Beth's Post: Haiti Trip Day 7

April 9, Friday

This morning started off a little earlier as the vendors were supposed to arrive at 6:30am so that we could buy our souvenirs before breakfast. They ended up being significantly late so we all hurried around trying to get a good deal. The whole process was complicated by the fact that we only had large bills and the three vendors didn't have change. It was interesting to saw the least. Finally we rushed into the house and shoved some food down our faces (at least I did) as we ran out the door to hop onto the truck.

I spent the day scribing for Marcia again. Yesterday the flavor of the day was babies, while today we saw a lot more adults. Most of the morning was rather frustrating. It seemed to be one thing after another and Marcia was continually being called away. Progress seemed slow, especially with the added pressure of it being the last day of the clinic. However, after lunch we were finally able to pick up momentum and by the end of the day things were more fluid.

This 6 month old baby weighed 9.4 pounds.

We had a baby today that was 6 months old and only 9.4 pounds. He had a horrible case of scabies and the mother said he didn't eat well. You could definitely tell; he was amazingly tiny. We had a few very old women who were rather cute and we also had several people complaining of aches and pains as a result of the earthquake.

The final count for the day was 204 in the clinic and 90 in the eye clinic. Overall we saw 718 in the clinic and 350 in the eye clinic. That seems like a lot of people, and at the same time not nearly enough.

Towards the end of the day it started looking very definitively like rain. Once we'd finished the last patient, we ran around like crazy trying to finish up the cleaning so we could make it home before the rain. We did, but just barely.

It was with great melancholy that I packed up my things in preparation for our flight tomorrow. When I left for Haiti I didn't know exactly what it would be like or what I would be doing. I think I can safely say it exceeded my imagination in every way. What exactly it means for the future is as of yet unclear. I know I would love to return to Haiti and do more of the same if not something even more in line with my experience and skills.