Tuesday update

Winding down the day here in PaP. It's 8:15, and most of our team is
already asleep. I'll be soon to follow. We saw 368 patients today in
what was about a half day by the time we got all our supplies and got
setup. It was pretty exhausting, but worthwhile.

All 15 of us were under a large tarp, so it was pretty tight. But we
had shade! In addition to what medications we prescribed, most every
patient got de-worming treatment, vitamins, and food for their family.
We saw a lot of typical primary care issues like uncontrolled
hypertension, skin rashes, and female problems. Most all our patients
live in the tent city setup just beside our clinic site. There was at
least one moment of heated tensions in the huge line of patients
waiting to be seen, but all ended well.

I did see one 12 year old who had a syncopal episode in line. When we
got to him, he was lethargic, cold, and clammy, and I thought we were
going go have to get him to the hospital (which isn't an easy task.)
But his pulse was normal, and he didn't show other worrying signs, so
we decided to work on him there. We gave him some iv fluids, and he
turned around really quickly. My final diagnosis for him was simply
heat exhaustion due to dehydration and malnutrition. Brent also gave
a liter of iv fluids to another very dehydrated man later. So, a few
urgent care cases to keep us on our toes! We also saw some malaria,
kwashiorkor malnutrition, among other things. We also have three
trauma counselors with us, so they've been incredibly helpful.

There is a huge US military presence here. UN peacekeeping forces are
a close second, and scattered Hatian police here and there. It feels a
lot like a war zone. We were setup pretty close to then airport today,
so military helicopters and planes were almost landing on us all day.
US, UN, and other armed forces are all around, which is clearly a
calming presence to everyone, Hatian or outsider. It really makes you
proud of our country. We saw a food distribution by the UN today in
one of the tent camps, and it was choatic. Later, we saw a well
organized tarp distribution (read: Tarp = home) this afternoon being
run by the US military. There are certainly a lot of people providing
aid down here now.

So, on to another site tomorrow. Please keep praying for this country.
The people of Haiti are incredibly gracious, and certainly in a very
humble place in their existence. May their pain and humility and all
that is happening bring them closer to Jesus - he suffered as well,
that he might know our suffering. And he died and rose again that
Haiti may not be without hope.

Soli Deo Gloria!