august 10th 2010

Yes...it has been really hot here...it always is, but some days are REALLY hot.
Blada is out of town, and...I really miss him! Spending time with him has become a huge part of my reality here and is something that helps me to bear everything else. I won't see him until next weekend because I am going to Port au Prince this Friday and returning next Friday or so. It has been really fun dancing with him. We practice once a week, and go out 2-3 times a week. Some days we are more in tune with eachother and dance well, and some days not so much, but it is always fun and positive. We've been trying out some new things, like things we each remember from before, so that has been exciting.
The hospital...it is so crazy. Like today, this woman comes in, with blood pressure of 230/180, with +3 proteinuria, with swelling in her face...probably all the other signs too...so, there is NOTHING to give her. Our little cabinet has become depleted and I need to go and get more supplies to replenish it--which I will do tomorrow--sometimes things dissappear really fast...we are totally out of syringes...we had alot last week...anyway, so in the hospital pharmacy, there is NO IV TUBING, NO IV FLUIDS, NO ANGIOCATHS, NO NEEDLES OR SYRINGES, NO BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICATION. Luckily, in our little cabinet (of supplies that the American midwife volunteers bring down), we had 1 20cc syringe, and some needles, so we gave the lady 10g mag sulfate IM. She had no family with her to go and buy the supplies she needed to start an IV and give her mag in the IV, and to give B/P medication. It just felt like such a helpless situation. Like, it was a dead end, nothing else to do. The thing is, this happens ALL THE TIME here, situations just like this. Stuff you can't even imagine. There have been times where I felt like like I would go crazy if I heard one more person say "pa genyen" (there isn't any) about some material that they were looking for. I hear people saying "pa genyen" all the time. The people here are so used to working with nothing, to having nothing, and to having nowhere further to look, to find a solution. We are so used to in the US always having a next step, a way of finding the answer, the solution.
This woman, she's just one of so many people here who come to the hospital in such a precarious situation, so close to the possibility of death. She's only 25 weeks pregnant.
I have been happy with the way the students are working recently. They're doing a good job. Like today, one of them was doing her best to take care of the pre eclamptic woman, even though she had nothing to work with.
That's about all, I guess. Just one little part of the picture here. I miss all of you, thank you for your comments and support, can't wait to see you guys again.
Reina