Mwen gen fatig

I am tired. I need a nap but it is 8:00am and we are doing another clinic today.

                The students have been working so hard since they got here on Monday, the week has just blown by! Yesterday another 32 patients were seen and we had some very interesting cases come through the clinic.  Most of the students’ had their first exposure to measles, a girl with suspected Down’s Syndrome with new onset seizures-occurring in office, a malnourished baby we have been seeing who is failing to gain weight even with re-feeding and a many cases of worms and ringworm.

                Some patients such as our friend with the new onset seizures we had to refer out to the local hospital  as there needs to be imaging and blood work done to rule out more serious concomitant conditions. We gave the family (her brother and sister brought her in) money to head to the hospital with instructions to please come back to the clinic when her results come in as we would love to have her as a patient. They were thankful for the information about the possible causes of her seizures as well as for the money for a tap tap. It was really great to see a family bringing her in as it seems the norm here in Haiti is to keep those with disabilities in their homes and out of the general population as much as possible. I do not believe there is rampant mistreatment of this particular population however I think it is more of a lack of understanding about certain conditions and a fear of how others will react. I know we have seen many patients who come in for care and then tell us about family members who need care but cannot come in because they are “dumb”…this seems to translate into the inability to speak or act in a typical way. Children with special needs or as I like to say “exceptionalities” hold a very special place in my heart. I would like to do some outreach work for this population but have had trouble finding out exactly who to contact. It seems that some children born with exceptionalities are kept at home with the families and that some are given up for adoption, I am hoping to locate orphanages or group homes that may cater to this group in general as they can benefit from our medicine immensely. The healthier we can get these kiddos the better their lives will be. This is my next mission while I am here…wish me luck!