Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Not such a happy ending for all

Greetings to all: our children, family, friends near and far. We hope your holidays were warm, and filled with dreams for a brighter future for all.
We returned home last night after midnight. It was very cold, but the roads were dry and the night crisp so the drive home was fast. This morning we woke up to the snow we had been dreaming of. What treat!!! That silent softness, that super clean sensation never ceases to bring joy from my head to my toes.

Carl was on call on Christmas eve and all of Christmas day, had clinic the entire next day (with many very sick kids, including the worst malnourished child he had yet seen) and that finished it up. Both the medical director and a Haitian physician were able to go home because of Carl's presence. Although it was a bit rough on us (psychologically) that was good to know.
Sander had met a lovely young lady from Germany who spends her life in developing countries with community health issues. They had a blast and it was nice to see them enjoying the many (and some daring) adventures together. Alas....the world is a big place.
I was just upset. Neither the hospital personnel nor Carl had wanted to tell me that my October project (the PlumpyNut malnutrition program with UNICEF) had fallen flat on its face the beginning of December. The physician (barely out of school and very irresponsible) I stayed with - the same who took the credit for the program, let the contract expire and now there is NO PlumpyNut or any of the other four high-nutrition foods available. We're not just talking about the food, so critically needed, not being avilable, but also about costing the hospital well over $100 000 a year when they will eventually have to purchase it (equivalent) again. I am aghast. I am infuriated. I am deeply disturbed by the lack of commitment by so many there. It is really at the core of so many of the problems whether we are talking about medicine, education, government or job security. It all feels so hopeless. I never thought I would have a ball in my stomach at the thought of going back - but right now I do. It likely won't last...
For now I will try to create a storm with the Melon Grant Foundation so they know what should have been done - and the ball will be in their court. Sad and mad equally.

But our journey ended on beautiful tones and shades.
Carl and I went to Jacmel, an artist community on the south coast, for our 38th wedding anniversary. We stayed in little hotel right on the water (above it, really) which was situated on a beautiful cove. We swam and ate and had rhum and whatever else they added, swam, ate, slept, read...it was wonderful. It was only for 1.5 days and 2 nights, but felt like an eternity .
Sander had gone to spend some time with Mareila, in Port au Orince, but they decided to go to Jacmel as well (before we decided on it). We thought we'd all avoid each other. However...it turned out that they were staying on the edge of the same cove (14 km out of town) and within walking distance of our hotel. That was very funny. They came to have dinner with us and they led us, in the dark, to the unfinished house they were camping in. A beautiful, conch-shell studded place. The lady of the house, Polyanna, was waiting for us with wine, candles and a huge cake! It was so wonderful and special. Slightly tanned we are now home again, with stories of lost and returned dogs, snow to be shovveled and gifts from our children waiting for us under the tree.

It was another trip filled with special times and blessings, although a sour note near the end.
One that hurts.
All our love to all of you and with wishes for al the best in a very hopeful (USA) year to come and with everlasting thoughts of peace.
I'll ask Sander and Carl to post some of their WOW-DERFUL pictures laster this weekend.
Marianne

Friday, December 26, 2008

Another day

Greetings,
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was WEIRD and LONESOME, although it was great to talk to each one of the kids, and nice that Jean, Gladys and the brothers (of Gladys) were here. But everyone just kind-of sat there. There was no music, no ornaments or anything jolly, the maids refused to go home to their families etc. JUST WEIRD. I will definitely be home for Christmas next year. And the next. And..etc
So, with these blues in mind, I sit here and count the days to come home. Most everyone in the hospital has been sent home and the ´crew´ is down to the absolute minimum. There is truly nothing to do and that is just not my style. Carl is working today and has clinic, but even there few have shown up. Sander went, to his delight, into the mountains (again) with the security guard whom he befriended. His name is Wilson (many people here have last names for first names, like DeLaRose) and he is one of the personal guards of Preval. He checks out all places (now the hospital) for security and Sander has had a great deal of fun going into the mountains with Wilson. Wilson totes two impressive-looking guns but I have grown accustomed to it.

For the five of us: Carl, Sander, Philip (another MD volunteer), Wilson and myself we have three or four maids. OK: I prefer ¨Femmes de Maison¨. Not so derogatory. They appear before sunup, around 5:30 am, and leave after dark at 6pm. They wash all the floors and all surfaces, do all our laundry by hand, cook 3 meals for us all, go to the market twice a day (5 min walk ), rearrange the furniture to perfection and kill the chickens. They are and function like a family. Laughter is everywhere and they yack like everyone else. I love them.
I look how busy they all are, and wonder why housewives in other countries, also raising their kids, running them around and often have a full-time job, do it. Weŕe totally NUTS. And we have 530 000 people out of work. We either should lead a more peaceful life or use more of our money to give others an honerable job.
The turnside is that I HATE having people around me all day long. In addition I am not alowed to do anything. It is a mix between them enjoying to spoil me (we get along very well and laugh much while they improve my Kreyol) and me being in their way in their territory. I understand that. But I am bored to pieces.

OK. Enough grumping. Just not used to it and my cough is not improving.
Can wait to get home and stay home for a while. It´s not so bad to need peace.
We´d like to go to a beach resort for 1 or 2 nights, but the all, so far, appear to be full. (Our anniversary). Sander is planning to go to Port au Prince, or even to Jacmel on the south coast, with a (very nice) girl from Germany he met here...
She works for Community Health in PaP and the Dominican Republic.

See you all soon: home the evening of the 30th and hoping for snow the following day!
Much love, Marianne

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Pre-Christmas in Haiti

Hello family and friends,
It is hard to imagine snow, warm fires, hot chocolate and packages under the tree. Itś nice to be here and the only justification to pick this particular time is that the hospitalś director and his wife are now able to spend Christmas with their family in Switzerland. This man deserves it! But not being home is tough today.

Carl was on call last night and had a strange experience. A woman went in labor and they had to do a c-section because things were not progressing. When they opened her up, they found a tumor almost the size (and shape) of a football! It was obstructing the baby and it had to be cut out first. The baby is ok, but it was close! Later that night a mother went into labor at 30 weeks. The baby died and everyone was upset and sad. Had the baby been born in the USA it would have been flown to the neonatal unit in Scranton and been fine. Here we just don´t have even the simplest equipment (ventilator, for example) and thatś it.
On the other hand healthy twins were born after that.
Many of these women come from the mountains when or slose to the time that they are in labor. They are strapped to a chair which is attached to two long poles and they are, on the shoulders of the father and another family member, carried down the mountains. These trips can take hours. Their offspring is their social security (not much more secure than what we have) and they have to protect it with all possible.

Sander went on a tough trip today. He is going out in a jeep with a driver, a pistoled guard, a doctor and an assistant, to the mountainous village Bastien. A bastion indeed it is. Almost impossible to get to, including for horses and donkeys, the men climb up the steep slope for about 2 hours. Everything is hand-carried since indeed no beasts can make it either up or down. It will be another great experience for him.
Last night he went to a ¨club"with one of his buddies here. When Carl and I go to the beach resort for our last 2 days, he is going to a friend in Port au Prince. He certainly spent his time well.

I am waiting for Gladys, her 3 brothers and my Jean to arrive. They are spending 2 days with us and we enjoyed getting some presents organised and meals planned. The house ladies are frowning a bit over it all...
Carl has carved two spoons for her as Christmas gifts. She is crazy about Sander, but especially about her ¨Papie¨. So good to add something to someoneś life...so many have to mine!

Ie been overly tired the last 2 days and ended up sleeping quite a lot. I really am missing home this time. Hearoing that Leonardo has run off, and not found back, is something I don´t even want to think about.

All our love to everyone and, if I don´t get to write: a marvelous Christmas eve and Christmas day.

Much love, Marianne

Monday, December 22, 2008

Greetings, on this fine, sunny day. A bit on the warm side, which seems to have sprouted palm trees on every inch. Amazing. No snow or other pleasant things. I would never enjoy a world without seasons, as I had already discovered in New Orleans.

The chickens and rooster were above me in the trees again this morning. The chickens are after the bugs in the bromeliads and, well, the roosters are after the chickens.

Yesterday we slung the Christmas lights across the windows and took a taxi/moto ride out to the orphanage to borrow cookie sheets. Had a great visit!
When I was there a year ago, a girl, about 5 years old, had been left on the doorstep of the orphanage school at the busy time of 180 kids coming in. Nobody noticed her. She was propped up against a pillar and had, amazingly, not fallen over. She couldn´t focus, didn´t talk and had no muscle tone. They called her TiFi (little girl) and did´nt know what to do with this mysterious appearance. Abandoning was not an option: the community can do that, but not a ´blan´ There would be a riot and lives in danger.
So they kept her. Tifi had to be diapered, fed and there was seemingly no hope. I had a Christmas [picture of her last yea, sagging on a chair with a huge rag doll that had more posture than she did.
When I saw her yesterday I almost fainted. She is WALKING when holding a hand, (even up the steps) says Mama to Karen and gives endless hugs. What a little miracle! I know an orphanage in Port au Prince that specifically takes such children and I am going to find it back. Karen cannot keep TiFi - she takes too much attendtion they don´t have special services for her. In the mean time I am going to try and see whether we can´t find a physical therapy or art or music whatever therapy student who could come over there this summer as part of an internship or volunteer work. There is so much to be done and such a great and loving experience. My kids definitely have competition here from the children of Haiti when it comes to affectionate hugs!

Sander has climbed the water tower twice now, with the aid of a harness and carabiners. He has befriended a very nice young lady from Germany, who works in Port au Prince in Social Services. They had 2 really nice days together and she loved going up the watertower with Sander when he went up the second time.
Carl and I are making reservations for a wonderful beach resort here, Indigo Beach, where we will spend 2 nights (38th anniversary) before returning home. White sand, great drinks and dinners, snorkeling and all that stuff. Itś just about mid-point between here and PaP. Perfect.

Today Sander has gone around trying to take unposed pictures, which is almost impossible. In the first place you cannot take real candid shots because you have to ask everyone for permission (still much superstition), and in the 2nd place the people are ¨spoiled"by the fact that Sander had on-the-spot prints. Now everyone wants them. We have explained that 1) there are no more prints (not true) - maybe later (true) and 2) that pictures now have to be taken for the hospital book and has to show people working. So they make a great show of working. One guy practically danced as he painted the walls. Very funny.
Sander succeded in getting great shots of most departments.

Last night Carl and I went to the market to buy somew rhum. The price is rediculously low for some of the best in the world. Smoooooth...
I was short 500 goud (about 10$ Haitian = 1.20c US) and promised to bring it today (their suggestion to take the rhum anyway...it is pretty hard for us to run away...we sort of stand out in a crowd) This morning I did and with a glorious smile handed her the 500 bill, all dirty and crumbled as they all are. She looked at it carefully, straightened it out, looked again and handed it back to me. I thought that was very kind, but insisted that she keep it. She called in the troups, who explained to me it was fake money. Sure enough: it was a 500-whatever bill left from Kyrgyzstan! Another trip to the market will be made later today.

Gladys and the 4 boys will be coming Wednesday and spend Christmas with us. Yesterday, after much searching for the right ingredients, I made a run of 10 typical Milks Christmas loaves and they came out OK. Today I will make the 2nd batch and Carl can give them to his staff. I ordered a dozen eggs from the house lady (brought mayo and had 2 pkts of McD mustard) to make 24 deviled eggs. Also found a tiny piece of (old??) brie in PaP and brought crackers so the staff will have an extremely luxirious Christmas party at our Alumni House, with the wine we brought! The other options are rum or coke or rhum and coke or coke and rhum. We all look forward mto it!

OK. Enough. As you can see I don´t really have miuch to tell today.
Much love to everyone, thank you thone who wrote emails, thank you Jet and Bob for the party picture!
Hugs, Sander, Carl and Marianne

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Saturday, December something, 2008 (I think)

Good day, everyone.
Apologies for the errors yesterday but 1) this comp is, as mentioned, a dinausaur and 2) doesn like to share apostrophes, spare t-s or some numbers.
Rugs, for example., are priced from $150-$200, not starting at $10.

So. I am feeling so much better this morning, after a night where I tought I had given my last breath in a severe asthma attack. Good thing Carl was there. It seems like I got rid of most of what was plaguing me, so thatś a relief to all. Not much fun.

Sanderś climb was wonderful, and so were the pictures he brought back. The staff is delighted and some will undoubtedly be used for some sort of publication since is shows the hospital and some outlying buildings clearly. There are so many - and some huge - trees here that several buildings are completely hidden from view.
Sander had to use a harness and carabiners to get up the tower, and now Carl wants to go as well. More power to them! Jimmy, the head engineer, is a wonderful oddball (as I said yesterday: most here are) who told us that engineer and ingeneous come hand in hand here. If a car breaks down and cannot be repaired right there, a bunch of guys come, lift up the car and carry it back to the hospital. Most parts needed are just made from whatever materials lay around, or taken and reshaped from old vehicles. Nothing is thrown away and nothing is taken for granted. In the mean time the bouganville and hibiscus bloom overhead, reminding you that all takes time.
When we were on our way from the airport to the hospital, the tyerod of the car broke. We didn´t tumble into the river, so all was well. We waited for a van from the hospital to pick us up. By then it was completely dark. The driver broke off a bunch of branches and laid them on the road ahead of us, toward the oncoming traffic, with a big rock placed on them. (Not to keep the branches there, but to discourage drivers to run over them amnd staying on our path). An ingenious substitue for a flare. We were on the way left side of the road, right past a curve and no shoulder - just a ravine. It was still a bit worrysome, but not too much. We all waited in the dark until a new van came, which carried a crew to do the impossible and take us to the hospital. Less than an hour later they followed us home, car in perfect condition. You do what you have to. No waiting until Wednesday two weeks from now, as in the local garage in Honesdale or elsewhere.

I have two new jobs. One is to translate Dr. Maibach´s brochure from a Swiss supporting organization (BSHASH) into real English. I have fun with that. The other is a never-ending job of updating the thousands of charts in the admissions office, where useless papers are rarely removed from bulging charts. It can be decades before it is done. Many times patients are dead anyway- two sheets of paper is enough for that chart.
That work by itself will keep me busy whenever I am not working in the ward, which I will continue tomorrow.

This afternoon Sander, Carl and I are hiring the services of Margerite, our former house lady. She is the mother of Marigite, the girl whośe schooling is now supprted by Tina. She will take us on the taptap to Verrettes, otherwise a 2 hr walk each way. And taptaps, though dangerous, are so much fun. We are going to buy farine (flour), zufs (eggs), dley (milk power), kanel (cinnamon) and..??.. (nutmeg) there. And that great rum for the holidays, of course. Tomorrow I will bake at least 20 Christmas breads and distribute them to the nurses on Monday. Should be fun. Since we are staying at Alumni House, we are lucky enough to be able to do that. It is the only house that has an oven and 24 hr light and water. A treat: a real cold shower instead of the daily bucket.

OK. Thatś enough for today. I am sure there will be something of substance to say tomorrow, since are going to a 3hr voodoo event tonight. And meeting the priestess some time this afternoon. I am very excited and am glad I asked. Even Carl wants to go!

By the way: I cannot make corrections here because I cannot really see print or screen. So itś by luck if it all makes sense.

Tata.
Love, Marianne

Friday, December 19, 2008

Haiti revisited- December 2008

Hello Friends,
Christmas time is distinctly differnet here, starting with little colored lights dangling from palmtrees and haphazardly slung across the hospital hallways. Balloons added, some items that have absolutely nothing to do with Christmas except for the festive atmosphere (paper chains) and there is a sense of expectation in the air in spite of the increase in certain diseases, as the time of year directs.

Itś good to be back here. One feels useful, yet enormously peaceful. People become friends so readily, especially when they find out that you don't hand out money. You are for real and they respect you. Itś not easy to do that with so much poverty.

The hospital itself is increasingly working like a smooth machine. What a difference with 3 years ago. The place is freshly painted. The guards at the entrance and exit do a precise job and are clearly proud of the fact they they, too are part of the machine. The Swiss director, a pediatrician, is tough and a stickler, and expects complete order and commitment from the most menial job to his own. There is a medical meeting every morning from 7am-8am and if you are 3 minutes late, you can get in and it is marked down. The presentations vary from medical/ patient information, technical issues (generator) to new regulations within a certain department. He is an elderly gentleman and reminds me of Albert Schweitzer himself. I like him very much. He is trying to find a replacement for him so he can go home and retire (his wife an anesthetic nurse, is here as well). But he wants someone better than he is, and preferably a Haitian.Quite a job!

Carl is in heaven doing what is he so good at. He has a translator with him at all times, a very friendly man who definitely speaks better Kreyol than English. But it works and he teaches Carl. Carl runs the out-patient pediatric clinic in the morning and works in the newborn nursery and peds the rest of the day. Which works at the typical peaceful speed with an hour + for lunch, little nap...etc.

Sander is having a blast. people are very excited to have him here, ex-patirates and Haitian alike. There is enormous cooperation and everyone knows that what he does is terribly important, especially the ¨guys up high¨. And he is good at what he does. He has made a ton of friends. These next days he is highlighting the technical parts of the hospital, the sides donors and other curious people never hear of. This morning he is going to the emptying of a well with the head engineer here. One huge guy will pull out the shaft and rapidly the crew takes over to pull out the rest. There is no equipment. No cranes, no tractors. It is done with stone and wood rollers, hard work, team work and ingenuity. And it works. Late afternoon he is going to climb the 60 ft water tower, to take pictures of the hospital and surrounding area when the light is lovely and the shadows are long. He is also going into the mountains later, which I have already done. I may go along, depending on how I feel.

Sander and I were reflecting upon the thought that the reason we love it here and feel we belong, is because everybody here, from medical staff to engineers and office technicians, are oddballs. Itś wonderful to be comfortable and have great conversations with people who don´t bat an eye at some outrageous way to solve a problem or present outlandish ideas. Because here they work. They need to.

It is cool now. People (Haitians) walk around with 2 sweaters on and complain. I am finally comfortable, although a blanket is definitely needed at night.
I came down with a flu-or-whatever before I left home (from Carl) and am sick and at times quite miserable. Nasty cough and hot/cold. So I have to stay away from the wards for now, particularly the malnutritian ward. I would make those kids, with their immune system so low, very sick. (And I could catch something we don want as well!) I was there the 1st day but became worse so now I have to sweat it out.
There is so much to do, however. With the Head of Nursing and another woman, we are wrapping over 500 packages with Christmas gifts for all the staff and the patients. Everyone receives on white towel, tightly rolled up, and a little ziplock baggy filled with colorful candies. Tie a little red ribbon around it and it looks cheerful and special. The other thing weŕe wrapping are more elaborate packages for the newborns and the littlest babies. They may contain little baby hats, receiving and other blankets, diapers and pins and at least one little outfit. Many of these itams came from Pennsylvania. Thank you, guys! It will make a gift they will always remember!
Yesterday I was VERY happy. There was an empty workshop for various arts here. I tried to get in 3 years a go but the woman who was the self-appointed boss would not let me. One elderly woman (A Mellon family member) took over (what could they say?)
2.5 years ago she bought a piece of land and hired people to plant cotton and harvest it. The new cotton was spun (each step required earning a certificate), the the cotton was dyed into wonderful colors and weaving looms (5) were imported to make rugs. They are wonderful. The price is $10 or $200 a piece, dependoing on the size and you can even request certain color combinations!
N4ext door is a woodworking shop. They scrounge the area for fallen oak and another native hardwood, which is further aged and turned into gorgeous furniture. The left-over pieces are used to make souvenirs (little boxes, for example). I had a problem with using the wood,, but felt better knowing that they never cut.
Next to the woodworking shop is the ceramics shop. They use (now) only molds and they make them themselves. The colors are lovely and there is a great variety of dishes. They sell very well. Weŕe talking about possible ways to decorate the dishes, to give them more of a Kreyol feeling.
That´s a summary of some of the things I have done. New things.

Tonight weŕe having dinner at the Maibachś house (med director) and I am bringing the wine. Am I ver glad I brought that big box over. Theyŕe delighted.
And sometime this weekend Sander and I, and I imagine Carl, will be taken to a 3 hr Voodoo ritual in the mountains by some of our new friends. Weŕe really excited about that.

OK-the machine here (a dinosaur) just informed me that this blog most likely will not be sent. That light just went out so off it goes. Having a great time here and feeling very, very useful.
Much love to you all, will write again when I have the chance.
Marianne
Emails and responses grate(ce)fully accepted.