We continue to plug away. Balancing our mission of winding down the surgical practice, yet taking care of the present Orthopaedic needs which still need expertise which can be uniquely handled at Double Harvest. We had another 12 hour OR day today, which I know pales in comparison to what the earlier groups had to do. There has been a wide variety of cases, including an above knee amputation, large hand mass removal, hardware removals, femoral IM nail for a distal femur fracture, and placement of a body cast for an unstable spinal fracture. Unfortunately this last gentleman presented to us as a paraplegic, has not improved. We consulted with a neurosurgeon at University of Miami and also called almost every other hospital in Haiti, and could not find anyone who was able to help him or us. The casting went well, with almost the entire team helping in some way. He will be transferred to Cange tomorrow.
Rob and Diane have been very busy with the clinic and in treating a bowel obstruction, a woman with an acute stroke, and a young man with an acute onset of seizures. We have a mini ICU going (bed 3 and 3a). There have been multiple babies born as well. Shelly has been invaluable. Everyone on the team has performed with dedication and intensity which makes me proud to be associated with them. Tomorrow we have a few cases, including possibly a visiting plastic surgeon to do some facial reconstruction on a child. We are arranging to transfer our last inpatients. This will accomplish our goal of having no inpatients by the time we leave on Friday. We have enjoyed meeting and treating the Haitian people. They are truly grateful for everything we do. It’s an honor for us to provide some expertise and care that they otherwise would not get in this country.
Robert DeMaagd MD
Orthopaedic Associates of Michigan, P.C.
