Wednesday: Hump Day

Dominican Republic Trip Nov. 2010, Journal Entry No. 5
Wednesday, our third work day, was when I expected team dynamics to break down a bit. I am thrilled to report that moment never came. We spent our day on Batey Plumita where we treated 72 patients. Unlike the first two we visited, Plumita was absolutely filthy and very crowded. Our hosts’ explanation for this is that there is a large voodoo element on this batey, an element that introduces crime, fear, aggressiveness, drugs, and likely much more. There was lots of pushing and shoving in line to enter the clinic. And the general vibe was less welcoming. However, we had a magical moment: an impromptu 50-person circle of Gato, Gato, Gato, Pero (the equivalent of American duck, duck, goose). With no instructions having been given, a Haitian child would naturally pick an American child and vice versa. Squeals of delight were ringing off the buildings of the batey!

Turner recorded weights at the door of the clinic on this day and he stayed focused until someone broke out the wiffle ball and bat, then he went and played ball and had a blast. Hayden worked at the de-worming station, marking the hands of patients who had received their parasite meds (a necessary precaution because people would get in line twice because it tastes so good, which would likely lead to nausea/vomiting). Paul was the “traffic” person, leading patients from station to station in the clinic. After all the play time, the kids settled down and many held our hands while we were distributing food. In the middle of the workday, a mom came in with a 12-pound, one-year-old boy named Luigi (shown in the bottom photo in the arms of my colleague Sandy). Our team’s lead translator, Emilio, tried diligently to get a straight story from the mom on why the baby was so skinny and what medical care the boy had received; she seemed very confused. Was he just malnourished? Was anemia a factor? Did he have an infection? In the end, Emilio and one of the Dominican doctor’s advocated that the best course of action was to bring the baby on the bus to be treated at the Good Samaritan Hospital. Emilio asked if our team would provide the necessary funds to make that happen. I paused to try to find a diplomatic and inoffensive way to ask exactly what that meant. I didn’t want to make a commitment with team funds that couldn’t be honored. Saying (in Spanglish), "What's it gonna cost me?" about another persons health care just felt icky. I don’t remember exactly what I asked to solicit the info that I needed, but I do remember the answer: $13. I am happy to report that as of the day we left, Luigi is doing very well.

After picking up the water filter team at the hospital, we made our first trip to the beach. Literally, all 23 of us walked onto the beach, plopped down our bags, walked into the ocean and stayed in the water for the next 90 minutes. We walked out of the water, toweled off, and left! It was awesome!

Wednesday night we did more food packing, assessed our med clinic supplies (we ran out of vitamins, eye drops, and lotrimin), and had a presentation from Andrea and Estella (two ladies who lead aspects of the mission involving education, family planning and services to retired workers). This was our opportunity for team members to ask numerous questions about the La Romana, the sugar cane industry, the government, the mission, and more. I was very proud of the students in the group; their questions were thoughtful and intelligent.