Tuesday 1/26/10: Even in the storm, be Glorified.

I have never slept so well. That's the beauty of being so physically exhausted by the end of the day...your sleep is sweet :). We were up and moving at 0630, and at the clinic by 0730. Since word had spread we had a full surgical team from the day before, our patient load had dramatically increased. The surgeons did a phenomenal job with managing the myriad of procedures they took on.

One of the beautiful ladies who'd had an amputation from the night before, was showing multiple signs of weakening. She had labored breathing, was not oriented, and was severely anemic. We attempted to transport her to the general hospital in Haiti via our paramedic team. She coded once on the way was resuscitated, but coded again once arriving to the hospital and did not recover. When I heard, my (and I know others) heart was devastated.

I spent most all day working in the PACU (recovery from anesthesia, post-op). One patient in particular gripped my heart. She was 18 years old, and had a 1 1/2 year old sweet baby girl. I cared for the sweet baby girl, while her Mom recovered from anesthesia. While the patient was still coming off of her anesthesia (somewhat loopy), she began saying she was not going to survive (in Creole). While in her bed, she began grabbing my arm and telling the translator through her tears, for me to take her baby. I grabbed her and kept reminding her she was going to survive, and she would be taking her baby home once she was better. I fought back tears as I kept holding her arms and repeating this. It was such an intense moment, and finally she grew calm and rested. She had suffered a dislocated shoulder and had several abscesses drained. Several hours later, once she was alert and oriented, we fed her, I clothed her sweet baby girl, and she was on her way. Before she left she grabbed my arm and said, "Thank you (in English). Je t'aime (I love you)." They bless me so much more than I bless them.

I ended my 16 hour shift in the post-op ward. It was the perfect way to end a somewhat hectic morning. The patients in the ward were recovering from surgery, and needed to stay overnight for monitoring. Outside of the ward, I began hearing worship that was coming from a church on the MOH compound. The songs echoed through the ward, and in that moment I remembered, "This is all about Jesus. His Kingdom. His people. His redemption. Praise Him that He uses us."

Currently Playing: "You are the Moon" - The Hush Sound

1/25/10

Monday 1/25/10: How He loves us.

We awoke at 0630, and quickly began preparing for the day. We stayed at Brad & Vanessa Johnson's home on the MOH compound (slept on the floor and some outside in tents). Along with our team, there were about 30-40 other medical professionals staying on the compound. I stuffed my backpack with power bars and other things I figured I'd need through the day. After a quick breakfast at the compound's cafeteria, we made our trek down the hill to the clinic building. Patients had already begun lining up outside of the hospital. We took our places within the clinic, and opened at 0730. Simply put, it was organized chaos :). We had a triage team that assessed the patients' needs outside, and from there were either sent straight to the OR (broken limbs were easy to spot) or the ER/ICU (dehydration, fevers, pregnant mothers in labor). I was thankful that Lindsey, Jenny, and I knew which each other's strengths were, so we worked as team so well. We started IV's, gave IV medications, monitored vital signs, along with the ER and internal medicine doctors. I absolutely loved working with all of our doctors. It was a physically exhausting day not only because we worked 18-19 hours, but also because we were attempting to organize how the flow of our hospital ran...as well as knowing where certain supplies were stored.

We had patients with multiple leg and arm fractures. I was simply blown away with the pain tolerance of our patients. They were so thankful for any medical care they received, and they hardly ever complained of any pain. My heart was overwhelmed by their strength and their faith in Jesus.

As the sun was setting and the patient flow began dwindling, we thought we were pretty much finished with surgeries for the day. We were wrong. Two women in wheel chairs, rolled through the clinic gate. Both had received leg amputations at the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, and now both needed revisions due to infections. I felt my nose grow pink and my eyes fill with tears, as I saw them being wheeled in. I could not imagine the trauma they had endured within the previous week. They were quickly taken to the OR, where the surgeon team began both revisions. As the surgeons were in the middle of their surgeries, both women (very heavily sedated and on pain medications...so they did not feel a thing), broke out into praise in worship. The surgeons later told us they fought back tears. To think while these women were having their leg amputations revised/cleaned, were praising Jesus. In the midst of unspeakable pain, He gave them joy and loved them with His everlasting love.

Once they were brought to the recovery room, myself, Lindsey, and Jenny did our best to manage their pain with medication, as well as the other 14 patients who were staying overnight on our post-op ward. We prayed for night shift relief, so we could get some sleep, and God so graciously answered. Two other nurses from other medical teams also staying on MOH, volunteered to work 5-6 hours in the night, so we could get our rest and be ready for Tuesday. Jesus was so quick in answering prayers during this trip, and that was just one example of His beautiful timing.

We gave shift report to the night shift, and Jenny, Lindsey, and I made our way up to Brad & Vanessa's house (about a two mile walk) around midnight. Our bodies were physically exhausted, but our hearts were full. It was a beautiful exhaustion, to be used by Him.

Currently Playing: "How He loves us" -David Crowder Band

1/24/10 (3)

1/24/10 (2)

Sunday 1/24/10 (1)

Sunday 1/24/10: For to Him, all are alive.

My soul sings. That is the best way to describe how I feel. I know in my heart, God has created me to serve His people (particularly in 3rd world nations) through my medical giftings. I am humbled and so thankful. Every patient I interact with blesses me more than I bless them, and the Haitians proved this statement over and over.

Our medical team met at the private airport hangar Sunday morning. Our team was comprised of: 5 orthopedic surgeons, 1 general surgeon, 1 family physician, 1 ER doctor, 1 internal medicine doctor, 3 anesthesiologists, 2 surgical assistants, and 3 nurses (myself included). Our team members were from Austin and Dallas. I was thankful the two other nurses are my dear friends: Lindsey Griffin and Jenny Husband. God is so good like that :) After a quick debrief led by Joel Hurt (an orthopedic surgeon and coordinator of our team), we loaded into two small jets (once belonging to Bernie Madoff...God has a funny sense of humor). My heart was full. I simply could not believe within 3 hours, we would be landing in Port-au-Prince. He had moved so quickly to provide this trip on such short notice, and simply removed barrier after barrier to make a level path. I was so overwhelmed by His provision.

Lindsey, Jenny, and I sat in the back, as we discussed possible scenarios. None of the team members honestly had a clear picture of what to expect, so we began roughly organizing our plans to the best of our ability. Once we'd settled logistics, we began reading scripture out loud. As we did, the three of us decided what better way to put on our spiritual armor than to write His truth on our arms...so we did. We wrote scripture on our arms to encourage one another, ourselves, and our future patients (Unfortunately, the minute we landed the high humidity quickly removed the scripture, but we still were encouraged during the plane ride ;) ). As our plane descended into Port-au-Prince the plane gradually grew silent, as all eyes peered out the windows. Lindsey, Jenny, and I quickly huddled together and prayed: for Jesus's redemption, healing, endurance, strength, unity, and peace.

We were greeted by the leaders of MOH (Mission of Hope) at the PauP (Port-au-Prince) airport. The first thing I noticed once we landed was the smell. It was very distinct, like burnt rubber. I knew the reason for the powerful smell, and my heart broke at the thought of so many lost lives. They loaded us (along with our slew of medical supplies) onto a school bus, and we made our way to Mission of Hope (approximately 20-30 minutes outside of Port-au-Prince). As we drove through the capital, the bus was silent. We absorbed the landscape, the people, and the devastation. Once we made it to Mission of Hope (a 70 acre plot of land with high security), we unloaded our belongings and began setting up the hospital we would be running. Since our medical team was so well rounded, we had the ability to open up our own hospital (God is good). There was already a clinic on the MOH compound, so we essentially took over this clinic building and made it into a hospital complete with: 1 operating room, 1 ICU/ER room, 1 pharmacy, 1 PACU (post anesthesia recovery room), and 1 post-op ward. We were up until about midnight completing this transformation.

Our bodies were physically tired, but our hearts were bursting with anticipation and purpose. I could not wait for Monday. I was so ready to love the broken, hurting, and lost with His love. My soul was singing.

He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.

-Luke 20:38

Currently Playing: "Truth (Helios Remix)" - Balmorhea