Trying to get a little sleep after night shift...but it's hard when I'm on a cot in a hallway. Going with only 10 hours of sleep since Thursday. Highlight of night? Making balloon animals for a little girl in the ER. Hoping more babies today, then back to the compound tomorrow. Still happy I'm here. :-)

So I'm going to try my hand at the ER tonight. Woohoo! Not enough births right now, too many midwives. So we'll see how trauma care goes without modern medical technology. :-) When in doubt, remember your ABCs. Bon nwit!

Two births so far... Very different than in the States. Lots of singing and prayer pretty much staright since 7am (today is the sabbath), all broadcast over loudspeakers. Will be in the hospital until Monday, when we head back to our "compound". More later.... -M

Short note before I head tithe hospital for the weekend of delivering babies and surgery. Haiti is amazing... Amazingly sad, devastated, worse than I could imagine. But it's also beautiful.... Amazing people and such strength. Have never seen it like this before. I think I'm in love with this work.
-M

Hey all... Made it to Haiti. Hot, buggy, and has a smell I can't quite describe. We're figuring out how to get to carrefour as our driver didn't show. Let the adventure begin!

T - zero

And I'm off. Leaving for the airport in a couple minutes, with an overnight layover in Florida before catching a flight to Port au Prince. I'm totally pumped today...not nearly as anxiety-filled as I've been lately. Maybe it's the calm before the storm, or maybe I'm just ready. I'll be meeting my comrades in Florida in a couple hours, of whom I've never met but I bet will become close buddies by the end.

I have two enormous duffle bags full of supplies, plus a carry-on and my backpack full of my stuff. Now just to get through customs with all of my gear. Sleeping bag and pad, check. Mosquito net, check. Passport, check. Food, check. Scrubs, check. It was hard prioritizing what to bring, as I kept wanting to put donations in place of something I needed for myself. Yes, Mom...I'm putting myself first. Medications, flower essences, and soul food. :-)

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to update the blog (or have internet at all) while I'm there, but I'll try to leave little snippets on here (via text) of my adventure in real-time.

Much love to you all! Wish me luck and I'll be thinking of you as my spiritual posse down there. (Picture the Verizon commercial...)

Catch you on the flip side...

-M

It's like labor....

So I just had to share this quote from one of the wonderful midwives I'll be travelling with to Haiti. We were finalizing plans and sharing our mutual anxiety about our trip, and she came up with the perfect comparison.

"I think this experience is like being in labor. You are excited for it start happening, but the when the time comes the reality of it suddenly hits you and you realize that you are going to have to do something really, really difficult that you can't wrap your mind around in advance and that is going to challenge all of your coping mechanisms. If you are not at least a little scared, you probably don't understand the reality of it."

Thanks, Barb, for letting me quote you! Wise words. :-)

3 days and counting.

-M