Life isn't fair...

So here I am awake at 2am again...jumped on facebook because what else do you do at this time of day?  While cruising through some friends post, I saw an update on Nathan on my friends wall.  Nathan was able to have his CT scan done at Mercy Ships and the news wasn't good.  It showed that the large facial tumor he has is inoperable due to it involving major blood vessels of his head and neck that they wouldn't be able to work around.  Nathan and his grandmother are already on their way back to the Democratic Republic of Congo.  To say I was disappointed would be an understatement, but as we all learn at a very early age, "Life isn't fair."  Our youth group is doing a study on using our lives to make a difference right now, and part of the lesson we did this last Monday was focusing on this very concept.  One of the things that stuck with me was something Max Lucado said about people being born in the wrong latitude...we are blessed with healthcare, opportunity, food and all these things mainly in part because of where we were born.  I could be the exact same person I am today, but if I was born in a slum in India or most parts of Africa, my life would look so much different - but from no "fault" of my own...I would be a victim of latitude.  Just a huge reminder to me of how truly blessed I am and its not something to take for granted.  But to take it a step further, not only should I be extremely grateful, but I also have a HUGE responsibility to do what I can for those who don't have the same blessings that I have.  Whether that be here for a homeless person or for a little 10 yr old boy half way around the world.  I will probably never hear anything else about Nathan, but I do know that he will be in my prayers that God would bring comfort and peace to him.  He has brought the other side of the world a little closer for me and although I may not understand why things ended the way they did, I do know its all in God's control.  Through this situation, I was able to be blessed by a few nurses that fought for this little guy and joined in prayer together that God's will would be done...and it was.  Thanks to all those who joined us in prayer...

1 John 3:17-18
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Quick Nathan Update...

Nathan and his grandmother arrived on Mercy Africa docked in Sierra Leone.  They are awaiting a CT scan to re-evaluate the tumor to make sure they can do the surgery...and hopefully soon.  A nurse practitioner I know in Haiti has a nurse friend who is working on the ship right now, so hopefully we will be able to get frequent updates from her.  Just continuing to pray that everything works out for this surgery to happen soon and comfort for this little boy and his family.

Update on Nathan...

I'm just getting time to write this, but have good news. Friday morning I got an email from a friend in Haiti that Nathan had been accepted by Mercy Ships for surgery.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, please the blog post below. He and his grandmother should have arrived in Sierra Leone yesterday and Nathan was supposed to meet with the surgeon today. You just have to wonder what a 10 year old boy who has never flown thinks of on that first airplane ride. Or what is going on in his head as he walks up to a cruise ship to meet with a doctor about surgery. From what information Mercy Ships was given, they weren't sure there was much they could do, but were willing to at least explore the possibility of surgery if for no other reason than palliative treatment. Mercy Ships will do the surgery and recovery for free...what a blessing this organization is to many people. Check out their website at www.mercyships.org for more information. Now starts another round of waiting as we await news of what the surgeon thinks and if Nathan is able to have surgery. I know God has worked so many details out so far, that I'm trusting him to finish this out. Lots of prayers are going up for this little boy all around that world...and I know that prayer works!! Stay tuned for the rest of this miracle story!!

A boy named Nathan...

Let's just put it out there right now...I'm not that person. I see the pictures and get the emails about kids suffering in 3rd world countries. I've experienced poverty first hand in Haiti and Nicaragua. Those I have met personally have affected me in some big ways, but its a much bigger struggle for me to have deep seated feelings for those who I have never met. Do I feel compassion for them?? YES!! But I tend to be a realist and know that I can't save the world. I don't spend nights wondering how some kid in Uganda I've never met is doing, or where his next meal is coming from. I give to organizations that help these children/families, but I can't say I lose any sleep over it. I know it sounds horrible to say, but I'm not that person! Well that is until about 3 weeks ago. It was a Saturday afternoon and I was trying to get caught up on my emails after a busy week. The subject line of one particular email read "10 yr old Nathan from the Democratic Republic of the Congo - help and prayer." It was from a friend of mine I met while working with Samaritan's Purse in Haiti earlier this year. Because it was from her, was probably the only reason I even gave it a second glance. The gist of the email was - there is this 10 year old boy in DRC who has had this tumorous growth on his neck that is continuing to get worse. So much so, that this poor child is in significant pain every day of his life and no longer wants to live. I can't explain why, but this ripped my heart out...and then I saw the pictures. This boys tumor is probably 2/3 the size of his head and is a raw, open wound. The rest of the email was asking for prayers for this boy, but also looking for any medical professionals who might have contacts in Africa for a surgeon. The email came to me by way of 3 other people. SP has a new medical director who I guess is originally from DRC. She had sent the word out through a nurse practitioner I worked with in April who had moved back to Haiti for a few months after being gone, who then forwarded it along to my friend, LB, in Indianapolis. Now I have never been to Africa, and not sure I will ever make it there, but immediately my mind started racing. Through volunteer work I do for Nehemiah Vision Ministries, I had become acquainted with a great organization called Mercy Ships. If you have never heard about them, you should check out their website www.mercyships.org and see the great work they are doing around the world. I had just started conversing with a great lady by the name of Sylvia, but have to say I knew nothing about her except a few conversations we have had to prepare their team for Haiti. It's funny how sometimes you just get a feel for a person after just a small amount of time and that's the feeling I had about Sylvia. I knew that Mercy Ships does a lot of work in Africa - specifically Sierra Leone and Togo. I wasn't sure I wanted to use this new found connection since it was a new partnership with us through NVM, but just couldn't stop thinking about little Nathan. So later that night, I broke down and decided to email Sylvia. I've told a few friends (and Sylvia after the fact) that I don't think I've ever prayed over an email...but I did that night! Monday I kept checking my phone all day to see if I had gotten a reply. It didn't take long...I must have been the first email she answered that day! Sylvia and her husband were more than willing to see what could be done and started making contact with the doctors on Mercy Ship Africa right away. We sent emails back and forth as we sought more information regarding his past treatments and current condition. I don't know how this is all going to end - it might be too late to do anything other than palliative treatment for this brave young guy, but I know God has it all under his control. Expectantly waiting to see how God works this all out. But so now I'm the one asking, if you would say a prayer for comfort for this boy and his family as well that the pieces might fall into place for us to get him some help. There is a little more to the story of how God used this in my life, but I'll save that for another time because this already longer than I wanted. I'll update my blog as I found out more information...

Another God-sighting...

So I just got done spending the weekend with our teens at Summer of Service. It was a great weekend and God worked in the lives of our group. One of my favorite parts of the day was when we would do God-sightings. You were to look back on the day and see a moment when you saw God at work in every day situations. Its funny how we go through our lives and really miss those moments. Well tonight was definitely one of those moments. Monday nights is our youth group night for Ignite Youth Ministries, and it was great to get together after the weekend. We were playing big ball volleyball and just goofing off together. During the game, a white van drives through the church parking lot. The truck kind of slows down and 2 guys are kind of watching us as we act crazy! As they start getting past us, one of the teens yells out, "Jesus loves you" and the guy in the passengers seat yells back, "I know." We all head back to our game and don't give the exchange any more thought, until a few minutes later the guy starts strolling over to where we are playing. He says thanks to "whoever yelled Jesus loves you" and then proceeds to tell us about some serious losses in his life that were weighing heavy on him, and then asks us if we would pray for him. Of course we were like sure, although some of the teens were looking a little tentative. We talked to him for a few minutes then all joined hands and prayed for this burdened gentleman. Dave was able to spend a little more time talking with him, and give him a Bible to take home with him. Who knew that 3 little words yelled across a parking lot would make such an impact on this man...so much so that he sought us out to stand in the gap for him. I just hope that we all stop and really take in how God was moving tonight!

Support Samaritan's Purse as I run the Sunburst 5k...

So I'm finally going to run that 5k I've been talking about! But I decided if I was going to run, I might as well make it worth my while. So I decided I wanted to raise some money for Samaritan's Purse, the organization I just got back from Haiti with. So if you would, check out my fund-raising page and give if you can to this great cause...


You can make a donation by visiting my FirstGiving page: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/sherinater/sunburst5k

Check out this story on the Cholera Treatment Center in Cite Soleil that I worked at for 2 weeks with Samaritan's Purse. It was a great life changing experience. Toussaint, the nurse mentioned in this story, and I spent some quality time together in triage during my 2 weeks there and I have to say it was a blessing to work with her!

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/articles/reaching_out_to_the_least/

Some things are better left unknown...

So we drove the same route to the CTC every day. But it was funny how every day you would see something different that you had never seen before. We would comment how it seemed the ride got longer every day. On a particular stretch, there was always a distinct sulfur smell that hung in the air. Never really thought much about it...Haiti is full of very distinct smells! Well toward the end of the trip we switched team coordinators, a new perspective. As we would drive we would talk and ask questions on the ride to work. On prior trips to Haiti, I had driven this stretch of road and knew that there was a large memorial site for earthquake victims as well as a burial ground for thousands. (picture compliments of my lovely new friend - Nicole!) I had just never put 2 and 2 together to realize THAT was what was causing the smell. The rest of the week as we would drive that stretch and I would catch that smell a lump would form in my throat. Almost wished I never found out that piece of information, except that it puts the Haitian life in greater perspective...I leave and have the memories of the things I've seen there. Might be uncomfortable at the time for me, but they have constant day in and day out reminders of the last year and a half. My prayers for the people of Haiti continue...

The wrap-up...

Well I have been trying to work through my last couple of days in Haiti in my head so I could get it on the screen and it make sense. Thursday and Friday had to be the toughest 2 days of the whole trip for many reasons. First off, there is always that sadness because you know you will be leaving soon. The staff at the CTC only worked 3 or 4 days a week so we had to start saying our goodbyes before we were actually ready. Then the staff at the CTC found out that it looks like it will be closing the end of May...so sad for all our friends who will be losing jobs. Most of the international staff had left so we were "short-staffed" too, so the few that remained had to kick it up a notch to make up for it. On Thursday, we had a 7 month old come in who looked dehydrated but I couldn't get a line in him. After 3 unsuccessful attempts and a triage tent that was filling up, I called one of the SP staff to come take a look. I got busy with other patients and they had taken the baby to the back so I didn't know what was going on. About 45 minutes later, one of the NP's comes running out to triage and tells me I need to get a line in this baby "NOW." I head to the back to find the baby now with a fever of 105.9 and labored breathing. Definitely not choleresque! (new Sheri word!) The staff and I start talking to the mom more and decide that he never exhibited signs of cholera and we need to transfer him sooner rather than later. In just those few minutes of trying to set up the transfer you could see the dramatic decline in the baby. He was becoming less responsive and his breathing was getting worse. In our American minds it seems so easy to transfer someone to a hospital that can actually take care of the problem, but here in Haiti it doesn't work like that. We were a cholera treatment center, specialized for just that. But families would bring patients with all sorts of problems to be seen. The problem is, once they show up at the CTC you basically have to prove they don't have cholera before any other facility will accept them...thus wasting precious time in this case. If this child truly had cholera, there would have been nothing for us to do, except treat as best we could with what minimal resources we had. In the end, the baby died either on the way to the hospital or soon after they got there. Still hurts to think about it. Probably one of the most hopeless feelings there is...

One of those days...

So even in Haiti you have "those days" and today was one of them! The Haitian staff didn't seem to want to work today, and we had less international staff than usual. Needless to say sometimes a language barrier is a good thing so hopefully they couldn't understand all the mumbling under my breath. To their credit though, I think they just found out that May 28th the CTC will close so in about a month they will all be without jobs. But it did make for a LONG day. I was feeling down until just before we left a little girl probably about 5 or 6 came in unresponsive. I quickly stuck a line in her and opened up the fluids. After about 500 cc I finally could feel a radial pulse. She slowly opened her eyes to see this white girl hovering over her which would normally freak the kids out but she just smiled this sweet angelic smile...and then I remembered why I do this and that it is SO worth it! (As you can see in the picture...she is doing much better now and definitely hasn't lost that smile!!) Also met the cutest Haitian boy who has Down Syndrome. His name was Daveson and he became my little buddy. I played balloon volleyball with him and had him listen to his own heartbeat. His little giggles would just melt your heart! Makes all the rough stuff worth it! Finishing out my last 2 days here then off to home Saturday!

So we had another round of goodbyes this morning...yuck! Miss the crew already and I swear I will hear someone come into the lounge and think it's someone who is gone already. The good news is, the next round of send-offs will include me! And I still have Nicole here to help me keep my sanity! So apparently word has gotten out that next week the SP CTC will no longer be accepting transfers because we got slaughtered with them today...I think about 15 in one hours time. But the triage tent rocked of course with Dr. Andrew, Dr. Taina, Sheriline and myself keeping the flow going! Apparently I started an IV on a famous Haitian comedian...of course I didn't find that out til after I sent him to the back. I do have to say I didn't find him very funny! :). A sad note to the day was a father telling one of the nurses that he wanted to send his baby to an orphanage because he has 7 other kids and can't afford this little one. Our staff tried to help him out by giving him formula and diapers but next thing we know he made a phone call to someone who agreed to take the baby. One of the American nurses took it pretty hard because she's been taking care of this little one for days. Next thing we know the Haitian nurse comes back from discharge with the family's address and phone number and gave it to the nurse like she could come take him with her. Reality really hits home here sometimes! But tomorrow is another day so we press on...

Mountain top experience

So the girls finally convinced me I should take the day off since I haven't had one and looks like with the staff coming in that I won't have a chance to get one. Since I got here, I've had my eyes on the mountains behind the compound. So today I decided to head out early in the morning to beat the heat and see if I could make it to the top. I asked one of the guys on staff here if it was ok that I headed out by myself and he said that was fine although he told me it was harder than it looks. Apparently he had no idea who he was talking to! Just no one tell my mom I did it alone!! I didnt want to take the path so just decided to pick a point and start heading up. Needless to say my legs bare the scars of the thorn bushes I encountered. It was an amazing hike up and the view was awesome! I decided to just sit up there for a while and enjoy the view but more importantly the quiet! I'll have to post some pics when I get home. The trek down was actually harder than heading up as it was a pretty steep decent. Took me about 2 hours total and it was so worth it! Decided to take it easy the rest of the afternoon and took a nap, read a book, and watched a movie! Heading into my last week here and it's bitter sweet...

Resurrection Sunday...

So I woke up at 4 am this morning so I got to enjoy the sunrise over the mountains! What a great way to start Resurrection Sunday. After a quick breakfast we had a nice Sunrise Chapel before heading to the CTC. Last night me and one of the girls made Easter bags to take to the CTC this morning. Once we gave out the bags, I think the parents enjoyed them more than the kids. We also got to pass out some stuffed animals as well...one of the nurses actually carried hers around all day! Most of the day was uneventful and we sent some of the team home early to enjoy the Easter holiday. I am proud to announce I got over my Peds slump today...got an IV on a 4 month old twin today! Finally came home to a nice dinner and then chapel to close out the day!

Goodbyes

So we sent some of our team home today. Funny how you get close to people in such a short time when you are working together like we do. So we said our goodbyes and headed out for the CTC. Beginning of the day started slow again. Headed in to Peds and enjoyed some time playing balloon volleyball with some of the older kids. Then things started to pick up. Even got to show a new nurse how to start an IV! Then we got 2 critical patients within minutes of each other...and then ambulances started rolling in! And it's definitely not like the States. Each ambulance brings 5 or so pts at a time. At one point we were running out of spots in the IV tent. Thankfully the wards at the CTC are more forgiving then the floors at the hospital. As soon as we got an IV and started some fluids they were ready to go back...no need for long reports! I have to say the Dr and nurses I worked with today were ROCKSTARS! At the end of the day an ambulance pulled up lights and sirens so I of course start pulling stuff to start an IV and hang some fluids...I was in the zone! All of a sudden the Haitian doctor starts laughing and looks at me and says 3 little letters - ORS - which means they look good and just need to drink oral rehydration solution. Can't say I wasn't ready though! Decided to spend the rest of the afternoon holding and playing with cute babies! Looking forward to Easter Sunday in Haiti. We will be working but sounds like we are having a Sunrise Service so sounds like a great start to the day!

You should never sleep in Haiti!

Part 1

So I decided to hit the hay a little early last night since I haven't been sleeping much. Bad mistake!  Apparently about 10 pm there was an accident just down the road from the compound.  One of the SP security guards saw it and came back to the base to get the medical team.  They only took guys so I probably wouldn't have gotten to go anyway but I sure would have tried!  A large dump truck had broken down in the middle of the road and a truck carrying a load of bananas and passengers ran straight into the back of the truck.  What appeared to be the driver had basically severed his foot and another person had possible hip or pelvic fracture.  Our docs and nurses ended up throwing the patients in the back of the truck and transporting them to a nearby hospital. I'm a little jealous to say the least so no more sleeping for me!

Good Friday...emphasis on the GOOD!

Off to the CTC we went this morning but for me that didn't last very long. We did have a couple of really sick unconscious ones come in early but then the day slowed down dramatically. About noon they asked if I wanted to go home early and since most every one else is leaving tomorrow and wanted to stay I left. Had a nice lunch and then one of the SP staff asked if we wanted to go to a small nearby orphanage. I had planned on jumping in the pool but this sounded like a much better option. It is run by a set of brothers who were orphaned as children. After the earthquake they saw there was a great need for someone to have a place for the many children now orphaned. They currently have 15 kids - 10 boys and 5 girls. It was so much fun to just be able to play with them and love on them. We did alot of singing and dancing!! One of the ladies had some candy so we got to pass out treats too. Once we got back to the compound we were able to enjoy some down time and watch an amazing sunset. And to round off the day we had a worship service and the Lord's Supper in the outdoor chapel...it just doesn't get any better than that!

Is it over yet?

Well I felt every one of my 12 hours today! When we arrived at the clinic today, there was already an infant with an IO in place who was looking pretty bad. While trying to bolus the baby the IO went bad. That started the decline for the whole day. I lost count of how many times we attempted IV sites. Eventually we got a scalp site. Another great reminder on why Peds Is not my nursing of choice! The difficult Peds cases just kept rolling in. We even attempted a couple of jugular sites too. By the end of the day we had most every body looking a little better but it was going to be a slow process to get them to looking great. The nurse I worked with today, Touissant, asked me earlier in the day if I knew Spanish and I told her 'just a little.' As the day was winding down we were both getting tired and all the IV misses were getting to us. I looked at her and in my best Spanish said 'no mas' which means 'no more!'. We both just started cracking up and thankfully there were no more! Tomorrow can only be better right?

Crazy day...

So I was in triage again today and we started out pretty busy. I think we admitted 5-6 in the first couple of hours. We even had one patient come by ambulance...lights and sirens too!! After that things got SUPER slow. The Haitian staff was playing all kinds of music for me and I got some time to work on my sunburn! Finally they decided to send a few of us home early...who knew you could be budgeted hours on a mission trip! I was ensured my pay would not be docked though! ;) The ride home was adventurous to say the least. Apparently the city of Titanyen (where our compound is located) decided to riot because they want electricity so the traffic was crazy and there were hundreds of people walking the streets. The usual 20 min trip took about an hour and a half I think. We weren't sure we were going to make it to our road since we had crossed over to the oncoming traffic side to get position - not uncommon in Haiti at all. Eventually we were able to push our way across. Wasn't scary or anything...just crazy! We had a few new team members arrive yesterday and found out this morning one of them is from Indy...yeah for more Hoosiers. Well off to dinner I go.

Moving day...

Today started out kind of slow. I was banished to the triage tent where NOTHING was going on! So I did get to work on my tan (aka sunburn) a little. I had the best Haitian staff to work with. The nurses name Sheriline which is funny since my name is Sheri Lynn! We had a nursing student, Magaretta working with us too who was amazing! I told her I wanted to bring her back to the States to work with me. Part way through our shift they decided they wanted to spray the tent 'for malaria' which I assume means for Mosquitos. So we had to move all 25 patients from one building to another...good times. Then as always when I'm in triage the bus pulled up and unloaded! Ok so really it was 8 transfers from a local hospital. We were told they would all just need orally hydrated and then could be released...so not what showed up. Four of the patients already had IV's going and several had NG tubes in place. We immediately admitted 4 of them to the Peds ward. Then a very sick baby showed up with probable pneumonia that we transferred to a local hospital since we are only equipped for cholera treatment. They wanted a nurse to go with the baby but for some reason they wouldn't let me go! Go figure! That's the main highlights of the day...back at it tomorrow!

Life in the cholera ward...

So we headed back to the CTC today and I was back to the women's ward. Sounds like tomorrow I might get moved to either triage or Peds. I'm hoping for triage! Had the same patients as yesterday so it was nice to see the change in most of them. Our side only had one admission and a couple discharges so the pace was kinda slow. The other nurse and I fought over who gets to do vital signs. I did get a chance to have a thought provoking conversation with a nurse from the states and a nurse who is here with SP for several months. It was great to just be able to talk with people who 'get' the whole Haiti thing! The conversations were challenging and encouraging at the same time as well...just what I needed!

Just another day in paradise...

So today was my first day at the CTC and besides all the bleach water everywhere and LOTS of buckets of diarrhea and emesis it wasn't much different from a day in the ER. Hung lots of IV fluids, started a few IV's and got meds from the pharmacy! The CTC is setup as 3 separate areas - the mens ward, womens ward, and the children's ward. I'm very thankful for all the Peds nurses we have here...I got to hang out with another nurse in the Womens ward which was the busiest today. We were working with Dr Daniel, who is Haitian, and a couple of Haitian nurses and translators as well. Discharged 3 ladies in the first couple of hours I was there but had to admit a few more later in the day. The whole CTC only had about 20-25 pts today so it's definitely slowing down. In the afternoon when everyone was settled in, the Haitian busted out some Michael Jackson tunes and we got a few of them to try moonwalking...good times to say the least! It was funny to see change of shift there...in most ways it seemed much like our change of shift in the ER. Everybody sitting around catching up and laughing. One strange difference is the doctor gives report to the nursing staff and walks bed to bed with them to give them the updates. I'll stick to our American way I think! One lesson learned today...always bring Zofran ODT with me. We had a young girl today who wouldn't stop vomiting. As the Dr and I were talking, he mentioned something about us not having Zofran in the pharmacy. It jogged my memory that I usually bring some along just in case. I thankfully had a couple tabs in my handy first aid kit. After about 15 minutes of taking the med the young girl was thirsty and wouldn't stop drinking...in an hour she looked like a new person! Well more adventures tomorrow...

I made it...

So had an uneventful day of travel other than not sleeping last night. Got here about 5 pm with all my luggage which is more than some of the others can say! The compound is nice here except no air conditioning so I'm going to guess I won't be doing much sleeping for the next 2 wks, but sleep is highly overrated! We had lots of fresh veggies and fruit tonight for dinner. Gotta love that. Then the medical crew got a little orientation so we can head to the cholera treatment center (ctc) tomorrow at 6:30am. We have a staff lounge where we can hang out at night and be on the Internet or watch dvd's. I would be just fine with no TV for 2 wks. So far only 2 drawbacks to this organization...none of my usual friends are here and there is no roof to sit on...whatever shall I do at night! Well that's the scoop for the day...check back tomorrow for another update!

It's been a while...

So I did a mission presentation the other night at my sister's church for the children's AWANA program. As much as I am not a fan of public speaking, I really enjoyed it...I guess if you love something enough the talking part comes easy. After the presentation a lady asked me if I had a website and I was like "no," but afterward remembered I had this great blog I never write on! So figured I would put a little update on here and hopefully will get a chance to post a little on my trip coming up. I leave in just over a week for my next adventure to Haiti and will be there for 2 weeks. This one looks to be a much different trip. I will be heading to Citi Soleil, Haiti with Samaritan's Purse to work in a cholera treatment center. I will be working 12 hours a day (or night) for 12 days straight. Looks to be an exhausting trip, but I am totally excited about the trip. Looking forward to seeing what God has in store for me this time around!