Our time in the clinic is over. Its hard to see that we made a difference with the masses of people who still need medical care. But we were able to help a few and perhaps ease some pain, whether physical or emotional. The clinic we helped to staff was started by Youth With A Mission. It was started the day after the quake, literally under a tree with one non-medical missionary putting bandages on injured Haitians. In the past 29 days it has grown to a fully functioning clinic with triage/ER, acute care clinic, dentistry, OB/GYN, surgical room, pediatrics and pharmacy. It is very rough and rugged but it works. It’s staffed by physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, EMTs, paramedics, translators, “runners”, security personnel, and several administrators from Haiti, Dominican Republic, and the United States representing various mission sending organizations. Some of the medical personnel come for two or three days, some for a week, some have been here since a few days after the quake. The clinic sees 400-500 patients a day. If someone needs surgery or longer term care, they are transferred to the University Hospital which is just a few blocks away. The hospital has learned to accept patients that are transferred from the YWAM clinic immediately because they recognize that they are not coming unless it is medical necessary.

Yesterday I was again in the general clinic area. I treated wounds, broken bones, lots of stomach pain, headaches, respiratory problems cause by dust in the air. Pediatrics got really backed up so in the afternoon we started seeing children and babies. That was way out of my league! Thankfully we had a family nurse practitioner and two pediatric nurses who gave excellent support for those of us who didn’t know peds. The one case that touched me more than any other yesterday was the 13 year old boy who came in late in the afternoon complaining of stomach pain and headache. In questioning him about his complaints we determined that he hadn’t eaten since the day before. We also learned that his mother had been killed in the quake and he was living with his twenty year old sister. Thankfully yesterday we were able to send patients out with a sack of food. We added extra to his sack before he left. All I could think of was, if I were Haitian, this could have been Ben, living with Megan. It broke my heart!

In about an hour we will start the nine-hour trip back to the Dominican Republic. I think the most dangerous thing we have done in the last week is travelling in Port-au-Prince and back and forth to Dominican Republic. We will fly out of Santo Domingo tomorrow afternoon. As a group we have learned on this trip that we needed Haiti more than Haiti needed us!

February 8, 2010
Written by Rod


















Well, every day is a surprise here in Haiti. We continue to be fluid. God keeps showing us his miraculous hand. Yesterday, Sunday, I didn’t get to preach as I thought I would. The group from South Carolina that is here as well as our Florida team went to their clinic which is located in a church on the edge of a tent city. They had worship and then set up their clinic and saw forty more patients than they had the day before. The church, which has no roof due to earthquake damage, was full and overflowing into the street. There were many who accepted Christ as Savior. Yesterday was the first day I wasn’t with the South Carolina team and I was to go with my Florida team. The Florida team left before me because I had a couple of stops to make along the way. One of those stops was near Carrefour, an area in Port-au-Prince.

Our friends from church, the Hofstra’s have recently adopted a Haitian boy. When they found out that we were coming to Port-au-Prince they asked that I try to make contact with his birth mother, whom they just recently found out was still alive. They sent me with gifts and her mobile phone number to try and contact her. As we arrived in Carrefour, the area where she lives, we called her on the phone and arranged a meeting place.

We pulled over on a busy downtown street and waited for her. In five minutes she was there standing beside us. We gave her a ride to her street, took some quick pictures, gave her a gospel tract, and prayed with her. Then she took off walking toward her home. It was a short and sweet visit. As we drove off I thought what a miracle it was to find her here in such a big city that has gone through so much. That was almost as good as preaching. From there I went to the University Hospital where our Florida group was working. I found the group quickly. Dr. An, our chaplain, was getting water for our nurses and doctors. Donna had me carry a case of water into the maternity tent. It just so happened that 4 women were giving birth at the same time. I put the water down quickly and got out of the tent. The tents were very hot. I went into the infant tent were two of our ladies were trying to draw blood from new born babies. I couldn’t take that for long. All afternoon I watch our doctors sew up fingers, pack a shot gun wound in a shoulder, hydrate several and clean wounds. It was amazing. Our team chaplain from Jacksonville got to pray with a couple that just had their baby. After the prayer the father ask Dr. An to name the baby for them. He gave her the name Abigail. All in all it was a great day of service.

One thing that hit me pretty hard was seeing all of the destruction from the earth quake in downtown Port-au-Prince for the first time. I felt like I was IN a movie about the end of time.

Today I went to a new location near Carrefour with a new medical team from Oklahoma. My job is to make sure the people waiting to see the doctors stay calm and in order. This is a tougher job than you might think. I try to talk to them about Jesus and keep them occupied. Many of them are showing signs of post traumatic stress disorder. I get them smiling, laughing and pray with them. I had them help me recite the verse, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” We saw 135 patients. Two accepted Christ as Savior and three made rededications. Another great day.




Written by Donna:
Today was another busy day at the clinic housed in the police station across the street from the Presidential Palace. Today I spent most of the day in the acute care general clinic where I was orthopedic and wound care nurse. Another day, another specialty! I put a cast on a lady who had a broken elbow and removed the cast from her 2 year old daughter who has a broken femur. The lady’s arm had been untreated since the earthquake. The orthopedic surgeon with our group told her that her arm has begun to heal incorrectly but he believes that she will retain some limited range of motion. He positioned it as well as he could, had me place a cast on it. Her daughter had been treated after the quake and was in a cast from ankle to hip. We first sent them to the University Hospital for x-rays. When they return, x-ray in hand, the orthopedist determined that she was healing well and the cast could be removed. The mom related to me that her family had spent three days trapped in the rumble of their home after the earthquake. I guess they are among the lucky ones.

I also dressed several very deep wounds, caused by falling objects during the quake. Thankfully all the wounds are healing well and not showing signs of infection. I also treated a 12 year old who had part of his toes amputated about 10 days ago. I had to remove stitches which was very painful for him and just about killed me. Then we soaked his foot and redressed the wound. He should recover well enough to play soccer with all the other kids!

Another day, a host of hurting people. There were still line at the clinic when we left. There were other medical personnel who were staffing the clinic after we were gone. About eight hours day is all we can give before we are all exhausted. The heat really zaps our energy. We’ll be back tomorrow to go at it again!

On being "Fluid"

The word for today was “fluid”, as in “go with the flow”!! Our plans for today changed twice last night and once this morning. First we were to go to church and not do clinic, then we were to not do church and do clinic. When we got to the clinic this morning we were told that it was closed and we couldn’t see patients. So then we were sent to the Hopital Universitaire Etat d’Haiti - the University Hospital of Haiti. Once there we had to get permission from the hospital administration in order to help in their medical units. It took quite a while to locate the right people and gain their permission. I worked with our OB/GYN in the labor and delivery tent.

Yesterday as we arrived at clinic we found a lady in labor who needed transferring to the hospital to have her baby delivered. Our OB/GYN asked that I go with her and the lady because I speak French. We rode to the hospital in an “ambulance” that had no equipment. The patient was loaded in the back of the ambulance on a garden type lounge chair. When we arrived at the hospital and found the labor/delivery unit housed in a tent since the building had been damaged in the quake. The unit had five labor/delivery tables and six stable beds. There were no curtains and no privacy for any of the patients. People seemed to come and go at will in and out of the tent. It was hot! There were no medications for labor pains, no monitoring of mom or baby, very few supplies. The Haitian nurses were cutting up paper gowns to use to wrap up the newborns, there were no diapers or blankets. The moms labored in the clothes they worn in to the hospital. In spite of all this our new mom delivered a healthy 7 pound baby girl. They went home with family members about three hours after the birth. And we were able to assist in two more deliveries and one Cesarean section that our doctor preformed with assistance of two Haitian medical residents.

So since I was now a Labor/Delivery nurse (with one day of experience to rely on), today I was back there with Meridith, our OB/GYN who handled all this like it was business as usual. We assisted in two more births. And I have to say I’ll be very glad to get back to cardiac nursing at home!! This is stretching me way outside of my comfort zone!

Port-au-Prince, Day 2

Rod Boatwright

We have been in Port au Prince for two days now and it is hard to take in all that we have seen, heard and smelled. Haiti was a tough place to live in before the earthquake and now it’s even more difficult. Yet the Haitian spirit is so strong. The people just keep moving. The tent cities are incredible. I took a walk through one yesterday afternoon. People working everywhere building shacks out of shipping crates, old used wood, cardboard, plastic and any other thing they could get their hands on. I have been at a church clinic for two days with a disaster relief medical team from South Carolina. There are two doctors, a pharmacist, four nurses and several logistic people who are very efficient. I took care of lining the people up, loving on them and sharing the gospel with them. At the same time the church was tearing off the roof and some of the walls that were damaged in the earthquake. In two days we have seen close to 300 patients and there were 14 people who have accepted Christ as their Savior. The two teams are great. They have chosen to be “fluid” and go with the flow. Donna and I have enjoyed being with them. I will be preaching in a church tomorrow. They meet outside because they do not have a building. The service will begin at 7:30 AM in order to beat the heat. I’m looking forward to it. I will preach from 2 Corinthians 1:3-10 on the subject “The God of All Comfort.” We will not be doing clinics tomorrow. In Haiti the Christians take Sunday very seriously. A Haitian pastor told me as soon as I got here that the Haitians believers and non-believers are convinced that the earthquake is the judgment of God on Haiti for their lack of faith in God. Voodoo priests are getting saved and many people are trusting in Jesus. If that is true then good things will come for Haiti as a result of the earthquake.

If I thought I was ready for this experience, today certainly proved me wrong. Just the drive through Port-au-Prince to the Presidential Palace was disconcerting. We saw devastation of many buildings, cars that had quake damage and were abandoned, tent cities, make shift market areas, throngs of humanity walking the streets. In spite of the crippling effect of the earthquake, life is going on in Port-au-Prince.

We arrived at the Palace Guard Police Station around 8 am where the Youth with a Mission (YWAM) organization has established a working hospital using tarps, tents, and undamaged rooms of the police station building. It was well organized with a pharmacy, ER/Triage, pediatric ER, OB/GYN area, acute care clinic/recovery room, dentist office, and surgical room. The conditions were most primitive but it was certainly functional and the system worked.

The ER/Triage was set up outside under a tarp with seven backyard folding lounge chairs as patient stations. There was a nurse or doctor and a translator at each station. I did have an interpreter since many Haitian do not speak French. They could understand my French but responded in Creole, which I couldn’t understand. YWAM provided the translators and they were excellent. At one point I had a translator who didn’t speak English but she did speak French so she translated the Creole into French for me.

I worked in the ER/Triage, seeing patients literally one after the other for six hours. It took me a few minutes to realize that I was to do the assessment of the patients and decide whether or not to send them inside for more acute care or to treat and give appropriate medicines. Of course I could and did often call on one for the physicians for advice or confirmation of care. The “pharmacy” was set up on the other side of an iron fence from the ER and as I saw each patient and decided what to give, I went to the fence and asked for medications that were then passed through the fence to me. This gave a degree of protection for the medications stored in the pharmacy.

Most common complaints were stomach pain, back pain, headache and respiratory problems. We treated with antacids, Tylenol or Motrin and unit dose inhalers for those with respiratory issues. We also saw a lot of people complaining with irritated eyes due to all the dust that is still in the air. We gave out eye drops as long as we had them, then started flushing eyes with saline drawn up in a syringe and sending patients home with a saline filled syringe. I redressed wounds that had been caused by falling objects during the quake. If there were signs and symptoms of infection, we gave antibiotics. There were a few more acute problems – a thumb that needed suturing which one of the doctors did, a woman who was pregnant but whose baby was no longer alive. She went inside for treatment and evacuation of the dead fetus. A young lady who had a heart rate of 160 and was apparently dehydrated. She went inside for rehydration with IV fluids.

I think we saw over 400 people today. The one that I will always remember was the young lady, about 30 years old who came to my station this afternoon complaining of stomach pain. I examined her and didn’t find any acute problem. I told her that often times stomach pain is caused by stress. I asked if she had pain after she ate. She told the interpreter that she hadn’t eaten today. I asked if it was because of the pain or because she didn’t have anything to eat. She had nothing to eat. I called the doctor over and related her story to him because I wasn’t sure what to do. Then I totally lost it. Of course her stomach hurt, she hadn’t eaten and was hungry. The doctor sent me off to take a break and get myself together again while he finished with the patient. Tomorrow there will be a food distribution station beside the clinic.

When I got back to the Guest House, one of the other workers asked if I had a good day. I had to think about that for a while. Was it good? It was hot and exhausting physically, mentally and emotionally. There were more people asking for care than we could treat. We ran out of some medications that we really needed. Chronic conditions went untreated – like diabetes, hypertension, and a 12-year-old with a wicked heart murmur. But I was able to begin to do what I came here to do – help a few hurting people. So in that sense, yes it was a good day.

Arrival in Port-au-Prince

Written by: Donna Boatwright

We arrived in Santo Domingo Wednesday afternoon with all our luggage except one bag of medical supplies. The only casualty was a bag that had either been torn or cut open and some of the contents were gone. But we picked up a dental x-ray film that wasn’t there when we packed it – have no idea where that came from! And the lost bag did arrive later.

We loaded our team of 17 into a bus for the trip across the city to the Dominican Baptist headquarters where we stayed last night. Our team consists of 2 orthopedic surgeons, 1 Ob-Gyn, 1 dentist, 9 nurses with various specialties, Rod as team coordinator, a chaplain from FBC Jacksonville, a photographer and a journalist.

This morning we left before 7am to start the long trip to Port-au-Prince. Along the way we passed very long convoys of Italian and Canadian military going in the same direction with large earth moving equipment as well as other supply trucks.

The trip took nine hours. Once we crossed the border into Haiti the roads deteriorated and the going was slow and rough. We saw only sporadic earthquake damage outside of Port-au-Prince but once we arrived in the city the damage was more widespread. At times it was difficult to tell if buildings had been destroyed by the quake or if they were just falling down from disrepair. We passed several very large tent cities which seemed to go on and on and on. Some did not even have tents and had made dwellings of cardboard and plastic sheets. At various places in the city we saw UN troops and vehicles as well as military personnel from Canada, Italy, and Korea.

The last hour or so of the trip we traded our nice air-conditioned bus for a “tap-tap”, basically a pick-up with a roof over the bed and benches built along the sides of the bed. It was a very rough ride on cramped, hard seats with little head room but it was adequate transportation and did get us to the Florida Baptist Guest house.

Tomorrow we will begin our work. Our team will be at a hospital that was set up on the grounds of the Presidential Palace by Youth With A Mission. This evening we heard from two doctors from Kentucky who have been working at this hospital for a week. They briefed us on what to expect – lots of wounds, some gaping and deep, some have been dressed and will need dressing changes, others have not been treated yet; lots of upper respiratory problems from all the dust in the air; gastro-intestinal issues from unsanitary conditions, dirty water, and emotional upset; and many people coming in stating “my heart is broken – I’ve lost my family.” That will be the most difficult to deal with.

On route

Written by Bethany

Rod and Donna met with the Jacksonville team for the first time this morning at the Miami airport gate to the plane that would take them to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The flight was uneventful and they arrived to meet with the rest of their team from South Carolina.

Everyone had a nice dinner and evening walk together in the D.R., and they are all anxious to fly out to Port-au-Prince in the morning.