Updates from Paul in Haiti

1-19-10 10pm The Haiti earthquake was a week ago today. Paul has been there for about 4 days, but gone from Shell for 6. He called tonight and said that things are somewhat less crazy and they feel like they can stop for lunch and dinner and end the day at a decent time (meaning before midnight!) There are more surgeons there now, including the founder of World Medical Mission, a program that sends graduating medical residents to places like Shell for two years to explore their interest in missions. Senator Bill Frist is also there. They ran two OR’s today and there are two anesthesiologists, so it was still quite busy. However, it sounds like the cases are more straight-forward than they were at the beginning. There is still a hospital full of orthopedic cases needing surgery! The ones that remain are mainly closed fractures of arms and legs. Yesterday Paul told me that they had no tetanus vaccine which would typically be given in these types of surgeries. I don’t know if that has changed, but please pray that these patients would do well in spite of this and that vaccine would be found to give them. The sad news is that the lady who was bleeding from her stomach and required a transfusion a couple of days ago died. It sounds like her medical problems were not related to the earthquake.

Paul really feels like God put the team right where they were needed. The two surgeons from HCJB both specialize in orthopedics and as you know have been incredibly busy. Although we shouldn’t be surprised, it is amazing to see how God works even in such difficult circumstances. As some of the immediate needs have been met following the disaster, I can only imagine that many are beginning to process their tremendous grief and loss. It is hard to imagine on such a large scale and yet to each person it is profoundly personal. Continue to pray for the people of Haiti as they begin to consider rebuilding their lives.

Paul is eager to get home, but feels like he is needed there. It’s hard to imagine doing this for another week and then have the 2-3 days of travel to get back here. Two members of the team are leaving tomorrow. Paul considered returning with them, but decided that his job is not done there and will stay. Weariness is setting in – please pray for stamina and rest for him and his teammates, as well as wisdom in the medical and logistical decisions that they make.

Tonight Paul told me that on their way from Miami to the West Palm Beach airport where they took off from for Haiti, the team stopped at Wendy’s. Now this is a normal part of our culture, but the HCJB team is a German, 2 Brits, an Ecuadorian and 2 Texans. Everyone except Paul and our friend Mark found the triple hamburger a strange idea! Apparently the Frosties were a hit, however. This is just a reminder of all the culture leaps Paul is making. Traveling from Shell to Quito to Miami to Haiti was quite an experience. I imagine making the trip in reverse will be even more interesting.

On the home front, my parents were delayed in their travels, hopefully by only 24-hours. Nathan and Isaac both had fevers all day today. It looks like Nathan will be home from school again tomorrow. Tomorrow and Thursday we have a team of nurses at Casa de Fe and I am hoping to get over there to help out. Steven, the baby with a trach, seems to be better. Praise God!

Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray, as I know you are.

1-18-10 2pm From Paul in a brief e-mail last night regarding yesterday: Just a short one again! They found diesel fuel so we operated until about 9 instead of 5 then a woman bleeding from her stomach and in shock came in and we operated on her. I just got home at 12:30am. We missed Paul’s call this morning, but he just called and 3 of us were thrilled to talk to him. Several surgeons and another anesthesiologist are arriving soon which should help, but will so many more surgeons than anesthesiologists, I’m sure Paul will stay busy. He said they were close to catching up on the surgeries needed but today a member of the army came by and said they (Baptist Haiti Mission) were the only functioning “trauma center” and they wanted to transport more patients to the hospital. Sounds like it will continue to be busy. He sounded positive, not too exhausted or down. The water filter is up and running, thanks to our friend and colleague Martin Harrison. He also has a blog on BBC in England, check it out: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8458915.stm. The need for IV fluid that I mentioned previously was filled when a box was found in the back of a storage closet. It sounds like they have almost run out of several things only to find more stock in an out of the way place! The missionaries at Baptist Haiti Mission have kept up a blog and just posted a prayer request for the patient that Paul wrote about who was bleeding from her stomach. She needs blood. All they need is a bag to hold the blood. They have everything else including a willing donor. Their blog is: http://www.bhm.org/bhm/lang-en/news-and-resources/our-life-in-haiti-blog.html. We are so appreciative of your prayers and encouragement. The boys and I are doing fine (better after talking to Paul.) I can’t tell if the boys are experiencing normal moodiness or extra stress, but overall things they are very helpful. School helps – the weekend gets a little long and house-bound without Daddy. We have been encouraged by notes, messages, meals and calls. The boys ask constantly how many days till Maw-Maw and Pop come and now the answer is 3! Here in Shell, please pray for baby Steven, the baby at Casa de Fe with a tracheotomy. It sounds like he may be developing pneumonia again. Philippians 4:13

1-17-10 10am: I have heard from several team members, including one that Paul asked to write us. They worked from 8am until about midnight last night. Paul was in the OR all that time. They are seeing many infected wounds now that it is several days after the quake. There are no labs available because the lab staff died. There is very little nursing care and no vital signs are being done on the floor. The lady with eclampsia from the first night is still very sick. New patients are still coming in and there is some concern that it will be hard to convince them to go when they are medically ready because the hospital offers safety and clean water. They still experience occasional aftershocks. Some supplies are running low. An exciting development however is the fact that there is a team of Billy Graham chaplains there working with translators. They are sharing Christ with the patients and 20 people have given their lives to Christ today. The chaplains have been helping our team as well. Thank you all for your prayers and messages!

These are some prayer requests from one of the team members this morning:
1. We are running low on diesel fuel for generating power – 2 days left, so we are starting to ration electricity. This reduces flexibility for communications as well as time for the doctors to do their precious ministry. Please pray for diesel to start flowing!
2. Also very low on certain essential medical supplies for repairing broken bones. Pray that other organisations would free up some of their supplies and that new ones would arrive!
3. Stamina – we are working extreme hours in difficult conditions – the doctors and surgeons are amazing!!!

1/16/10 8am: Paul just called and we were thrilled to hear his voice. However, the fact that he called on the satellite phone tells me that what they are doing is very difficult and he needed to hear our voices. He said this as well and had a hard time talking for tears. Please pray for them. Yesterday they tried to deliver a baby by C-section 2 months early whose mother was suffering eclampsia. The baby did not make it, but the mother is recovering. This was very hard on the team and on Paul. So is the devastation that they are witnessing. Please pray for them as they try to deal with all of these things and do their job. They were able to do a couple other surgeries yesterday and get some sleep. He said the Baptist Haiti Mission where they are is a mission compound similar to Shell. He does have e-mail access and we got a brief e-mail from another doctors account.

We were so glad the hear from him and Sammy and Nathan talked to him. But everybody is a bit grumpy this morning. We haven’t had breakfast yet, so that is part of it, but I think this and the weeks since Christmas is taking its toll on our boys. It’s hard to process all the things we’ve had going on. Please pray for them.

1/15/10 11pm: I have not heard anything from Paul since they landed. I did get a phone message from him that they landed safely and were heading up the mountains to the Baptist hospital where they will work. From twitter, the hospital had more than 300 patients waiting to be seen today and only 2 doctors. I can only imagine that the HCJB docs will be working long into the night. Please pray for fuel which is a huge need for the generators that the hospital is running on. Pray for strength for the doctors – emotional as well as physical.

Also, in response to my e-mail update I learned that my friend Dr. Judith is only 20 minutes from this hospital. I hope that she and Paul are able to connect. I met Judith in Chicago at a health clinic where she worked and where I was a volunteer for a year with Lutheran Volunteer Corps trying to decide whether to go on to medical school. (This experience also introduced me to the organization Christian Community Health Fellowship, which was largely responsible for us hearing about the need for an anesthesiologist in Ecuador.) Judith was my first mentor in doctoring, as well as a mentor in walking with Christ. She was a missionary in Haiti before our time in Chicago overlapped and she later returned to Haiti. Even during her time in Chicago, I was profoundly impressed by her great love for the people of Haiti. Never would I have guessed that we would be missionaries in Ecuador and my husband have the chance to meet her in Haiti under such terrible conditions. Also, her son went to my alma mater and I was able to meet him at my 10th? reunion. Pray for her, as she is treating patients in Haiti as well as witnessing the devastation of the place that has become home to her. I will post updates as I know them.