Tuesday 2/24

I am actually writing this at 5 am, Wednesday morning, from the rooftop. Yesterday was a loooooong day, and I was just too tired, and thick headed, to write last night. Monday was so chaotic in the clinic, that I never had a chance to train, or even speak with, Madame Bluette. One, actually two, of the reasons, were that we had two babies born at the clinic. They are healthy, and so darling! I cannot wait to post the photos back in the states. Bluette had to stop seeing her other OB patients, in order to deliver the babies, which almost created a riot of hormonally charged women! We have an OB/GYN on this trip, however, the Haitians are very tenacious about which provider they wish to see. It's quite a ruckus when we change that, and I found out later that Pastor Dellamy had to break up a fight outside the clinic on Monday, just because of the delay. The plan for Tuesday, was that I spend the morning with Bluette, and the afternoon scanning hospital patients. Unfortunately, it was as Dr. Joe and I had feared, and neither Dr. Avril nor Mme. Bluette had done any scanning since we had left last October. For many reasons, a lot of them cultural, Mme. Bluette was not allowed access to the machine once we left. Dr. Avril did not make any effort to utilize the machine, either, and although he was very glad to see me when I arrived, I have barely seen him since the clinic opened. He has been as busy as the rest of us, seeing his own patients. This is a good example of why I am here for assessment purposes, as well as training. His desire for ultrasound, however well intentioned, is low on the priority list, compared to the needs of his patients. So, after a full day in the clinic, followed by a didactic lecture from one of our Clinicians, dinner, and the debriefing meeting, a had a meeting with Dr. Joe and Linda, Pastor Dellamy, and Bluette, which finally ended at 9:45pm. We, hopefully, come to an agreement about Bluette's training and access to the ultrasound machine. Now, I have 3 days to train her in as much OB ultrasound as I can. Actually, 1/2 days, because there is so much need in the clinics, I will train her in the morning and scan for the hospital in the afternoons. That was a lot for my Monkey Brain to absorb at the end of the day. We shall see what Wednesday has to offer!