Day 8: February 20, 2010

This morning we had clinic for a few hours and I saw a lot of male patients so that Dr. Lee could see some women finally. I think I may have had a man with either lung cancer or TB, but there is no way to tell definitively, and it makes you feel pretty helpless sometimes. In total we saw around 175 patients. We said our goodbyes to Christopher, Christine and Ois...a sad moment with many tears shed. Christine will go home with Christopher to care for her other four children while awaiting a medical visa for Christopher. Ois is off to a special care facility where he will get the attention he deserves...not that we didn't try to do our best for him. It's hard to believe our work here is done, although we are all anxious to get home to our loved ones (and a hot shower!).

After clinic we all had some downtime before we were able to all go out together. We loaded into two vans and had quite the experience driving through Haiti with the choking exhaust and scenes of devastation..not to mention they drive like crazy people! We arrived at the Visa Lodge in one piece..and discovered it was truly heaven in Haiti! An actual sit down restaurant with a pool and TV! We all sat down at a table under a ceiling fan which felt fabulous after sweating all day. They had flushing toilets and running water and we acted as if we had never seen that before. Some of us took advantage and ordered rum punch or beer and sat with our feet in the pool. Only Chad actually had on swim trunks and he was the first to jump in. But it didn't stop me, Rachel, Lauren, Adam, and Jenny Ma from jumping in clothes and all. It was the best swim ever (not to mention our first bath in a week)! Who cared if we were a little soggy sitting down to dinner that night? The food was excellent and Janet and I shared Haitian spaghetti and shrimp creole. To top it all off we had dessert and coffee....it felt almost like home, and a wonderful oasis after a long week. Thank you Vanessa and Kez for the treat!

When we returned home and the children were upset. At first we thought it was because we were pretty late for our date with them, but we soon discovered that one of their brothers was in the hospital. We still played as usual, although it was more subdued. There is a little toddler they call TeeTee who usually runs away when we call to him. But tonight he let me hold him in my arms and he soon fell asleep. What a sweet way to end the night...but not after our usual round of card games, stories and laughter back at "home". Tomorrow some of us plan to go to church with Vanessa.