3/19/10
As I write this we are en route back home to Grand Rapids courtesy of the Whirlpool Corporate Jet. That fact alone is no small achievement today as the drive from Double Harvest to the airport was interesting. The rainy season seems to have begun in Haiti and about 100 yards from leaving the gates of Double Harvest we were promptly stuck in the mud! This happened a few more times but fortunately we had another truck nearby carrying our luggage that repeatedly hauled us out as needed.
While we did not see Team 8 at the airport we know that they promptly unloaded and headed off to Double Harvest.
Hopefully in a vehicle with 4 wheel drive!! They should be busy as our census became progressively more complex as the week went on. There are plenty of patients we left that will need further care in the next few days.
Due in large part to C- arm, a fracture table and a committed presence Double Harvest has earned the reputation of being very capable of managing difficult Orthopaedic problems that others in Haiti simply can not do. It is now somewhat of a referral center as several clinics were sending us Orthopaedic surgical cases by the end of the week. We did the very best we could with what we had and, I hope, helped many patients.
We had a great team! Sharon W. And Sharon F. worked so hard all week in the PACU. Sher and Bev filled many roles and did whatever was needed to be done without complaint. They are all a credit to nurses everywhere. Brent and Matt also wore many hats. They were indispensable in the clinic, the PACU and the Operating Room Paul and Honorio kept people comfortable and asleep while Gene and Mary ran the Operating Room’s flawlessly. Mark and I had it easy working with this team. I am very proud to count them all as friends.
The disparity from the world and people we just left to the lives we are returning to is unsettling. We are blessed with so much at home that one easily loses perspective. This trip has helped to refocus and serves as a reminder of that which is truly important and essential.
I am very proud to have been part of a larger group of individuals from West Michigan fulfilling the responsibility to help those who are in such desperate need. In the garage/patient ward at Double Harvest remains the message “Grand Rapids was Here” written in chalk on the wall. That is a testament to those who came before and established our collective presence and a calling to continue to give freely of our time and capabilities.
Pete Theut.
