Back safe and sound

Wow, what an afternoon for simply curling up in bed with a good book, a nice cuddly blanket and some nice quiet music on the radio! Yes, i certainly plan on engaging in said activities within the next hour as i have a little nap before beginning my night shift. But i am put to thinking that it has been an outrageously long time since i last updated this thing and hope that people don't think i have mysteriously fallen off the planet or something disastrous like that. Contrary to that belief, i am very much here, simply stuck in ruts that don't allow my creative or literary juices to flow well onto the virtual page.
I am for all accounts and purposes, back from Haiti well and in one piece. No disastrous floods this time, no late night encounters with cats pretending to be rats, no infections or upset stomachs, no crazy 32 hour shifts. But a lot of work and busyness none the less. Nicole and I worked together for 12 days in Haiti, assisting with the care of 18 children receiving surgery for hydrocephalus. It was a busy and sometimes very stressful time. Nursing in Haiti is all about adaptability, flexibility and being open to new solutions to problems. Being creative with resources is always a challenge but we managed somehow, probably because we had some experience in May to back us up.
But none the less, there were difficult moments. The two night shifts that we did, both in the acute post-op period, we lost a child each night. That was difficult. These kids, here in North America, would have been in ICU with constant monitoring and care and would have at least had a fighting chance. In Haiti, with the respirator lying forlornly in the corner covered with cobwebs and leaves, with no hi-tech equipment and limited training, we were forced to accept that we can't fix everything. We were face to face with death of little ones, whom our Father had called home earlier than what we would have hoped for, with frustrations that we could do so little. Yet, somehow, we are called to rest in the knowledge that God does indeed know what He's doing, what plans He has for us, too big for us to imagine or understand at the time.
Yet, we were granted the strength to keep going and were blessed with good health in general for most of the kids. A few spots of diarrhea, some intermittant fevers and two children requiring additional antibiotics rounded out our week at the hospital. On Tuesday morning, most of the kids had already left to head home for their recovery so it felt weird to enter the ward and not see everyone's smiling faces, not to hear Christopher say "good morning, i love you, how are you?" - the limited English that we taught him during his stay. I can honestly say i miss the kids and their faces and smiles. I am very glad we had the chance to work in Haiti again and to serve in even a very small capacity. Below is a photo of our team (minus the one crazy chick second from the left whom i have no idea who she is and she managed to worm her way into our photo, much to my chagrin!! I'll try to photo-shop her out of there!)

From left to right, myself, unknown Haitian lady (grr), great IV nurse, sister Genevieve, Gladys (our amazing Haitian nurse), Nicole, Nadine (our night nurse) and Carol, our co-ordinator.

Remember, remember, the fifth of November

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason the gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot!!

How's that for mysterious little poems? I love that little rhyme. I don't know a lot bout Guy Fawkes Day but it has something to do with trying to blow up the Protestant British Parliament, i believe, by a group of Catholic fellows. I believe they tunneled underneath the buildings and nearly succeeded in this plot but were caught at the last minute. Interesting times!!!

Getting Well Roasted

I embarked on an adventure of epic proportions yesterday evening aided by my faithful friend Olive and her wonderful warm personality. It was a quest to ensure that our ever present appetites were going to be satisfied and sated with an epicurean delight. A journey with an uncertain ending and traumatic hurdles to be overcome along the way. What in the world could I have been doing? I was, for the first time in my life, no, not journeying around the world in barefeet or balancing a camel on my nose or seeking to conquer the Guinness World Record for blowing bubbles but in fact was trying to become one of the elite, those who can cook a roast well. Hmmm… okay, so it doesn’t sound too exciting, right? But indeed it was an adventure involving several frantic phone calls to my maternal figure who sought to fill me with wisdom and confidence in this hither-to unventured realm of culinary skill. I remarked to Carina that indeed I would be a hopeless mission nurse since overseas phone calls cost a pretty penny and I couldn’t be ringing up every time – “Mom, I grew some yams, how do I cook them?” or “Mom, I just bought a goat, how do I go about milking it?” African Telecom would love me, I would probably single-handedly get whatever poor nation I was residing in out of debt in a fraction of the time that all their finance ministers would have planned. Okay, maybe I should go. I might be eligible for the Nobel Prize for Economy or something equally exciting. Anyhow, all logic aside, I will say that after much stressing and pulling hairs and furrowing my brow, the roast did turn out all right and we had a good meal last evening. Thanks to my fan club and supporters who were so loyal and supportive to me and thanks to my manager and all my friends and to Billy and Suzie and the little girl down the lane who received one bag of sheep wool….

Destination Haiti

Destination Haiti
Bonswa s’ami mwen! Sak pase? Mwen bon, mwen grangou, mwen swef, mwen pas kapab pale Kreyol! That’s a whole lot of things in Kreyol that I will be saying or asking in the near future. I leave on another adventure to the capital city of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, on Friday morning, early! I have to be in Buffalo by 6 am! No, wait, I fly at 6 am, meaning I have to be there at 4ish. Insane!!! Nicole Dejonge and I hope to assist with the post-operative care of about 20 children receiving surgeries for hydrocephalus. I have never appreciated our North American health care system with all it’s flaws so much as when I returned from similar endeavors in May. Please be thankful that you have trained medical staff, that you have sterile conditions for operations, that there are ICUs and lots of medicine and IV solution and clean sheets and air conditioning and so many of the other things that we so easily take for granted! Hydrocephalus is fairly common here in NA as well as in Haiti but the big difference is that in Haiti there is next to no health care. So we go, to help out as best as possible, crossing cultural and language and skill barriers along the way and stretching ourselves to attempt to share a little of our knowledge and a lot of our love with the children of Haiti. Please pray for safety and strength and health as we are in Haiti, but most especially for the children who are being assessed and operated on. May God add His blessing to the labours of our hands!