Team 5 left today and 6 is on its way. As with all of the teams they did a great job and I was so impressed with all of them. It is a great experience to work with such dedicated and talented people. Our group (5a) is providing the transition and that will be very helpful. The clinic, OR, storerooms and patients take a while to understand and when the whole team is purged and a new one comes in it is a lot to undertake and not miss something.
We continue to get new patients from several areas. A number of patients show up as follow-up from our clinic and others. Some of the fractures from other clinics aren’t in good position and at times nothing can be done because of bad wounds or fixator pins through the fracture which would preclude open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) now. It is hard to tell them that we should just let it heal when I know the end result will not be as it could have been. Fortunately, many cases are such that we can resolve the problem. As Don mentioned in his last blog, the little girl went from a totally deformed femur to one that is straight and has a great chance of being normal. It is a remarkable thing to be part of that.
A common theme in the blogs has been the Haitian people and their resilience and faith. It is humbling to see them with so little and yet they have so few complaints. This experience does impact one and it does change you. Others have expressed it as well and I can only say that I agree.
Bill Schwab
