wfn.org | Newsline: How to put a week on a page, a physician reflects on Haiti delegation

[CoBNews <CoBNews@brethren.org>]

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service,

>News Director Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford,

>800-323-8039 ext. 260,

>cobnews@brethren.org

HOW TO PUT A WEEK ON A PAGE: A PHYSICIAN REFLECTS

>ON A BRETHREN MEDICAL DELEGATION IN HAITI

(April 12, 2010) Elgin, IL -- Lori Zimmerman, a physician from North

Manchester, Ind., who took part in the Church of the Brethren medical

delegation in Haiti on March 21-26, has written the following reflection

>on the week:

"Many have asked about my experience in Haiti last week. How do I put

>a week on a page?

"The week turned out to be a blessing in my life. I had some anxiety about

being away from my family for the first time and traveling with strangers,

but neither of these concerns ended up as issues at all. In fact thanks to

technology, I could e-mail back and forth with my kids and call anytime. I

met eight total strangers and left with eight new friends.

"We overcame some early challenges as two of the physicians from New

York did not come. So we found three Haitian physicians who were hired to

work with us all week. It was wonderful to work with them and they were eve n

able to provide some needed follow up and resources for us. Paul Ullom-Minn ich

from Kansas was the other physician from the US.

"For the week, I believe we saw over 1,300 patients. We would set up and te ar

down in new location each day. The locations were at or near the Brethren

churches or preaching points in or near Port-au-Prince, but the facilities  were

vastly different. One day we would be in a school with cement floors, and

another day in a thatched building, cramped quarters with mud floors.

"We saw a variety of complaints with many being stress related, and nutriti onal

deficiencies. Many complained of headaches, dizziness, insomnia, and upset

stomach. About everyone I saw was anemic. I treated a lot of people for par 
asites,

and some for symptoms of malaria (which I have never treated before). Many

children had fungal skin infections, parasites, and colds.

"I took 150 toothbrushes, 70 tennis balls, and 60 beanie babies to give awa y to

>children and could have used more.

"Almost everyone I saw lived in a tent due to their homes being destroyed b y 
the

>earthquake.

"I worked with a delightful nurse from Miami, Kelent Pierre, who is of Hait ian

descent. She also served as my trusty translator. We became good friends as  she

>spent the week in the top bunk above me.

"Our sleeping quarters were very nice by Haitian standards. We stayed in a  
guest

house run by a woman originally from Ohio. There was running water and we h ad

cold showers and flush toilets as well as screens on the windows--something  to 
be

thankful for. But it was hot at night and the fan just didn't seem to do en 
ough. We

had breakfast and supper there and I ate protein bars for lunch, which kept  me

>healthy.

>"I have several stories I could share:

"A women who is an insulin-dependent diabetic, who hasn't been able to get  
insulin

since the earthquake because her doctor--like many other affluent Haitians- -has

fled the country. I sent a church member with money to go to the pharmacy a nd

get her enough insulin for three months. But then what? Many people had hig h

blood pressure and couldn't get medicine for the same reason.

"There was also a one year old whose mother died in the earthquake. I guess ed 
he

weighed about 10 pounds. His grandmother brought him in to see me, like a l imp

dish rag in her arms. I saw them in the waiting area and hoped I wouldn't b e 
the

doctor to have to see him. He was previously breastfed and now doesn't want  to 
eat.

He was having diarrhea 10 times a day and fevers every night. He was clinic ally

dehydrated. I treated him for malaria, parasites, and dehydration. More imp 
ortantly,

I got him plugged in for follow up, with one of the Haitian doctors to see  his 
care

>through.

"The most touching story is about a two-month-old baby who was at birthweig ht

(about six pounds) and was throwing up every time he ate. He was very weak,

dehydrated, and his eyes would roll back in his head. He didn't have long t o 
live in

that state. I listened to his chest and he also had pneumonia. I got him so me 
oral

rehydration and antibiotics. I was concerned about pyloric stenosis which i s a

narrowed portion of the lower stomach which requires surgery.

"As luck would have it, one of the Haitian physicians who joined us was a s 
urgeon.

He gave him a 'pass' to the hospital and did surgery two days later. The su 
rgeon

told me the baby had a tumor blocking his esophagus (leading to the stomach ) 
which

>was removed. He is going to make it.

"It was heart warming to work with the Haitian Brethren all week. Several m 
embers

and pastors traveled to the different clinic sites with us all week. They d id 
the

planning, opened the morning with a short service, and organized the crowds . We

>then set up shop and went to work.

"The Haitian Brethren shared with our group that the subsidies from the Chu rch

of the Brethren and Brethren Disaster Ministries are the first they have se en 
from

any agency. There is an active feeding program going on. There have been 20

temporary houses built in a community in the past six weeks. Many there fee l 
this

is an amazing accomplishment in a short amount of time. These homes have

plywood walls, cement floor, and a tin roof. Also built by Brethren Disaste r 
Relief

>was a group sanitation area.

"After being in Haiti and seeing what is going on, I feel Brethren Disaster

Ministries is the best place to put money. They were organized before the

earthquake, building 100 homes in the north for hurricane relief from 2008,  so

they have a system in place already. That is why I think they have been so

>effective for this disaster.

"Many people have asked, 'So are things getting better now?' My answer is c 
learly,

no. Just because Haiti is no longer headline news, things are not better. T 
here are

tremendous amounts of rubble around and no bulldozers in sight. Tents are s till

lining streets and crowded in parks just inches apart. Lines are still form ed 
for

basic necessities like drinking water and food. Doctors have not returned t o 
their

>offices....

"That is why I have left Haiti in body, but have not left it in my mind. I  
continue

to think about ways that we can be helpful for more than a week. How we can

create real and lasting improvement? I look forward to continuing these dis 
cussions

with my church's witness commission and at our denomination's Annual Confer 
ence.

"I know that God intended for me to spend my week in Haiti and I am thankfu l

>that I followed the call."

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to continu ing

the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith in com 
munity.

The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith traditions an d 
is one

of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrated its 300th anniversary i n 
2008. It

counts some 125,000 members across the United States and Puerto Rico, and h as

missions and sister churches in Nigeria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Ha 
iti, and

>India.

># # #

>For more information contact:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

>Director of News Services

>Church of the Brethren

>1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120

>800-323-8039 ext. 260

>cobnews@brethren.org