The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Ugly: This is the foot of a 24 year old boy who had been in days and days of rain, got a fungal infection, and went untreated for 2 months. The other foot was worse. The nurse had already scrubbed for 1/2 hour to remove some of the hardened skin. His parents brought him on a donkey to our mountain post. He couldn't walk. So we cleaned and soaked and cleaned some more. We then gave him medication and bandages and told them to come to our clinic if he didn't improve. They left, the boy astride the donkey, grateful for our help. During the cleaning, which was painful for him, he was also embarrassed because he said, "I have never had a woman clean my feet. And certainly not a white woman!"

The Bad
Cholera cases are increasing every day. Large tents are being erected outside the hospital for all the cases. They went from 8 to 38 to 78 in 2 days! They can't put up the tents fast enough and they are now running out of room. The area is roped off with high walls of plastic and bobbed-wire and family members are not allowed inside. Every day we hear of people we know affected. So far, all staff have been safe. Every day we continue to EDUCATE, educate, educate on how to prevent the spread of this dreaded killer.

With the cholera is FEAR - and a fear fueled by rumors of some people causing the spread by various practices. One day the fear grew into a mob in one part of Jeremie and 2 men, who came from an area with much cholera, and were said to be "spreading it", were attacked, set on fire, and killed. In another area of Jeremie a man was killed by machete, again because the mob believed they were "spreading cholera dust from those who had died of cholera." Since that outburst, things have been quiet.

The GOOD
This year I had the most "universal" Thanksgiving dinner. There were about 18 of us from U.S., Denmark, Columbia, Uruguay, Sweden, Haiti, and other places, all speaking English and helping us celebrate an "American Thanksgiving." We thanked God together, ate together, and shared laughs together. It was a welcome respite for all of us. We had pumpkin pie (via Libby's!), mock apple pie (made with breadfruit), turkey (so what if it was the "pressed" variety!), sweet potatoes (Haitian style) and other Haitian dishes. As we ate our fill we were very conscious of those not far from the house who were not as blessed as us. But, as I said, we were all refreshed at the end of the evening and ready to face another day.

Take care. Don't forget to help those less fortunate than you - and do say a prayer for the people of Haiti. Mary Ann