Saturday at Lifeline

Today was another exciting adventurous day here in Haiti. This morning a man came to us and said his wife was having a baby and we needed help. We brought her to the clinic and examined her. We ran an ultrasound and the baby had a steady heartbeat. She said her water had broken the day before but she wasn’t even dilated so we knew it wasn’t time for the baby. We told her to go back home but let us know if something changes. We then went to hand out love bundles at an orphanage in Barbancourt. We had so much fun singing the song Father Abraham with the kids.
While we were there, we found a woman who was lying on the ground with immense abdominal pain. We weren’t sure what was wrong with her so we took her the hospital in Saint Marc. It was at the hospital that we discovered she had gotten an abortion and her pain was a result of that.
They were able to help her out and she is now doing fine. Later on this evening someone sent word to us that the pregnant woman was in need of medical attention once again. She was examined and the baby was slowly moving into the birth canal. We drove her to the hospital were the doctor told us she was now dilated four centimeters and she would probably deliver tomorrow morning. We left praying she had a safe delivery.
We also had a great time with the team at the cross. God was really moving and we were all blessed by his presence. We were all struck with God’s faithfulness and his grace. Praise the Lord for his abounding love and mercy!!

Six hours on the road to help 200 orphans

Another early 4:30 wake up call lead to yet another blessing in Haiti. By 5:30 we were loaded on the trucks and headed north to provide nursing care to two orphanages in villages 3 to 4 hours away. The roads were quite different then those in America. Some were made of concrete, some were made of rocks the size of boulders. It felt more like we were off roading in quads rather than riding in the back of trucks. The 3 hour trip to the first orphanage was an eye opening experience. We passed at least five villages all of which were completely different in the way they lived and the houses they lived in.

We were greeted at the first orphanage by bright smiles and chants that repeated "We are glad to see you." The orphanage consisted of two buildings, one was their house of worship and the other was the living quarters for the boys and girls. The workers of the orphanage provided us with a shelter for our traveling medical clinic, which was made from tree branches and tarps. One by one, the children were assessed and triaged. From there they received necessary medical care that we were able to supply. The most common medical problems that we assessed were skin conditions such as scabies and rashes, various wounds, nutritional deficits, and fever. Before the children left the shelter they were given worm medicine, vitamins, and a stuffed turtle that contained a spiritual message.

The conditions that we observed in the second orphanage were much worse than the conditions of the first. Because of it's distance from any kind of true civilization, it was apparent that the resources were limited. At this orphanage there were also two buildings, one of which was the living quarters for the boys and the other for the girls. The living quarters were quite different from the first, these were constructed primarily from twigs and tarps, similar to the shelter provided for our medical clinic at the previous orphanage. Once again the children greeted us with chants showing their appreciation for our visit. We rearranged the boys living quarters to make our medical clinic which was organized into numerous stations, which included triage, wound care, and medication administration. The children here had similar medical problems to the children at the first orphanage but their symptoms seemed to be worse. As a group we came to the conclusion that this was occurring due to the boys using the same razor to cut their hair without cleansing the razor in between cuts. Education was provided to the boys, as well as the caregivers at the orphanage to decrease this occurrence in the future. Other medical issues that were noted in the girls as well as the boys were fever, headache, stomach pain, muscle aches, wounds, malnourishment, and scabie-type infections. Just as before, as the children left they were given bottles of both vitamins and worm medication. In addition they were also given a pack of peanut butter crackers, along with additional food for future use, to aid their malnourishment.

The hours that we spent on the road were well worth the nursing care provided to the children of the orphanages. We pray that the care provided will positively influence the future of these children.

Jessica Wells and Charla Burchett

First Day

With the roosters crowing, our team was up and atem at 4 am. With a day full of traveling under our belts complete with delightful delays and airplane peanuts we were ready to get our hands dirty. The truck was loaded down with medical supplies as we made our trip up the 2,100 foot mountain, however, we were on foot. On our trip to the top, physical exhaustion was a reality and it took all we had to reach our destination. The Haitian culture was showcased beautifully as our interpreters encouraged and physically supported us. They sacrificed their own strength in order to help us recognize our own.

Upon reaching our destination, we were met by hundreds of beautiful natives eagerly awaiting our arrival. When we made our way to the church, it was obvious that the village knew we were able to offer them medical services they would never receive otherwise. We hit the ground running and saw over 200 people by the end of the day. The moment we opened, there was a line stretching around the building to be treated for anything from fungal infections to hypertension. It was such a blessing for our team to be able to simply dress a wound or give a common US medication that would change someone's life. Our team was so greatly humbled by the amount of gratitude expressed by the village and it made climbing the mountain worth every moment.

We are looking forward to the rest of the week and the unique experiences it will bring.

Jade Campbell and Sarah Whisman

Blessing of clothes for the community!

I had just been talking to my sister about needing to start a clothing
bank and today a special blessing came our way. We were preparing for
a new team and looked out and saw a group of people looking at our sun
oven. Well not knowing who they might be I went down to speak with
them and found out that they were Haitian people that were born right
here in LaDigue and had came back to visit. They live in Miami,
Florida now. After visiting with them a while they talked about how
much we had changed the looks of the mission and all the work that has
been accomplished here. Then they so kindly began to get some boxes
out of their vehicle offering them to us, and in them were clothes,
toys, shoes, and some hygene items. God is so good always placing people in the right path together. I just want to thank those blessed people for sharing these items with
us. To God be the Glory!!!

Last Day

During our week in Haiti, we have had several first experiences, both medical and personal.
One of the experiences consisted of a few students visiting a patient in a Voodoo House,
whom we have been treating for three days. During this visit we gave IM injections, three
suppositories for fever, and started an IV for fluids and antibiotics. All skills were new
experiences for the students. One of the professors cared for a local pregnant woman who
was suffering from an abruption. It was the professor’s first time performing an ultrasound.
Some students got to go with the patient to St. Mark’s Hospital for an emergency C-section.
Today, we started the day with a hike up Matheux Mountain, over 2,100 feet.
We visited a village full of enthusiastic children, who sang many songs for us, after we gave anti-parasitic medicine to them. We then gave out love bundles to the Lifeline Orphanage, which consisted of over 30 children.
To finish the day, we went snorkeling at Wahoo Bay Resort, in the Caribbean Sea. This was several people’s first time snorkeling. We were rowed out to a coral reef, where
we saw a lot of marine life. Following this, we purchased items from Haitian merchants on the
beach. Overall, our trip has been full of happy memories and experiences that we will never
forget.

Madam Maxwell

Today we experienced another tragedy with the Lifeline family. This morning Madam Maxwell (the mother of one of our translators) was brought into the clinic. She was 37 weeks pregnant and was experiencing heavy bleeding. After she was examined here she was rushed to the hospital in Saint Marc. While at the hospital she had a c-section and this afternoon she delivered a baby boy weighing four pounds. We were overjoyed that everything was ok with the mother and the child. Unfortunately we just received a phone call that this precious baby boy passed away. Please keep Madam Maxwell and her family in your prayers as they go through this tough time.

Filo

The other day we found a very sick woman named Filo at a voodoo house. She was lying on the floor and was completely unresponsive. She was a young woman, only 31. She had a high fever and was laying there lifeless. We immediately brought her back to Lifeline so the nurses could examine her. The right side of her body wasn’t able to move. She was dehydrated. It appeared if she possibly had a stroke and also had pneumonia or something as such, but the nurses weren’t sure. They started an IV on her and gave her antibiotics. By the time she was taken home she seemed to be doing a little bit better. Yesterday we went back to her at the voodoo house and gave her another IV and medicine.

Her fever was gone and she seemed to be doing better. We told her we would come back again today. We went back again today expecting to find her the way we found her the day before but we were in for something different.

As we pulled up to the house we saw candles surrounding her and heard chanting. Donald and one of our interpreters went in first to see if they would stop the ritual so the nurses could help her. As soon as Filo saw Donald she reached for him indicating that she was happy we were there and wanted help. The voodoo priest was resistant at first and had to know that we weren’t trying to be disrespectful but that we were worried about Filo and wanted to help her. They said that an evil spirit was making her sick and they were trying to rid her of it.

Donald asked her husband if we could help and he said yes; so we all walked in. We found her lying flat on a bunch of tobacco leaves and there were candles surrounding her. There was a baby chicken tied to one of the tobacco leaves as part of the ritual. Donald immediately got her on a mattress so she was more comfortable. Filo had another high fever so the nurses gave her a shot of antibiotics called Rocephin and they also crushed up a few ibuprofens and added it to a can of ensure to help strengthen her and give her vitamins and minerals. We were then able to pray with her. We prayed for healing. Please pray with us also. We want to see her well! We believe in the power of a God who heals and we’re not only believing for her healing but for the salvation of the voodoo priest!