So I kind of left out my Monday post...so here goes. Monday was good. 5am is getting harder by the day! I hear we had a slight tremor last night, but my tired butt slept right through it. From what I understand they are quite common, but put the folks around here in a state of mass confusion. One day last week they had a 6.5 aftershock and said when they got to the hospital, they had to coax the patients back into the hospital, it took over 2 hours. My heart breaks for these people that are living in fear from day to day.

Monday was more of the same. Some seriously sick folks, some not so much. We mix meds with the water from our own water bottles, because the hospital water simply isn't drinkable. We give our sick patients our water, because there is no more. I had an asthmatic come in today in severe distress. I'm sure the walk up the side of the mountain to get to the hospital didn't help any. His family said he'd been having these attacks since the earthquake. I started a neb and got his vitals, not pretty! But finally after 4, count em 4 nebs with albuterol (it's all we had!), 60mg of prednisone, 80mg of solu medrol IM and some puffs on an inhaler, the guy was still wheezing and pitiful. We sent him home with prenisone and inhalers..it's all we could do!

The ride back home is always interesting...goats on fences, chewing on whatever they can find, children walking down the road, shoeless and carrying machetes, tent cities as far as the eye can see. And these are no Colemans...they are cardboard, tarps, tin...whatever they can get their hands on.

So Tuesday was uneventful until 6 people were bused in from a nearby town, Cabaret. One of our outlying mobile clinics brought them in. Probably malaria and yellow fever, I was told when our doc in charge called me. So we got our supplies ready...and they arrived an hour and a half later. Tired, feverish and pitiful. We tried to send 3 to the hospital ER (they were the lesser of the sick...diarrhea, etc..no malaria), but they refused to see them. Not sure what they'll do tomorrow when it's ALL turned over to them! So we treated them and sent 5 of the 6 home...one was admitted and I had the pleasure of helping carry all 70lbs of the 27 year old emaciated woman down the hall to her room - on a green army stretcher. Not sure if she'll make it, but at least she's on a soft bed tonight.

Last but not least, the highlight of my day...helping fish a pebble out of a 2 year old little boy's nose. Fun times, fun times, fun times. Right up my area of expertise!!

More tomorrow...last day of work. We'll tour Port Au Prince tomorrow afternoon as well...looking forward to my bed at home, a hot shower and my family (not necessarily in that order!)!