Final Thoughts

As we sit in the Turks and Caicos airport, it is difficult to articulate our experiences from the past week. We learned so many things on so many levels while trying to bridge gaps that were at times very hard to overcome. We were able to assimilate into a culture that we were not familiar with and learned what may be possible; the mind and heart must be open and you must not come to Haiti imposing personal expectations or making any assumptions about the culture.

Working with a people doing its best with what they have (which is not much) was a gift to us. When water and food are limiting factors, delivering health care seemed virtually impossible. Despite these challenges, everyone on our team gave all they had to the patients, family members and our Haitian healthcare counterparts.

We were fortunate to have a great team who grew closer each day and often thanked one another ….just for being together each day…..shoulder to shoulder like the Konbit Sante name. The longterm goal of building a partnership with the Haitian people will continue to be a challenging process. The Konbit Sante staff should not give up their hope for change.

One thing is for certain, we will not take what most consider the little things for granted: toilets that flush, clean water to drink, a place to sleep where you don’t have to worry about cockroaches or rats, a roof over our heads that doesn’t leak (well that part may be a stretch at OA).

In closing, it was a privilege and honor to spend the week with our new friends. Although our hearts were breaking at every turn there were so many moments of happiness and laughter. The smiles from the children were priceless.

And to whoever returns, remember Linda’s words, “underwear is overrated”. There were converters! Immodium is priceless. Remember the 3 oz rule.

Au revoir

OA Haiti Team

Finis

We continue to wonder if our efforts this week have made any difference; perhaps only for the short term, but we are hopeful that if this becomes a long term commitment that over time we can teach the Haitian staff at the Justinian hospital that there are other ways to provide healing. It doesn’t always have to hurt so bad as they go through the healing process.

Matt, Sam, and March took a trip to Milot this morning and visited the hospital, Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart). In some respects it was a bit depressing to realize that the Justinian Hospital has such a long way to go. Sacre Coeur has a charting process and a central supply system; documentation is clear and concise. They have 3 operating rooms with a PACU unit to monitor patients post operatively. In Cap Haitian patients are monitored for a short time outside of the OR and then they are either discharged home or sent back to the surgery ward. Sacre Couer is funded by outside sources (donations from Catholic Churches) while Justinian is a public facility with no funding to speak of. Clearly that makes a huge difference.

Matt returned to assist Dr. Pierre-Louis with an open tibia and fibula fracture on a dancer. She was injured in Port au Prince during the earthquake and originally was placed in an external fixation frame. With clean wounds, she was now ready for internal fixation (plate and screws). Dr. Louis took out bone graft from both hips to put into the fracture site to assist in the healing process. Like most cases here, it was filled with lots of challenges along the way. With no way to take an intraopertive x-ray to confirm adequate alignment, much of what is done is simply guesswork. Linda (aka angel of the OR) now is the person who the staff uses as a resource and she scrubbed the case from afar.

Marietta spent the morning in the wound clinic while Linda and Joanne rounded on the surgery ward changing pretty complicated wounds. Joanne had an interesting experience that she may share when we return home. Nothing today seemed straightforward. Large burns and multiple open lower leg wounds. For some reason it was particularly difficult emotionally.

March attended an English class that was held for the Haitian Physicians. Marietta and Joanne had a shorter day. They each had patients that “sucked them dry” today. They took a stroll to the market after their showers to purchase some items to bring back to family. Don’t worry Juliette we took care of your kids!

We split up for dinner; surgeons went out with the docs from the hospital and the nurses went out to a 'burger joint' with Nate Nickerson. There was a lot of debriefing and discussion about how to make this relationship grow for months and years to come. Konbit is a wonderful organization employing a thoughtful model of collaboration with the Haitien people. We now understand how critical it is for the people of Cap Haitien that this partnership succeed.

Dr Broaddus' Letter Home

Below is a letter from Dr Broaddus sent to the Konbit Sante office giving his perspective of things here in Cap Haitien and at Hospital Justinien.

Dear Wendy,

I’m sorry I haven’t written you sooner but I have been very busy with more clinical work and logistics than during previous trips. Internet connections have also been spotty. I want to give you and Konbit Sante members and supporters some idea of what it has been like here in Cap as the KS surgical team leader, now 4 weeks after the earthquake. These are just a few of my observations, thoughts and opinions; please excuse me if I sound a bit scattered. If you were here, you would understand.

On the surface, Cap Haitien appears similar in appearance and organized chaos to previous trips. Both Nepalese and Chilean UN troops remain encamped in the city, along with Haitien National Police and some US military. There is lots of NGO activity; foreigners coming and going at the Christophe Hotel where we are staying. The Justinien Hospital is busier and the wards are very crowded, particularly the surgical wards,
20 patients tightly packed in large rooms with no privacy. The emergency ward remains hectic; I haven’t seen any ambulances, just private transports. Many of the ward patients have severe orthopedic injuries, fractures and some have significant postoperative wound infections following field surgery in Port au Prince. Dr. Matt Camuso, our orthopedic surgeon from OA Centers for Orthopaedics in Portland, and his 2 assistants, Joanne LeBlanc, RN and Linda Ruterbories, ANP have been partnering with the Haitian orthopedic surgeon Dr. Pierre Louis, and have now completed a number and variety of orthopedic reconstructive surgeries. Matt brought a great deal of orthopedic surgical equipmentdonated by OA and Maine Medical Center and has been integrating this into the OR inventory here. He has been a perfect match for Dr. Pierre Louis; they have both served as military surgeons, Matt’s personality is calm and reassuring, and I predict a long-term relationship. That is what we all need to be thinking about as we transition to the long haul of rehabilitation and reconstruction.

What is becoming very clear to me, particularly as I make rounds here and see the types of surgical cases evolving over the next few weeks to months is that there is no quick “Earthquake Relief.” The visual scenes we all observed in the days after the quake don’t do justice to the protracted nature of recovery in a country like this. There are hungry families here in Cap, there are many internally displaced persons with no place to go, there are so many hundreds, no thousands of people with severe injuries and deformities in a society where even a minor debility can equal a major struggle. Matt, Linda, and Brad Cushing went Monday to a small clinic where 6 paraplegic patients had been sent to help off-load the logjam from the hospital in Milot. What will happen to these patients in a country ill prepared for a natural disaster of this magnitude? What will happen to the 12-year-old boy on the surgical ward, exposed bone with an insensate arm after a crush injury? After his inevitable amputation days or weeks from now, how will he become a productive member of society? What about the woman admitted to the ward today with a fractured femur now a month old and a wound infection that needs debridement, who delivered a newborn baby 2 days ago. What is the future of that child if the mother dies? These are but a few examples that are being repeated in all parts of Haiti in numbers too large for me to get my brain around.

Our 2 wound care nurses from Maine Medical Center have been angels. March Truedsson and Marieta Atienza have been ministering to the worst of the infected wounds with enthusiam, kindness and attentiveness. Patients have responded with smiles and many thanks. Brad Cushing, Chief of Surgery, at Maine Medical Center continues to help us with process and administrative skills that help all of us see the big surgical picture. As many ofresidents from Justinien Hospital in 2008 for 6 weeks each to come to Maine to help them improve their surgical skills. We also brought the Justinien chiefs of Surgery, Anesthesia, and the surgical residency to Maine in 2009. Clearly, we have reconnected with many old friends and there is great hope that despite this great calamity, there will be a new day for Haiti in the future. One of the surgical residents who came to Maine in 2008, Dr. Jerry Bernard, is now a general surgeon at the hospital in Milot. After the quake, his hospital handled several hundred patients airlifted from the quake zone. In speaking to him yesterday, he told me how much his experience in Maine added to his ability to care for injured patients over the last month. So many of the medical residents have lost family members and friends in the quake. Dr. Marie LeConte, the Chief of Anesthesia, told me that everyone she knows has lost a loved one. Sadness permeates our work environment, but what else can you do as a Haitian? “Give up” is not part of the lexicon here.

As for me, I have spent time with the urology residents and nurses trying to maintain some sense of normalcy. Performing some urologic surgery, daily teaching rounds, instruction in ultrasound, PowerPoint presentations about routine urological problems. I think there is something helpful to everyone’s morale with routines and schedules. Everyday sickness and illness have not disappeared among the citizens of Cap Haitien. Men still develop urinary retention, women are still going into labor, children are still getting sick from malaria and childhood diseases. Perhaps, there are more sick people among the populace than before the earthquake; nobody knows. What is different are the increasing numbers of people from the South, from Port au Prince and its surrounding towns, who are now part of the landscape here. How will these people be fed, and clothed and sheltered over the coming months? And what about those closer to Port? Do they return to a city ruined by the quake, with only a hope, and not much more, of rebuilding their homes and shattered lives? And the 12-year-old boy with the big smile but the dead arm. He will haunt me. I try not to think about the big picture too much. This is just the beginning of an arduous road to recovery; Konbit Sante members and supporters need to understand that “Earthquake Relief” is long-term, very long term, not a quick fix “CNN moment.” It will be ongoing, difficult, and complicated for years. It will be easy to get discouraged and depressed about how long this will take.

For me, right now, I need to focus: think about what I can do, think about how I can best use my time and skills. Here now, sitting in the OR at Justinien Hospital in Cap Haitien, Haiti, there are 4 more surgeries this afternoon. Time to get back to work. Time to help. Time to re-focus.

Please convey my appreciation and thanks to our many supporters and donors. Konbit Sante is well respected in Haiti, particularly because so many people, with so many skill sets, are part of our organization. I also want to repeat what many have said before me: Nate Nickerson has worked incredibly hard on our behalf and Haiti’s behalf, particularly since the earthquake. I have seen him in action here and you should all be very proud. There is much work to be done.

My best,

Sam Broaddus, MD

Can We Make A Difference?

The day started with our daily walk to the hospital. We could hear the kids singing from their classrooms. They are impeccably dressed in their uniforms. Each school has a different color uniform. The little girls are adorable. Some of the old local architecture remains, but in very poor condition.

Marietta and March spent the morning in the wound clinic. They saw and treated 25 patients in a half day. Linda and Joanne spent time in the surgical ward changing dressings. It took some negotiating to be allowed to help today. We are only assuming that they are tired of our presence. Our interpreter Eddy had to negotiate our way on to the floor by bringing the director and charge nurse together to discuss the plan. We were not present for the conversation, but we trusted Eddie to make it work. They are in desperate need of our supplies and extra pair of hands, but they are proud people. Every step needs to be taken carefully and thoughtfully to avoid insulting what they do.

Most of the wounds we are dealing with are deep and down to the bone. Again, all of these dressings are changed without any pain medication on board. A 19 month old was being taken care of by her cousin; not sure his age, but he was super attentive. The little girl fell asleep during her dressing change. An 8 year old boy, who we have seen already, needed another dressing change. This time, his cries for Mama were heard as lo and behold she was in the next patient bed beside him. She was not there 2 days ago. Marietta and Joanne were in the wound clinic for a short time in the afternoon when a young man walked in with his arm wrapped in a shirt. He was clearly bleeding. After removing his shirt we discovered several wide and fairly deep lacerations. We promptly began cleaning them out and in conversation through our interpreter we learned that he had been cut by his brother with a machete. This is Haiti…

Joanne and Linda failed to mention that they spent time today around some nasty critters. It started in the AM when they saw their first cockroach. By midday, they had changed dressings with worms and found lice infestations in various crevices. Now they can't stop itching. Linda felt the need to check Joanne for contamination.

Matt spent most of the day with Dr. Pierre-Louis building a relationship as they scoured numerous instruments to prepare for a case tomorrow. They had to use a bolt cutter to get into the orthopedic cabinet that Dr. Pierre-Louis had not used in some time. Surprisingly enough there is a universal language when it comes to orthopedic instrumentation. Matt drew pictures and showed his pictures via laptop of previous cases. All of this without an interpreter. They spent many hours sitting on the floor in the hallway discussing cases.

The team continued their quest for organizing the OR supply rooms and we are pleased to report that we are finally able to walk in the room and fit more than one person at a time. Dr. Marie Laconte seems quite pleased with our efforts. Time will tell if this will last.

Dr. Sam Broaddus spent 3 hours in the operating room removing a kidney from a young boy. (8 or 9) Staff from the OR brought the kidney to the family to show them what had been removed. Sam tells us that this is a practice of showing that the bad spirits have been removed.

As we were leaving the hospital for the day, Joanne gave a young boy a pair of groucho marx glasses. He was accompanied by 2 other young children and several adults. All were waiting for a family member in the OR. The kids burst out laughing and happily shared the glasses. We took great pictures. Nice way to end our day.

Tomorrow we have plans to visit the neighbor hospital in Milo- we hear it is an amazing site. Matt is scheduled to be in the OR around 11am. More wound care and the last bit of sorting through the supplies before we go out to dinner for our last night in Cap Haitian. If we don’t get a chance to check in on Thursday night it is because we are out on the town! Since we have a long day on our return home we will be sure to check in and document our last day.

Love to all

OA Haiti Team

Trying to Make a Dent

A little late with communicating tonight as the internet has been down. The day seemed to be “the usual” if there is such a thing. We all have seemed to settle into routines. Marietta and March made their rounds on the surgical wards taking care of wounds and changing dressings. Marietta dove right in and took care of 2 infections; one was on a breast and the other was on a lower leg cellulitis. She used Qtips to drain out the infection with the hopes that they will seek further medical attention after we are gone. March and Joanne dressed a burn victim. This was her 3^rd dressing change by our group. She seemed pretty comfortable until the final dressing was applied. The only “pain” medicine that these people receive is Ibuprofen. That is just not enough when you have such bad burns.

Matt was in the OR doing a few cases. None were reported to be as difficult as yesterday; 2 hands and one ankle. Dr. Pierre –Louis was very excited to use a powered pin driver as opposed to a hand tool. Matt says the ankle was a one week old fracture/dislocation that went “well”. Actually his words were, “it was good”. For the surgeons back home reading this that must mean it was fine.

Linda was on standby to enter the OR as needed for support. In between she would be in the airless, windowless, supply closet with Joanne as we continued to try and sort through the numerous boxes of donations; some old and some new. Matt joined the organizing team in the closet when he was done for the day and helped to sort through the chaos. The girls did not do a very good job making room for all of the orthopaedic stuff we need space for. They will try harder tomorrow.

We ended our day around 5pm and walked back to the hotel. The scenery is unbelievable. So many sights and smells to experience. Very few people will speak to you as you are walking by unless you say hello first. Joanne likes to do that. No one else does. She hands out gum (they call them chicklets) and they follow her for blocks. We wish she would stop.

We all took great pictures today. Sam, Marietta, Matt and Linda took a walk to the waterfront where we saw the potential for a beautiful landscape and harbor. The reality was far more depressing with dirty ocean water, laden from the unfiltered sewage from the city. Amazingly though, we also saw children walking down the streets studying their schoolwork under the fading light of day, reciting memorized lines from their worn textbooks. It seems that education is the only way out of the poverty that surrounds us.

That’s all for now. Hopefully the internet will be back tomorrow so we can post this update. Love to all.

Pictures

As you can see, we've brought a lot of gear. A total of six bags each weighing about 50 lbs made it difficult to negotiate the airports. The orthopaedic equipment and dressings packed inside will actually get to the people that need them. As a result of the weight, the plane was a bit unbalanced and we had to sit at the front of the aircraft for the trip from Turks. It gave us a great view of the city as we flew in, you can see the town of Cap Haitien at the base of the mountains.

Once here, we ride in the back of the pickup truck if we have to travel anywhere far away. It makes for interesting trips and gives you an up close and personal sense of the surroundings. As dangerous as it looks, it is actually quite safe since you can't drive any faster than around 10 mph on these roads.

Lots more pictures to post, but no more time right now. Will try to post more tonight.

We had a mission

Our assignment for the day via Marie LeConte, anesthesiologist, was to organize their storerooms and unpack all of the supplies they received in donation after the earthquake. We came across boxes from Miami, University of Virginia, and others; they needed to be unpacked and reorganized within small store rooms outside of the OR's. We are in hopes that our efforts today will assist the Justinian operating room in maintaining some semblance of stabilization. 9 hours was spent by Linda and Joanne organizing the soft goods from anesthesia equipment, medications, and I.V. solutions to name a few. U.N. Chilean soldiers came in to take photos of the anesthesia machine and the C-arm to see if they could help repair very necessary equipment to run the operating rooms. For example, the C-arm( portable x-ray machine) has not been working for 6 months.

Marietta and March spent the bulk of their day on the surgical ward again changing dressings. The goal of their day was to better integrate with the nursing staff. They got to meet the ward nurses, the student nurses, and made a connection with the charge nurse. March relays that the singing from family members and people from the community really leaves an impression. They sing religious hymns that are supposed to help the sick.

It was challenging standing by in silence while certain solutions were placed in wounds that we no longer use in the U.S.-knowing that it destroys healthy tissue rather than help it grow. The 2 joined us in the afternoon to pitch in with the organizing of the supply closets. Dr. Cushing and his son Jay were also there throughout the day helping with organizing supplies.

Matt's job today began by unpacking all of the orthopedic equipment that we brought while trying to marry that with other ortho equipment that was sent by other donors. The OR's were ready to go by 9:30am and Matt joined with the local orthopod, Dr. Pierre-Louis to operate on a bad hip fracture. He came out of that one completely drenched. Of course there are no AC's. It is extremely hot and muggy. They were operating on a very small woman. The instrumentation to make way for the prosthesis was medium to large. There was a concern that they would fracture the femur while working, however there was quite a bit of fanfare finding the right size prosthesis; they did!

The next patient for the 2 surgeons to tackle was in a failed rodding of a femur. (all without C-arm/x-ray) The rod came out easily, however the fixation to follow was not as simple. In Matt's words "it would have been difficult even in the best of circumstances". "Ray, this one would have been a good one for you."(you know for him to say this it had to have been difficult) Please note, other entries regarding Matt have been the girls ad libbing...... he's been a good sport.

The rod resulted in plate and screws and because they only have one length screw, they had to cut them all with bolt cutters before they put them in. (Weak armed guys struggle with that!)

Marie, anesthesiologist, wants to open the maternity ward tomorrow so that the orthopedic cases can get done before Matt leaves on Friday. She has asked Linda and Joanne to go over and open up the operating room; now that would be a site since one of us had no idea what they are doing in the OR.....

By 5pm the majority of the team was walking back to the hotel, which takes about 15 minutes of navigating narrow and busy side streets. Several of us (Joanne and Linda) could not find their way alone yet.

It rained so hard last night and the streets were still full of puddles and quite muddy.

Sam Broadus was the diplomat all day long; he supported Matt in the operating room by assisting with translating.

We say goodbye to Brad and Jay Cushing who leave for home tomorrow. Brad is looking forward to returning to work the very next day (not!)

Please note photos are hard to send via this remote area; we think due to their size. Perhaps JP can give us some advice?

We say goodnight for now; time for our 2nd meal of the day. Wishing you sweet dreams.

Love you all!

OA Haiti Team

Integration

We started our day with the entire group making rounds on the ward with the residents and doing a few dressing changes. We saw a 14 year old boy with an upper arm break with exposed bone and not much meat around it for support. Probably will end up with an amputation. Never made a peep during his dressing change and smiled with gratitude when he received a piece of gum. (compliments of Joanne). The team then split up for the day. March, Marietta, and Joanne stayed on the ward to help with dressing changes and tried to integrate with the staff. Patients were very grateful to have us there with our bags of supplies. We saw things that you would never see on a regular floor back in the U.S. Very open wounds and exposed tendons and bones. 2 really bad burns that we had to change. The pain for them was almost unbearable, as you can imagine without any medicine on board. Once completed they all said thank you and were happily strolling the ward proud of their new dressings. We left their feeling accomplished that we had contributed to the effort of healing today.

Matt,Linda, Brad, and Jay (who turned 18 years old today in Haiti), took a trip to UK Baptist hospital outside of Milo to see 6 quadriplegic patients who had been transferred their for "rehab" from Milo. The original intent of this new facility before the earthquake was pediatrics and maternity. In light of the recent events they had to change their mission. 2 british nurses are caring for the quadriplegic patients with large traumatic wounds; none of them will ever walk again. We may have to return their to close some of the wounds; if so, we will make a makeshift operating room out of one of their rooms.

The team then returned to Justinian hospital to meet with the orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Pierre-Louis to round on all of the orthepedic patients. The team is trying to build a relationship between Haitian and American orthopedic surgeons in the hopes of building a lasting program. It is sensitive ground and Matt carefully crafted his words so that it was truly a collaboration between 2 specialists with very different backgrounds. Matt made it clear that we are here to learn from them and help them build a sustainable orthopaedic program and system.

As a result of the rounds today there are 12 patients on the list for the OR rooms this week.

We have a good plan for the next few days and hope to continue making progress. We are now being called to dinner, which is very important since there is no lunch. This is difficult for some of us. No names need to be mentioned.....

Our plan is to attach some pictures over the next day or two.

Again, love to all.

With spirit, The OA Haiti Team.

First Impressions

After trucking our luggage down 3 flights of stairs, Adrianne, our driver, promptly arrived at 6:30am to bring us to the Turks airport. He waited for us so we could eat our breakfast. Interesting to eat cereal with warm milk. The label on the box said "longlasting". Tasted fine. No stomach issues reported yet. He was so polite and efficient with our transportation plans. The first glitch of the day was when Adrianne politely handed Matt his cell phone, of which he had left in the van.

The flight to Haiti was beautiful-small puddle jumper of which we took pictures of the propellers. Clear skies and blue water.

It is hard to come up with the right words to describe the city as we drove through it to our hotel. Eddie was our driver and translater. We waited on the back of a small pick up truck with all of our luggage for a while outside of the airport. The children were gathered around begging. Joanne graciously gave them each a piece of gum. That probably wasn't the smartest move right out of the gate. Dr. Sam Broaddus advised that she needed to "steal her herself girl" as it would be the first of many instances. Without him being there to negotiate our way out of the airport with all of our luggage in tact, Matt assured us he would never have been able to do it.

The poverty and streets lined with people was overwhelming. It is unbelievable that they can get up each day and live like they do. They are all impeccably dressed, very proud, and very gracious. There does not seem to be any violence to speak of. Hard to believe considering their situation.

Our hotel accomodations were above and beyond expectations. Konbit Sante really has their act together. They have made major in roads within this community, but it has taken a long time. They have the political savvy and know how.

We then left for Justinian hospital in the back of the same pick up truck with Eddy our driver/interpretor. Got a tour of the "campus" by Nate Nickerson. We received a history of the hospital and how we could acclimate to their culture and medicine in our short week here. We learned very quickly that the most important thing to do was to work in such a way that was accepted and then respected. We could not expect to come in and take over.

Dr. Coq, medical director of the hospital, also met with us to extend his gratitude for our presence and extended his gratitude and appreciation for what Dr. Broaddus, Nate Nickerson, and Cushing have done for their community. We also met with Dr. Pierre-Louis who is the orthopedic surgeon here. He seemed excited to chat with Matt about some difficult cases he has been dealing with, including trying to save limbs rather than amputate.

March and Marietta, our wound care nurses from MMC, had already acclimated to their roles after being here only one full day. We got to see them in action taking down a dressing and very carefully and graciously negotiating with the intern the best way to debride and redress the wound. Language barrier and medicine differences will most certainly be a limiting factor throughout our stay.

Family members are at the bedside and they are integral in the care of the patients, including going out to purchase I.V. fluids, pillows, and medicine. Unbelievable. They are also responsible for their family/patient's nutrition. There is no food service for patients or for health care workers. If someone is alone, then the residents pool their own salary to buy food for the patients. They make $200/month and have not been paid since September. Many of them have lost their families from the earthquake, so any funding they did have is now gone.

So, after the tour of the surgical and medical wards, we then got to see the operating room facility. There are 2 functioning OR's with one minor procedure room. Maria is the head anesthesiologist who was so grateful when we gave her a full suitcase of medicines and surgical supplies. These were promptly put into their storage closet along with many other supply donations they have received since the quake. Maria assured us that she inventories all items in these closets, but it is lacking in organization. Here comes Linda........ We have politely offered our service of organizing their surgical supplies and will do only with the Head OR nurse's approval when she is back on Monday.

Matt was asked to assist with a below the knee amputation. Linda was right there circulating and assessing what was available and what was immediately evident that they needed. Joanne was in the corner, not sure about how things would go seeing an amputation, but transcribed items along the way in the hopes that who ever returns here can bring them back. For example, there was no Gigli Saw so Matt had to use a hand saw to cut through the bone. Dr. Cushing's son Jay, who is an 18 year old senior at Cape Elizabeth was right there with us observing, however, he did get a bit green/gray, but pulled through in the end like only a Cushing could do.

Plan for tomorrow is that Brad Cushing and Matt Camuso will do rounds on the surgical floor with the residents and accompanying nursing staff-us. It will give us a better idea of what needs to be done in the coming week.

We are sitting in the lobby of our hotel drinking much deserved Presidente. Waiting for our meal to arrive. Long and tiring day, however the words to describe the experience is difficult to come up with.

We leave you with our goodnights and know that we are all safe and honored to be here. Our first lesson for evening activities is no citrus lotion- the bugs are loving us!

One last thing, Matt really did finally lose his cell phone, but we are confident that we know where it is and will promptly retrieve in the am.

Love you all!!

Travel Day

Arrived at OA @ 5:30 to pick up supplies....six bags totaling 300 lbs. Driver was the greatest, Matt Leblanc. After some shuffling to equalize the weight U.S. Airways allowed us to bring all bags for free to support the Haiti endeavor. Flight was smooth from Portland to Charlotte, with one exception.... Linda dropped all of her important documents in the Portland Jetport and only discovered it upon entering the gate to board the plane. Phew! We dodged that one.

Joanne has started a forget list. First being her phone charger. Had to purchase one when we arrived in Charlotte. Matt is traveling light with one pair of pants, but he's able to carry a lot of bags. We are now seeing him in the only "outfit" for the week.

On the way to Charlotte, Linda sat next to a woman from Arthrex, one of the companies who donated pins and fiberwire suture. When Linda explained that we were worried that we were not going to be able to help enough, Betsy replied " If you hold someone's hand it will be enough". So true.

Joanne gave blog information to anyone who would listen. We hope you are reading about our journey.

Matt was approached in the bathroom while doing his business and was asked if he was going to Haiti. Another past patient of OA approached us and asked about our trip too. Somehow people just knew.

Konbit Sante has really treated us well and so far our trip has been flawless.

We are here safe and toasting to all of you from and Turks and Caicos!!

Hi to all of our children, spouses, and even the ex!!! Love you!!

Final Preparations

Matt spent the day in the operating room and gathered supplies along the way. We are up to 9 bags weighing 40-50lbs a piece. 3 are already in Haiti. 6 will be left to the OA team to transport. We hear that Matt's bag of supplies from MMC will be way too heavy, but it's all good. The girls will make him carry it. :)
Linda spent the day with Lori B down in Boston getting her passport updated. Talk about cutting it close. While there they made use of their time and updated our AAAHC policy manual. Way to go girls!
Joanne recruited Lyle to help finish the final packing. Thank you to all the donations that came in. Last minute from Bob Crozier who gave us 30lbs of operating room hardware. (for those non medical folk that means equipment to fix the broken bones-kind of essential for an orthopaedic surgeon)
Many words of wisdom and good thoughts were extended throughout the week.
We hope to update you all on when we arrive at our first destination tomorrow night. Just so everyone knows we made it safe.

Getting Started on our Journey

Hello All,
We have had so many people asking us to journal our trip and to take lots of pictures while Matt, Linda, and Joanne are in Haiti, that we decided to create our own blog so we can document our experience along the way.
John Wipfler, OA's CEO had a vision for our organization's surgeons and staff to utilize their expertise in the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. After a few phone calls, emails, and a meeting to get this underway, OA agreed to commit some surgeons and staff to travel down with Konbit Sante, a well established group in Portland headed by Dr. Sam Broadus.
And so it began....... Linda and Joanne went to Intermed to begin the process of the required immunizations, still not really knowing when and who would be needed to go. Linda called Joanne and Dr. Camuso the very next day, Saturday, January 30 to tell them it was a go. Plane tickets were purchased that day.
Throughout the week we have gathered and packed supplies to take with us. As we speak the 3 of us have 6 bags of surgical and casting supplies packed and ready to go. We have talked alot about what personal items we should bring to get us by for the week. Joanne insists on bringing her really good face cream as her only luxury! Linda has insisted that underwear is overrated...
While Matt..... well, he's just going to show up on flight day with his head in the game ready for whatever.
We leave this Friday morning out of Portland and land in Turks and Caicos at 2:30p. We spend one over night there and then are going to be taken to Cap Haitian the next morning to start our work.... what that will be time will tell. Stay tuned for more details along the way. Thanks to everyone who have sent their well wishes.

Initial Blog Test

This is a test to see how the OA Haiti Team blog appears on the web.