I am writing my final Haiti blog post from my desk at home. I sat down and was greeted with one of my favorite verses from Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not on your won understanding; in all you ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight." I need to trust God to continue to rebuild Haiti and hope that many have become believers working to overcome the corruption of the government leaning on God for guidance and strength to begin to rebuild.
I am so greatful for my experiences. I have certainly been stretched as a medical practioner and a believer. We finished out the week with knowing that we had seen 5,000 patients at the stationary clinic and the mobile clinic/bus had seen an additional 2,000. That is an incredible number of people who received care. Be it tylenol for a fever, antibiotics for an infection, care for a wounded limb or even a wounded heart we were there to serve the people of Haiti. I looked into the eyes of the people of the poorest nation in the western hemisphere knowing that I served "the least of these" and saw Christ in the eyes of those I loved.
Thank you for your love and support as I left the comforts of home and the ones I love here in the states to serve. Please continue to pray for the Haitian people and for the opportunity to serve further. Next time Alan is coming with me :)
Blessings,
Cassie
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
ground zero
Today we started at the clinic and ended at ground zero watching the sun set over the heart of port au prince. It was heartbreaking. The people we have been taking care of used to call the piles of rubble home and now are displaced and broken. I can only hope that God had greater things for the citi of Haiti.
I re-dressed/packed an open wound of a woman who travels 2 hours to get to the clinic. We told her the day before that she really needed to come back so we could check it again and she did. It was neat to see some continuing care in Haiti.
My trip could be wraping up soon. Flights out of Haiti are difficult to find and we were offered spots to start heading home tomorrow. The next group is not leaving for a couple more weeks. I have made a difference here but Haiti needs more than my hands to serve them. They need the love of Christ radiating in their own peoples in order to start re-building their city. When I close my eyes tonight I will have many vivid pictures of what may seem hopeless. I hope that my dreams are that of revival for this nation and people. I have had nothing but love from the Haitian people and have officially fallen in love with the country.
Please pray that the government rebuilds/relocates and opens the schools. Many of the children here only get one meal per day and it comes from the school. We continue to see malnutrition and dehidration.
Goodnight,
Cassie
I re-dressed/packed an open wound of a woman who travels 2 hours to get to the clinic. We told her the day before that she really needed to come back so we could check it again and she did. It was neat to see some continuing care in Haiti.
My trip could be wraping up soon. Flights out of Haiti are difficult to find and we were offered spots to start heading home tomorrow. The next group is not leaving for a couple more weeks. I have made a difference here but Haiti needs more than my hands to serve them. They need the love of Christ radiating in their own peoples in order to start re-building their city. When I close my eyes tonight I will have many vivid pictures of what may seem hopeless. I hope that my dreams are that of revival for this nation and people. I have had nothing but love from the Haitian people and have officially fallen in love with the country.
Please pray that the government rebuilds/relocates and opens the schools. Many of the children here only get one meal per day and it comes from the school. We continue to see malnutrition and dehidration.
Goodnight,
Cassie
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Living water
Good evening. I enjoyed a beautiful sunset after what I was told was the hottest day since we have been here. Many sad stories continue to come our way. Women who have miscarried their child r/t the earthquake, broken and uprooted families it constantly breaks my heart. It has been neat to see what the Gain (global aid network) team has been doing. They are able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ while distributing water filters and teaching ppl how to use them. They are able to tell the Haitian ppl a bout Jesus being the living water and how they want to fill their bodies with “clean” water to honor him. Amen. Pray that we are able to partner with the Jesus film crew to provide medical care at the american embassy where the troops are handing out food. We will be able to provide medical AND spiritual healing. Exactly what the doctor ordered!
I am convinced that every child I have treated has had worms. Please pray for the team to have rest tonight to be able to serve tomorrow. It has been upper 90’s sunny and has not rained since before the earthquake. Many of the children are having difficulty breathing r/t the dust created from dirt and broken rubble. I have developed some sort of fun GI symptoms and it is hard for me to keep too many nutrients in my body. I guess it was the “best beef I had ever had” last night for supper. I later found out that it was goat. If you know me, this is quite funny considering I love goats and really want to have some as pets.
I am convinced that every child I have treated has had worms. Please pray for the team to have rest tonight to be able to serve tomorrow. It has been upper 90’s sunny and has not rained since before the earthquake. Many of the children are having difficulty breathing r/t the dust created from dirt and broken rubble. I have developed some sort of fun GI symptoms and it is hard for me to keep too many nutrients in my body. I guess it was the “best beef I had ever had” last night for supper. I later found out that it was goat. If you know me, this is quite funny considering I love goats and really want to have some as pets.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
A new day
Did you know that every day you wake up you can start the day with a clean heart, and an open perspective. I loved that despite the exaustion and hunger of my team, the sunrise and the blessing of a new day is sufficient. I thank the Lord for a new day, every day, and the blessings that it brings.
Today I was a Doctor. Yesterday a pharmacist, and today a doctor. I was practicing in a clinic about ten miles from "ground zero" People rode mules and horses and many left early in the morning to get in line for care. I saw many ppl with acid reflux, yeast infections, std's, bumps, abrasions, and an aching heart. It was the boy who could not hear in his left ear and suffered from what he explained sounded like migraine headaches. He was 13 and walked for 2 hours today to be seen by an american doctor. After examining him I found that his hearing was depleated r/t wax buildup. Seems like an easy fix but all I had was cold normal saline and a 30cc syringe. I irrigated repeatedly until I knew he couldn't take any more. I only made a dent into what needed to be done. I was heartbroken. He still couldn't hear well and I had to instruct him to go home and tell his mom to drop some mineral oil in his ear at night. I just hope it translated ok so it was clean oil and not motor oil :) I took off the drape I put over him while I was doing the procedure and his shirt was very wet from the water solution I put in his ears. I felt terrible and told him to wait... I rushed to a pile of donations to find a shirt and found a t -shirt and pants that I felt would fit him. I told the translator to tell him to take his shirt off and put this clean one on . He said no and I thought he refused because he thought we would throw away his old one. Alan, your old t-shirts in our "rag bag" were nicer than the one he had on. That was not it at all... he told me he was greatful and wanted to wash himself before puting his new clothes on. I told him that God loves him and he is a blessing. I hugged him and sent him on his way after insisting he eat a granola bar and drink water, if i sent them with him other kids might attack him to get the food.
This day might not have been filled with guts, gore and adrenaline but I felt the presence of the Lord and he truely worked through us.
The country of Haiti is beautiful. Mountains surround the city of port au prince and there are donkys, goats, and horses everywhere. I am in heaven. I love animals. Alan, you would be proud of me I have not touched any of them. The last person who picked up a baby goat broke into a bad rash and puked for a while. I am already known as the girl who needs to carry a barf bag, I didn't need to push that one any further.
Love and blessings,
Cassie
Today I was a Doctor. Yesterday a pharmacist, and today a doctor. I was practicing in a clinic about ten miles from "ground zero" People rode mules and horses and many left early in the morning to get in line for care. I saw many ppl with acid reflux, yeast infections, std's, bumps, abrasions, and an aching heart. It was the boy who could not hear in his left ear and suffered from what he explained sounded like migraine headaches. He was 13 and walked for 2 hours today to be seen by an american doctor. After examining him I found that his hearing was depleated r/t wax buildup. Seems like an easy fix but all I had was cold normal saline and a 30cc syringe. I irrigated repeatedly until I knew he couldn't take any more. I only made a dent into what needed to be done. I was heartbroken. He still couldn't hear well and I had to instruct him to go home and tell his mom to drop some mineral oil in his ear at night. I just hope it translated ok so it was clean oil and not motor oil :) I took off the drape I put over him while I was doing the procedure and his shirt was very wet from the water solution I put in his ears. I felt terrible and told him to wait... I rushed to a pile of donations to find a shirt and found a t -shirt and pants that I felt would fit him. I told the translator to tell him to take his shirt off and put this clean one on . He said no and I thought he refused because he thought we would throw away his old one. Alan, your old t-shirts in our "rag bag" were nicer than the one he had on. That was not it at all... he told me he was greatful and wanted to wash himself before puting his new clothes on. I told him that God loves him and he is a blessing. I hugged him and sent him on his way after insisting he eat a granola bar and drink water, if i sent them with him other kids might attack him to get the food.
This day might not have been filled with guts, gore and adrenaline but I felt the presence of the Lord and he truely worked through us.
The country of Haiti is beautiful. Mountains surround the city of port au prince and there are donkys, goats, and horses everywhere. I am in heaven. I love animals. Alan, you would be proud of me I have not touched any of them. The last person who picked up a baby goat broke into a bad rash and puked for a while. I am already known as the girl who needs to carry a barf bag, I didn't need to push that one any further.
Love and blessings,
Cassie
Amazing Grace
This morning I am greatful for the grace extended by my family of believers traveling together. As we gathered for worship last night we closed with the song amazing grace, we even tried to sing it in Creole :) Many times we wake up and tell God how our day is going to go... venturing out with our own plan. As we get started I pray that HE guides us. I praise the Lord for his divine intervention for the placement of our team to help the girls who were hit by a car.
Monday, February 1, 2010
the man who saved my life :)
Today my team split up and I was placed on a bus to head out to an IDP (internally displaced people) camp. To paint a small picture, it is a flat dry dusty area of land with thousands of ppl displaced from their homes r/t the earthquake living with even more of nothing than they had before. This blog is entitled "the man who saved my life" b/c the team was treating pts. on our mobile unit and we heard screaming and two ppl carried a bleeding lifeless woman to our tent/bus. She was just hit by a car we were now the first responders. Quickly we decided she was pulseless and lifeless, not a reaction. An IV was immergently placed and CPR initiated. We called an ambulance and she was rushed away. The situation got complicated when another woman, her friend went into shock and started seizing. Two of our Dr's and RN's broke away to care for her. I was holding ppl back from the women and I saw a woman collapse in front of me. I jumped over the rope and dove to catch her but I didn't. Piere, the Haitian interpereter who was working with me, grabbed my scrub top and followed me into the croud to help the woman. My pulse was racing and I yelled for Barry, a journalist traveling with us (check out worldnextdoor.org to learn more about his role) I had two men with me one to translate and one to protect and I was able to figure out that she had a pre-existing heart condition and "faints many days" as it was translated to me. A sternal rub arroused her and I was able to get fluids started. She was carried home by her sister and all was well. The UN guys came back to thank us for calling and told us that the girls in the accident were alive. Praise God!!! I walked back to the bus and we all hugged eachother and got on with seeing patients. As we were riding home on the bus I looked at Piere the interpereter, whom God spared from the earthquake, although many of his friends and family are gone. I tossed my last pack of trail mix to piere and said, " hey man thanks for saving my life.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
God is good!
Greetings friends and loved ones,
First of all, God is good! I am feeling much better and we are all safe. We are staying with a group called GAIN (Global Aid ??) They are a ministry of Campus Crusade providing us with clean water, more food, and medicine. They also made arrangements with the 82nd Airborne to provide security for us as riots have broke out where we have given mobile medical care and food. I have yet to feel an aftershock but they have been happening mostly at night… it makes some of us quite anxious but we finish off the evening with praise and worship and debriefing we all have been so exhausted it is not too hard to fall asleep.
I have met many new friends and even though the time together has been short, we feel like a family. Many of us who are here left the states quickly and left many loved ones at home. The men have adopted us women traveling alone and have been very protective. They even made us move to the back of the bus when we reach checkpoints or border patrol to make sure we are safe.
It hit me yesterday when a woman walked into the clinic with twins in her arms… clearly too old to be the mother with infants less than 6 mo old she explained her daughter was crushed in the rubble of their home and she is left to care for the children. They are living in an IDP (internally displaced people ) camp basically a clearing of land filled with sticks and sheets for shelter where ppl are living because their homes are destroyed or they are fearful of another collapse. We were able to provide formula, vitamins, and food as well as emotional support. Pray for the people of Haiti. Their wounds are healing but their hearts are aching.
Yesterday I was a nurse, pharmacist, and a dental hygenist. Many of us are stretching and wearing many “hats” but we are working together well. We saw 150+ men women and children in 4 hours of the clinic opening. God is good!
I miss you all but God continues to reveal why I am here.
In Him,
Cassie
First of all, God is good! I am feeling much better and we are all safe. We are staying with a group called GAIN (Global Aid ??) They are a ministry of Campus Crusade providing us with clean water, more food, and medicine. They also made arrangements with the 82nd Airborne to provide security for us as riots have broke out where we have given mobile medical care and food. I have yet to feel an aftershock but they have been happening mostly at night… it makes some of us quite anxious but we finish off the evening with praise and worship and debriefing we all have been so exhausted it is not too hard to fall asleep.
I have met many new friends and even though the time together has been short, we feel like a family. Many of us who are here left the states quickly and left many loved ones at home. The men have adopted us women traveling alone and have been very protective. They even made us move to the back of the bus when we reach checkpoints or border patrol to make sure we are safe.
It hit me yesterday when a woman walked into the clinic with twins in her arms… clearly too old to be the mother with infants less than 6 mo old she explained her daughter was crushed in the rubble of their home and she is left to care for the children. They are living in an IDP (internally displaced people ) camp basically a clearing of land filled with sticks and sheets for shelter where ppl are living because their homes are destroyed or they are fearful of another collapse. We were able to provide formula, vitamins, and food as well as emotional support. Pray for the people of Haiti. Their wounds are healing but their hearts are aching.
Yesterday I was a nurse, pharmacist, and a dental hygenist. Many of us are stretching and wearing many “hats” but we are working together well. We saw 150+ men women and children in 4 hours of the clinic opening. God is good!
I miss you all but God continues to reveal why I am here.
In Him,
Cassie
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