We've become a hospital, in that many patients cannot be treated and released. I may not have the accurate count, but I believe we're keeping 14 right now. We're rolling with it and the team has been working well together and making adjustments as needed. Today a few of the things we've seen:
- Six month old baby boy named Obama had a broken upper arm - no crying during casting.
- Six month old baby girl with giant gaping wound that had not yet been touched by anyone. She is a twin, her mother did not accompany her to the clinic - but stayed with the healthy twin. Right now Megan H. is walking around holding and comforting her.
- A young man with a hole straight through him, front to back. Possibly rebar during the earthquake.
- Seven month pregnant woman with open deep and infected wound on her leg.
- Head wounds, lacerations, and open cuts on most everyone that has come in.
- One man seems to possibly be dying of HIV but now has new injuries due to the earthquake, the Docs are discussing how to best serve him.
- A man with his hand chopped off above the wrist by some sort of fight. We're unsure on details. Currently they are trying to clip back his bone and and will possibly amputate above the elbow in order to close him.
The reason we cannot use that hospital that you're all writing to us about --it is 75 miles from here - in the developed world of course that is nothing. Here, it is an 8 hour drive minimum ... we cannot allocate people, vehicles, or diesel to get our patients to the other side of the island. We have heard of an air-lift option, but getting to where you go to airlift is difficult right now too and requires a bunch of fuel.
Praying and Hoping,
Tara
