Annette Larson

Caring for patients in the mountains

2008-01-08T14:21:00.000-08:00

Here's a typical exam room! Little space, lots of noise, lots of stuff on the tables and Robyn and Charlie trying to assess the problem.

The UND Gang goes home

2008-01-08T14:14:00.000-08:00

Well, it's December 9th and it's time to go back to the USA! We have loved our stay and hopefully in a small window of time have helped HHF make a difference in the people they serve!

Kristin weighing babies

2007-12-18T15:34:00.000-08:00

The best way to know that babies are going to survive and thrive is by watching their weights. Kristen has her hands full at post weighing lots of infants.

St Pierre School

2007-12-12T10:54:00.000-08:00

Prior to heading to the mountains on Thurday morning we stopped at St. Pierre school. We had lots of notebooks, crayons and pens to give to the teachers. Children from the poorest area of Jeremie go to this school and are served a hot meal each day. It's hard to learn on an empty stomach!

It's been a good day

2007-12-12T10:51:00.000-08:00

Here's a group picture as a group gets ready to leave a mountain post after a day of hard work.

Trauma in the Mountains

2007-12-12T10:50:00.000-08:00

Trauma happens all over the world. Charlie and Mary Ann are cleaning and debriding a burn on this girls arm.

Carol and her baby

2007-12-12T10:46:00.000-08:00

There are lots of babies in Haiti. The Haitian Health Foundation does a wonderful job of teaching all mothers to breast feed. The are checked frequently in their first year of life, immunizations are given and lots of teaching is provided to the mothers. Carol is taking the opportunity to hold one of these beautiful babies.

Pediatric Exams

2007-12-12T10:43:00.000-08:00

Nadia and John are busy at post seeing peds. Common conditions seen include malaria, scabies, pneumonia, parasites and fungal skin infections.

New born exams

2007-12-12T10:40:00.000-08:00

As the PA students arrived at a post one morning they were greeted by these twin girls waiting to have their newborn exams.

Clipping Children's Nails

2007-12-12T09:47:00.000-08:00

It's very important to keep children's nails short in Haiti. It helps in preventing the spread of germs. Lisa had a busy day in the mountains cutting nails!

Treating Pneumonia in Infants

2007-12-12T09:45:00.001-08:00

Terry's focus is listening to this infant's lung sounds. How fast is her rate? Do you hear rales? One of the causes of infant mortality in this country is pneumonia. We can make a difference by diagnosing these children correctly.

The women of Grace Lutheran Church

2007-12-04T19:07:00.000-08:00

Today half of our group traveled to a
town in the mountains called Robin.
Our mission was to provide pediatric,
adult and prenatal care to the
people. Included in our supplies was
a big bag of layettes made by women
from Grace Lutheran Church in
Wildrose, North Dakota (Annette's home
town). Mothers were given the
layettes on their post partum visit.
We examined the babies and the
mothers. If the mother had three
prenatal visits she was given one of
these wonderful layettes. Thank you
ladies of Grace Lutheran for your
continued support to Haitian women!

High Risk Pregnant Women

2007-12-03T17:53:00.000-08:00

We watched a demonstration today of
Haitian Health Agents and Nurses in a
mock situation responding to a
pregnant woman in pain. First they
showed us the proper method for the
matron (mid-wife) to assist in the
delivery. They followed by teaching
us how the community responds when a
woman starts bleeding post partum and
needs to be transferred to the
hospital.

Orientation Day

2007-12-03T17:50:00.000-08:00

We began the morning in orientation to
the Haitian Health Foundation System.
We learned about COMBIT. It's the
name given to a grant that develops
and supports efforts to reduce the
maternal/infant mortality rate

UND South Campus PA Program

2007-12-03T17:47:00.000-08:00

Please see the picture of the UND PA
Program South Campus. We are at the
18 degree latitude.

Robyn and Patti

2007-12-03T17:44:00.000-08:00

The buddy system of pill counting!

Noah counting pills

2007-12-03T17:39:00.000-08:00

Noah...are you counting out 15 pills
for the bottle?

Preparing vitamins

2007-12-03T17:37:00.000-08:00

It's time to prepare vitamins and
medications for the posts in the
mountains. Mary Ann is putting the
group to work counting pills

Haitian Health Foundation

2007-12-02T18:27:00.000-08:00

It's time for us to go back to the
Haitian Health Foundation for a good
meal and class time. The topic
tonight is on Malnutrition. A
condition we are going to see much too
often this coming week.

Kristen.....what are you doing?

2007-12-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

Brandon...did you tell Kristen that
this was a nude beach?

Kirk and Charlie

2007-12-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

Are you having fun at the beach?

A group picture

2007-12-02T18:19:00.000-08:00

The beach is so fun!

Brandon and Kristin Churchman

2007-12-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

What are the two of you thinking about
as you relax in the sun? Do you know
they have been married for two years?

A trip to Bette's house

2007-12-02T17:39:00.000-08:00

After the beach we traveled to Bette
Gabrian's house to spend some time in
her her back yard. It's been a great
relaxing day before starting our
mission of medical work for the poor
and underserved of Haiti.

An afternoon at the beach

2007-12-02T17:35:00.000-08:00

Before we start our work week we had
the chance to go to the beach. Look
at these lovely ladies having fun in
the Caribbean waters.

Waking up in Haiti

2007-12-02T17:31:00.000-08:00

How can a country so beautiful be so
poor? Here is the scene we wake up to
each morning in Jeremie.

The chief

2007-12-01T18:36:00.000-08:00

It's been easy to spot Mary Ann
today. She's the chief in the green
hat.

It's cloudy and getting dark

2007-12-01T18:33:00.000-08:00

Here's the airport in Jeremie. We
arrive at dusk with clouds in the sky
but beautiful green trees in the
Caribbean. We're all safe!

YEA....The plane arrives

2007-12-01T18:18:00.000-08:00

Look at all that luggage that needs to
go on that plane.

We continue to wait

2007-12-01T18:16:00.000-08:00

Another group shot as we wait for the
plane to take us to Jeremie.

Robyn starting her journal

2007-12-01T18:13:00.000-08:00

Robyn is busy writing her initial
impression of Haiti in her journal!

PA Students playing cards

2007-12-01T18:10:00.000-08:00

We spent more time in the airport
waiting for the flight to Jeremie than
we had hoped. John Jeffrey got the
group playing a card game!

Look at all the luggage

2007-12-01T18:08:00.000-08:00

16 of us prepare to leave for Port au
Prince each with two suit cases
weighing 50 pounds each! We are
bringing lots of supplies for HHF!

UND PA Students

2007-12-01T18:03:00.000-08:00

The PA students are ready to go to
Haiti. We're gathered at the Miami
airport dressed in gray and green!

Swimming at Bette's house

2006-11-11T19:46:00.000-08:00

After a day of work Bette invited us to
her home for a dip in her pool. Bette
is one of the leaders at HHF. She
lives on the side of the hill
overlooking the Caribbean waters. It
was wonderful!

Our driver and our translators

2006-11-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

We have had lots of fun with our
translators this week...Winnefred
(left) and Fan Fan (right) and our
driver, Pascal (middle).

Molly drinks Claren

2006-11-10T22:42:00.000-08:00

The youngest of the crew
tries "claren". It's much like vodka
with a bit of licorice flavor.

Making moonshine

2006-11-10T22:39:00.000-08:00

This could be in a national geographic
magazine. These oxen help grind sugar
cane that is then cooked and stilled to
make what they call "claren".

A lady in her 70's waits for Akamil

2006-11-10T22:37:00.000-08:00

It's tough for the elderly in the
mountains. This lady needs extra
nutrition and is waiting her turn for
the Akamil.

Feeding the children Akamil

2006-11-10T22:34:00.000-08:00

Molly is feeding the children Akamil.
HHF is going to put up six production
sites in the villages to make Akamil.
It's the right proportion of
carbohydrate and protein for better
nutrition for the people in the
mountains.

Molly, the BP lady

2006-11-10T22:31:00.000-08:00

Molly took blood pressures on all the
pregnant and postpartum women today.
She is now the expert!

Crossing the river

2006-11-10T22:29:00.000-08:00

Today we crossed the river on our way
to the mountain village of Lasisse. We
had to hold on as the water was high
and the driver had to go as fast as
possible.

Last day in Jeremie

2006-11-10T22:26:00.000-08:00

Look at what we woke up to this morning.

Serenades by Pascal

2006-11-10T14:10:00.000-08:00

Last night in the tropics, we were
serenated with music by Pascal. We
listened to wonderful music as we
looked at the ocean and viewed the
beauty of Jeremie.

Donna does pediatric care

2006-11-10T14:07:00.000-08:00

HHF has reduced the death rate of
children from pneumonia by teaching the
health agents to count respirations and
treating with antibiotic if the
respirations are high. Donna did
pediatric care today. She saw patients
with pneumonia, scabies, malaria,
malnutrition and worms. Just a typical
day at the pediatric office!

Colleen does adult care

2006-11-10T14:04:00.000-08:00

Colleen examines the adults today. She
sees lots of adults with stomach pain,
back pain, neck pain and weakness.
They have lived hard lives in the
mountains.

What HHF is all about

2006-11-10T14:00:00.000-08:00

Molly took this picture. It depicts
what HHF is all about....caring for
children and tracking their care with a
card that has their weights and their
immunization records.

Beautiful scenery in Haiti

2006-11-10T13:56:00.000-08:00

Today we traveled by land cruiser to a
mountain village to do primary care.
The Grand Anse Department has had lots
of rain....the scenery was beautiful

Visiting St. Pierre School

2006-11-10T13:51:00.000-08:00

Today we visited St. Pierre School
along the water front. The school has
a great story of how teachers took poor
children along the water front and
started teaching them. Soon someone
visiting HHF saw the work of these
teachers and built them a school.
Other volunteers are paying for them to
eat a warm meal every day and others
help pay the teachers. Each class
(grades 1-6) sang for us as we visited
their classroom.

Weight lifting

2006-11-08T19:30:00.000-08:00

If you want to pump some iron. You
should try this exercise. He's
carrying charcoal from the mountains.
His neck and shoulders are straight and
strong!

A Drive thru Jeremie

2006-11-08T19:10:00.000-08:00

Sister Mary Ann took the four of us on
a tour of the city. Donna took a
picture of one of the houses in St.
Helene, one of the poorest sections of
the city.

Preparing Layettes

2006-11-08T15:16:00.000-08:00

Wednesday is postpartum and newborn
exam day a the Center. The group
prepared the layettes the night before
in preparation for seeing lots of
babies.

Lots of kids in Haiti

2006-11-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

Here's a better story about
Kwashiorkor. This little girl is
improving. Colleen lets her try on
sunglasses. Today Colleen gave her a
pretty white dress. She was so happy.

Infant Mortality Rate

2006-11-08T15:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we examined a toddler with
Kwashiorkor malnutrition. She had an
enlarged liver and was very listless.
Today we arrived at the hospital only
to learn the she had been admitted to
the hospital during the night with high
fever. When we examined her at the
hospital she was seizuring and her temp
was very high. "Very slowly" she
received Tylenol, valium, an IV and
Ampicillin....however most often these
children have been malnurished too long
to fight infections. She died over the
noon hour. Sister Sophie, Colleen,
Donna and I took her body to the
Sisters of Charity for burial. In a
short three days we have already been
exposed to the realities of high
mortality rates in children in Haiti.

Donna is busy

2006-11-07T10:56:00.000-08:00

HHF has an anemia program for children
requiring that Hemoglobin checks be
done at 6 & 12 months. Donna check
hemoglobins today on 12 months old.
She thought the average hemoglobin was
about 9.8.

Monday is work day

2006-11-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

HHF administration has asked us to
teach the nurses at the Center of Hope
how to do PAP Smears. Here Donna
Shull is explaining to the nurses with
the help of the interpreter Winifred
why we do PAP Smears.

Sister Sophie and Molly Lowe

2006-11-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

Sister Sophie and Molly Lowe are busy
talking about India culture as we wait
for the benefit concert to begin.

Benefit for the radio station

2006-11-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

Sister Sophie invited us to a benefit
for the radio station on Sunday
evening at 5pm. Many Haitians
gathered at the new cathedral to hear
a French singer and some local
Haitians put on a concert. It was
crowded and hot. The group had a
taste of Haitian music and culture.

Sunday afternoon at the beach

2006-11-07T10:40:00.000-08:00

The beach was awesome! The water was
warm, there were no rocks on shore.
We relaxed and enjoyed the sunshine.
Later the Uraguay UN soldiers came and
set up a volley ball court on the
sand. There were more than usual
local Haitians at the beach today.

Finally we have internet access

2006-11-07T10:35:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Haiti on Saturday, Nov.
4th without any problems. Here the
four of us smile (Collen Patton, Donna
Shull, Molly Lowe and Annette Larson)
as we wait to go through customs in
Port au Prince. We are excited to be
in the tropics!

Saturday night at Cap Su

2006-03-11T08:53:00.000-08:00

Saturday night at Cap Su>
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

Well, it's Saturday night and time to relax. The group goes out to Cap Su for some dancing and Prestige (local beer). The weather is beautiful and we are happy.

Trimming trees

2006-03-11T08:50:00.000-08:00

Trimming trees
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

John and Jake are assigned to the landscaping crew. Trees need to be trimmed as they are getting close to the power line.

Removing a lesion

2006-03-09T19:38:00.000-08:00

Removing a lesion
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

Today Tery, Deb and I removed a nodule tucked in the Right bicep muscle to take home with us to the pathology department. The boy is 20 years old who has trichinosis (parasite that invades muscle. We treated him with Albendazole 400mg bid for 14 days. It will not likely take away the many nodules he has on his body but hopefully he will not get more. Dr. Bordeau wanted us to biopsy one of the nodules. We will bring it back for Dr. Mary Ann Sens to dissect. The team of three PAs joined together to remove the lump...

Removing a lesion

2006-03-09T19:37:00.000-08:00

Removing a lesion
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

An outfit from Trinity Lutheran in Moorhead

2006-03-08T18:32:00.000-08:00

An outfit from Trinity Lutheran in Moorhead
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

Abby dresses up this baby in an outfit made by women from Trinity Lutheran in Moorhead. The outfit includes a matching shirt, a cloth diaper, and a bonnet. Isn't he cute!

Breathtaking landscape

2006-03-08T18:25:00.000-08:00

Breathtaking landscape
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

During yesterday's trip back down the mountain we took time to stop and admire the view.

First newborn exam

2006-03-08T18:22:00.000-08:00

First newborn exam
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

Wanda and Michaela have finished the newborn exam, the nurse has checked the mother - all is fine and the mother smiles on receiving the newborn packet of towel, soap, baby blanket, baby hat, and top.

Newborn exam

2006-03-08T18:19:00.000-08:00

Newborn exam
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

"Now where was I?"

Judy's gift

2006-03-08T18:16:00.000-08:00

Judy's gift
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

Here you see one of the newborn babies wrapped in one of the blankets made by Judy from the SMHS food court.

A day of checking babies

2006-03-08T18:10:00.000-08:00

src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3779/573/320/DSCN1684.2.jpg" border="0" alt="" />

A day of checking babies
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

Abby Stocker, the youngest of our crew, works with the babies today. She had to change a poopy diaper for the first time in her life!

Probable breast cancer

2006-03-07T18:55:00.000-08:00

Probable breast cancer
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

The nipple and aureola are gone and the tumor extends to the fingers of the student.

Hiking up the mountain

2006-03-07T18:53:00.000-08:00

Hiking up the mountain
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

Sometimes it took "a little walk" up the mountain to arrive at the place where patients would be waiting.

Mountain post

2006-03-07T18:23:00.000-08:00

Mountain post
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

Day two in the mountains: We met in the Church where the patients lined up in the "pews", awaiting their turn to be seen.

Oh no...a crown came loose

2006-03-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

Oh no...a crown came loose
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

We had to take a break from the Center to go see Dr. Breeze. He's the local dentist who glued Deb's crown back on!

Deb learns ultrasound

2006-03-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

Deb learns ultrasound
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

Today five of us were at the Center of Hope. Deb learned to do an OB ultrasound under the guidance of Sister Sophie.

Reducing maternal deaths

2006-03-07T18:12:00.000-08:00

Reducing maternal deaths
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

Here health agents are role playing what to do when a mother continues to bleed after delivering her baby. They are to call for help; put baby to breast, massage the uterus, put a large bandage on her and take her to the closes clinic where she will be transported to the hospital. Haiti has an extremely high maternal death rate. HHF received a large grant to look at ways to decrease this devastating problem.

Drinking coconut juice

2006-03-07T18:08:00.000-08:00

Drinking coconut juice
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

A man from the community provides the group with coconut juice. Tastes like flat sprite.

Happy House

2006-03-07T18:04:00.000-08:00

Happy House
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

Here the UND PA students stand in front of a Happy House. It's a house built in the mountains for $500. Many people in the states donate money for happy houses.

Two brothers shading themselves with a towel

2006-03-07T18:01:00.000-08:00

Two brothers shading themselves with a towel
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

It's hot in the afternoon. These brothers are shading themselves with a towel waiting for their mother who is being seen by PA students.

Fwd: Monday was mountain day

2006-03-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

Fwd: Monday was mountain day
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

All twelve of us rode in land rovers to Terre Rouge. The community is about 1 hour from Jeremie. We set up post to see adults patients. The HHF employees were also weighing babies, immunizing kids and doing syphilis testing.

PA students seeing pattients in Terre Rouge

2006-03-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

PA students seeing pattients in Terre Rouge
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

It's difficult to taking histories on patients when you do not know the language. Haitians want to say "yes to every question you ask.

What an attractive group

2006-03-05T16:18:00.000-08:00

What an attractive group
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

At 7am the group met at the HHF chapel to attend church services. Mass lasted almost two hours. We had a nice breeze through the windows. After church we gathered for this picture by the HHF building.

We've arrived in Haiti

2006-03-05T16:15:00.000-08:00

We've arrived in Haiti
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

The trip from Miami to Port au Prince was uneventful. Here the University of North Dakota group gather near our American Airlines plane. The temp is 82 degrees. Now we just have to find all our luggage!

We're leaving for Haiti

2006-03-05T16:13:00.000-08:00

We're leaving for Haiti
Originally uploaded by annette_larson.

Here the group gathers at the Miami airport excited for the adventure ahead. We have 1200 pounds of supplies to take with us!

Ti-GUY

2005-04-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

Mwen regret, I forgot to introduce you
to Nicole's new roommate.....here's Ti-
Guy. He's a nice little fella!

A toast to HHF

2005-04-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

My sister and her husband (she's the
blonde on the right) made me a
wonderful meal Sunday night at their
home in Fargo. Here we are making a
toast to all my friends in Haiti! This
ends my 6 month story in Haiti. But
never fear....I will be back!!

I'm home

2005-04-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

52 hours after leaving Jeremie I landed
at Grand Forks, North Dakota. What
could go wrong Saturday went wrong. My
first flight was cancelled and I was
rerouted from Miami to Atlanta to
Cincinatti to Minneapolis. I had a 5
hour layover in Minneapolis and then
learned they cancelled my flight. So
finally at 12:30pm on Sunday I walked
off the plane at Grand Forks. I am a
bit numb about reentry. We live in a
great country with so many resources.
It's so good to come back to that. But
I already miss all the wonderful people
I have met and worked with in Jeremie,
Haiti.

Going away party

2005-04-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

The Center of Hope staff had a going
away party for me this afternoon. I
will really miss this place. I have a
new community of friends here.

Going away party

2005-03-31T20:31:00.000-08:00

The Center of Hope staff had a going
away party for me this afternoon. I
will really miss this place. I have a
new community of friends here.

The gang at the Center of Hope

2005-03-31T20:29:00.000-08:00

It's time for me to say good bye to the
gang at the Center of Hope. Here's a
picture of a great group of people who
work at the Center of Hope!

Last Sunday at the beach

2005-03-28T09:59:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things to do this
last 6 months is go to the beach. This
is my last Sunday at the beach. The
water was warmer and calmer but for
some reason had lots of weeds in it
today. We had a fun day at the beach
with our many friends.

Last Sunday at the beach

2005-03-28T07:58:00.000-08:00

The trade school

2005-03-28T07:55:00.000-08:00

Brother Rene in Latiboliere showed us
his trade school. After secondary
school boys have opportunity to learn
carpentry, plumbing, electrical and
masonary work.

It's very dry in Haiti

2005-03-28T07:53:00.000-08:00

Saturday, Nicole and I did a day trip
to Latiboliere. We are in desparate
need of rain. This dust on the trees
almost looks like ice.

Saying goodbye to Marie

2005-03-28T07:50:00.000-08:00

This is the beginning of the end of the
Babes of Bordes. Marie is leaving for
Conneticut for a month to take her
MCAT. We are grateful for these last 6
months and sad to say goodbye to
the "Babes of Bordes" trio.

The Bordes gang goes to lunch

2005-03-25T13:42:00.000-08:00

On Thursday Nicole, Marie, Nancy & I
celebrated our friendship at Chez
Antoinnes. He served us a wonderful
meal. Marie leaves for home on
Saturday for 3 weeks, Nancy is going to
Wisconsin for 2 weeks and I am
returning to North Dakota.

Annette and her English Student

2005-03-25T13:38:00.000-08:00

Annette has lots of fun dancing with
Dr. Israel, her English student. She
gives him an A+ in his efforts of
learning English.

Marie loves dancing

2005-03-25T13:35:00.000-08:00

Marie had lots of fun dancing with the
Cubans and the Haitians!

Returning to Cuba and the US

2005-03-25T13:33:00.000-08:00

Dr. Maikel, Annette, and Dr. Alexis are
having fun at the party and sad to say
good bye to everyone in Haiti!

The Babes of Bordes

2005-03-25T13:30:00.000-08:00

The Babes of Bordes had lots of fun
dancing at Cuban house #1!