Day 4 - more relief work and a miracle

We are awakened today by the music of Michael Jackson at 5:55am on Wednesday. Laying in our tent, I was shocked to hear the song Thriller blaring through some unknown speakers nearby out on the street. This was followed up by "I'm Bad," and then "Don't Stop til you get enough" but I digress. I went back up on the roof to survey the area in front of the Presidential Palace and found out it was the U.S. Military cranking out the tunes while they passed out more giant bags of rice. It was very nice of them to entertain the Haitian ladies waiting in line although the songs were in English. By the way, those ladies could balance the large bags of rice on their heads as they walked back to their "homes." While we are on the roof , a Doctor from Chicago said there was a good chance that another "big" earthquake was coming to Haiti (how he knew this and when it was coming is another topic). Matt and I start discussing what people should do if they are on this 3rd floor roof and an earthquake hits (we are wisely sleeping on solid ground now in our tent while there are many still sleeping up here). We decide it would be wise to jump onto the top of our school bus which is parked right below us and then jump to the ground and get away from the building. It is crazy what you need to think through sometimes to keep your family safe.

I want to apologize again for having to show this trip through my eyes. I was only a small part of this team. The Doctors, Nurses, and Paramedics helped the Haitian people incredibly in their time of need. I was not able to be in the medical clinics to see first hand their skills and how they saved someone from a dire situation. The team was great to be around, even in these tough conditions and they worked hard and long hours.

The same crew of Doctors and nurses headed back to the Miami clinic near the main airport. This was made possible by an idea that Dr. Curran (one of the Doctors on the team) had to help Mision Rescate's relationship with the Miami clinic. Miami was getting too busy to take our emergencies that we did not have the technology or supplies available to handle in our makeshift emergency room. But Dr. Curran had the idea that if we sent an emergency to their clinic, we would send a Doctor along to handle the patient after they were taken care of for up to 24 hours. This idea worked and they also are now welcoming our help the remaining days we have available on this trip. This clinic was partially sponsored by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and was a very nice setup for the medical personnel considering the timing and the location.

I was going back on the school bus with a mobile medical unit team. Matthew and other medical people are staying at the Mision to help here. I am internally happy about the decision to have Matt work at the Mision as it is probably the safest place for him to be all day. Our mobile medical team stopped at a hospital and did some work there checking on the bandages of many patients who recently had amputations. This hospital run by 7th day Adventists was well staffed. We left there and decided to go directly into a poor neighborhood that our Haitian translator Frantzy (his english was great but as a person, he was even better) knew of. It was a little dicey at first when we pulled up as I believe the people thought we had food and rushed the bus. Luckily we had Dave and Mark Lynch as security/preachers and they along with our Haitian Pastor/translator were able to calm the people down and let them know we were there to help medically. Doctor Drew (deserves an award for his patience, kindness, and diligence) was our only doctor and was assisted by Paul and I (his manly nurses). We passed out medicine for children and adults along with vitamins. Dr. Drew was able to bandage up the head of a little girl that had been injured in the earthquake in a fashionable purple bandage. He treated kids with lesions on their body, children with diarea due to the conditions they now lived in, a baby who needed formula immediately as it was literally starving, and many others needing medical assistance. The team outside preached the gospel and kept the peace in what could have been a dangerous situation, instead cooler heads prevailed and people were able to get the treatment that they needed. It was a divine appointment.

That night we had a crisis with a baby boy who was having breathing problems. This baby was lucky that he had these skilled Doctors available to help him. It seemed the entire camp was outside the emergency room praying for this child. Despite their efforts which included reviving the child once when he quit breathing, the baby died on the way to the Miami clinic in the ambulance. They had done all that they could do except pray so as the boy lay there they bowed their heads to the King of Kings. Then after a few moments, God breathed life back into this child. Sometimes we get to be amazed by our good God. We can help and give our all but we need to remember to ask for His help as with Him all things are possible.