Frday March 28

Hello again. We have rain again this morning. Yesterday we had a light shower for a better pat of the afternoon. It also looks like it rained most of the night but I did not notice. I was tired and in bed just after 9 PM.
It is so interesting to be on a team other than my normal group as I see things from another perspective. This team, uses little Rocephin (an injectable antibiotic). They are seeing less goiter and using no additional folic acid. As expected, we are seeing a lot of fungus so Griseofulvin use is high. We have run out of rescue inhalers for asthmatics and that is not good. We will try to get some locally but have doubts that we can. This team used lots of clotrimazole vag suppositiries and they are now gone so it is back to the nystatin ones and we have a quantity of that. One of my helpers, Diana the princess, is involved in youth ministry in her home in Kentucky. She sings beautifully and the pharmacy is filled with song, which make the day pass quickly. The interpreters did manage to tease her about the word shot which means cat in kreole but they refer to it in the American slang way and her face got a little red. Note to Becky and Marna from July: There are two pediatric nurses from Children's Memorial in Chicago who are the work image of you two and I would love to see the 4 of you get together sometime. They are constantly looking for work to help me and any one else. They are bubbly and smiling all the while and they thirst for knowledge. Great to have them on the team. Another item about the team is that I have less reason to leave the pharmacy to clarify and order so I do not get as many breaks as I do on the February team. The last patient we saw was a woman with three children, ages 12, 2 and 3 months. They were all terribly skinny, the babies looked the same age, both seemed lifeless; the little family came from the mountains, and had walked a long time to get to us. The 2 year old's hair was red; black babies hair turns red because of malnourishment.
I invite you to view the blog of Diana, the princess (yes she loves to be called the princess) to gain another perspective of this mission. It is located at www.xanga.com/anaiDiana
Time for breakfast, My back is still holding up well. I am worried about a friend back in Peoria who is in a nursing home and may not be alive when I return, so keep him in your prayers, please. Thanks for all you do for me, for FOTCOH, and for the Haitian people.