Christmas Tree at the Springfield House

Mary Ann Laxen arrived in Jeremie this
afternoon and brought me many treats.
Thanks to all who contributed to the
BIG care package. Here Marie trims the
tree that Mary Ann purchased for us.

Party time at Nicole's

After pedicures we dressed up for a
party at Nicole's followed by some
dancing at Cap Sue's. It was a very
fun day!

Marie's first pedicure

Marie appeared drugged during her first
pedicure. She loved it. Mom and Dad
Bewley she wants one for Christmas!

An afternoon of Pedicures

After filling our stomachs with lobster
we headed back to the Springfield house
to give each other pedicures. Nicole
was first as she was the guest of honor!

Nicole's Birthday party

Nicole's official birth date was on
Thursday but the celebrating day was
Saturday. Look at the lobsters
Antoinne's fisherman friend caught for
us. They were superb!

The failure to thrive infant dies

Saturday morning the nurse at the
center came to the house asking me to
see little Cassimir. She said his
abdomen was growing. Here is a picture
of me rocking him on Friday afternoon.
He was tired but doing pretty well and
keeping down some food. When I arrived
at the center on Sat. am his
respiratory rate was 60. He was
grunting, his nares were flaring and he
was retracting. His abdomen was full
of gas. Sister Anna came in the
vehicle and we drove very fast to the
house of the pediatrician. He rode
with us to the hospital. There were no
films to take Xrays and basically not
much of resources available at the
hospital. He died one hour after he
arrived at the hospital. He was
anemic, neurologically delayed and just
not strong enough to make it in Haiti.
It was a very sad morning.

Thanksgiving at the Springfield House

Thanksgiving was celebrated at the
Springfield house. We even had a
turkey, dressing, and mashed pototoes!
We joined together in bringing items to
eat and celebrated our many blessings!
Check out Nicole -- it was her birthday!

An adventure at the hospital

On Wednesday afternoon I walked to the
hospital to deliver some messages to
Dr. Ariel. Before I knew it I was
inserting a suprapubic catheter in this
man with obstruction with Dr. Ariel's
assistance. Then we walked to the
women's ward where a lady was bleeding
from her nose due to hypertension. We
found some nose packing at HHF and were
able to stop her bleeding. I felt like
I was back practicing in Harvey, ND.
Hopefully there is a surgeon arriving
this weekend. It is vital there is a
surgeon here!

Feeding a child who does not want to eat

This failure to thrive child resists
taking food. The cook prepared a
mixture of bananas, water, and cream of
wheat. Here I am persistently working
with him to take some food.

Failure to thrive

Here Sister Anna is working with a
toddler at the Center with failure to
thrive. He has given up on trying to
live and we are trying to "bring him
back" and make him want to live. It
requires persistence on our part
feeding him, forcing liquids, touching
and stimulating him. His mother is
mentally ill and this child has lacked
stimulation much too long.

A toddler with Kwashiorkor's malnutrition

On Friday a toddler and his father
arrived to the Center of Hope to enter
the nutrition program. One of the
health agents in the mountains
identified this toddler had
Kwashiorkor's malnutrition. He's
lacking calories and especially protein
causing his legs and arms to swell.
These kids are at higher risk for
death. Here Anna is bathing him and
coating the many sores on his skin with
bacitracin ointment.

Starting to feed the toddler with Kwashiorkor's

The Center starts feeding the infant
with a combination of milk, vegetable
oil and sugar plus begins vitamins.
The infant is required to drink two
plastic containers (on the table) in a
day. Sister Anna says she finds boys
drink the liquid better than the girls
for some unknown reason. Sister Anna
requires that the father gets very
involved in the care as part of the
problem for these kids is "failure to
thrive" from lack of attention as well
as food. The staff here gives these
kids lots of loving. As they get
better I find they follow us around the
clinic because they love the attention
they receive.

Breast feeding

If you a pregnant woman in the HHF
system you will be required to breast
feed your baby. You will be educated
on the nutritional value of breast milk
as well as the ability to child space
(prevent pregnancies) through breast
feeding. Here a nurse from Connecticut
is helping a mom nurse her twins. By
the way I have grand nephew twins born
to Ryan & Stacy on Oct. 25th -- Kayden
& Karsten. Both boys are doing well!

It's hair cutting time

Well, I've now been here 7 weeks since
my arrival and it's time for a hair
trim. Marie and I spent the evening
trimming each other's hair. Marie is
trying to figure out how to cut my
bangs!

Nephrotic Syndrome

Remember the boy who was very edematous
in the hospital with nephrotic
syndrome. (Oct. 15th picture). Well
here he is after lots of cortisone and
lasix. Amazing!

The anemia program

Today Sister Anna and I poked all the 6
month old babies at the feeding center
checking their hemoglobin for anemia.
The range of Hgb in today's group was
7.0 to 11.6. These children are in an
anemia study and will be followed over
time. Vitamins were started today. As
well food was introduced into their
diet today.

A Radiology Teaching Session

On Friday afternoon Dr. Kane took time
to review XRays with Dr. Bordeau, Dr.
Homere, some nurses and myself. We saw
lots of Chest Xrays with TB cavitations.

The Pocket Bike

Dr Lowney purchases a pocket bike for
this disabled young man. He is very
excited about his new bike.

Aunt L and Niece Nicole

Aunt L and Niece Nicole are enjoying
each other's company at the beach.

Wednesday night at the beach

This week the group from Conneticut
joined us for Wednesday night at the
beach. The waves were the highest I
have seen them. We had lots of fun!

The children coloring

A group arrived this week from Norwich,
CT. They set up table and chairs at
the feeding center for the children to
color. Young and old alike had lots of
fun!

Relaxation on the balcony

Prior to dinner we relax on the balcony
with drinks, snacks and good
conversation.

Dr. Jeremiah Lowney

Sitting between Sister Mary Mac and
Sister Mary Ann is Dr. Jeremiah
Lowney. He is the founder and
president of the Haitian Health
Foundation. He is a orthodondist
practicing in Norwich, CT. Marie,
Nicole, Nancy and I are eating dinner
with the group this week. Great fun!

Here's Aunt L

Here is Aunt L. She is Nicole's aunt
and a retired teacher. She is spending
the week with Nicole. We remind each
other how important aunts are! Note
the sticker on her cheek as she gives
out stickers to the children.

Sister Mary Mac is Back

Here is Sister Mary Mac. She just
returned from a month's vacation in the
states. She is the director of nursing
and does her job very well. Last night
we played a game of Rummikub and of
course she won!

Another burn patient at the hospital

Dr. Ania (pediatrician) had me look at
a burn on one of her babies in the
hospital. Again vodoo medicine was
used and this baby was burned. I am
not sure what was used to burn her.
The burn is healing well with all the
good healing abilities of a baby.
Silvadene was first used and now we are
covering the burn with Bacitracin.

A day with radiology

This week Dr. Jeremy Lowny and a group
from Connecticut are here working.
Here is a picture of Dr. Larry Kane and
a Cuban radiologist doing an OB
ultrasound. They both spent time
teaching me technique and what to view
on the screen.

Sharpening the Machete

Lots of yard work is necessary at the
Center of Hope. Here a man sharpens
his machete in preparation to trim some
trees.

Check out Marie's skirt

Here's Marie swinging with one of the
Cuban FP residents. Check out the
skirt she made. The green in the back
was suppose to be a pleat...tell her it
looks cute!

Dancing at Chez Antoinne's

Saturday afternoon Marie and I heard
Cuban music coming from Chez Antoinnes
so we put on our dresses and went to
join the party. Can those Cuban's
dance! Here's a group picture of the
dancers!

The Babes of Bordes

Every Friday night Nicole, Marie and I
walk up the hill to Chez Antoinne's
where we discuss our week and drink
some Prestige. The more we drink the
more we solve the world's problems!

Taking care of women with HIV

Here is Elsie. She has been trained in
Port au Prince to care for the pregnant
women here at the center with HIV.
Today I was devastated to see a 14 year
old pregnant girl with HIV. Elsie
keeps a record of all the HIV patients
in the clinic. She has 53 new names
since the beginning of the year. Lots
of education is given to these
patients. Currently they receive
Nevirapine when in labor and their baby
receives the same 72 hours after
birth. Soon they are going to change
to giving the pregnant mom AZT the last
month of pregancy.

This Lady is Not Pregnant

As I was busy seeing pregnant women at
the Center of Hope this lady came into
my exam room. I asked her if she was
pregnant. She giggled. She told me
she was 87 and here for a headache (tet
fa mal). I gave her some Tylenol. I
bet she has a story to tell about Haiti.

Lots of art on metal

Many paint on metal and create
wonderful wall hanging or items to put
keys on. I have one such hanging in my
office at work.

Paintings on canvas

Various artists will arrive to the
Center of Hope wanting Sister Anna to
sell their paintings for them. Of
course, they always want more than
Sister Anna will pay!

Entering the Hibiscus Shop

If you like color this is the place to
go. Here are some of the items sold in
the shop.

Shopping in Haiti

No matter where you go there's always
opportunity to shop! HHF has a store
where local artisans from Jeremie and
the surrounding villages bring their
crafts to be sold. It's called the
Hibiscus Shop.

The right fit

The biggest thrill for me was finding
the right shoe and the right size for
each child. You could tell from their
big smile when you had picked a pair
they really liked.

Sister Anna finds shoes for her kids

Sister Anna brought the children from
the Nutrition Center to find them new
shoes!

Nordstrom's comes to Jeremie

I shot this picture for my sister's
benefit. If you think the 1/2 price
sale at Nordstrom's is nuts you should
try fitting shoes for these kids!

Shoes for Kids

There is a Catholic School in
Connecticut that has a Lent program
that includes donating new shoes for
the children in school in Jeremie.
Today is a national holiday in Haiti.
Children are not in school today
so...we were blessed to fit lots of
children with new shoes!

Moldy Shoes

When shoes sit in boxes for awhile with
the amount of moisture here some of the
shoes got mold on/in them. So Marie &
I had the job of cleaning the mold off
with Clorax and water. The job wasn't
that great but the great view and
sunshine made up for it.

A photo moment

Mother wanted a picture taken of her
children but they did not agree!

Mothers supporting mothers

It's apparent in Haiti as in other
countries that women support women.
Not only do babies get weighed but
women laugh together, admire each
others babies and teach each other
things about parenting.