Hey,
Don't know if anyone is still reading this blog, because since returning I haven't really posted, but just in case, a little plug:
LECTURE/SLIDESHOW/FUNDRAISER this Tuesday, March 16
7pm at Mugshots coffee shop 21 and Fairmount in Philly
speaking with me is Adam Cooper who was the doc in charge of the Emergency room on the Naval ship COMFORT.
Hope to see you there
Pete
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Fwd: Tent city clinic 1
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Pete Sananman <piatromd@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, Mar 6, 2010 at 11:22 AM
Subject: Tent city clinic 1
To: Pete Sananman <petesananman@gmail.com>
Sent from my iPhone
From: Pete Sananman <piatromd@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, Mar 6, 2010 at 11:22 AM
Subject: Tent city clinic 1
To: Pete Sananman <petesananman@gmail.com>
Sent from my iPhone
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
2nd to Last Haiti related email. :)
Hey,
I do apologize for mass emailings.
Just got back from Haiti safe and sound.
Anyhoooo, my good friend Jill Fink is holding a fundraiser for Haiti at her coffee house,
In short- Adam Cooper and I will be speaking. Adam was the doc in charge of the ER on the USNS Comort.
100% of the proceeds are going exactly where they are supposed to. 100%-- See below if you want more info on this**
DATE: Tuesday March 16 @7pm
LOCATION: Mugshots Coffee shop corner of Fairmont and 21st st
$5 advance, $10 @ door includes light refreshments and beer
I don't want you to feel pressured to come, but I'm sure the poor starving children with broken feet would want me to pressure you. :)
kidding.
Anyway, I would really love to see you there. It's a good cause, should be fun and interesting. Invite your friends.
Thanks
Pete Sananman
(see below for more info)
FURTHER DETAILS:
1) direct link to donate: (find the button with my name on it)
http://www.housingworks.org/donate/haiti/Everyone who gives to Haiti via this link under my name, will receive a tax receipt (via email and regular mail)
2) Mugshots calendar for time/location
http://www.mugshotscoffeehouse.com/events_calendar.cfm
3) verbose explaination of how I've designated the money to be spent and why this is a good way of donating if in fact you wish to donate:
Jill has allowed me to select the recipient of the proceeds which will be HousingWorks, the organization with whom I worked in Haiti.
HousingWorks in turn has agreed to specifically earmark 100% any money raised at this event for the cause of my choice.
Having been on the ground, I feel very comfortable in selecting the following 2 goals:
1) Purchase of specific medicines at a hugely discounted price from WHO with whom we connected. Shopping list is written, meds are available
2) Paying Hatian translators who are volunteering there time to translate for the non creole speaking health care providers. a quick quote from my own blog (too lazy to rewrite it)
The payment of actual wages to these young, hardworking, educated translators who have all been displaced from their career paths and are now volunteering there efforts in the aftermath of this rediculous devastation is a donation many times over...you are providing a crutial link in the healthcare chain---most medical services right now are by non creole speaking "foreigners", you are putting food in the mouths of the translators and their families, and you are providing legitimate employment in a country with 70% unemployement and no "industry" to speak of, furthermore you are empowering a self motivated group of young people who may very well be the future leaders of haitian infrastructure.
Given the well deserved cynicism one may have about donating money to large organizations or money being "taxed" through a corrupt Hatian government, if you still have a granule of desire to give toward Hatian relief, and are looking for a place to donate money that you know will go the right way, I am personally vouching for this. Given the fact that I refused to take cash from everyone (except my mom and nandita) before I left because I dont' want to be responsible for anyones money getting wasted, this should be reassuring.
p
SIGNING OFF-
Back in the old reliable coffee shop in Philly, snow on the ground, bowels settling, and about 36 hours of sleep under my belt. Amy pointed out I should put a "final thoughts" entry which she's right about. Only problem is I don't have a specific final thought.
Here are a few thoughts:
I didn't realize how tired I was until I got home. I thought everything was fine but I was deeply deeply exhausted. Partly from the stimulation, pushing myself extra hard to make the [effort of getting down there]:[what i accomplished] ratio work out in a way that left me feeling good (I felt bad after my trip to amazon bc i felt that ratio was way out of whack and I could have done more good by donating the money i spent on airfair direclty to antibiotics for the Achuar-- felt like a weird type of tourism that left me feeling unwholesome and unfulfilled)
I am going to focus on this upcoming fundraiser at MUGSHOTS Coffee shop March 16th, 7 pm (plug!) http://www.mugshotscoffeehouse.com/ (21 and fairmount)
this is how I plan to guard against the "post bar mitzvah blues" that I can so easily succumb to. even though it probably wont raise too much money it will raise something, and I know exactly where it will go so that will feel good. But in addition to being a good practical way to use my energy to help a little more, I think psychologically it will be good for me to have a specific place and purpose to consolidate my thoughts on the experience and process them and publically share them rather than simply abruptly transitioning back to philly life without any remaining connection to this powerful experience I just had.
BTW the money will all be donated to purchase of antibiotics and other key meds from the ProMess WHO depot in Port au Prince and to pay local Hatian medical translators. The payment of actual wages to these young, hardworking, educated translators who have all been displaced from their career paths and are now volunteering there efforts in the aftermath of this rediculous devastation is a donation many times over...you are providing a crutial link in the healthcare chain---most medical services right now are by non creole speaking "foreigners", you are putting food in the mouths of the translators and their families, and you are providing legitimate employment in a country with 70% unemployement and no "industry" to speak of, furthermore you are empowering a self motivated group of young people who may very well be the future leaders of haitian infrastructure. so if in reading this you want to donate before the event, there should be a "pete fund" link on the HousingWorks.org website and they are in support and able to earmark any money in this fund to this purpose (thanks Andrew Greene and Charles King)
I am concerned that life here will drown out any long term connection to Haiti and the relief efforts. Perhaps I'll get boring here or perhaps I will get infatuated with another disaster elsewhere or a new rediculous project. I would like to find some way that I can continue a relationship in a manageable way with housing works and haitian relief. the establishment of a Telemedicine consultant system btwn Penn and HW or Gheskio would be great, though bedevelling little details such as Gheskio is affiliated with Cornell or internet connection is spotty or any of a thousand other tiny details could derail that seemingly simple yet useful project. so any ideas or feedback on that would be welcome
Thoughts on the wilderness training I've had. They say everything you learn comes in handy eventually. Having taking a million BOSS and NOLS and Tom Brown classes and all that stuff, having leearned to flint knap (poorly) and make fire by rubbing sticks together all that stuff I can boil down 2 lessons I learned that I think were on my mind daily while I was there. 1) having lived in the desert and alaska with no food, water, shelter matches or gear taught me how to feel very comfortable with nothing. living in the camp felt pretty plush. I was never concerned about my physical needs at all. having the basics Food, Water, Shelter so readily availabe, evertyhing else, Iphone, electricity, clothes, a Chauffeur! all that stuff, really didnt feel like roughign it. that was learning from BOSS 2) from NOLS, they call it EB meaning expedition behavior. when in camp in cramped or difficult situations, share your food, bring extra water, clean up after someone else do that stuff, it makes everytone get along better. I tried to do this (acting against my own very powerful lazy tendancies) and was fortunate that my 2 colleagues were both wilderness guides and implicitly did the same and more. thanks guys
Solitude: I cant describe it but I want to talk to people and share this experience and catch up on their lives but I also just want to be alone for a while
ok,
this has clearly gone on too long.
signing off--- hope to see you March 16, 7pm Mugshots coffee house philadelphia; 21 and fairmount
Sunday, February 28, 2010
??Yaws
I suggested that Tatiana Caseau might have Scrofula. I never felt fully comfortable with that diagnosis, I am pretty sure that is when the lymph nodes become suppurative, and her lesions were on the extremies remote from any nodes. But I really had absolutely no idea what the diagnosis was so I just went with that to label her. (I know probably half the docs reading this are thinking I am an idiot, but she had 4 years of weight loss and oozing lesions, and I have no books with me to look this stuff up)
Anyway, big shout out to Dr Weinstein. He looked at my photos of the girl and suggested Yaws.
I still dont know if this is the correct diagnosis, but having looked at pix of Yaws I can definately say whatever the answer is, I bet he's a lot closer than I was. The doc who took over her care at Gheskio tell me they will email me the final results
Thanks Jonathan for the suggestion, and Thanks Dr Rouzier and Dr Severe for being such great assistance in getting care for this cute kid.
Pete Sananman
Rogue Consultants
Johnnie and I are listed on the Official Miami University Field hospital as "Rogue Consultants" at the top of the page.
It is dogma in the field of diaster relief that one doesn't go "rogue." To have a bunch of Medics and ER docs, well wishers, clown college dropouts and voyeurs running around the streets with trauma shears and best of intentions is a bad idea. ACEP (american college of emergency physicians) has a specific policy statement opposing such endeavors.
I agree wholeheartedly that this is not the way to go, but I can now attest to the fact that there is a place for some discretion in this matter. If everyone did it the net effect would surely be detrimental. However the dogma may have gone too far.
I went with the sole intention of working at Housing Works clinics serving as a family practice doc. I imagined being inundated with patients with valid medical complaints who had nowhere else to go. "A busy urgent care center" as Marie Normil put it before I came to replace her in this role.
However when I got there seveal things were true: 1) it was a 3 day holiday for Carnival (they went to church not partying in the streets) so the clinics were all closed 2) I had 2 awesome medics worknig with me and 3) I am an ER doc not a family practice doc. So as a team we would blaze thru patients finishing all our work by about noon on days clinic was open 4) The entire time I was there the Haitian head of Housing works was in Washington DC, loaning us his driver and van so we had perfect transportation at our beck and call the entire time. 5) The miami field hospital- probably the biggest level 1 trauma center, had no ER doc for the first 6 days I was there and signed me on within my 1st 24 hours in the country
We had a safe place to stay, food in our bellies, a very mobile team that gelled early, ample energy, know how, gumption who had no formal oversight or boss for the ~ 21 hours a day that we weren't dealing with patients in the family practice clinics
Stars don't usually align like this.
This morning I wrote Charles King a formal letter of thanks and in it I specifically pointed to several things he did that accentuated our ability to get involved. 1-- as I already mentioned, he set our minimum agenda and structure (food, water, shelter, safery, transport and translators were all provided, and our mission was clear-- care for patients at FP clinic) but he gave us tremendous latitude to do what we felt we needed to do and trusted that we kept the big pictue in mind of helping to establish a stronger clinic for the longterm in the end. But there was something else he did: He strongly beleives in the need for the volunteers to live IN the community it is trying to serve. We 3 volunteers slept in the backyard along with a total of about 10 Hatian locals. And when I say Hatian locals it conjurs the image of a faceless anonymous possible untrustworthy stanger. But it wasn't. It was Simone with her Hugs ang kisses every night and off color humor and laughter. Her sister of 44 who has severe Hypertension and 3 strokes and smiles and waves but barley speaks and has such trouble getting out of the tent at night. and 2 year old Schneider, who is cute as hell, loves to be chased but has to be one of the noisiest kids starting at about 6:01 am every every every morning. the list go on. regular people. some I liked more than others, but just regular people. It demystifies the city. we weren't scared to go out. we probably wouldn't have been anyway because we all like "getting out there" anyway, but it felt much more seemless and normal.
Before coming down, I was looking at maps to try to figure out what to do if there was massive civil unrest. I pictured robber at the edge of a machete as a pretty plausible scenerio. I received the same harrowing email from about 6 different ER docs of one doc's supposed firsthand account that may or may not be true of needing armed escorts. If the email is in fact true, and I have my doubts, I really really suspect that the need for the escorts and perceived danger all around may have been more imaginary than real. I know more healthcare workers in philly who have been robbed at gun point or otherwise (1) than in Haiti (none)
When University of Miami suddenly had a new shipment of docs-- way overstaffing the ER (went from 1 ER doc-- me) to TEN er docs in 1 shipment, I did 2 things-- 1) stopped working there 2) tried my best to recruit docs to come out with me-- to disseminate them to the countless locations they were needed. Though one very cool doc did leave briefly for a tour of Gen Hospital, that was teh exception. The rest were on a spectrum of terrified for there lives to leave (there are several choice slang words for these supposed ER docs that are too crude to put here) and at the gutsiest end of the spectrum, scared to leave the compound because the rules of the comppound forbids them from leaving and says if they do, they are "on there own" I pretty much apply the same slang words to these folks too.
SO, why was it important to get out there?
Miami FH is huge: generators, internet, literally hundreds of volunteers, Cheif medical officer, US command and control, flights to the ship, full time Logistics tent with a logistics coordinator with 2 phones and internet. Within 3 days of "going rogue" driving around the city meeting the various players we were more knowledgeable about the location of physical and human resources throughout the city than they were. Im sure they knew things we didn't know, of course they did. But there were so so many instances where we had answers when then had none
they had run low on oxygen regulators. After several days I think they got a new shipment, but we found a huge carton filled with oxygen regulators in one of the 20 shipping containers located less than a mile from Miami FH which contained supplies that WHO was literally giving away. (we did load up our van full and strapped more to the roof before we left of course) Not only did WHO have these 20 containers of goods that were donated to them but never ijnventoried because they did not fall within the scope of what they did (meds) but they had an entire airconditioned wharehouse of meds that has been in place for 18 years and no one at Miami knew about this either.
when it came to turning away patients and transferring them elsewhere we had literally met face to face with accepting administrators and physicians at 5 of the major destinations, exchanged phone numbers and established transfer protocols before the CMO and another doc from Miami ultimately did the same several days later (we had already compiled this list and typed it up and added it to miami's offical list, literally doubling the length of thier document and correcting several errors in the process) the list we created of course was completely unkown to the CMO when he went on his field trip 2 days later. Mind you they had been on the ground (hundreds of them) for over 6 weeks at this point, we'd been there 6 days at this point).
Numerous times (maybe 20-25 times) we saw patients-- either while at local hospitals or in our clinic or tent city (and during the car accident on the side of the road) when we were able to identify a problem that could not be addressed at the current location (including in hospitals) and we simply picked up the phone and called our new friends at the appropriate institution, spoke on a 1st name basis, traded some niceties and arranged definitive transport to the right institution.
We also connected with Quisqueya, CDC, and a non profit that donated 15 local cell phones w minutes so we could communicate more easily.
Again, I know this may sound braggardly or it may sound naive. I am sure people at other institutions felt they had good systems. For example University hospital's Gabrielle "the dude" logistics man was phenominal and knew way way more resources than we did. But none of the people we met knew him so we made telephone introductions to connect these people.
I am absolutely not trying to imply that we did better than others. What miami FH did was so far beyond anything I could imagine, helping thousands of people, it was an amazingly efficient and productive machine. as were all the machines providing relief work. what I am saying is that what we did going rogue was DIFFERENT than anything we saw and I think at times added benefit to the process. maybe 99% of the work should be done "on the reservation" but I do think there is a role for a small portion of the workers to go "off the reservation" a little. No to be reckless or provide cowboy medicine, amputating kids feet in the street, just to cross polinate institutions. make connections, identify resources by actually travelling around the city as a doctor talking to workers and patients alike
Those hard to reach placed were definately reached, by others before us. The tent cities had been mined several times over by teams of docs in the early days after the quake.
Anyway, I will have to edit this some time in the future, its just that I am on a computer finally, in a hotel in Santo Domingo, clean, hot shower and wanted to put some thoughts down.
again, listing our accomplishments in such an unappologetic definatley could come across the wrong way, I dont' mean it that way. I am just responding to the voices I had rattling around in my head before I came down-- and responding to them now with the perspective of hindsight
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Car accident en route transporting Tatiana (not our car)
4 victims. 2 bleeding 2 hystrionic "untesposive".
Friday, February 26, 2010
Outward rotated malaligned foot. Not limping in pain
I set him up w a pediatric orthopedist in 2 weeks when the. Arrive in
PoP
PoP
Broken or dislocated since eq. very scared of docs. Prob scared of amputation No xrays yet
offensive Love it
From fam practice clinic: preeclampsia (sbp 90) proteinuria edema
great charm offensive last week. A payoff
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703503804575083973597429774.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStories
This article is practically a quotation of the conversation we had last night over dinner
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tent city
Today opened an impromptu clinic in a"tent city". One of the local
organizations "Quisqueya" has an abundance of meds and supplies and
were happy to furnish us w these to go off on our own looking for
patients. With both clinics well staffed w picked up 2 translators
Alex and mike. It's worth a moment to discuss them. I learned we are
supposed to pay them $20 from quisqueya. I was surprised bc all the
other hospitals are paying $5-10 if anything. The American runnih
quisqueya who's been here 50 hrs informed me min wage =$15/day ant
that is hard to live on Having shopped here I believe he's right. He
stated simply "just because it's the third world doesn't mean they
should live like itsthe 3rd world.". It hadn't dawned on me that I was
paying exploitatively low wages just because I could. These are
invaluable parts of the team and though they'd make nothing if they
turned down work for $5 for the day there skill set and services
really are worth the $20. If I raise any funds upon return to states I
don't think xlators is such a bad place to put the money as it
empowers localsand puts money into the Economy without just giving it
out which really can I think risk a dependancy mindset. Anyway we
got to Nazon neighborhood near the fam clinic found the 26 year old
Charles a hatian who had emerged as a strong neighborhood leader and
he took us (after trial and error) to a modest sized tent city ( there
must be hundreds if not thousands like it). No one new we were coming
but within about 30 seconds of me sitting at a table In the central
clearing about 10 people lined up. Within 5 min there were perhaps
100. Johnnie and I started evaluating patients w translators while Mac
set up and ran our little pharmacy. We treated innumerable aches and
pains and diarrhea and colds. Mostly people who weren't sick Enough to
seek a doc (though they also hAd no idea our clinic was only a 5 min
walk away). But we were mostly looking for needles in the haystack.
The 3 or 4 people who actually needed a doc. The volkmanns
contracture was one. We referred him to justines hospital (sacred
heart). A seizure girl maybe 8 yrs old w profound mr (set her up to
see dr rouzier at gheskio. It's nice having met all these docs
personally so I can just call them and send them. We did a lot of
evals w no documentation. Probably the wrong thing to do but when
handing out Tylenol for an ache I don't think it really matters. Again
we were mostly weeding thru healthy people to find those we could
help. At one point I took a woman back to her tent for privAcy to
evaluate c sx. Scar. It still amazed me waking thru these byzantine
alleys to a Tiny hovel and it's someones home. A few nicknacks. A
single matress for her and her infant. For her this has no doubt
normalized as home. Periodically while working I'd look up and feel
like I was in some Sally struthers commercial. It was the
prototypical scene of people lined and crowded to have a stethascope
pressed against them and told they're ok.
Wish I was a better writer to depict the scene
gnite
Sent from my iPhone
organizations "Quisqueya" has an abundance of meds and supplies and
were happy to furnish us w these to go off on our own looking for
patients. With both clinics well staffed w picked up 2 translators
Alex and mike. It's worth a moment to discuss them. I learned we are
supposed to pay them $20 from quisqueya. I was surprised bc all the
other hospitals are paying $5-10 if anything. The American runnih
quisqueya who's been here 50 hrs informed me min wage =$15/day ant
that is hard to live on Having shopped here I believe he's right. He
stated simply "just because it's the third world doesn't mean they
should live like itsthe 3rd world.". It hadn't dawned on me that I was
paying exploitatively low wages just because I could. These are
invaluable parts of the team and though they'd make nothing if they
turned down work for $5 for the day there skill set and services
really are worth the $20. If I raise any funds upon return to states I
don't think xlators is such a bad place to put the money as it
empowers localsand puts money into the Economy without just giving it
out which really can I think risk a dependancy mindset. Anyway we
got to Nazon neighborhood near the fam clinic found the 26 year old
Charles a hatian who had emerged as a strong neighborhood leader and
he took us (after trial and error) to a modest sized tent city ( there
must be hundreds if not thousands like it). No one new we were coming
but within about 30 seconds of me sitting at a table In the central
clearing about 10 people lined up. Within 5 min there were perhaps
100. Johnnie and I started evaluating patients w translators while Mac
set up and ran our little pharmacy. We treated innumerable aches and
pains and diarrhea and colds. Mostly people who weren't sick Enough to
seek a doc (though they also hAd no idea our clinic was only a 5 min
walk away). But we were mostly looking for needles in the haystack.
The 3 or 4 people who actually needed a doc. The volkmanns
contracture was one. We referred him to justines hospital (sacred
heart). A seizure girl maybe 8 yrs old w profound mr (set her up to
see dr rouzier at gheskio. It's nice having met all these docs
personally so I can just call them and send them. We did a lot of
evals w no documentation. Probably the wrong thing to do but when
handing out Tylenol for an ache I don't think it really matters. Again
we were mostly weeding thru healthy people to find those we could
help. At one point I took a woman back to her tent for privAcy to
evaluate c sx. Scar. It still amazed me waking thru these byzantine
alleys to a Tiny hovel and it's someones home. A few nicknacks. A
single matress for her and her infant. For her this has no doubt
normalized as home. Periodically while working I'd look up and feel
like I was in some Sally struthers commercial. It was the
prototypical scene of people lined and crowded to have a stethascope
pressed against them and told they're ok.
Wish I was a better writer to depict the scene
gnite
Sent from my iPhone
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
quake last night
1:35 am awoken by a violent but very brief quake, 5 seconds or so; accompanied by the sounds of distant chunks of concrete crashing, the big building my my side grinding, dogs barking and voices shouting; a short time later phones were ringing throughout the area; the rumble is a deep one.
My 1st thought in the pitch black of my tent is of the guards, are they ok, thats the direction i heard the concrete and they yelling; I wanted to run out to help but couldnt quickly find my flashlight. My phone battery completely dead. an uncomfortable loss of a fundamental tool ive come to depend on. without that I can communicate only as far as I can yell
next thoughtare the people around the city I know and care about; i found my flashlight, the guys are ok, the dogs are barking like crazy in every direction; who of those I know was under an eve, a cement roof or against a wall; I realize I am sleeping alongside a cement wall and move my sleeping pad to the far side of the tent
we've gotten lazy about entering buildings; I was in CCM this very morning so excited to find battery power and a tablecloth; we've been making plans to move our clinic out of tarps and back into the building and even moved all the newly obtoained supplies into the back room. At this point I know so many people throughout the city and I am ticking them off in my mind in the dark of the tent; How is that little Tb girl we've become so invested in; how about the people we just met at Quisqueya who were so helpful, we just left a meeting in the second floor of a school at 8pm this evening; how about mike the CDC worker who has been so helpful; the list is long; the quake was short and probably only dropped blocks off of already crumbling buildings and i am pretty sure everyone is ok; will news of this quake reach the states or is Tiger making another confession; do I need to worry that my family is worried or are they simply unaware which is for the best;
all around me everyone in camp must be having the same though; cell phones are buzzing all around; I have no idea what people are saying; I go back out of the tent and check in with simone; she's quite scared, hugs me and repeats over and over "problem problem problem problem"
I wonder if Miami FH is getting a surge; did the little kid who "got lucky" in our transfer to St Damiens "real building" versus Univ Gen Hospital tents is really ok; what is that hospital supposed to do if all those red magic marker lines drawn to document any movement of the cracks do in fact show movements; cross fingers? evacuate? ignore? call an engineer stat?
It brings a completely differeat reality to the enormity of an entire city shaking;
we had teased Midy about sleeping outside under a sheet in his cousins driveway. the cousin has a huge 5 bedroom house empty waiting to rent out; and a guest house he stays in; when we asked his cousin Gene,from florida, why he stayed inside while Midy stayed out, Gene said " I wasn't here for the quake, Im not scared; Midy shook his head and said no way is he going inside; we teased Midy--its' really his body odor and he wasn't allowed in etc; (he has no body odor for the record) the next morning when 3 small tremors happened he had an i told you so look and smiled; last night proves him right;
anyway gotta go
Monday, February 22, 2010
Ahh at a computer
So a bunch of things I recorded today didn't seem to want to go from my phone to the web today, but Im on a computer now.
I have barely been doing patient care. I've been running around the city trying to connect dots for several days and it is paying dividends. Today I dropped the 2 new medics with Rowen off at the clinic and went to the WHO headquarters where a new friend at the CDC tipped me off to some supplies that are still under the radar. Johnny, Midy and I went over and after a fairly lengthy getting to know you type conversation w a Canadian working there, he took us out of the registered WHO medical supply depot (which in and of itself was a huge find) he took us to a "backyard" where 20 large shipping containers filled with supplies that had been donated but cant be used by WHO were sitting. none was inventoried so they told us to have at it. we literally filled the minivan with supplies and even strapped 2 army gurneys to the roof and took off with cheshire grins and canary feathers sticking out between our teeth. Just the WHO alone was a place we can buy at cost meds that are NOT expired at incredible prices. No more begging meds in US and shipping duffle bags around.. that was huge. for instance Simome's 44 year old sister back at camp had a BP today of 220/110 and out of her HCTZ (bp pill) shes 44 and has had 3 strokes (likely bleeds I dont know) anyway we made herioc efforts to get her meds ultimately I called in an RX to a pharm in NYC to a friend who is then transporting it w the next doc coming over.... well we can now buy 1,000 HCTZ tabs for about $3 !!!
Anyway, got back to clinic and waiting room was still full bc the medics were there with no translators...none showed.... so one of the patients was trying to translate...it was laborious... we poked around, used Midgy and got more translators and soon all 4 medics had translators and were seeing patients and when needed presenting cases to me as though they were residents and we cleared the waiting room in about an hour
that hour was beautiful and it looked the way the clinic should look. humming. it was nice i video tabled i'm trying to upload it
unloaded truck had some phone calls etc but then felt there was nothng to do so we got a burger at the local spot where the volunteers go and we met a Prosthetist from miami named Jason who sat down bought jonny and me a beer and told us about queskiyo (sp??) right around the corner from where we are staying.. an oasis of volunteers with internet, electric, flush toilets etc centered in a school that didnt fall. huge hub of connections and resources that I am sure will pay huge dividends for the housing works project
have already run into 2 people here that I have met elsewhere in my travels in the city
Multimedia message
As we are trying to get our day started talking about fact kids still not in school and for cost of a couple tarps chairs chalkboard and $10 / day for a teacher one could start a school on that vacant lot graveyard
Sunday, February 21, 2010
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I really like the idea. I'm not in the school anymore in us but for anyone reading this if you are interested in setting up a us school especially where French is taught but not necessary I can try to establish contact w a reliable school and person. You all can take it from there. Exchange letters art do fundraiser directly for them and not feel you are donating staples to red cross whatever Not my idea but I think it's a good one (thanks "Mac")
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Willie is a superintendant of schools in new hampshire and amongst other things is looking to find an orphanage that his schools can adopt
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Anyway you get the idea. We went back to Miami combined our contact list w there's and without having really seen a single patient we some how felt productive even if not every battle was won.
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Next stop make a blood runfor Miami to CDC headquArters. Johnny and I show up and felt like we'd entered a zombie movie. Walking through an apparanty vacant CDC headquarters. No people but practically half eaten food on plates as though recently abandoned. On a whim we climbed up to the roof to find a tent encampment of CDC workers. Found the guy. Mike humphries of CDC if you ever read this. Thanks for all your assistance. Huge
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As we arrived at Miami so Did a truck load of 30 disabled orphans showed up wanting placement. This is something Miami can't handle. I called "the dude" gabrielle at university hosptoal who is supposedly the fixer. We'd met him earlier in the dAy. He put us on w an NGO who deals w orphans looked promissing but apparantlg she came and was unable to get what they really wanted which was tents
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Walking thru sacred heart a nurse came and asked If i'm a doc. Said yes and she asked me to write for antiotics for a patient "with an abscess in her stomach ". I explained that I wasn't working there and don't know the pt. She said it doesn't matter the patient doesn't really have a doc and every day another doc comes by and writes some orders. I looked over the "chart" which contained basically NO information. Just a few antiobiotic orders over 3 days. I asked to see the patient who had an appendix removed which then became infected. I saw her and she had pus oozing out of abdominal incision and shaking her hips caused her to wince in severe pain (peritonitis). No surgeon at this hospitL for next several days bc surgeon had a cut on his finger. So we called Miami they said they could take her so we shook hands w the head doc (orthopod) got a copy of the chart took her in our minivan with her and her husband and a napsack w all their possesions and drove her to Miami for a washout. Easy peasy no signatures no ambulance no nurse signout. A handshake between 2 americans a phone call to someone I know at Miami. Simple fact we ve learned that white skin and a stethascope will get you almost anywhre and making face to face connections is a huge advantage
Saturday, February 20, 2010
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Next stop was the big house: university general hospital. Suppsedy a horror show with hundreds. Or more patient s at times no staff at night (rumor don't know if true). Walk in talk to some american docs. I ask for the guy in charge....no less than my old buddy Collin Bucks from Einstein. What an awesome happy reuinion. We caught up on old times made introductions exchanged locAl numbers and we were able to arrange xport for a potts cAse (Tb destruction of vertebrae L1) to Miami for neuro aurg
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At Gheskio they were asking for a neurologist for consults. I happen to have some pull with a good one ( hey dad). A nascent concept of telemedicine in future w neuro derm ophtho etc
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Just met w the head docs at gheskio clinic. Very large and productive clinic with inpatient and out patient sections as well as a 6000 person refugee camp outside the door. We exchanged supplies but much more importantly we are establishing trust relationships and systems for communication and referrals. That scrofula girl is now getting called back to have her workup completed by the way which is great.
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So it's 10 am sat morning. Woke at 7 washed dressed ate etc which took till 9. It's hard to explain why everything is slow here but w lAnguAge and people in camp it's tough. Clara had an earahe. Patrick has a wife who is sick but lives elsewhere. Trying to translate requests takes time. We asked for eggs And coffee for breakfast and were told no prob but eggs never happened and it wasn't until i started to try to brew my own coffee that I was told coffee was made it was sitting on a little shelf in the back of the kitchen (where I generally don't go). Tiny things but they absorb so much time. Then we finally get out. Get to clinic and nobody is here. Called translator who said people don't usually come Saturday. This despite me literally sitting down with everyone and making a calenDar and discussing whether or not we're open on saturdAys. Do I sound a little irritated? The dramatic vascillations in efficiency and how busy we are is frustrationing
Friday, February 19, 2010
Thanks
Thanks Rowen. I'm blushing. You really know how to make a guy feel
special.
P
Sent from my iPhone
special.
P
Sent from my iPhone
Re: Blog contribution from Rowen Lewis
Sent from my iPhone
Dark smudges escape a myriad charcoal and refuse fires into the dense smog that hangs warm and moist above the Haitian city, Port au Prince. Since the earthquake five weeks ago life here has returned to its carnival colors and bustling crowds, the decorated Tap-tap taxis and busy street-markets under rainbow umbrellas keeping the ever thriving throng of people flowing through the rubble lined streets.
This city is also the melting pot at the moment of so many international volunteers with aid organizations who have descended on the carnage like vultures, to help clean up the debris, maintain stability, provide food and emergency medical services.
Under Hosing Works Pete Sananman has been an invaluable resource in the PHAB+ Clinic, coaching the EMT volunteers, encouraging the local volunteer translators, and applying his medical and ER management skills to speed up the efficiency and effectiveness of activities. His contribution to the University of Miami Field Hospital ER department has also been invaluable. We have been able to refer many patients to UMFH where our skills or facilities at the PHAB+ Clinic were insufficient for the medical needs of these patients.
Pete continues as an efficient segment in the HW three-man volunteer team (with Rowan Lewis and Jonny Eisenberg, both wilderness EMTs with SOLO Wilderness Medicine School, NH) as they carry the projects of Housing Works forward in Haiti.
:)Rowan
RowanLewisAfrica
Fwd: Fw: Haiti
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rowan Lewis <lewis_rowan@yahoo.com>
Date: 2010/2/19
Subject: Fw: Haiti
To: petesananman@gmail.com
From: Rowan Lewis <lewis_rowan@yahoo.com>
Date: 2010/2/19
Subject: Fw: Haiti
To: petesananman@gmail.com
Rowan
RowanLewisAfrica
RowanLewisAfrica
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Rowan Lewis <lewis_rowan@yahoo.com>
To: petesanaman@gmail.com
Sent: Fri, February 19, 2010 12:49:39 PM
Subject: Haiti
From: Rowan Lewis <lewis_rowan@yahoo.com>
To: petesanaman@gmail.com
Sent: Fri, February 19, 2010 12:49:39 PM
Subject: Haiti
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