks.

4. Throw a dart at a map and go where it lands.

5. Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Ireland.

6. Ride a camel. Or elephant. 

7. Go on a safari. 

8. Take my mom to Greece. 

9. Learn how to knit. Seriously. 

10. Camp in Alaska.  

11. Attend Sundance. 

12. Go sailing.

13. See the pyramids.

14. Just go everywhere in Europe.

15. Attend the lantern festival.

16. Go on a hot air balloon ride. 

17. Learn a new language.

18. Get published. 

19. Graduate medical school. 

20. Marry my best friend.

21. Adopt a child.  


Also, thank you for all of the birthday wishes - they all made me smile!
(You should know that if you tried texting/calling me, I did not intentionally ignore you...I just don't have a phone in Haiti.)

Joumou.

Yes, that title is Joumou, not to be confused with Vodou, which is extremely prevalent in Haitian culture and something I'm sure I will talk about at some point.

"Soup Joumou" is a pretty standard Haitian dish and what we had for lunch today.  It is either made with squash or pumpkins..I'm thinking this is of the pumpkin variety.  And it's also full of a bunch of other vegetables.  But fun fact for you all, the French masters would not allow the Haitian slaves to eat this dish as it was sort of a delicacy.  It is now, however, eaten by most Haitians on January 1st, when they celebrate their independence from the French in 1804!

Speaking of independence days, we are celebrating ours' tomorrow night - go America! 

And what spectacular Haitian dish did I have for dinner tonight, you ask?  PB&J. 

Clinique.

Today was my first day in the clinic.  

Patients arrive pretty early and wait for their appointments throughout the day.  First, there are clinic devotions, so every patient is presented with the gospel and offered more education - fantastic!  The clinic administrator then decides the order in which they are seen.  Visits cost the patients about $1.50US, but if they cannot pay, they do not have to.  All of the appointments go rather fast, so the doctors, nurse, and physician's assistant see quite a few people throughout the day, totaling to around 150.  There are two Haitian doctors, one male and one female, on staff, which I think is really great that HHM hires Haitians and isn't exclusively American.  

I spent my morning working with the American doctor, and I saw SO much!  We saw several pregnant women.  I measured some pregnant bellies and was taught several things about how to read a sonogram, which is pretty neat.  I took a lot of blood pressures and pulses throughout the day.  We also saw several patients with diabetes, which, of course, is pretty rough if it is poorly (or not) managed.  I also helped with surgery prep for the minor surgery and the biopsy performed today.  And I saw what pretty advanced congestive heart failure looks like on a sonogram - crazy - and learned how to measure hematocrit.  

My afternoon was spent seeing a whole bunch of children with the physician's assistant, which was great.  We talked about ear infections and respiratory infections that kids suffer from, which was rather common among the little ones we saw today.  

So, in all day one in the clinic was great.  I've learned and seen so much..and I have six more weeks of this stuff to go!  

Revelation of the day:  I must learn Creole or French.