During February I went to Fort Liberte, Haiti on a medical mission. I was asked to write a little something about it by the global health office for their newletter, so I figured I might as well take advantage of the time I spent writing it and post it on here too.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I departed Columbus for my trip to Haiti. I had been anxiously awaiting it, and was excited to have an opportunity to travel abroad and provide medical care in an underserved community. The trip was planned prior to the earthquake and has been occurring annually for more than 5 years. This year was my first time joining the group. The community where we worked is always in need of medical aid and throughout the year different groups of physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other volunteers visit the city of Fort Liberte to care for the people there.
Upon arriving in Fort Liberte we unpacked the loads of luggage (two 50lbs bags per person filled mostly with medications and other medical supplies) and stocked the clinic. It was overwhelming to see such an abundance of supplies filling the clinic shelves. The following afternoon and evening we held the first clinic. We saw a variety of patients, many with similar complaints to what I might have seen in a family medicine office here, others with typical ailments in Haiti like worms or typhoid symptoms, and sprinkled amongst all those patient were also some people with more urgent or severe problems.
There were a few patients who particularly stood out from my week in the clinic. On the first day we saw a woman with a very infected dental abscess and treated her with IV antibiotics. She returned the next day for a second round and already her face was half as swollen and more importantly it was filled with a smile. I wondered what she would have done if we had not been staffing the clinic that particular week.
Later in the week I had a patient with classic symptoms of hyperthyroidism who had seen a doctor and had been prescribed an inadequate dose of medication for treatment. Unfortunately she had no way to obtain the proper dose and we didn’t have the medication she needed with us. We were only able to treat some of her symptoms and hope that the next group to arrive would bring the appropriate medication and start her on an adequate dose.
With both these patients I was glad we were able to provide some relief, but each day I felt as though there was so much more that many of these patients needed and we just weren’t equipped to provide and was not readily accessible to the people there.
Having never been on the trip prior to the earthquake I’m not sure how things might have been different. We saw significantly more patients than in years past, and a few who had come from Port Au Prince, some with injuries still healing after the disaster. I do know this community was in great need prior to the earthquake and as Haiti begins to rebuild will continue to need even more support. It was a privilege to be able to participate in this trip, to work among a group of amazing individuals in such a welcoming and thankful community. I hope to continue to have opportunities to provide medical care and work towards a more sustainable comprehensive care for the people there.
Countdown to the ride: hittin the road to San Diego in 14 days.
