Saturday and Sunday were both busy days for us. We have a full census with 3 patients overflowed into the garage. I’m very proud of everyones efforts, and we do believe that we are making a difference. Some of the problems have been quite difficult to manage, however, with several infected nonunions and a few severe hand injuries. We are also dealing with a pediatric burn to the leg which we will skin graft on Monday and plan to be quite busy.
We were able to finally walk around the property a bit after surgery today and saw this amazing setup for ourselves. We feel spoiled to be working here. Some of us played soccer and hoops with the kids, which was a nice change of pace. You’ve heard it before, but the kids here have great smiles.
We’ve taken to Watson, who is an 18 month boy who weighs about 15 pounds and is unable to walk or talk. He lives in a tent with his mom on the property here, but spends most of the time laying on his back in the tent. We took him on our walk, and on the way we rehydrated him from our water bottles. Within an hour he went from hot and listless to alert and interactive. We all wish he could come home with us.
We have been given the task of trying to wind our acute OAM presence down, which is quite difficult given the continued need. I plan on meeting with Joe VanWingerden at the end of the week and try to help formulate a longer term plan. We will try to come up with an inventory list and a needs list which should be helpful for future groups. We also plan on securing appropriate followup for our more acute patients.
Thanks for all your concern, and please keep these wonderful Haitian people in your prayers.
Bob DeMaagd
