Day 3

Last nite went to the UN for dinner. It was a breath of fresh air to get out especially as I had a bout of severe abdom pain during the day when my Dad visited me. I have no idea what it was but it was severe. At the UN there was all sorts of American type food - burgers, fries, BBQ chicken. I only had fries, yogurt. Food is available twice a day - 12:30 to 1:30pm then again at 3:30pm. It isn't the most appetizing but it serves its purpose.
I discharged a pt today whose prognosis was a bit more promising. He is an 18 yo male s/p Mva c/b closed head trauma. He actually had a place to go with both his parents, which is rare.
One thing I've learned from haitian people that they can be very soft spoken and humble...I haven't heard anyone raise their voice this entire time. It is incredible maybe it is b/c I'm seeing them @ their worst.
Today I worked at the mango tree doing triage/clinic. There were about several hundred pts there today. I only worked for 2.5 hrs but I saw about 30+ patients. Most of my pts had chronic complaints of abdominal, back pain & 'acute' ones like PID, STD, & vaginal candidiasis. But some had things we could not even treat. There was young man with a huge neck mass (likely something congenital). It was not acutely infected and we had no ENT docs on the compound, so I had to sadly turn him away.

A better day

Today was a better day. I saw my pts & went to " work". I'm on the medicine team as there were not enough doctors for that grp. There are 5 rows of pts, about 11 each - A to E. I was assigned to E which which are pts with varying spinal cord injuries - paraplegia & quadraplegia- some directly & indirectly related to the quake. Typically in the US all of these pts would b discharged to a rehab facility, but there is no such thing here. One pt I have with quadraplegia who has no active medical issues, cannot b discharged b/c he doesn't have a safe dispo plan - there r no visiting nurse services, home physical therapy. For others who may not need rehab, don't have a home to go to. I have another pt who i am planning to discharge tomorrow who told me she needed shoes, clothes for 3 kids, tent, & money. I was speechless & overwhelmed. How could I get her these things & is it even possible?? Well of course the answer is 'no' which is very unsettling & left me feeling hopeless. I felt like what am I really doing for these people. Finding needs that I can't fulfill or really fix. What's my purpose?