Everyday, I am both amazed and thankful for the way that God has transformed and equipped me to handle whatever life throws at me here in Haiti.
Today seemed to be a typical day....I laugh as I type that because I can't even define "typical day" in Haiti, there is no such thing. Tamara's fever finally went away, and she seemed to be feeling better today. Rose Mitchel was able to keep her food down (and a little of the Medica Mamba, too!). Thank you thank you thank you!!! You're prayers truly are evident here, and I cannot thank you all enough!
Unfortunately, Christian, our four year old little boy with HIV and pneumonia, was not feeling any better today. He was still running a fever, coughing, and vomiting. So, he was unable to keep any of his meds down. Dorothy spoke to our pediatrician, and he told us to bring Christian into the hospital.
So, around 2:30 PM, Dorothy, mom, and I loaded him up into the truck and headed for St. Damian's Children's Hospital. The hospital is quite strict on the number of people allowed inside with the children. So, I carried him inside and started the waiting game. I was not allowed to bring any bags inside with me. Dorothy and Mom had to stay outside in another waiting area. It was very crowded, and there were no seats. So, I held him and leaned against a wall. After a little while, Dorothy came to a window and explained that she found out that someone would need to stay with Christian over night. So, she and mom were going to drive back to the house and persuade one of the nannies to come stay with Christian.
I told her that I was fine staying at the hospital with him until they got back. Eventually a seat opened up and I was able to sit down. It didn't take long for Christian to fall asleep on my lap. He was coughing quite a lot the whole time we were waiting. God provides me with all the courage and confidence that I need for every situation. So, I had no problem being there alone with him. But, it is interesting to reflect on the situation and see just how much of God's strength there was and how little of my own. There I was: a young white girl alone in a Haitian hospital, with one very sick little boy, limited Creole skills, no food or drink, no cellphone, and no money. THANK YOU, LORD!
I ended up having to wait for over two and a half hours. Finally, I went to the desk again and inquired about Christian getting a bed soon. They pulled his file out of the stack and called us in a few minutes later...THANK YOU, LORD! They put him in the same bed as where a dead child was laying when we arrived....lovely. A nurse came over and attempted to put an IV in his hand. She unsuccessfully tried three times before she asked another nurse to try putting it in. Thankfully, the second nurse was able to get it in on her first try. I had to hold the poor little guy still as he cried and squirmed.
Although St. Damians is a million times better than the maternity hospital, it was still difficult. All the children were placed in one large room. A very young mother was sitting in a chair next to Christians bed holding her child. The mother was only a child herself. She couldn't have been more than 14 years old, and she was crying. Some of the other parents in the room were laughing at her because it is not Haitian culture to cry and show emotion like that. I just wanted to reach out and hug her, and in hindsight I should have. Finally, I asked the nurse why she was crying. From what I understood, the girl wanted to go home but she had to stay with her baby and there was some kind of a problem with her breastfeeding. Chances are, the girl was raped and now she is being forced to grow up and be a parent. As I stood and watched, I prayed silently for peace and comfort for the baby and young mother.
It was nearly 7 PM and completely dark outside. As I sat holding Christian's hand, my mind started to wander. What if Dorothy had a crisis at the house and can't come back? What if the hospital has rules about entering after a certain time of night (as they are quite strict and have armed guards at the gate)? As I had those thoughts, I was not scared...THANK YOU, LORD. I knew that I would be fine staying with him if it came down to that but, I had no idea what an entire night in that hospital would be like with only one very hard plastic chair to sit on. Thankfully, around 7 PM Dorothy and my mom arrived with Felicity, a nanny. I was VERY happy to see them again! I was also very thankful that Felicity offered to work extra and spend the night with Christian.
Thank you, God for your protection and provision. Thank you for entrusting me with so much responsibility in the lives of these children. Your blessings are never ending!
And now, another important topic. Cholera. I don't know how much the cholera issue has been publicized in the United States, but I am sure it is far from the truth. Being here, I have some of the inside scoop. The Haitian government does not want the public to know the truth about how bad the epidemic really is. So, there has been a great deal of under-reporting the number of infections and deaths. The rain from hurricane Tomas caused flooding. The flooding has caused the cholera contamination to spread to other rivers, streams, and canals. I heard a rumor that it is suspected to takes years to eradicate cholera from Haiti. Below are excerpts from some of the updates that I have been receiving via e-mail:
OPERATIONAL BIOSURVEILLANCE
Current official stats are more than 9,971 cases and 643 fatalities.
In some areas of Haiti, we have confirmation that in-patient statistics are under-reported by as much as 400%.
There is no question of under-reporting. If we assume the case counts are 1/4 the true community load, then we now have nearly 36k cases shedding pathogen into the environment. We believe the true statistic to be closer to more than 50k based on the degree of under-reporting. This is an uncontrolled, uncontained epidemic of cholera that has exceeded public health capacity to investigate and assess every site reported and every sample received.
Evidence now suggests the epidemic has crossed the border into the Dominican Republic, which was expected.
The cholera epidemic in Haiti proceeds in an uncontrolled, uncontained fashion and will likely encompass all of Haiti within a matter of weeks. Ecological establishment will be pervasive regardless of ongoing response efforts.
Efforts to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation are as challenging as they were post-quake, and now additional vast areas of Haiti will require similar attention. It is unlikely effort will be mobilized quickly enough to forestall the spread of cholera. Public health intervention in the areas of education, hygiene, and training of medical responders will continue to be important. However, the default operational position now is not to prioritize effort to prevent spread but to prevent or mitigate unnecessary fatalities.
Regardless of what you may be hearing on the news at home, we are not out of the woods. Do not stop praying for Haiti, please!
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