9 Jul
Today has been a day of rest and unrest. We are safe in the compound around Adventiste Hospital resting after a long and stressful day yesterday. The streets of Port-au-Prince are filled with burning tires and the air is black over the city. In the distance we can hear occasional gunfire and protesters screaming. A fuel price hike has sent some of the people to the streets in protest. Internet is spotty and we are not getting much information. All flights out of Port-au-Prince were cancelled today as the violence shut down the airport. There has been no threat to us and I don’t expect any. Our patients are recovering well and thankful for what we have done for them. Today they begin their return to their normal lives. Rose was very anxious to see pictures of the tumor we removed from her arm. She is glad to be rid of it having carried it around for two and a half years. Love Daly is in some pain after her surgery but grateful nonetheless for her new leg. I am thank-full it is over and ready to return home. Tomorrow I am hopeful we can get to the airport and head home. Thanks again for your support. Love from Haiti. Dr Bull
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At eight o’clock tonight, Rose was wheeled out of the operating room, tumor-less. It took us 8 to 9 hours to complete the surgery. As far as we can tell, we removed all the tumor and if so she has the chance to have a functional arm for the rest of her life. She wants to be a nurse and perhaps now that will be possible. She still has a long recovery ahead of her. It will be 6-9 months of healing and rehabilitation. She is resting tonight in her bed. Her husband waited patiently for the entire procedure and her three-year-old daughter was with her grandmother. All were relieved when it was over. While Dr Zuckerman and I were in surgery, Drs Hippolyte and Nelson completed to surgery on Love Daly, rebreaking her leg and reassembling it to its normal length and shape. She will be able to walk again in the next few days. It has been a long 3 months for this young girl who orphaned, lives with a friend of the family. She also now begins the road to recovery. At 15 years old, she is in the third grade and looks forward to returning to school. I sit in wonder at the remarkable gift that we can to offer these patients. Our support from home is critical in providing not only the funding for these cases but also the moral strength to do the work. We are an eclectic group from different parts of the country with very different backgrounds and skills assembled here for a short but very important job. It is only through your help that we can do this. Thank-you. With Love from Haiti Bull Durham
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