CDTI

3/18
Went out to work at CDTI Hospital today. I actually got to be a nutritionist today. We found everyone that had either diabetes or high blood pressure and I talked to them about their nutritional needs. Only problem is, how do you tell someone what they should or should not eat when you know they really don't have much of a choice. Going out to work the night shift at Miami hospital right now so I don't have much time to write.

Back to Notre Maison

3/17
Went back to Notre Maison this morning to deliver supplies they needed. The kids look great there. A bunch of volunteers from Minnesota showed up. They have been here for a week and are going home tomorrow. They wanted to say goodbye to the kids before they left. We drove through a part of town that was hit really hard by the earthquake. People were out cleaning up though. Foreign aid groups are organizing Haitians into groups, giving them t-shirts, and paying them to clean up the city. What a wonderful idea! One of the workers here said that probably over 300,000 people have died from the earthquake. Official reports are somewhere in the 200,000s but he said there are so many people that no one really knew about before the earthquake, that there is really no way to know for sure how many people are gone. As I talked to one of the interpreters, we talked a little about the earthquake in Chile. He talked about how the earthquake in Chile was bigger than the one in Haiti, but that the buildings here just weren't built well. Then he said, "There are still so many bodies in the rubble. Sometimes they stink." This has just become a part of life here in Haiti. I feel like it is no longer earthquake relief, it's just Haiti relief now. Things will never go back to how they were.

Becoming a pharmacist and a CNA all in one day

3/16
I was assigned to the tent clinic today to work in the pharmacy with Daryl and Stew. We have more medications than we know how to store. It is amazing how many medications were donated. We'll probably take some of them over to Miami hospital to fill their shelves as well. I was running supplies down to the tent and Amanda asked if I'd help her dress some wounds. Sure. It was a lady, frail as can be with three bed-soars, one deeper than anything I've ever seen. She hardly has hair and is wearing a diaper. She's 27 years old. Her brother and boyfriend are with her, carefully caring for her. Amanda says her wounds look pretty good, consider the conditions. Only the smaller one on her ankle is infected. I ask if there is any way they will heal. She says no, but at least we can clean them and hope she doesn't die of sepsis. This woman probably has AIDS. They said she got sick about six months ago. Her brother showed us a picture of her. She was BEAUTIFUL! Healthy, beautiful hair, shining face. In just six months she has become what we saw today. Her face is still beautiful. She has kind eyes. But she is so weak. As her brother carried her away when we were finished she looked at me and waved, trying to force a smile even though you can just see by her face how much pain she is in. It was her way to say thank you.

Notre Maison

3/15
Got up early this morning to got to the orphanage Notre Maison. There are about 40 kids there right now. About half have disabilities. They were so stinking cute. Very well taken care of, happy, and they have enough food. While we were there 2 Chaplains and a couple other soldiers from the US Army came and dropped off some supplies.

Mikel was a cutie. He would just dance and dance to the tape they had playing-classics like "This Little Light of Mine," "The Lord said to Noah," "Onward Christian Soldiers," "If You're Happy and You Know it," etc.
When using 98% DEET, how many applications are too many? Hopefully the consequences aren't worse than malaria.
Schools have been canceled, potential until next year. The neighborhood by the orphanage decided to organize their own little school. They have about 150 kids meeting each day so they have something to do. It's great to see people trying to make the most of the situation.
A bug just flew up my nose.
There is a turkey outside that competes with the rooster. They make noise all night long. Usually the dogs drowned them out though.
Sorry about all the random thoughts. I'm having a hard time remembering what we've done since my last entry. I blame it on the DEET. Some of the boys at Notre Maison showed me how good they are at writing

Count Your Many Blessings

3/14
Last night felt just like my first night in Argentina-hot, sweaty, dogs barking until the wee hours, roosters crowing, but somehow you eventually fall asleep.
We got up and came to church. The people are so strong. I just wanted to cry I was overwhelmed with the spirit they have. So many members! We met Margerie who has AMAZING English. The church just hired her as an interpreter/translator. She told us the members are strong. They are still paying tithing and fast offerings and fulfilling their callings. The church is helping the members who lost homes rebuild temporary structures if they have property. Members with homes have taken other families in with them. Every 2 weeks the church sends more food supplies to them. They are all taken care of! Isn't the church great?!
Sad story-back in December one of the bishop's here had his 3 year old son kidnapped. A lady walked into primary and took him. They later received a ransom note for 150,000 g (about $4,000). But then the earthquake happened. They found the lady who took the boy, but they have no idea where the boy is.
On the way to church we drove through one of the thousands of tent camps. I don't think I've ever experienced such a thick stench. It's amazing to me that people can survive these conditions. But the Haitians know how to survive. They are fighters. I guess the government has given the people in tents an ultimatum that they have to be gone by the end of the month. They aren't helping them relocate, just telling them to leave. Don't they think if they had somewhere to go, they would have left already?
I'm so impressed with the members (I'm sitting in church right now). They are truly a family here. And such quality people. They are hard working, compassionate people. You can just feel so much love from them.
At the end of relief society, a sister shared a quick testimony of how blessed she feels. Her home was broken in the earthquake and her little boy was inside doing his homework. Right where he was was where it was broken. But he was fine.
They had testimony meeting today. Before they began, the counselor reminded everyone that a testimony should be about what God has given you. There was never a break in someone sharing their testimony. The closing hymn was "Count Your Many Blessings." Imagine seeing a huge congregation of Haitians 2 months post-earthquake singing that song.

Sprinting

(I'm trying to keep a journal with me and when internet is available I'll copy it in here-I'll have to post pictures when I get home. Sorry if the entries aren't very coherent)

3/13
I didn't think I was going to make it to Haiti today. My flight out of Salt Lake was delayed an hour and a half, cutting my layover time down to an hour and a half. But then bad weather in New York had us circling for 20 minutes, we sat on the runway for another 30, and then 10 minutes to get off the plane left me sprinting from the Delta terminal to the American Airlines terminal. I got to the counter with 5 minutes to spare, but luckily the flight was delayed 30 minutes. So after sprinting through security and then to my gate, I actually got on board (after they opened back up the gate for me) and made it to Haiti. My bags weren't as lucky though. Hopefully the come tomorrow.
Haiti so far is mostly how I remember it. It smells a little stronger though. It was crazy driving to Healing Hands though and seeing the damage from the earthquake. Some buildings appear untouched while right next door is completely demolished. People seem like they are trying to resume life. There are all the street vendors out, clean-up is taking place, and repairs and going on.
It's really hot. Not much else to say about that. Hopefully we can sleep. We're going to church in the morning. it will be great to see the members and find out if the work has been moving forward with the earthquake.

T-Minus 3 Days

I leave on Friday for Haiti.

Thank you so much for everyone that has donated supplies and money. I am very grateful. I'm not sure how much access to the internet we will have while I'm there, but there is going to be a mass email sent out with updates sent through two of the team member's phones. Let me know if you want to receive those updates by sending me your email.

I'm heading back to Haiti

I'm going back to Haiti again with the same group I went with last year (Healing Hands for Haiti). We leave on March 12th and come home March 23. Since the earthquake I've had a lot of people ask me how they can help the Haitians. Below I have a list of supplies that we are collecting to take down. If you have access to any of these items, please let me know and we can figure out how I can get them from you. If you would rather donate money to help pay for getting these supplies down to Haiti, interpreters while we are there, transportation to and from clinics and orphanages, etc that would be great as well. Please don't feel obligated to any of this. I'm sure many of you have already donated to Haiti. I just wanted to make sure that you were aware of this opportunity. Thanks for your love and support.

Medical Equipment
Crutches, wheelchairs, walkers, canes
Crutch tips, crutch tips, crutch tips
Corner seats
Car seats
Braces, splints (usable)
Casting materials
Bandages,
Band-Aids, wound dressing supplies
Burn bandages, burn creams or ointments
Gauze, eye patches
Medical tape
Ace Wraps
Liquid Hand sanitizer
Medications (Cannot be expired!) And CANNOT be prescription
Multivitamins (adult and children’s)
Prenatal vitamins
Over-the-counter medications
Tylenol, Advil, Motrin, Ibuprofen (adult and childrens)
Antibiotic ointments
Cold medications
Hydrocortisone cream, benadryl cream, Caladril lotion
Powdered baby formula, protein powder
Zip lock baggies – small size and snack size
Office Supplies
Paper (lined, copy paper)
Pens, pencils, envelopes
Note books
Thumb tacks
Sticky notes
Paper clips, staplers and staples
Hanging files and folders
Medical chart folders
Sharpie type markers, highlighters, dry erase pens
Chalk, erasers
Misc. Items
Cloth diapers w/ pins or Velcro closures
Small hand tools
Small power tools
Screws, nails, staples
Pool supplies (bromine)
Pool float devices
Therapeutic Toys – BEACH BALLS,RHYTHM INSTUMENTS, SOFT BALLS

MSNBC Article

MSNBC Article

What can you do for Haiti

Last March I traveled to Haiti with Healing Hands for Haiti. (If you want to see a few posts from then, click HERE). The devastation from the earthquake has hit close to home because many of those people became my friends. Many of them have lost loved ones, have lost their homes, and have no idea what the future holds. I finally received an email two days ago from one of our interpreters who said,

"thank you for thinking with me i'm still alive but i'm homeless no job see the way you can help me out if you want call me at this number sincerely big mack." Me with Big Mack

The response from the world to this tragedy has been truly moving. A lot of people have been asking me what more they can do to help. Honestly, I don't have the answers. I don't know what the solution is (or that there is one). But I do have some suggestions. Immediately the biggest need is funding for the organizations already down there.

• You can donate to the LDS church humanitarian relief fund by clicking HERE (100% of donations will go to Haiti)
• You can donate to the Red Cross by clicking HERE

With a disaster like this, it will take years for recovery. Once the acute problems (surgeries, broken bones, cuts, infections, etc) are treated, long term recovery will become the focus. I worry that the world will begin to forget Haiti in a few months. Many people have lost limbs and will need prosthetics, wheelchairs, crutches, rehab, etc. To read more about this issue click HERE. This is what Healing Hands for Haiti's mission is.

• You can donate to Healing Hands for Haiti by clicking HERE
• If you have access to medicines (especially antibiotics), medical supplies, wheelchairs, crutches, etc. please contact me. We have a team leaving on Wednesday and then another one hopefully leaving in march

One of the founders of Healing Hands for Haiti, Dr. Jeff Randle has been keeping a blog while he has been in Haiti treating the earthquake victims. To hear his personal account click HERE