19 Jun
Haiti Last Day
Large balloons with glow lights inside bounced over the heads of the 50 children at Renmen orphanage last night, suspended in the air by little hands reaching for the sky. The courtyard was vibrant with the screams of delight as they ran around hand in hand with the volunteers. Our trips always end with a night at Renmen. Emotions run from great joy while playing with the kids to that sinking feeling of what their lives are like here. They are fed and educated yet we all wonder what life would be like without the constant love of parents. We ended the evening talking with the older kids and hearing their stories and dreams. Ange has graduated from nursing school and is working at St Lukes Hospital, Kerline is graduating from nursing school next week, Luscerme is in her second year of medical school and wants to go into orthopedics, the list goes on and brings a sense of accomplishment that our gift of education to them is paying off in spades. The last few days at he hospital were a challenge for our small team. They showed resilience through the long days, the difficult surgeries, the inadequate equipment all in the midst of the austere environment that working in Haiti provides. Our OR team worked as a team together helping out one another as the stresses of the days increased. They are rock stars and without them nothing we did would have been possible. We performed 22 surgeries on 20 patients most of whom waited 6-8 weeks for us to arrive. The next foreign medical team will return to Haiti in September, a long time to wait for those that will sustain injuries these next 3 months. The orthopedic residents worked with us and were so thank-full for the care and the teaching we provided. They are the real heroes. Our nurse anesthetists brought with them their skills in performing spinal and regional anesthesia (using local anesthetics to block the arms and legs we repaired). They worked closely teaching the Haitian Anesthesiologists who were hungry for the knowledge and skills they learned. Once again, NAVMC has had a substantial impact on the people of Haiti. I will return in 2 weeks to assist in the treatment of Rose’s large wrist tumor and then we as a team will return again in December. I cannot tell you enough how much I appreciate your help. Medical trips are expensive and without the financial support that our donors provide, we would not be able to continue to return.
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19 Jun
Haiti Day #5
Genese’s smile would light up the earth on a cloudy day. She came running up to Dr Hippolyte and me and gave me an embrace that brought tears to my eyes. She lost everything to Hurricane Matthew which ravaged Haiti in October 2016. Hundreds maybe thousands died, including her husband and young child. Her house in Jeremy was destroyed. With multiple injuries, she was the first one flown out of the hurricane theater. Hippolyte repaired most of her fractures but called me in Arizona for help with her severe wrist injury. There is no hand surgeon in Haiti. Genese is the reason that Pete Brainard CRNA and I returned to Haiti shortly after Hurricane Matthew. We repaired her wrist and have taken her to surgery several times since to complete the reconstructions that have given her a functional arm. She is now healed from her injuries. Flagstaff’s own Jake Bacon went on a campaign last week to raise money for Genese to reopen her shop in Jeremy. Today I gave her those funds and we helped her open a bank account. Tomorrow she heads off to Jeremy to start up her new life. She was shaking with excitement as she gave me a departing hug. Paret is 26 and suffered a right lower leg fracture in a motorcycle accident in November 2017. He was one of the lucky ones, his fracture was treated with a metal plate. He was one of the unlucky ones, it became infected. He has a wound that has been draining with infection for 6 months, his fracture unhealed. Lying in bed at the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, he had no real chance of saving his leg. As most Haitians, he has no health insurance and no funds to cover his medical care. Today we removed the infected plate and dead bone, placed a flap of muscle from his lower leg over the exposed bone and have given him his only opportunity to save his leg. I cannot begin to describe his emotions of joy and surprise when we told him we though he would keep his leg. Today we also treated Frantz for a femur fracture from an injury in early April. Both legs were broken but he could only afford to have one fixed, he chose his right leg. He has been waiting for 2 months for a team who would treat his left leg. At 19 he now has both legs repaired and provided they do not become infected, he may be able to find work. Tonight I will sleep in a bunk in a room that has air conditioning with several other volunteers. I will get a reprieve from the 90 degree temps and humidity. The men’s bathroom is across the hall with running water. I will be able to shower in the morning. I have had a nice dinner. The patients’ families will sleep again tonight on the streets inside the hospital. Bless them for the care they provide their loved ones. Thanks for your support. Dr Bull
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13 Jun
Haiti Day #4
Natacha shattered her ankle 2 weeks ago. She has been in a hospital in Port-au-Prince since then lying in bed with 8 other women in the woman’s ward, awaiting our arrival, no finances to afford the repair she needed to allow her to walk again. Here at home, she would have had surgery and been home within a few days. Today she was one of the lucky “chosen ones”. Dr Joe Martin repaired her ankle today and soon she will be home recuperating. Her smile lit up the room after her surgery. Today was a day of reprieve for the volunteers as we began the process of fixing the injuries we have seen at the local hospitals. We began to see the beauty in what we have to offer. We worked with the local Orthopedic Residents who are hungry for the opportunity to do that which they are training to do, care for their fellow Haitians. We were also able to help Jean who is 48 years old and broke his hip in a motorcycle accident. After 6 weeks in bed in traction, he is now fixed and will be up and out of bed tomorrow. Rose can barely lift up her arm anymore as the weight of the tumor in her right arm has grown to the size of a large cantaloupe. She has been seen at several facilities in Haiti and none could help her. The tumor has eaten away one of the bones in her forearm. She lacks the resources to get appropriate care. We have consulted 20 surgeons in the US for this unusual tumor. In three weeks we will return to Haiti with a team from Loma Linda University including an orthopedic tumor specialist. We think we can save her arm. This week we are preparing her for her upcoming surgery on July 6th. The team is tired but excited that we are now focusing on repairing the injuries that we have seen these last few days. Tomorrow we hope will be another day of bringing hope to a few and training those that will continue the work here. I continue to be amazed at the resilience of these people who suffer so much. They are thankful for what we do for them. Your support makes this all possible. Thank you for your help and we will continue to do what we can for these people, “My Brothers, Our Sisters” My Brothers Our Sisters: https://vimeo.com/249315834
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12 Jun
Day #3 in Haiti
Charles’ thigh was crushed in a motorcycle accident 6 months ago. He was able to find the funds to have it fixed then. Six months later he is still in a hospital lying in the men’s ward with 8 others. He has been bedridden since then swatting flies and struggling with the heat and humidity that permeate the room. When family are around, they bring him food. Infection pours out of his leg and the antibiotics he takes when he can afford them do little to turn the tide. He has needed surgery for months but does not have the money to cover the costs of wound debridement and dressings. When we remove the soiled 5 day old dressings, he asks us to save them as he cannot afford new ones. We will bring him to our hospital on Thursday and try to save his leg. We will provide the funds and the supplies that will hopefully bring him back to a productive life for him and his family. Joseph from our own hospital was not so fortunate and he lost his leg today from injuries that could not be treated adequately. We saved his life but he has no real concept of this. Today started with a visit to La Paix hospital in Port-au-Prince, the second facility of two in the country that care for patients without insurance (about 90% of Haitians). During our hospital rounds with the Haitian Orthopedic residents we identified 10 who need immediate surgery, we will be able to help perhaps 4 of them. The rest, the “unchosen” will not get the care they need. Most of them will be crippled, some will lose limbs. We were able today to repair 3 limbs in patients who would not have otherwise received care without our assistance. They will return to normal lives here in Haiti. Toussaint’s thigh fracture was repaired today. He waited 6 weeks for us to come. He now has the opportunity to get out of bed, to walk and to provide for his family. Frantz is 23 years old and has an upper arm fracture that was not healing. We repaired this today and hopefully he will return to work soon. He thanks us for this opportunity… Emotions in our volunteers fluctuate in highs and lows that we rarely experience in our protected lives at home. The contrast of sadness to exhilaration is confusing but at the end of the day I think we find peace in that we are part of something larger; able to help some, to teach others to help many, and to improve the quality of medical care in the midst of an austere environment. With each trip here, I see improvement in quality indicating the progress to which we have contributing. NAVMC is such an important part of the lifeblood of the hospital and the people of Port-au-Prince. We continue to make our mark here thanks to your support. Thank-you Bull Durham
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11 Jun
Day #2 from Bull
When I met Anne in December 2017, she had been in a sling with a functionless and painful arm for four months, her fractured humerus unhealed. She had been in a sling since she had been hit by a car in the streets of Port-au-Prince. She could not afford to see a doctor. She was unable to perform self care due to nerve damage and pain. She awaited our arrival just before Christmas last year. With our financial support, the local Haitian Orthopedic Residents repaired her arm while our team assisted and supplied the equipment required. I saw her today with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes as she showed me her function with her fracture and nerve injury healed. She now has returned to her “normal” life her. Her gratitude brings me to tears. Two hours later I was in rounds with the Orthopedic Residents at the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince where there was no electricity and no air conditioning, temperatures and humidity above 90. One of the wards was home to 8 men with 10 femur fractures lying side by side in cots where they had been for 4-8 weeks, some in traction and others in a variety of splints, all with severe deformities that would leave them crippled. Their families occupy the small space between cots and some have created make-shift shelves for the new family “home” as their loved ones lie in bed hopefully healing. They have no access to resources that would allow the surgical procedures that could make them whole, no hope for return to their life and work unless we the visiting docs can provide it in our short time here. We hope to help 2 or 3 of them. The others we will not have enough time to help. Frantz is one of the lucky ones. The last patient we see has a tumor on his right leg the size of a large pillow. Large enough that he cannot lift his leg. He is in his early twenties and without resources did not seek care until it was too late. He will not survive long. After 9 years of work here in 29 trips to Haiti, I continue to be reminded of the enormity of the issues with the lack of available treatment. Eight young men crippled who may never be able to support their families. Some will be chosen others will not, they are all My Brothers. Without your support, we would not be able to help any, with it we can help a few and train others to help many more. Haiti’s hope is in her children and she has many talented ones that are hungry for knowledge and anxious to make a difference. With love from Haiti Dr Bull
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10 Jun
Day #1 in Haiti
RF is a 23 year old woman with a tumor on her right arm the size of a cantaloupe. She is one of the patients waiting to see us in Haiti this week. I hope we can save her arm. We are now in Haiti with a team of 11 volunteers to treat those who do not have access to medical care and to teach the local physician residents. We carry with us a lot of energy, hope, love and 1100 pounds of supplies. For many this is the first trip and the afternoon was a time for orientation and preparation for the injuries we will see this week. Tomorrows patients sleep tonight on the pavement around the hospital grounds on flattened cardboard boxes and are wrapped up in torn fragments of clothing they have brought with them to ward off the nights cold. For some, tomorrow may be a game changer, a day for which they may have waited months. Thanks for all your support without which we could not accomplish all that we do. I will try to keep updates coming through a Blog on our website as well as through FaceBook.
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