Aug 5, 2017
Cru de M オランジェット #ekchuah #crudem #チョコレート #2017バレンタイン
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Cru de M オランジェット #ekchuah #crudem #チョコレート #2017バレンタイン
This July we are celebrating Milot, Haiti, home of Hôpital Sacré Coeur! Hôpital Sacré Coeur's Sister Ann has become sort of a celebrity in Milot. Every day she goes out into town delivering protein bars and vitamin lollipops, as well as clothing and other things people in the neighborhood may need. This video shows just how much the people of Milot love Sister Ann.
To learn more about Hôpital Sacré Coeur and The CRUDEM Foundation, please visit www.crudem.org
Founding HSC Nurse Anesthetist, Annie Thelusmond talks about how she and her husband convinced Brother Yves to turn the dispendory in Milot, Haiti into a hospital. She also discusses how, 25 years later, the dream of the hospital has grown to a Center of Excellence in northern Haiti.
Hôpital Sacré Coeur is truly a dream come true, but it needs your help to continue healtchare and education to the people of Haiti. To help right now, visit www.crudem.org
What if you didn’t have a place to go if you were hurt, sick, pregnant or dying?
Could you tell these children that their mother will die, because there is no insulin for her diabetes? Could you tell them not to scrape their knees, because tetanus shots are not available to protect them from this endemic and deadly toxin?
Life has not been kind to Haitians since the earthquake and cholera entered their lives. The medical aftershocks continue to rock their world relentlessly and claim their victims.
In the wake of the earthquake, CRUDEM raised over $4 million in relief funds and over $20 million of donated supplies. Unlike other organizations, all of the money went to Haiti, to support Hôpital Sacré Coeur in Milot.
Then, Haiti’s plight disappeared from headline news, so did the bulk of the donations. But, the patients keep coming. The demand for services escalates. Donations have returned to pre-earthquake levels, but the hospital’s budget has almost doubled.
The gap hurts: literally.
For over 25 years CRUDEM/ Hôpital Sacré Coeur has remained committed to the Haitian people. We will not desert them now. But CRUDEM desperately needs your help.
The hospital does not want to turn the injured or sick away. The hospital does not want people in pain going without medications. The hospital doesn't want newborns delivered at home, without the presence of a skilled birth attendant; their umbilical cords cut with an unsterile or even rusty kitchen knife.
Hôpital Sacré Coeur remains one of the finest, tertiary care hospitals in Haiti; a government recognized reference hospital and a sought after clinical site for nursing education and medical school rotations. HSC has a proven capacity and a solid track record of healthcare excellence.
What HSC doesn’t have right now are enough funds to meet the increased demand. In order to continue their unbroken record of meeting the healthcare needs of the 250,000 people in the north of Haiti, we ask you to join with them in closing the deadly financial gap by donating: $1 a day for 30 days.
What’s $1 a day? Less than you spend on a cup of coffee. Less than a pack of gum costs you.
How far does a $1 go in Haiti? $25 = Delivery of a baby $50 = Cataract removal $90 = Club foot repair $137.50 = Appendectomy $150 = C-Section $111 provides clean water for the hospital for a week $1500 = Haitian Physician’s Salary for one month
Just a $1 a day…how tough is that?
Please consider donating just $30/month or a one-time $30 donation to help CRUDEM help the people of Haiti. Visit The CRUDEM Foundation's website for more information and ways you can help. Thank you!
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I was editing some of the photos Nathan took of the family down the road from the hospital, and had to take a moment when I came to this photo. It's beautiful.
Day Six at Hôpital Sacré Coeur
Nate went in to surgery to film and photograph a hysterectomy this morning. The woman had fibroids all over her uterus and it needed to be removed. When it was all over, Nate came back to our room and you could definitely tell he was overwhelmed being involved in such an intense surgery!
Nate and I went to the hospital at 10:30am because we got word that Nurse Anesthetist, Annie Thelusmond, one of the founding nurses of the hospital was paying a visit - we jumped at the chance of interviewing her. She told us about how the hospital stated off as a small dispensory, and Dr. Ted Dubuque had the vision of growing it into a hospital in Milot. Brother Yves, another founding member who told Dr. Dubuque that he was dreaming in color. To that, Ted Dubuque replied, "Well then let's dream in color and then we can wake up in black and white." Hopital Sacre Coeur is in fact a dream come true!
We sat for a bit an played with the children in the Nutrition Center again, and showed some of the mothers the book Selebre! which is the CRUDEM Foundation's 25th Anniversary book. It was a pretty neat bonding experience and most of the mothers knew some of the people in the photos in the book. After lunch, Nate did his first interview with one of the first security guards at the hospital. It was very interesting to hear how the security team was formed. And after lunch, we interviewed Fifi, the hospital staff's chef. In the interview I told her that I love spaghetti with butter...so guess what she served for dinner tonight!!!
We met Dr. Flynn at the hospital and he was on his way to look at the cemetery, so we went along with him. It was nothing like the cemeteries in the USA. There were human bones and skulls just laying around all over the place. The Haitian cemetery plots are actually rented, and if you cannot pay the bill, your loved ones that have been buried are dug up and the space is then open for a new body. The Haitians must have a different view of death.
Unfortunately, my computer must have overheated or something because when we brought it back to our room, it was stuck on the loading screen. I restarted the computer in safe mode and then did some work on the CRUDEM website. Tim Traynor took a look at the computer later and just restated it and low and behold it worked. Phew!
Later in the evening, the Guyol's and the Flynn's, Nate and I all gathered for the Zilch championship. Mark Guyol ended up winning, and he got to put his name on the very majestic ceramic pigeon trophy in the Medical Residence. Well, not only does he get his name on it, but he also gets to sleep with it for two whole nights. You know I was jealous :)
After that we met a bunch of people on the Mission House porch. It was Jacki, one of the security guard's birthday, so we all danced and had a great time until about midnight. I can't believe tomorrow is our last full day. We still have a few more interviews to catch. Hopefully my computer is done acting up! I am really going to miss this place!
We ended the day yesterday by playing a game called Zilch. As you can see, the game is very fun. Apparently it's a Guyol tradition to play the game, and we will be having a grand championship of Zilch tomorrow night - winner gets their name sharpie-d onto the ceramic duck. Wondering why all of our hands are on the duck? We were swearing in a new rule called the Flynn Pyramid :)
Shots!
Our trip to Haiti is a month and a week away! Nate received his passport in the mail last week, and even though I applied for my passport 2 days before he did, I have yet to receive mine. I have been checking the mail like a madwoman every day after work!
We received our required vaccinations yesterday at the BayState Hospital Travel Clinic in Springfield, MA. The nurse there was very informative, and I was glad I had read up on the possible diseases we could catch in Haiti on the CRUDEM website before we went to the clinic, otherwise I would have felt super overwhelmed with all the information she dropped on us!
We were each given shots for Hepatitis A (we had already been vaccinated for Hepatitis B, otherwise we would have needed that one as well), Tuberculosis, Tetanus, Whooping Cough, and Typhoid Fever. We were originally told we would need rabies shots, as there are many rabid dogs roaming Haiti, but the nurse at the clinic told us that since we would only be there for nine days and our insurance may not cover the expensive shots ($300 each...and you need 4 doses!), it is best for us to just try as hard as possible to avoid all dogs in Haiti.
The shots weren't as bad as I thought they were going to be, which is a funny thing for me to say, because if you knew me, you'd know I am COVERED in tattoos :) Neither of us had any side effects from the shots, just some sore arm muscles. The nurse explained how we can be safe from disease in Haiti and gave us prescriptions for Malaria and anti-diarrhea pills, should we need them. The Malaria pills are to be taken in 7 doses, once a week and we should take the first dose a week before we leave for Haiti.
The nurse also told us some different ways we could protect ourselves from mosquito bites. Though we would be protected from Malaria, we would not be protected against Dengue Fever, which is also spread by infected mosquitoes. Dengue Fever symptoms mimic those of Malaria, and the onset of symptoms usually don't start until 2 weeks after exposure. So after we get home from Haiti, we will need to be aware of any changes in our health! Of course, we need to sleep in beds covered by mosquito netting too, but the beds at the volunteer quarters at Hôpital Sacré Coeur where we will be staying, are already covered in mosquito netting.
One of the ways we can protect ourselves from mosquitoes is by using a strong bug spray with DEET on any exposed skin. She told us to first apply an SPF of at least 30, and then put the bug spray on top of that. She also recommended we purchase a spray called "Permethrin" which is a natural mosquito repellent made from chrysanthemums. As a vegetarian, I appreciate that it is made of flowers! She explained that we should spray our clothes with the Permethrin to block from mosquitoes, an apparently the stuff is so strong it lasts through 2 or 3 washes! Might be a good thing to use in the summertime for outdoor barbecues!
Last, the nurse explained the things we could and couldn't eat. She warned us to only brush our teeth with bottled water, and to be very careful not to accidently swallow any water while taking a shower. She told us we could eat local fruit as long as we peeled it first, but after hearing one previous volunteer's story about how they peeled fruit and ate it, but still got very ill, I do not believe I will be eating anything outside of the hospital!
Next on our "To Do" list before we leave for Haiti is to get some cargo pants, small backpacks, and rubber boots. Oh, and I need my passport to arrive!!! (Do you hear me, USPS?!!)