Challenged

It's been awhile since we've written anything, but it's not because we've forgotten or didn't feel like it. It has been a crazy week and a half here and I'm not sure where to start. I (Laura) had an easy few days after Rebekah, the other nurse, left and I was starting to think I had things under control. But...God had a different plan for me and really put me to the test over the next week.


It all started last Wednesday when a little boy, named David, who've we've been trying to help get to the U.S. for surgery, came in for formula and we decided to admit him because he was losing too much weight. We want him to be as healthy as possible for surgery, so an NG was necessary to get the calories he needs. But right after that, the vaccination team that travels around immunizing kids, decided to show up unannounced ready to deal out pikis (shots). Luckily, I had made a beautiful, color-coded spreadsheet a few weeks before saying what each kid needed, so it actually went quite smoothly. Just a lot of crabby kids that night:)


But then after that, things continued to go downhill. More and more kids got sick, including another named Herly that needed an NG tube for feedings. He's been staying with Kurt and I for the past week and is now starting to drink more and more on his own so hopefully will get rid of the tube soon! We've had to get creative with babies trying to pull out their NG tubes since it's not a lot of fun having to put it back in. We've found that keeping their arms inside their onesie and then tying the sleeves with hairties works quite well:) As long as the neck doesn't get too stretched out, the make-shift straight jacket keeps their hands away from their face.


Two other kids, Mikenson and Joshua started having seizures this week and both were admitted to the hospital. Mikenson had never had them before, so it was totally out of the blue and really scary. He's back now and doing better, but keep both of them in your prayers as we try and figure out what's going on with them. Nothing is easy in Haiti, particularly medical tests, so in order for them to get EEG's they will need to go to Port Au Prince, which is a flight away.


Yesterday, I traveled to Port Au Prince with three little boys and their moms that we're working on medical visas for. They all needed CT scans and it's the only place that does them. It was fun to see the capital of Haiti and how different it is than here in the north. It's only a 30 minute flight, but if you were to drive it takes 6-8 hours because of the awful roads. It was a good challenge for me to practice my Creole, though I haven't really mastered small talk yet, so it was a quiet day with the 3 women:)

Things are starting to settle down a bit, and I think that's just how life goes here...many ups and downs. We're going to the beach tomorrow to get away for the day and relax. It will be wonderful.