July 2-10: Port au Prince (and surrounding areas), Haiti
International Medical Relief Mission Trip
Haiti was an INCREDIBLE life-changing experience and 9 days very well spent. I went with an organization called International Medical Relief, on a team of just under 40, including doctors, dentists, NPs, RNs, and students. It was
amazing to see so many people, both professionals and amateurs, care so much about helping others. It was also awesome to be able to share the experience with Rob, since we share the same major along with an eagerness to see/experience different things. Also, it was great to be together because I think it's hard to describe in words the full effect of this experience to someone who didn't live it. I loved that we go to do it together, and it didn't hurt to have someone to carry much-too-heavy bags for me when I couldn't. ;)
The first two days were the most testing. Even going through customs immediately upon arrival was eye-opening. The airport conditions were poor, to say the least. Customs officers' booths were made of worn down wood. There was no revolving baggage claim, just a giant pile of suitcases for arriving passengers to dig through. There was no air conditioning. And locals on the street were posted up outside the airport fence, staring at us as we walked to the parking lot. Wow. We arrived at the orphanage we were to stay at for the week, unpacked our bags, and sort of got settled. Showers went like this: grab the 5 gallon solar shower bag, walk it across camp to the well, pump water into the bag, walk it back, hang it up, pull the nozzle on at the end of the tube, shower. I didn't get much sleep the first night, and honestly wondered how I was going to get through the week. Little did I know, it would be one of the most rewarding weeks of my life.
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| one of our two buses for the week |
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| bunk room |
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| our cots with bug nets on top... those didn't last long |
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| showers |
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| water well and big black drinking water tanks |
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bunk room on right, common area on left
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As you could guess, the streets of Haiti were a lot different than the states. Most of the roads were gravel, and most of our drives were beautiful. Haiti was green -- long stretches of green fields leading up to green mountains on the horizon -- it was gorgeous!
Time sped up when clinic days got rolling. Every day we took buses to our clinic site, took a little to set everything up, and started seeing patients. Every morning, there were tens, even hundreds of patients already waiting in line at the site before we even arrived! It was humbling to see how needy these nice people were for medical attention. From little babies to senior citizens, we saw people of all ages with all sorts of chief complaints. As a team, we saw a few cases of malaria, lots of patients with worms, kids with ringworm, extracted a LOT of teeth, and performed a handful of surgeries, just to name a small fraction. Here are some pictures from different clinic sites throughout the week.
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| first clinic site |
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| line of patients outside clinic before we even got there |
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| Rob and me at IDP camp (internally displaced persons) |
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| one of my favorite pictures |
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| clinic day 3 exam room |
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| Rob extracting a tooth |
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| Dr. Marks helping me extract a tooth |
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| first time ever doing this! |
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| Assisting Winson, our trauma surgeon, in extracting a lipoma from a woman's armpit area |
During our time there, we saw just under 2000 eager patients. I learned SO much over the week, and am very grateful to have worked with such gracious and patient doctors under the leadership of Karla Prentiss, without whom this trip would not be possible. To me, the fulfillment you get after helping someone better their life is unparalleled and no doubt solidifies my passion for medicine and helping people in need. I think it's one of the best experiences one could have!
We were rewarded with a couple perks during the week. Our second to last night in Haiti, we got to have dinner at the UN. We didn't see anything "official," but it was still cool to have dinner there. The food prepared for us at the orphanage was good all week, but we were all excited to have a classic American meal.
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| Lisa and Karla, our chief nursing officer and team leader. Awesome people! |
Karla had a surprise for us on our last night in Haiti. We got a party at Club Indigo beach resort! It was beautiful and much needed leisure time for us to wind down from a busy week of clinic.
Serving in Haiti was truly one of the best things I could have done with my time this summer. It was humbling, refreshing, and encouraging to see a team of well-accredited people taking time to help brothers and sisters in need. It was an honor to serve with such amazing role models! Hopefully one day I can return to Haiti, or any other country in need of medical attention, and maybe by then I'll have more experience and will be able to offer my skills to help more people.
Visit www.internationalmedicalrelief.org if you're interested in joining a mission or making a donation. Share it with your friends!
