Scenes

Much was always happening in different parts of the hospital, the orphanage, the chapel, the OR, the tent. We had sick (septic) patients and throughout our stay there were no deaths. The people there from all over the world, Spain, Canada, USA were an amazing group of people. Our goal was to get this hospital up and running like you would find in the States. We were on a roll and those that came after hopefully were able to follow those before to maintain and improve the health care these people received. I have never started IV's in the dirt with blowing winds from helicopters or the breeze that came up every night. Foleys placed with headlamps. Dressing changes that had to be timed as not to have too much dust blowing when you removed the dressing. Through their pain there were always smiles. I had to work at getting them sometimes, but once they came the white teeth showed and the smile was ear to ear. It seemed that once they smiled at you they remembered and smiled often. I carried medicine in my fanny pack so I was ready to medicate and try and keep the edge down for them. A touch helped and we were constantly holding hands and a stroke of a face, a touch on their shoulder or chest sometimes was the pain relief. All of their pain was not from the broken or missing limbs but from the terror of the quake. The knowledge that their whole family was killed, their sons and daughters were missing, or that they would never walk again from the spine injury they received when the ceilings came down on them.