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Refugee (IDP) Camps / Camp des réfugiés (PDI) (le français au deuxième paragraphe)

3/29/2010

 
Are you sure you want to delete this post? This action is permanent. Let me try to describe one of the IDP (internally displaced persons) camps by looking at one specifically - the Croix-des-Bouquets camp (see the 3 new photos to the right). This one is relatively small, compared to the vast ones in the bigger category -  approximately 400 families and 1500 people. This is one of the least served camps - they have had only one food distribution since the earthquake forced them here, and we were the first mobile clinic they have had (last week). The 'tents' are not really tents, but a collection of bits of cloth, flapping in the wind. Unlike some of the most visible (from the road) camps, they have received no modern tents. When it rains, as it did two nights ago, they must flee to the makeshift church for shelter - it is made of a structure of poles covered by basket weave mats which is a lot more protection than the zero protection of their cloth-covered temporary dwellings. In one of the 3 pictures (to the right), you will see the typical bed setup - no mattress, only cinder blocks covered by a thin sheet. I went back to this camp today to try to find where to take a young boy back who we had taken to Miami-Dade ER hospital on Friday. His leg had been septic and he may have lost his leg, or even his life. I hope to return him to his little orphanage tomorrow (his mom was killed in the January 12th earthquake).

Laissez-moi vous décrire un des camps PDI (personnes déplacées 'internes') par l'entremise d'un regard sur un camp particulier, soit celui de Croix-des-Bouquets (voir les 3 photos à droite). Celui-ci est relativement petit lorsqu'il est comparé aux camps gigantesques qui existent ailleurs dans la région urbaine de P-au-P. Celui-ci a environ 400 familles, et selon les estimations locales, plus ou moins 1500 habitants. Il n'a eu de distribution alimentaire qu'une fois. Notre équipe mobile de soins de santé est la première qui fait escale chez eux (la semaine dernière). Les 'tentes' ne le sont pas vraiment, elles sont plutôt des 'demeures' qui sont une collection de vieilles pièces de tissu qui flottent dans le vent. Contrairement aux camps plus visibles (de la route), ce camp n'a pas une seule tente réelle. Quand il pleut (des torrents), comme c'était le cas il y a deux nuits, ils doivent se réfugier dans un ‘bâtiment’ communautaire construit d’armure nattée suspendue sur des branches improvisées. Par ailleurs, vous verrez dans une des photos une disposition de lit assez typique, à savoir un drap étendu sur des blocs de ciment de construction. Je vais y retourner demain afin de faire rentrer un jeune garçon dont la jambe était sceptique – il risquait de perdre soit sa jambe ou sa vie et donc nous l'avions amené à l'hôpital d'urgence Miami-Dade de P-au-P où il a été opéré d'urgence.  Sa mère a été tuée dans le séisme du 12 janvier.

Lives being saved / Des vies sauves (le français au deuxième paragraphe)

3/23/2010

 
     This week we have three teams (2 med teams of 15 and a team of 3 in trauma counselling). Miraculously, people who have never known each other before have melded into one unit, half going to the Chambrun clinic each day and the other half working in refugee (IDP) camps. Yesterday and today, together they saw over 400 patients each day – the debriefing sessions in the evenings are amazing. My job has been to support the IDP camp mobile clinic with various kinds of back-up, including transporting life and death cases to the Miami-Dade trauma (field) hospital. For example, after having delivered meds to the mobile clinic (from the storage point in Chambrun), I was asked to transport an unconscious little girl (7) to the hospital ER. Her name is Beverline, and she had overdosed on some kind of anti-histamine syrup (periactin) – a case of pharmacological baby-sitting. The team in the ER at Miami-Dade is remarkable to say the least: intubation, oxygen, etc. They mobilized 2 or 3 doctors and the same number of nurses in an attempt to save her life. I am awed by their dedication to saving lives! Her little brother, also overdosed in the same way, was brought in by us later, with their aunt (no one knows where their parents are – they are ‘out in the provinces’ is the term used). We saw the two kids last night all hooked up with IVs, etc. sleeping on one camp cot in the semi ICU part of the big ward tent. Beverline was still unconscious, so we’ll see how she is this morning. (Flash: they were both better this morning, and were taken home by their grandmother.) 

     Cette semaine nous avons 3 équipes  (deux médicales chacune de 15, et une de 3 pour les premiers soins psychologiques).  C’est un miracle que ces équipes qui ne se connaissaient pas avant aient pu se fusionner en une grande équipe unie et très orientée et motivée. Fantastique! Hier et aujourd’hui ils ont vu plus de 400 patients chaque jour. Enfin, la moitié de l’équipe va à la clinique de Chambrun, et l’autre moitié travaille au camp des réfugiés (PDI) ‘Clercine 21’, peut-être 5 km de l’hôpital Miami-Dade à l’aéroport. Un des cas d’urgence que nous y avons amené était la petite Beverline, 7 ans, qui s’était surdosé avec un genre d’anti-histamine en sirop (périactine) – un cas de ‘gardiennage pharmacologique’!  Elle était inconsciente jusqu’à tard hier soir. C’était des plus impressionnants de voir l’équipe d’urgence de Miami-Dade sauter à l’action… l’oxygène, l’insertion d’un tube dans sa trachée (très difficile avec un jeune enfant!). Quand ils l’amenaient à l’intérieur aux soins semi-intensifs, elle était portée sur une couverture par non moins que 2 médecins, 4 infirmiers-infirmières, et un interprète. Je me sentais inspiré par cette vision de leur dévouement outre mesure à la cause de la survie d’une seule petite malade! Son petit frère a été admis plus tard (pour la même chose, mais moins aigüe et à 10 h hier soir ils étaient couchés tous les deux sur le même petit lit de camp. Ce matin ils furent renvoyés au foyer (dans le camp de réfugiés). 

Mobile clinics / cliniques mobiles (le français au deuxième paragraphe)

3/17/2010

 
Dr Don Tillman, physician with this week’s medical team (made up mostly of medical students from Missouri), told an amazing story of a little boy in one of the IDP (internal displaced persons) camp with a sixth digit on each hand that was totally without function and usefulness. Nor did it appear to have bones, only cartilage. After tying up the blood supply at the base, he was able to deftly remove them without too much pain and fuss. He made us laugh when he described how he suggested to the lad to wave ‘bye-bye’ with his five normal remaining fingers. The team this week is extraordinary in so many ways. Everyone pitches in, nothing is taken for granted. And somehow, there always seems to be a spirit of encouragement and motivation. Later in the same day, the good doctor and I took to the Miami-Dade trauma hospital (near the airport) a two-and-a-half year old boy who had been suffering for a long time from a rectal prolapse (hernia) the size of a small adult fist. It looked terrible. After pushing through the guards at the gate (who seem to try to stop everybody), Dr Don met a physician whose shirt label read ‘Paediatric Surgery’. He and Dr Don talked, and within minutes the paediatric surgeon had replaced the prolapsed bowel right in where it belongs, with his hand, and the problem seems to have been solved. He said this works 95 % of the time. The short little mom couldn't believe her eyes, and was so pleased!

Le Dr Tillman, médecin avec l’équipe médicale de cette semaine (composée pour la plupart d’étudiants de médecine de l’état du Missouri) nous a raconté l’histoire d’un garçon dans un camp de réfugiés (PDI) cette semaine qui avait un sixième doigt sur chaque main qui n’avait ni fonction ni utilité. Il appert qu’il n’y avait pas d’os, seulement du cartilage. Après avoir serré les bases de ces doigts superflus, le docteur a pu enlever  les deux ‘sixièmes’. L’équipe ‘volante’ cette semaine est tout simplement extraordinaire, manifestant un esprit d’encouragement et de motivation sur toute la ligne. Par ailleurs, plus tard dans la journée le docteur et moi avons amené un petit garçon à l’hôpital d’urgence Miami-Dade (près de l’aéroport international de P-au-P). Après avoir ‘défoncé’ la porte de la cour de l’hôpital (des gardes semblent vouloir empêcher tout le monde). Notre docteur (Tillman) et le pédiatre-chirurgien ont discuté le cas, et dans le temps de le dire (presque!) il semble que le spécialiste ait remis l’hernie rectale, manuellement. Il paraît que cette approche (dite ‘douce’) a du succès dans 95% des fois. Sa mère, toute petite, allait souriant, tellement sa joie était complète.

For of such is the Kingdom of Heaven / la mortalité infantile est trop élevée

3/11/2010

 
Sadly, little Jerika passed away during the night. Other children we took to the U Miami hospital are doing better. Today a large delegation of GAiN (Global Aid Network) associates is arriving here in Port-au-Prince. Some 25 will be bunking in at the house for the next few days (mattresses on the floor...).

Nous sommes attristés  parce que la petite Jerika est décédée durant la nuit. D'autres que nous avons amenés à l'hôpital U Miami vont mieux. Une grande délégation d'associés de GAiN (Global Aid Network) va arriver aujourd'hui. Au moins 25 personnes vont être logées à la maison ici (matelas par terre...).

A very sick little girl

3/9/2010

 
The day (Tuesday) started at 5:30 and is now just ending, around 11:30 p.m. Two babies had to be transferred (by me, in this case, in the Mitsubishi) from their/our clinic. One was a dehydrated, malarial and constipated little boy - his mother came along, and you could see the grin of happiness on her face as she saw what was happening to her baby. It ended up being a very mild treatment. I ended up taking them home to Croix-des-Bouquets. The traffic between 6 and 7 p.m. is just crazy and wild. The other little girl, Jerika (see photo at right) was very, very sick, close to death. All the treatment with oxygen and emergency surgery, etc. brought back memories of the two incubators for premies at the Jewish General in Montreal in 1970, with all the monitors and wires connected to twin boys 3 ½ pounds each! Soon, however, they clearly made up for lost time (both the guys now weighing in strongly, and successful in their respective careers: Marc who has a PhD in Conservation Biology, and Tim a practicing physician (Mcgill University) completing his residency in Public Health at UBC. Who knows when they’re so small what they will end up being and doing! And, of course, the same thought goes for the grandkids (Rebecca, Hannah & Alistair). I was deeply moved as I saw some very compassionate volunteers working their hearts out at the trauma hospital.

Emergency case in IDP clinic / Cas d'urgence à la clinique de DPI

3/9/2010

 
An English paragraph follows the French one this time.

Un bébé de 7 mois a été transporté aujourd’hui dans notre vieux bus scolaire, avec sa maman, de notre clinique mobile à Croix-des-Bouquets à l’hôpital international sous  des grandes tentes, le Miami-Dade International (près de l’aéroport de P-au-P). La très petite fille souffrait d’une malaria aigüe, était extrêmement mince, et aussi complètement déshydratée. Nous y retournerons aujourd'hui pour la chercher afin de la ramener à notre clinique de camp des PDI (‘personnes déplacées internes’) à Croix-des-Bouquets.


 A 7-month old baby was transferred (in our old school bus), together with her mom, from our mobile clinic to the Miami-Dade International field hospital (near the P-au-P airport). The little girl was suffering from acute malaria, terribly thin, and complete dehydrated, on the point of dying. We will have to get her to take her back to the IDP (internal displaced persons) camp at Lycée Jacques 1st high school in Croix-des-Bouquets where we’re holding one of our clinics this week (long line-ups!).

March 6 / 6 mars

3/6/2010

 
Please take a look at five new photos, one of a white-bearded gentleman who took on the role of crowd controler during one of the mobile clinics last week, and one of a boy and a woman travelling on donkeys on the Cul-du-Sac Plain, east of Port-au-Prince.  The three others were taken at food distributions last week. Now the rains have started, and the weather is much cooler, especially during the night. Until next time...

Veuillez voir cinq nouvelles photos, l'une d'un monsieur à la barbe blanche qui assumait le rôle du maintien de l'ordre dans une des cliniques mobiles la semaine dernière, l'autre d'un garçon et une femme voyageant à dos d'âne sur la Plaine de cul-du-sac, à l'est de Port-au-Prince. Les trois autres ont été prises durant la distribution alimentaire la semaine dernière. La saison des pluies a commencé et il fait beaucoup plus frais, spécialement durant la nuit. À bientôt!

Mobile clinic in IDP camps

3/2/2010

 
2-3 mars (please see the second paragraph for the English part of tonight's blog)

Il a fait très chaud et humide aujourd’hui. Le matin on a aidé à mettre en place la clinique mobile dans un camp de réfugiés (PDI) pas loin de la maison où nous restons (voir les nouvelles photos). La clinique se fait devant l’autobus, avec un auvent ou une bâche de plastique pour fournir un ombrage contre le soleil. Plus tôt (à 6 h) j’ai conduit un collègue haïtien à l’aéroport pour un vol à Cap Haïtien (il était de retour en fin de journée et je l’ai cherché à nouveau). Ensuite j’étais à une agence de l’OMS pour acheter d’autres médicaments – mais après 2 heures de tra-là-là (préparation très lente de la commande), on m’a informé que je ne pouvais payer avec comptant (USD), seulement un cheque institutionnel – donc les médicaments sont encore là. En route vers Pétionville pour une visite plus tard au Ministère de la santé publique, j’ai vu que notre ancienne maison (où nous vivions en 1977-79) avait été sérieusement atteinte par le séisme du 12 janvier. Un certain pincement de cœur… là il y avait de très bons souvenirs (Marc et Tim avaient 7 à 9 ans)!

Yesterday, I spent a lot of time with Esperandieu Pierre, our Haitian partner, and I learned a tonne of things – specially, vital local people and phone numbers, and he loaned me a Haitian cell phone so that I can get in touch with everyone in related disaster response teams and agencies. Speaking French opens so many more doors – the unilingual English-speakers are spoken to with respect, but you can practically feel the relief when whoever it is finds out they can converse with you in French. It changes the whole feeling of these encounters. So far I’m having trouble with my international cell phone. At any rate, I’ve yet to receive or send successfully text messages. However, Beth and I have been able to skype, and even got a webcam video contact for a few minutes tonight. Landlines here are few, and often don’t work. However, there must be millions of Haïti-based cell phones being used in the country. You see them everywhere. A lot of work today and yesterday was done with hundreds of patients with the mobile (the bus!) clinic in one of the IDP camps close to where we live. I’ve added several photos of this clinic.

1 March

3/1/2010

 
Good morning! Yesterday was an eventful day. The team went out on the Diesel bus to Chambrun and attended the typically Haitian, boisterously worshipful service led by Pastor Pierre (as he’s called by the people). I had never seen him before in a suit (the Haitian pastor’s uniform, I think). He’s so busy he seems to be pulled in every direction. Said last night that he gets up to 500 text messages and calls a day and, even allowing for some exaggeration, which is a lot by any reckoning. There was a distribution of food bags at the end – it seemed like Christmas. I keep stressing the importance of providing aid to the whole community, and not just to the church. Everyone agrees in principle, but it’s a challenge to really make it happen, which it must, I feel. And when general distribution happens, there are huge problems of security and keeping everything from becoming a riot. There are no simple answers. During the morning two very sick babies were identified, one with hydrocephalus (fluids in the head expanding the skull) and one completely sceptic (whole body infection) and extremely (!) thin. A member of the team asked me to translate with the mother of the first child, and committed to sending down a 3-big-wheel stroller with the next team. The second very sick baby was taken by Diana and Ken (paediatrician and internist) to the University of Miami Trauma (field) Hospital (3 big tents) near the P-au-P airport. Long story short: at last news, the baby’s life was saved. Afterwards, the whole group spent their half day off by going to see the devastation in the centre of Port-au-Prince (see the one new photo) – each one of us trying to process what we saw. Everyone is now coming to life, so I’ve got to stop.

Note aux amis francophones: Je vais écrire en français la prochaine fois. Merci de votre patience.
    Picture
    Sallachy Lodge on the shores of Loch Shin in the Scottish Highlands
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    View from within
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    Country road (theoretically 60 MPH!) in the HIghlands
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    A foggy morning in the Highlands
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    Sallachy Lodge
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    Honfleur - small coastal town in northern France
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    Gulls on the Oregon Coast
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    Historic lighthouse on the Oregon Coast
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    Bird resting: La Pas - Baja California's east coast
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    The older generation: siblings, cousins and spouses
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    The next two generations
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    Marc and Tim chatting
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    Alistair catches a Kokanee fresh water salmon
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    Foggin siblings: Joy, John, Marianne and Peter
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    Da Hong Zhai - Taijiang
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    Da Hong Zhai - Taijiang
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    Datang - Shidong Bus
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    Huangping Lusheng Festival in May 2013
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    Lady in Jidao, near Langde
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    Rice fields in Taijiang area
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    Jidao, near Langde
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    Jidao (Hmu) Miao village
    Drs Marion and Marc Foggin continue working with many others to alleviate the suffering from the recent Yushu earthquake (China).
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    Yushu before & after quake Photo: Plateau Perspectives
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    Yushu earthquake tents Photo: Plateau Perspectives
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    Yushu earthquake rubble Photo: Plateau Perspectives
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    Patient in Sol Solon camp
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    Children Dance at Easter at Apad Camp Mobile Clinic
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    Mother and child in Apad
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    Tops of 'tents' in Apad
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    Dr Cassandra & Baby John (four months)
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    Cinder Block Beds
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    Croix-des-Bouquets Camp
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    Basket Weave Building
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    Mobile Clinic Line-ups
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    Unconscious Beverline
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    Clercine 21 Mobile Clinic
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    Little boy with sore seat
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    Devastation still present in Port-au-Prince
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    Jerika - Miami Hospital (Port-au-Prince)
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    Little girl at Chambrun
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    Typical IDP camp tent
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    Peter with sick little girl Photo: Claudia Dewald
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    Village of Chambrun near Port-au-Prince
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    Elderly lady's business
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    Sick child at mobile clinic
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    Crowd controler at clinic
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    Line-up at IDP camp clinic
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    Rural transport: Chambrun

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