Clinic
You Don’t Know Who Your Friends Are Until You Need Them
This past Thursday we went up to our clinic in Gatineau as usual, not knowing that a routine 8-10 hour work day was going to turn into a rugged 24 hour shift! We saw over 40 patients during the day, and at 4:30pm had the truck all packed up to start our drive home, feeling…
Read MoreSmall Miracles
One of the most gratifying aspects of our work here in Haiti is when we see positive results of our medical treatment. Each patient presents a challenge to the physician, both in terms of diagnosing their illness and in deciding the proper treatment for that illness or condition. Obviously, the more experience and knowledge a…
Read MoreStories and Tears
There are times when our patients’ life stories bring tears to the eyes of both Cherlie and me. One such episode occurred recently and I’d like to tell you about it. A man and his wife had come to the clinic a few weeks ago with their infant daughter. She had a large growth on…
Read MoreHaiti life has both surprise and tragedy
Last Thursday, we had a surprise visit at our clinic from several Haitian Public Health Department personnel from Port-au-Prince. They were there to inspect our present facility (our little tin-roofed house), evaluate the future clinic site and assess the need for medical care in the area. It represented the final step in a process that…
Read MoreHappy New Year!
Happy belated New Year! I trust that you all had a happy holiday season. I spent ten days in Milwaukee helping out in two Emergency Departments over the holidays, so I was able to experience the snow and cold of the Midwest once again. I was glad to return to the warmth of Haiti again…
Read MoreThe Little Things in Life
Sometimes it’s the little things in life that we take for granted, like electricity and running water. In our little “house clinic” in Gatineau, we had neither electricity nor water. On cloudy days or in the late afternoon, it was difficult to see our patients or write on their charts due to lack of light…
Read MoreClean-up, Clinic, and Containers
It’s hard to believe it’s October already! Hurricane season will soon be over and we’re praying no more major storms will head our way. Clean-up efforts are still going on in the areas north of Port-au-Prince, which were the hardest hit by the four hurricanes that struck Haiti. The roads leading to Cayes, in the…
Read MoreAnother Emergency!
This afternoon we took another pediatric patient to the general hospital in Jérémie. We had seen him, a three-year old boy, last Thursday with fever and malaria. Since his father died and his mother lives in Port-au-Prince, he lives with his grandmother in a community near the clinic. We told the grandmother that if he…
Read MoreFriends
We had a rather eventful day in clinic on Thursday, the kind of day that warms your heart and lifts your spirits. As we’ve mentioned before, the foundation of our medical work in Gatineau involves a community-based model, where the communities around us participate in all aspects of our program and, as such, develop a…
Read MoreBack in Haiti
We flew back to Haiti on Sunday, June 22nd, leaving behind most of our own clothes and personal belongings, so that we could bring back medications and supplies for the clinic, clothes and shoes for Madam Gerard and her family, who live with us, personal gifts for other Haitian friends and co-workers here, and construction…
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