Work hard, play hard

On Sunday night Sharon, Santo and I went out to the apartments where another friend of ours, Eyleen, lives. It was her birthday and coincidently there was a group of Haitian dancers that were coming to show off their skills that night at a small outdoor restaurant within the compound. The group was called a ‘traditional dance group’ but Santo told us that they were actually more of a specific form of dance group, one associated with the vodou culture which I have now come to realize that is very different than portrayed by the media. It is also different from the vodou religion which is a distinction that is not always made. The dancers were great and their costumes were amazing, especially the sequined red vests for the men…the drumming was awesome and we had a really great time. I am so thankful Sharon has been driving us around since we have no car, it is so very necessary to get out of this compound and I am grateful that she is so sweet.

I have been trying to get out and about more which has been good for the homesickness as well as the stress caused by running this clinic and being the only doctor here. I love my work and this job has afforded me many opportunities that I would never have been able to have otherwise but it is very demanding and stressful which I think is infinitely compounded by being here alone. On the other hand I am realizing that I will be home sooner than I think and it is freaking me out a bit. I miss the US and my friends and family terribly but I also worry about everything here…who will take care of the patients, who will make sure Dieula and Monise have a special piece of cake just because; who will buy Santo cheddar cheese Pringles and share Prestiges with Jason and le boss; who will get Marie treats from Croissant D’or? They keep telling me it will be ok because I will be back soon. I hope they are right.

On the job training

In other news, I watched Shannon, a certified nurse midwifery student and 6 year OB/GYN nurse veteran show Marie how to insert a feeding tube into a pretty listless little girl who was delivered here 10 days ago. Mom came in today for a check in and said she had not been feeding the baby, “because she sleeps all the time” and that the last time she fed well was when she was born-yikes! We were concerned about the care the baby would get at the local hospital as the most likely would have given some fluids and sent mom home, it is clear what the baby needed was to be fed and the mom needed to understand the severity of the situation. We chose to keep the baby here and work on getting her to feed while Marie talked to mom about feeding in general. Baby was unable to muster the strength to suck from the breast so Marie and Shannon helped mom pump and tried via a bottle which was not effective either. We luckily found a NG tube and Shannon gave us a little one on one tutorial! The baby by this time had her eyes open and was becoming feistier which was a huge relief. Mom is going to hang here for a few hours form some ‘inpatient care’ while they continue to educate her and get the baby some more breast milk. This just goes to show how easily education goes over the heads of patients. Marie is phenomenal about educating moms before the leave, making sure to watch for breast feeding difficulties, talking extensively about solely breastfeeding and making sure the baby feeds frequently. We also make sure we are here for the moms if they need anything and ask that they come back in 3 days for the first consult after birth. This mom failed to come back. This is one of the main pushes for a community health worker to be involved with car. Thankfully Santo will be done with his class at the end of August and we can send him out on his motorcycle to check on moms and other patients! We know that the most crucial time for the babies is the first week or two after birth and this is one great example of what happens when there is follow up on the mothers’ part. With a community health worker we will be able to track the family down and make sure things are going well…I can’t wait, it will step up our ability to care for the women immensely.