Haiti Wrap up…for now

Most of the team are still in Haiti, seeing children in 5 more clinics and working at the orphanage washing clothes, doing construction and caring for the 46 children that we have there. I had to return to give some scheduled lectures at the medical school where I teach the Ethics and Humanism curriculum.  The picture above is of  some of the orphans that I saw before I left Haiti yesterday. They are a little sicker than the other children we saw, but should do well.

We did what we came there to do: cholera education, nutritional assessment and rescue, and physical exams.  We will have seen over 1600 children by the time the rest of the team leaves. Interesting how we go with expectations of things gone sour due to the cholera and come back with satisfaction knowing that all the preparation, intervention and implementation of the prevention and education programs we put in place worked. I’ve been one for cauti0n over confidence. We were cautious in what we did, never getting too righteous about what we did. What was striking was the humility that each team member had. Too many times I’ve seen superiority complexes glazed in a thin veneer of concern. Not this team: Kelly, Michael, Tanner, Dave, Danielle, Allison, Annelyssa, Thelma, Michelle, Trisha, Lon, Deanna, Anne and Yolie.  Each had a pervasive concern for human welfare. So does MoM and Medical Mercy. Things will move slowly in Haiti as it does in many countries that suffer a poor infrastructure, a government that is far from stable and a physical country that is broken. I expect it to be many many years before we see significant changes overall. But…and this is the “but” that will make you smile. Our MoM children are far from that stagnant recovery. They are progressing at a fast rate, remaining healthy and growing. A few are outside the norm, but we identified them, and began efforts to begin moving them into the fold.

We’ll go back. Not right away, but sometime.We’re headed to Ethiopia and Bangladesh later on this year.  In the meantime, we’ve achieved a sense of “sustainability” of the medical care that the children need, the nutritional support they need, and the cholera education and prevention that they need.  Sustainability. Leaving in place a process that insures a long and healthy life, physically and spiritually. And so it ends, for now.

In all things give thanks,

David

Haiti Day 5

Just when you think all is well, something grabs your attention and you realize there is trouble out there. Today got my attention. We went to 2 projects, both on the way towards the border with the Dominican Republic, seeing about 200 children. Yesterday was easy. No drama, no significant illnesses, no attention grabbers. Today we saw sick children and it got my attention. Not many malnourished children, but more with chronic illnesses. I thought we had those children under control. Not so. There is a new wave of illnesses that have cropped up and we attacked them. Skin infections, pneumonia, and pustules. Did we miss something a year ago? No. Illnesses happens in some places more than others. That's why we go back again and again to make sure we're doing what needs to be done. The great majority of the children are doing well as you can see from the picture above. The thumbs up sign. But the child in the picture below is one of several that we spent time with. Medical Mercy does what it does because of these children. They got our attention today. We dealt with it and gave them a chance to live a better life. Trouble. Not anymore.

In all things give thanks,
David
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Haiti Day 4

You would think that there would always be something dramatic to write about, some miracle story, or a child who stood out because of some special need or story. The truth is, it's not always the case. Today was one of those days. (Well, except for one child. More on that later.) Two projects, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and a total of 180 children seen. No drama, no issues. Just a lot of beautiful children and a lot of love. So there is not much to report really. And that is just fine, isn't it? Having 180 healthy children, with only 2 under the age of 5 years moderately malnourished, no cholera, all smiling and playing is alright. It means that what MoM and Medical Mercy are doing for these children is working: spiritual teaching, education, preventative medicine and assured physical growth.

And now about that child. Dr. Dave a physician who came with us on this trip saw his last patient who wasn't a MoM child but a child of a MoM worker in the project. This young child has cerebral palsy and was already showing signs of significant arm and leg stiffness. He explained in gentle terms to the mother the reason why the child was like this and followed with genuinely compassionate words of encouragement and support for the mother. God's love for all regardless of who or what they are was his message and how blessed that child was to have a loving mother like her. It struck me that those words are the words that our God speaks to us: He loves us unconditionally with compassion and grace. And so when I reflect back on today and see how the children of MoM are doing I realize it's because of that unconditional love. From Him and us. It was a good day you see. Unconditionally loved and blessed. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

In all things give thanks,
David



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Haiti Day 3

The filth is overwhelming. The stagnant water, algae and garbage filled, surrounds the children. They live in it, play in it, and sleep in it. I wonder how they make it from day to day. From the picture above with the team at today's project, you can see what I'm talking about. I've been here 4 times in the past 15 months and it hasn't changed but the children have. With our aggressive cholera education and prevention program, we saw only a handful of children who had had cholera and did well, and saw no active cases. Our quick response and initiative paid off.

And what a difference food makes. A few calories, a little protein, carbohydrates and unsaturated fats, gives a child an opportunity to grow and live. That's what we've been seeing. Well fed children. A testimony to the MoM program of feeding children in the projects at least once a week if not more. I expected no less since we were aggressive last year in pushing nutrition as a priority.

That is not to say that we didn't see any children who were malnourished. We did. Not many though. The picture above is of a 4 year old boy who we identified today with our rapid nutritional assessment program and started him on the nutritional rescue program. Medika Mamba and of course vitamins.

We came, saw, treated, prayed, and loved. We ran 3 parallel tracts as planned: cholera education, nutritional assessment and rescue and physical exams. We had pharmacy running too as well as a streamlined registration process. All for the children. We are blessed to be where we and to do what we do. I hope that the children whom we saw today, will one day do the same for others. Our God has asked that of us. To be servants to others. He's asked that of me and I'm happy to be doing so. Today, tomorrow and always.

In all things give thanks,
David
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Haiti Day 2

He is 11 years old. Short, skinny, eyes that see little and withdrawn. He looks like he's 7. He is what we call stunted. Malnourished during the most important growing years, 6 months to 5 years. No chance now to catch up, no chance to make up the difference. What we could do is give him some high caloric Medika Mamba and hope he gains weight, feel better, and feel like a person again. Severe malnutrition does that to children. We have an aggressive program to prevent that in our children 5 years and younger and it is simply giving a balanced meal to the children each time they come to the project. Since we started this last year, the number of moderately or severely malnourished children under the age of 6 years has dropped significantly. We've identified just a handful out of the 226 children we saw yesterday.

We traveled a quarter of a mile up a river wash to get to a project, saw patients in the rain, and served those who came to see us. The team is doing well. Dave, Lon, Tanner, Michael, Kelly, Thelma, Allison, Annelyssa, Michelle, Deanna, Danielle, Yolie, Trisha, and Anne are serving. We're finished in Limbe and headed to Cap Haitien. The cholera is well controlled in our projects thanks to the program we put in place a few months ago when cholera hit. We are re-educating and reinforcing the information in each project. The nutritional assessment and rescue program is working and we are training key members of our projects to continue the assessment and treatment of the malnourished children we identified. Serving. It's a wonderful feeling. I wouldn't want to be without it.

In all things give thanks,
David
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Haiti Day 1

With considerable effort, the twin engine 30 passenger plane lifted off the runway in Fort Lauderdale. Fully loaded, and short on fuel. One sacrifices fuel for passengers and baggage. That's the law of lift and weight in an airplane. We landed an hour later on a small island in the Bahamas to refuel and made our way to Cap Haitian. 3 hours later we were at our first clinic and in 2.5 hours saw 108 children, did physicals on them all, nutritional assessments, identified those who were moderately or severely malnourished, did cholera education, gave out vitamins, de-worming meds and other medications and finished up the day. It's all good. We saw some wonderful smiles, some very malnourished children and a community of children who loved being loved on and cared about. There is nothing more satisfying than doing what God tells us to do and we did that today. Sleep is calling. He is calling. I'll answer to both.

In all things give thanks,
David
David H. Beyda, MD
Medical Director
Medical Mercy
Mission of Mercy-"One child Matters"
www.medicalmercy.blogspot.com
www.medicalmercy.com
cell: 602 228 8983

Haiti: Again…

It’s an odd thing getting a glimpse of something you know well from a time somewhere in the distant past. That distant past for me was 32 years ago, when I spent several months in a refugee camp in Cambodia as medical director of pediatrics. I was a senior resident in pediatrics and had 6 months to go before I started my fellowship in critical care at Johns Hopkins. And here I was in Cambodia. How I got there, and how I got to finish my residency in a refugee camp is a whole different story. But happen it did.

I look more or less the same after 32 years (“more” round, and “less” hair), and have been traveling the world doing third world medicine ever since. But what does all that have to do with the fact that tomorrow, a team of 14 of us leave for Haiti? Again? It’s the cholera thing. We had 2 epidemics in the Cambodian refugee camp while I was there: measles and cholera. I actually got measles encephalitis and was evacuated to Bangkok where I was in the  ICU for a week, comatose with cerebral measles. I woke up, had lost 15 pounds (it’s all back now thank you very much), and went right back to the refugee camp to keep working. That aside, it was the deaths that we saw. On day one of the refugee camp opening (around Christmas day 1980), I lost over 100 children. Every day was the same as waves and waves of refugees came over a mountain range being chased by communist insurgents. It finally slowed down, then the epidemics hit. Measles first. Hundreds of deaths from measles pneumonia, never seen here in the US. Then it was the cholera. Close quarters, hygiene issues (150,000 refugees cramped into about 10 acres), and poor control. I learned about cholera quickly, and how to treat it. I’ve never had to use that knowledge again until a few months ago. Haiti brought back the memories. The glimpses of those times, offer a valuable reminder that things sometimes don’t change. Poor sanitation, hygiene and dirty water, brings cholera to the forefront and with it its devastation. And that’s why we’re going. After my assessment trip a few weeks ago, it became clear that we needed to go back and reinforce the education and prevention programs we put into place. We’ll be doing that, examining all the children again, and doing a nutritional assessment on all of them. We’ll put those who are moderately or severely malnourished into a comprehensive nutritional ruse program using Medika Mamba (a peanut butter paste). We’ll go to 15 projects and see about 1700 children.

Glimpsing the past does change the way you look at things in the present. I know what needs to be done. I’ve seen it and have lived it. The team is ready, and we are off to face the battle. Bring it!

In all things give thanks,

David