While in Haiti I had the privilege of working with Haitian Christian Mission in Fond Parisien – a small town just across the border from Jimani in the Dominican Republic.
The ministry had already started a women’s surgical center (mostly for OB-GYN stuff, I think), and after the earthquake they were able to turn the surgical building in to a makeshift hospital in which they were able to preform surgeries and take care of people that had been injured in the earthquake. They also run a clinic out of the mission that serves about 200-300 people per day, and though the women’s surgical center was taken over for general surgeries, the mission is still a popular birthing place for Haitian women.
So where did my nursing skills fit in to all this? Well, pretty much everywhere, to be honest. I helped out in the “hospital” for a couple late-evening emergency cases – dressing some wounds, hanging IV’s (mostly antibiotics), and helping to set a broken wrist. Our first full day of ministry I helped run the clinic – basically diagnosing and treating patients before the Haitian doctors and nurses got there, and then assisting in triage and wherever else I was needed. The big project of the week, though, was getting the pharmacy in order. New shelves were installed the first night that we were there, and the mission had received many donations that were just sitting in boxes and suitcases waiting to be unpacked and used. Since I love organizing so much (remember the orphanage “library” in Thailand?) I knew that God had put that task there just for me to do. So Andy (the only other person on the first medical team) and I took it upon ourselves to spend about a day and a half organizing and unpacking everything in the pharmacy (this was over the weekend – Saturday night and Sunday after church – so we weren’t really “open” to see patients). Monday morning rolled around then, and because I knew where everything was and what medications we had available, I was asked to run the pharmacy for the remainder of the week. At first I was a little frustrated because I wasn’t actually doing “nursing,” but as the week went on I began to remember that God has a purpose for everything, and that even though I thought I was going to Haiti as a nurse He simply wanted to use me wherever He could. Since the clinic is staffed by Haitian doctors and nurses, we Americans were able to act as their support system – they could triage and see the patients on their own (which was actually easier because they spoke the language) and then send papers my way that said what medications to pull out and put in a plastic bag to send home with the patients. And it worked. (Also, I now know what antibiotics treat what diseases, which worm medications are a one-time dose and which are a longer course, how much tylenol an infant can take at one time, and what to use for scabies when regular scabies medication isn’t available…)
Though the week was very chaotic at most times, and filling prescriptions can be very tiring, I had an amazing week just serving. I thrive in the behind-the-scenes ministry and this ministry fit my gifts perfectly. I’m so glad I got the opportunity to serve in this way!
Keep looking for more blogs (pictures will be coming soon as well!). It’s taking me a while to process all the stories that I want to tell because I jumped right back in to my busy work schedule, but there are more great things coming!
