Rain, UTI's, lots of patients, and sponsored children

The overnight rain drove the roof sleeping team members indoors about 4:30 AM so the day started early for me. It rained lightly till about 7:30AM. That is when we started seeing patients. That means that we saw the ones who were out in the rain overnight. Soon the sun came out and the humidity level rose so it was a muggy day. Today was body odor day from patients and Haitian helpers. First time it has been noticeable. We treated 290 patients today with several hard cases. Lots of Urinary Tract Infections (UTI's) today. We could almost call it the daily special. Dr's Lukas & Ufert & Fulk in and out all day as we try to treat with dwindling supplies. We have 1 1/2 days of clinic left and it is getting hard to come up with treatment alternatives. It is also taxing to the mind of this older R.Ph. I am so thankful of the library of resources available here. Thanks to previous pharmacists and others for the great library. We are seeing a lot of asthma this time, some very critical. Dr Lukas has been busy with minor surgeries and he does the best that he can in the poor light and difficult conditions. The boy (11 years old) that Donna and I sponsor came for a visit today with his mother. It was a bad time for me as we were in the middle of about 6 problems and I did not have much time to spend with him. People kept coming up to ask questions and all of our heads were spinning. Donna did get some pictures. Belany, one of my interpreters tried to take several pictures of Donna, our boy Jean Dessin, his mother and me. None of them are centered. That was so funny that he could not take a picture. The boy is Belany's nephew. Finally, Dan Steiner happened by and we do have a picture. Speaking of sponsored children, There are 5 children who, for several reasons, have lost their sponsors and there is about 20 on the waiting list. For $ 25.00 per month the child can attend school (uniform is required) and have some money for food. It was very hard on me the other day to hear Barb Hammond tell a mother that the sponsor for her oldest child had passed away and the money had dried up until someone else could be found. I don't know how to paint the picture any other way. It is bleak for these poor people. One can hope that the latest election will bring some stability to the government, the country, and to the people. We've heard that Rene Preval is the winner but nothing official. Donna reminds me to ask any of my pharmacist friends and those of you who might know of a pharmacist who could come to Haiti on a mission in May, please let them know. A note to some previous team members. Sparky has been on the menu many evenings. For the rest, Sparky is the name of a chicken that a team member purchased and runs around the compound (or his prodigy) and crows all night long. Try as we might, the ***** chicken makes noise... Again, thanks for the comments you are sending me. I'm having trouble posting them so all can read them. Y guess my computer skills were left in Peoria. It's almost time for supper so I'll close and let someone else check their email before supper. God bless you!