Eye Openers

Our morning started out cheerful. We had good conversation, some laughs, and a nice little breakfast. As we hear Rene try to start the truck we prayed it would turn over and get going, finally it did and it was great to hear the rumble of the extended cab duly truck. We all piled in with our water, sunscreen and bug spray for a day of much traveling and experiencing.
Our first stop was back at Wislet to drop off a bag of clothes that did not make it into the truck yesterday. Patty went in by herself to make it quick and while we waited in the truck Kemsliy came over to say hello to us. He had such a big smile on his face, I am guessing from the joy of seeing us another day. With the clothes dropped off we headed to our next destination, Grace Hospital.
In all honesty I do not remember much of the ride to the hospital, I was so impacted by the experience there that the drive over has become a bit of a blur. I remember seeing great big fancy houses and then complete rubble and tents (if you could call them that) set up in large clusters all packed close together.
To enter the hospital we had to have an armed guard open the gate for us and once inside we searched for Mr. Robinson. From the beginning you could tell he was such a wonderful and appreciative person. We began our tour with the section of the hospital that was devastated by the quake. I do not say devastated lightly as it was the most eye opening experience. Concrete crumbled up, pictures, papers, plaques, toys, and gravel dust all over the floors. Just on the other side people’s homes opened up and exposed. The quake was in January, it is now six months later and things are still just as they were when the quake first hit. Here we are physically walking through a building that was impacted. Part of the facility actually shifted and moved just two weeks ago.
We were able to see the lab where the staff uses microscopes to look at blood samples on slides, determining if a patient is positive for TB or HIV/AIDS. The women were so appreciative to have us there; to even fathom how they would be thankful to us is hard to put into words. The work this group of individuals does at this hospital is amazing, they even have a counselor on staff for when a patient is informed that they are HIV positive and needs help getting through receiving such horrible news. The patients waiting for HIV treatment or testing are outside in tents. I could go on and on just describing the one building but I will move on to the second building across the street that we visited.
The building the hospital has across the street is where their surgeries are performed; this building was untouched by the quake. Yes, equipment fell and things inside were disturbed but the building itself looks magnificent. Here we witnessed patients waiting to be seen for optical needs, glasses, cataracts, and glaucoma. If you ever start to get frustrated waiting for the eye doctor or doctor please just think of these individuals sitting in a room with hard chairs lined up row by row, only an overhead fan on and the heat of Haiti while they wait for their name to be called, both young and old all waiting. Mr. Robinson told us they are in desperate need of reading glasses and medicated eye drops.
Continuing on we saw the exam rooms, which were actually air conditioned and must be a nice break for the patient. We were able to talk to one of the optimologists that was with a patient and he too was so grateful to us. Mr. Robinson told us that they can see up to 80 patients a day and give out up to 50 eye glasses a day! From there we were able to see the surgery area and there were some patients on beds recovering. The doctor there informed us that her and her team can perform up to 10 surgeries a day and they do surgery 3 days a week. Amazing, absolutely amazing! Plus, they are hoping to get other optimologists to come and help educate individuals and promote their services in hopes of reaching out to the community and helping those in need that may not yet feel comfortable coming for it.
Next we moved on to the pediatric area. The amount of individuals sitting in one room and the lack of crying and complaining was just absolutely amazing. It was great to see so many people there receiving the help and check-ups that they need. At the same time it was sad to see so many people waiting patiently in the dire heat to be helped.
Our final stop was to see the six children the hospital cares for that are orphans and have nowhere to go. Prior to the quake the hospital had over 30 children and all those with families were sent home with their families. These six children were just amazing, they all have some sort of special need or are malnourished and much smaller than what they should be for their age. We all had fun giving them beanie babies, puppets and just tickling and playing with them. One girl with epilepsy was just so animated and happy; she insisted on knowing all or our names and told Bridgett she wanted a coloring book, crayons, and a doll. We were able to provide all but the doll and she was just so thrilled and did such a wonderful job coloring (in the lines!) in her new book. The one child that touched my heart the most was one that did not move or speak. This child had been dropped off at the door of the hospital with a hole in his head. He has neurological damage and they are not sure what else, he has never spoken and does not move on his own. To just touch him and feel the innocence of this sweet child, to then have him turn his head toward you when you stop is just amazing. I am glad that the hospital will not adopt out these children, they take such good care of these kids and have such a strong connection with them they are in the right place to be loved. We parted by leaving more coloring books, beanie babies, puppets, reading books (in both English and Creole!) for the teacher, and of course candy for the kids.
After such an emotional endeavor we headed off to lunch at Epi D'or. What a treat, pizza, chicken tenders, fries, cold coke, air conditioning, and desserts! This was a great way to recharge and recoup before heading on the Port Au Prince tour.
On the way to Port Au Prince we were all treated to an experience of chicken on the streets of Haiti. One small little road was lined with cars parked to the right, a big pile of rubble still left and a Mercedes just left off the curb and blocking ½ the road – right by a light pole. This little car in oncoming traffic decided he could come before us and refused to back up; we had a line of cars behind us and he had none but still refused to back up. So, after much heated conversation between the other driver and our drivers Frenzy got out to direct him through. Rene moved over as much as he could, the other car made it through and then we ended up stuck with the abandoned car, the light pole, the pile of rubble and a wall. Yes, abandoned, the truck would not start again after being turned off. After many attempts at turning the steering wheel it was determined the car had to be moved. Rene, Frenzy and Ethan all got out of the truck to attempt to move the Mercedes, no luck. FINALLY the driver of the Mercedes showed up and moved the car. While that helped we still had the light pole directly in front of us with a dead engine. So, the boys decided to push the truck and this time they received some Haitian help. With a little muscle they got us unstuck and a few of us started jumping on the truck from the back. Well, remember how I said the engine was dead, we were also on a hill so Rene let it go, popped the clutch and got her going. However, those of us jumping in the back got a little joy ride!
After that excitement we made it into Port Au Prince and took in so much. It looks just like the pictures but to see mattresses, tables, and office chairs crushed between layers of concrete in person, with the heat, the people and the smells is something that just cannot be explained or shown. The capital building lawn is still kept up and yet just across the street is a tent city with children, masses of people and tent after tent just on top of each other. It is amazing to see how one house or business will be fine and untouched and another is nothing but rubble. After thinking you have seen the worst you could see we were at the port and the site was just sad and eye opening. The mud, garbage, masses of tents and shacks all in one area was something.
It was a tough day; we experienced all sorts of emotions and saw so many different things. Rene is an awesome driver and not once bumped or rubbed up against another vehicle, and put up with our efforts to buy a fan to replace the one that shorted itself out. Frenzy is a wonderful person and we are pretty sure gives us the polite version of what some Haitians say to us. Ethan helped get us out of our jam and took a few of us across the street to get a closer look at the capitol building. Andy helped educate us and helped us communicate with the children at the hospital. For having 9 women together on a mission we ended up with a great group of protectors.
Thank you to everyone at home for your thoughts and please continue keeping us in your thoughts.
Ruth