Extremes...

One of the big reasons that Kathleen and I ended up in Haiti was because there was a missionary doctor here that I would be able work with and gain some medical perspective. So Global Partners told me that Dr. Kris works in a clinic but there wasn’t a huge focus on medicine. We still came because God just worked it out and I was just open to any medical experience that I could get. I prayed that God would use whatever or however much medicine I got to see to develop a heart for patients without the distractions of also being in medical school or in residency. Little did I know what I would encounter. Last week and this week the Haitian doctor who is doing his year of service for Haiti has been gone. So Dr. Kris and I have been “on call" for anything exciting and we have had extended clinic hours in the morning. To tell the truth, I have rather enjoyed this! Yes I have had less time with my beautiful wife and less time to study my Kreole (which I need to do still ;) but it has been worth it. Last week I saw a two baby boys be born – one on Thursday and one on Friday. Yesterday I saw a baby girl be born. I have taken a slightly different view with each one from just watching to holding the soon to be mothers hand and telling her to PUSH. All very educational. Kris has been an excellent teacher of telling me what to do and what is going on. Personally after these experiences I am more than happy to be a man!!! These women are amazing. They walk into the clinic ready for action, hop on the table (sometimes in very different positions), clench their teeth, grunt, and get through it with no meds, no running water, and little TLC from the nurses. This just isn’t the most tender or caring culture, they are more focused on survival than comfort. So let’s just say that Kris and I have been busy in the clinic while Kathleen has been doing a great job of supervising the education of the two young minds of Eli and Anna. Besides just seeing a lot of patients I have had the opportunity to see several things I just don’t know if I would have seen in such a short amount of time. I have seen the joyous events of three births with moms and babes surviving, but I have also seen the heartbreaking conversation of telling two women they are HIV positive, one of which was pregnant. Tuesday we told pregnant woman she was HIV positive, we delivered the baby girl after several hours of pushing, and got called back down to the hospital for a motorcycle accident. There was one man with huge lump right below his right eye that we sent to Cap Haitian for an X-ray, another man with a hole in his ear lobe, a bummed knee, and several lacerations that needed stitches, and then there was a baby. The baby that was riding inbetween the men on the motorcycle was sleeping soundly in the mothers arms when we got there and all he had was the tiniest knick on his chin that wasn’t even bleeding! Praise God for protecting the little guy. It was a crazy day! I have learned so much here and am so thankful to all of you reading this for allowing God to work in my life through medicine. I am praying that the loving and caring of people will continue to come into focus over the next seven months. It is great to follow a doctor who is a good/patient teacher and wants me to do more than observe. But nothing can beat how thankful I am for having a wife that helps me to process the experiences we have here in Haiti. Thanks for reading :) Have a great day.