Visitors from Ohio

This week we had the blessing of a visit from a team from Grace Church in Akron, Ohio. Eleven guys arrived on Tuesday night and practically didn't stop working until they left this afternoon to head back to Cayes. We had two docs on the team so some of us we ran a three-day- clinic while others worked on numerous things around the mission from building school desks to repairing water pumps and generators. I wasn't great about taking pictures while the team was here, so thanks RaeLeen for most of these pictures! I'm slightly in awe of people who can do handy-work because I'm completely lost with that kind of thing. The kids had a blast playing in the wood shavings from the boards the guys planed. During the clinic, the doctors saw many patients who came in with anything from skin infections to mental illnesses and everything in between. It was wonderful not to be the one doing the diagnostics! I stayed busy doing pharmacy, interpreting (with Jacqueline's help; the people would say what they have to say, Jacqueline tells me in more simplified Creole, then I'd tell the doctor in English. It took awhile but it worked), doing wound care and whatever else needed to be done.This lady was in a car accident nearly three months ago that killed two of her children and left her with significant abdominal wounds. I've been doing daily dressing changes for about a month and a half with her.My first IV-start in Haiti. After two months I was worried I'd lost the skill. This boy ended up getting sent down the hospital. A couple weeks ago he had a high fever and since then he's had a mental illness where he's been totally out of touch with reality. He came to us hypothermic. The doctors wondered about typhoid fever that was high enough to mess up his brain, including its temperature regulation. It won't be an easy life for him to live out here where mental illnesses are understood even less than they are in the States, but he's a sweet kid and seems to have a family who loves him.Discussing Steven's care with Dr. Eric. Steven's doing really well. He has an appointment at the US Embassy in Port au Prince on Tuesday to apply for his medical visa and from there the last step will be to get the IBESR (something like Haitian social services) to agree to let him leave. If either of these don't go well, it could mean delaying getting him out of the country for his surgery for months so we could really use prayer! I've been continuously working on giving this back to God, trusting that it's really ALL in His hands. If all goes well, I'll be taking Steven to Indianapolis next Monday the 26th, where we'll be leaving him in the hands of his State-side guardians until his surgery at Riley Children's Hospital.