Everything going wonderful. It was hard for Jill to leave. Working at outdoor clinics everyday. Their smiles melt your heart!

Love and miss you all!
Donna

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(Picture is of Sister Jill, left, and Donna Montgomery, right)

Greetings to you all!

On Tuesday, I spent the day back at Community hospital. Getting to know the patients is easier as this is my third day there and they are more comfortable with me. The language is a problem at times, but I have a translator with me, François. He is around 24 yrs. old and is a 4th grade teacher. He isn’t sure when school will be able to get back.

It was hard saying goodbye to the patients – they are so grateful. I am at the other hospital tomorrow.

The new team arrived Tuesday evening. The house is very full – 11 of us and 19 of them. Space is tight and it is very hot.

On Wednesday, we drove to the hospitals in the van. There must have been 20 on the bus which was a full load with all the equipment. I went back to the “Tent” hospital (Sacre Coeur) and worked with the patients there. I mostly had children, which was fun.

We left early and drove through PAP. It is truly an unbelievable site. The damage is immense here. I just can’t imagine how the people will be able to clean all this up. In the midst of it, they have gone back to their life of selling goods, etc. It is so surreal.
I will have to spend time processing all this. It has been a very moving experience and a very spiritual one.

We head back to the airport in the morning and will have a long wait both in Haiti and in Miami. I arrive in Greensboro late Thursday night.

As you can tell, the writing has gotten short as I have gotten more tired. I hope to get my pictures in some kind of order and would be happy to share them with you. I am grateful for this experience and for your support and prayers.

I plan on getting back to Belmont on Saturday evening.

Blessings to all,
Jill

Greetings from Haiti,

We left for PAP at 6:30 again today. I was going back to the Community Hospital in Petionville. I have had an interpreter helping me – François. My Creole or French is still pretty bad but the people appreciate me trying. The day was spent seeing patients who had amputees, nerve damage, shoulder injuries, broken bone, external fixations to help set bones and hip fractures. Many people come just to eat. This group I am with also provides lunches for the patients and anyone else that is there. Unfortunately, some days the food runs out before everyone is fed. Usually over 150 people are fed.

The spirit of the people and their deep faith continue to amaze me. I was thinking this morning as we drove into town: When I was in Ireland, I took so many pictures thinking it can’t get any more beautiful than this, and then we would turn a corner and see something else more beautiful. It is just the opposite. I am taking a lot of pictures thinking I won’t see anything as bad as this – but then we turn a corner and there it is. It is just impossible to imagine what the people are going through and how they will ever recover.

Tomorrow another Team gets here. Another woman from Asheville will be on the team. I will go back to Petionville tomorrow, then to Sacre Coeur on Thursday to finish up. It will be hard to leave.

Blessings to you all,
Jill

Greetings to all,

We rise early here in Haiti, breakfast at 6:00am and leave for our assignments at 6:30. It takes approximately an hour to an hour and a half to get to the hospitals we are working at. Natalie and myself went back to Sacre Coeur, or Sacred Heart. The patients “rooms” are in tents set up outside. There are roughly 12-15 tents with people of various difficulties. We saw a lot of the patients we worked with yesterday plus a few more. Many are becoming our favorites. We work with children as well as adults, some with severe injuries, some not so severe to minor ones. There are two men that will probably not make it through the week. It is hot, especially in the tents – I can’t even imagine being in a hot tent on a good day – so today we didn’t push too hard because of that. Walking in the hot sun is no fun but being in a hotter tent isn’t either.

I worked with an outpatient this afternoon. She was 85 yrs old and had a fractured pelvis/hip that the doctors were not going to do anything about – sometimes it is best to leave it alone. They asked me to teach her how to use a walker – actually the doctor said crutches but he thought we might know best – so I found a walker and taught her how to not put weight on that leg and to walk. What a trooper! She never even complained or cried out in pain.

I got a group of women to sing for us. We told them they needed a group exercise program when we left and they should sing to keep it happy. So, even though it is Lent, I started singing Alleluia No. 1 and they knew it and joined in and sang the verses in Creole and I in English. Great voices. That is the spirit of these people – moving on one day at a time and being thankful for everything and still able to smile and laugh.

Our interpreter is François. He is a teacher but there is no school so he volunteers at the hospitals and helps. He has been great. When the earthquake hit, he fell while running, was able to pick up a student, then the building collapsed in front of him. If he hadn’t fallen, he would have been crushed. He is not sure where his family is or if they are still alive.

We came home a different route tonight. Everywhere there is destruction with buildings collapsed and rubble all over the street. I don’t know how the people can deal with all of this. I think hardship is just a way of life for them and they continue on only as they know how.

One preacher asked me to lead the devotion tonight so I did. It was interesting. I used the first reading of today. I am learning more about them and they about Catholics and sisters. Interesting and good.

Will close here. Continue to pray for the people and for those helping from all over the world.

Blessings,
Jill

Both myself and the other therapist, Natalie, went to another hospital called Sacred Heart! It was a private hospital but now anyone is there. It looked like it was a lovely place before the earthquake. Parts of it are not occupied but all the patients are outside in tents. Men and women together. Modesty is something that is not an option but not high on their list either.

The beds are cots or mats raised up, some only 6 inches from the floor. Planks keep them up. Try getting up from the floor with rods coming out of your leg, if you have a leg, or pushing up from the bed/floor if you have only one arm. And, it is hot. There were about 11 tents with 6-8 people in them. Several children as well. The patient’s family are also there with them, so there might be 12 people in the tent.

There is also a clinic in the courtyard, near the tent so there are many people on the compound. It seemed like battlefield medicine, which it is probably similar, but there were probably more resources in the battlefield. One learns to be creative.

There is an urgency room where minor surgery is going on. We walk in and out with no questions asked. I am still learning some Creole!

On our way up or down the mountain, I was brought to tears in seeing a whole neighborhood in shambles, building after building, house after house collapsed. We drove through Port-au-Prince (PAP) and it was just unbelievable. The Presidential Palace, the Cathedral and so many buildings.

In the midst of it all, the people’s faces light up when you smile and are so grateful and appreciative. It is very humbling. The sights, sounds, smells, yet people are thankful to God and smile.

Pray for the people of Haiti and all those helping them.

Blessings,
Jill

Greetings from Haiti,

We arrived safe and sound in Port-au-Prince around 3:45 Thursday afternoon. Getting to the customs office and finding our luggage was quite an adventure which I won’t go into here. Driving to our “Home” brought us through the poorest neighborhood I have ever seen. At times, it was hard to tell what was earthquake and what is the poverty of the people there. Trash and rubble are all over the street. People are selling whatever they can – bananas, grapefruit, water, sugar cane, trinkets. The buildings all have some damage. Other buildings are collapsed. Cows, pigs and other animals are tied up to buildings or roaming the streets.
We passed a mass grave on the way to our home. It was powerful. A large cross had been put up on the hillside. You could tell the air was different.

Our home is comfortable. Scott and Janet are the team “parents” and have been here since January 16th I think. The place is Global Relief – Haiti. Samaritans Purse is another name. A helicopter is on the grounds. Recently, barbed wire was placed all around the campus and even armed guards at the gate. Not to fear, it is safe here but they are just taking precautions.

We bagged up lots of medicine Thursday night and marked them and labeled the dose for the nurses to give out. Today I went to the Petionville Community Hospital with the other girl on the team who is a physical therapist assistant. There was also a nurse practitioner who has been here for the past week and she will leave tomorrow.

Most of the people we saw had amputations, either one or two limbs with crush injuries that involve nerve injuries as well. There are quite a few children that we have treated. I walked into this one room that was the “lab room”, small like a closet, and a woman was having a baby. I’ll attach a photo of the chair she was in. By our standards, we would think it unthinkable.

The language barrier is a problem but we do have translators, some of them very young. All are so helpful and grateful. A smile is the universal language. They many times say “God bless you”. I am learning some Creole words – Rosalind, you would be proud of my French – on second thought you might cringe at my accent!

School has not started up here. Children are everywhere. Many people come to the hospital for clinic – Many people. Some wait all day. Others wait because they have no place to go. Tonight, one of the workers was saying that a school had 300 children in it. The building is still there and the people decided to leave it as a memorial. Many buildings in town still have a lot of people buried in them. There is no machinery available.

That’s it for now. Keep this poor country in prayer and all the volunteers who are here from all over the world. Forgot to mention – on the plane, there must have been over ten groups going to Haiti.

Blessings to you all,
Jill

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Click on any photo to view it in full size.

This is a ten-minute photo documentary taken by our own Dr. Obie Cuento and his wife Brenda, during Sisters of Mercy Urgent Care's mission trip to Haiti in February. The female singer at the end is Dr. Merline Milien, a Haitian physician who befriended our team.

The triage we were running in the inside courtyard closed today. Dr. Merline is still on the outside. She came inside and went "shopping" in our supplies. She was like a child in a candy store or shopping at Tiffany's for diamonds. She seems to be a wonderful person. She now has some supplies that she probably has never had before. We were so happy to share with her.

We drove into Port-au-Prince today and you well know what we saw. There is an added problem with crowding as more and more folks crowd into tent cities. As you know, the rains are coming.

We went to the mass graves and had prayer today. That is a concept that is overwhelming at best.

Miss everyone and I understand I have missed another snow. I long for some about now!

Anne

We are sleeping at the compound. They sure do have it fairly organized. Scott and Janet are great. We even had grits and eggs for breakfast. We had rain one night, but none during the day yet. Amazingly, the bugs are not bad yet, but will be with the rains. The hospital is charging now unless it is related to the hurricane. Thanks for your prayers and love. I am actually missing the snow right now.

Anne

Clinic today was great; not many serious things, but you can imagine some of these people have NEVER had medical care. Our last patient was an 80 year old (extremely elderly in Haitian aging) that was septic, probably cancer of the mouth. He was CARRIED piggy back on the back of his son from a far distance. There was nothing we could do for him, so we prayed for God to have mercy on him that he may not suffer and that he and his family would have peace. I helped his son place him again on his back, helped him down the stairs, and watched as his son carried him away. If that is not love, I don't know what is.

These people need us so badly, and I have told my family that with God's guidance I will return to help these Haitians. May God's blessings be on them all.

We had an aftershock today at the clinic; only a few seconds, but we definitely felt it. The Haitians screamed and started to run from the building. All was well. Many still sleep outside for fear of the buildings falling.

Love and miss you all, and pray for our safe travel.

Love,
Anne

I met Vladimyr and Merline, the Haitian doctors, but have not had the pleasure of working with them. I have been working with Dr. Frances, a Haitian who also lives in the tents near Vladimyr.

God’s hand is everywhere, and when you go where we have been going to the outpatient clinics, you can see a huge difference in where the hospital area is and the outlying areas. If you can believe it, it is much worse than Petionville.

Please pass to my great team in Brevard that I sure do miss them!

This is truly God's work in so many ways. Love to you all, Anne

What a beautiful day that the Lord has made. Went to the clinic today at the hospital. Not as busy and then went to orphanage. The hospital is trying to return to "normal" and I use that loosely. Still have triage and wound care in the courtyard, but no more patients outside. We do still have a group from the Virgin Islands sleeping on the roof of the hospital.

I delivered a baby in the back of a rusty pick-up truck today. All is fine with them both, but it was touchy.

The hospital has been loaded with supplies, but they are everywhere. No one to organize; some are even getting wet. There is such a great need everywhere.

The needs are greatly changing here to almost all outpatient clinics that some organizations are trying to establish. We are working 2 areas at two different locations. The Haitian doctors are wanting to take their hospital back. This group is looking at how to best serve the people. The problems are going to come with the disease in the tent cities. The rainy season is coming soon which will add to the problems. Others that are interested in coming must understand that the needs are very different now.

The locals are still for the most part afraid to sleep inside, but the patients in the hospital have stopped going outside at night.

God's mercy is everywhere and the work of God is in Haiti in a most powerful way. See you soon, Anne

Landed today safely with no problems. All bags arrived and customs was a breeze. The second half of our team was stuck with the closing of Atlanta today for "snow". They still have not arrived and it is 8:15.

We worshiped at the church here in Santo Domingo tonight with beautiful music by the "teen year" group. We had a bible study that a young man translated. The message is certainly the same in all languages.

House has 13 people and 1 cold shower. Will leave at 4AM for Haiti. Tomorrow will be a very hard travel day. Please pray for our safety and our work here. Anne

A 55 degree temperature drop and snow on the ground. Nous sommes arrivés. 13:50. Ellen

5:28 AM. Safe in OZAMA. Locked in this Church overnight. Our hosts allow team after team to stay here gratis because they have no professionals to send to Haiti, so hosting missioners and getting them to and from the airport is what they do. We were not allowed to leave here even to a restaurant because the neighborhood is so bad. 1 bathroom for 13 people, so I am up and showered at 5 because it was empty. We are going to be at the Santo Domingo Airport by 8:30. We had pizza and scripture, and a spontaneous prayer service and emotional sharing with our teammates. The debriefing has begun. We are in the last leg of our journey and will be happy to be with our families and friends at Sisters of Mercy. Ellen

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We love all of you and can't wait to see you all. You all will be our EAN, so we can laugh, cry, and debrief together. Ellen

We are lost in the jungle in Dominican Republic. Pat wants to get the heck out of this jungle, but I reminded her she still has her Swiss Army knife and she feels better already, Ha! At least we are still laughing and it is high noon. I asked Obie what time it was, and since we both gave our watches away, it is "half past our wrist". Ellen

We just crossed the border and my internet is back, so I just received 47 emails. And I got a PEPSI and a bag of chips, Ha! We had to pry one little boy off the outside of the bus at the border. It is a National Day of Mourning in Haiti and miraculously no traffic today, so we probably did in an hour the part of the trip that took 3 hours on the way in. The people tried to dress in white for the mourning today, even if it was a t-shirt. We are not crying now as long as we don't look too deeply inside of ourselves and those we will carry forever in our hearts and prayers. Our teammates will forever be a part of us as well. Pat and I are sitting in the last seats of the bus with luggage stacked well above our head. I am wearing my cargo shorts and Captain Hiram's t-shirt... Paul Gilliam would be proud of me. They want us to wear our red shirts on the plane tomorrow. We just met some teams from Greensboro and Winston-Salem on the road. I can't wait to see all of you again and rejoin MERCY in the mountains of Asheville... Blessings to all. Ellen

We are connected by net once again. Lindsey - We are ready for you with both delivery service and baby care because we have had plenty of practice this week. We are already in Dominican Republic and the soldiers are stopping us and stepping up in the bus to see that we have no Haitians with us. We were advised not to wear our mission shirts on this part of the trip, but to wear them to the airport tomorrow. Chequeo militairio. Another stop just happened. They let us go, so we must look benign. Ellen

Good Morning. Bon Jour or in Creole Bon jou. The earth is parched and crevassed here. God's people are wounded, hungry, and thirsty, but their spirit is resilient. They are picking up debris and clearing a space in the rubble… doing whatever they can to eke out an existence. There is fear in their faces when they describe the earthquake, yet they still have hope. They still believe and still have love. They worship in their broken churches. This experience has awakened in each of us the desire to serve, and an understanding of what the Sisters of Mercy were founded to do. MERCY is truly on the ground in Haiti, and I know will be present in a new way in our hearts when we come back to you. “We are here for you” has taken on new meaning for us.

I slept some at the hospital and Cassandre, my Haitian Colleague, just called me for a woman in labor. "Wake it's the morning; yesterdays sorrows are gone. Wake, it's the day of your dawning. MERCY comes, life returns; it's morning!” Hopefully we will have a new baby before the end of our shift. The Mom wanted a straw and we have none so I cut the tubing off a nebulizer mask and voila...a straw. And my helpful EMT just brought me some coffee in a urine container. Tim - remember our cup of Coke in the same when we opened our West Center? Have a wonderful day! Ellen

Heavy hearts have shared the burdens of our Haitian friends. Our eyes have been opened, our minds broadened, and our hands and feet are worn. It is fitting that we are sent forth on this National Day of Mourning as we pass the mass graves for the last time… this memory forever in our minds, these souls and their families in our prayers. We bring back to you a new spirit of MERCY and a new understanding of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. We have the feeling of do little when the needs were so great. We are on the bus and people in the streets are wearing white for mourning as much as they can. Ellen

We had a great evening and are getting up at 5:30 and heading to Santo Domingo. This time all 24 of Team 5 on one bus. We have bonded so it should be a hoot! Good Night. Ellen

We finished our last 30 hour shift at noon today and then went on a tour of the epicenter. It was more devastation than we had seen since we came. There are bodies still in the crushed buildings. We went to the Palace and the Treasury, and the government is virtually destroyed. We walked by the tent city across from the Palace, and by the Cathedral which was destroyed and the Bishop was killed. I don’t think that even our pictures can show the amount of destruction present. We jumped in the pool with our scrubs on when we got back here. In the AM it is on to Santo Domingo! Ellen

Our work is finished now and we spent the last few hours orienting Team 6. They had not brought watches, so Obie and I spontaneously stripped our wrists and passed them over like the baton. Mixed feelings and emotional separations from our new Haitian friends - tearful departure for all. I asked Team 6 to continue the story I have begun to tell, and I can’t wait to share with each of you when we return. We are on a tour to the epicenter this afternoon as our route thus far had been to and from work. Our bus bottomed out this AM and the rear is dragging on the hills. Hope it makes it to Santo Domingo! Ellen

With heavy hearts… A young man just came in asking for a body bag because his dad is dead under their crushed house and they are moving the rubble today. We had no body bag to offer, so he asked for 2 of our large black trash bags… to bury the dead.

Sitting in ICU so my colleague Aubrey, the internist, can sleep for a while. 6 patients in here. Michelin is the little girl I admitted a few nights ago with extensive second degree burns. She gets no more morphine, and gets through her dressing changes with more lollipops than Hydrocodone. We have a small boy here whose leg was crushed in the quake, and he will have surgery at 8:30 this morning to see if his leg can be saved. He has a blank stare that has been there since the quake. Everyone here talks of the “tremblant” stories of sheer terror and disbelief. They are trying to pick up people barefoot pushing wheelbarrows or sweeping the dirt with branches. People sit all along the street selling fruit and sugar cane, breadfruit, mango, and long sticks of bread. They cook on the street and scoop water from the trenches to drink. We saw children being bathed in a stream where the cows were walking. Life is stark here but the people are kind and friendly. Ellen

Good Morning Haiti! 4:50 AM here with a mom whose baby has been here all night getting IV fluid and he is burning up. Still wouldn’t accept breast or bottle, so I tried giving pink Pedialyte via a TB syringe and he is taking it! I was so excited I gave his Mom my granola bar and now we are bonded. We still have 5 patients with IVs running. Team 6 will be out of bed at our compound at Global Relief Haiti now preparing for their first hospital shift. I wonder if they will be as stunned as we are by the poverty and devastation. You have to compose yourself, swallow hard, hit the ground running, and pray while you work. When you see the same patients doing better a few days later, you know that God was working with you. Ellen

21:50 and still 2 babies to be hydrated, another pregnant patient pacing the floor; we are in our 14th hour. Only 16 more to go, but I won’t say the “t” word - that would be giving in. 22:55 and now I am in the ICU watching 6 patients while our internist gets some rest. I need to get up and move about so I don’t fall asleep. Ellen

It is 19:50 and we have a total loss of power, so we’ll spend the rest of the night with my headlamp. Tim told me it would not last very long. Ha! It is still about 90 degrees here. I sure hope we don’t get stuck in the Philadelphia Airport, BUT if we do, we have a lot experience in sleeping on floors. We are trying not to catch anything, but it is tough without running water at our hospital today. It is never on at night, but we have had it in the day before. We probably would fail the breathalyzer because of all the alcohol hand sanitizer we use. We just took 4 IVs out and need 3 more, and we have 2 more sick babies. They just wheeled a body in a bag right through our clinic. Back to work. Incoming. Ellen

We have this last 30 hour shift we are doing now and the dehydration, vomiting and infectious diseases are rampant. They diverted the walking wounded, and Pat and I are running the place with 2 EMTs. We have a courtyard of patients with IVs. It is hotter than Hades and the hospital has no running water. No toilets working. There are few staff, so I am again admitting patients and being called to see admit patients. We had a 1 year old baby someone found with a meningococcal looking rash who weighed 8 lbs. Worse than Biafra. We had a man with a stroke, and someone coded and died in the unit. Someone from the orphanage took the body in a body bag and took it away in the car. We pass the mass graves every trip. Bodies were dumped, dirt bulldozed, and they are in huge piles not even underground. Now the government is offering that land free to allow people to build their shacks amidst the bodies. They are also offering free bus transportation to get the people out of Port-au-Prince to the country. They get there and there is no food or water and they eventually die. I need to go back and treat an entire family with 104 temps and vomiting now. This is going to be a long 30 hours. We have no more IV poles, so we are using nails in the walls and tying some to the trees in our courtyard ER. I’ll tell you more later. Ellen

Excuse my typing. I am in the bus rocking over the crevassed road and can hardly hit these small buttons on my phone. Ellen

I am speaking with the Haitian doctors who live in tents next to our compound. They ride our bus daily to the hospital and they work for free to help their people. They said 70% of those who go to med school here leave the country because they can get everything. These 2 doctors feel that God wants them to help their people. They want to be able to go to the villages distant from Port-au-Prince, but they cannot afford transportation. Their dream is to have a vehicle so they could help more people. Vladimir walks to the villages and wears sunglasses to disguise himself and he carries medicine on his head in a pack. I am choked with tears and know that when I come home I will start a fundraiser to buy them a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Please spread the story and ask for help. We could do this through the McAuley Foundation. Pray for this! It will be very difficult to leave these people. There will be an international three days of prayer on Feb 12, 13, and 14. You all should plan the same there and we will as we travel. I am exhausted but energized about what I feel we need to do to help. Out of the ashes MERCY will come. Ellen

We love you guys and really miss you. We are leaving 6 AM to our hospitals, and we have Team 6 coming in today so there will be 41 people in this 2 bathroom home… so the MERCY gals will head outdoors for the natural facilities and we are staying 30 hours to work because there are not enough mats or cots or bunks when Team 5 and 6 overlap so we’ll stay at the hospital. Bread oatmeal for breakfast. We had plantains last night and mango today. We had to pack our things up so we can even get all the suitcases of 41 people in this house. Friday we rise at 5 and make the 1 hour trek to Dominican Republic. We sleep on the floor of the church there and don’t have mats. My camera batteries died but one of the other MD’s gave me 4. We are bringing all the clothes and supplies we are giving away at the hospital so we can barely get on the bus. This is our last shift so we will muster all of the Mercy we can to leave in Haiti. Thanks for your prayers. Thanks for being there for us. WE ARE HERE FOR YOU! Team Mercy: Obie, Brenda, Claudine, Pat, and Ellen

The Baptist group may start doing triage for the Adventist Hospital here because there is a tent city 3 blocks away with 15,000 people. We had a good meal tonight with white rice, stir-fried vegetables, a little pork mixed with chicken, and fried breadfruit and plantains. We ate with our Haitian colleagues. We have many stories of the tremblant, the quake. It also is striking that almost anyone of childbearing age is pregnant. Someone was found under the rubble today and still alive which is amazing. We saw all of the mass graves. We were told bodies were stacked outside the hospital and all along the streets, and then thrown in dump trucks and dumped out here in the country. Then they bulldozed them. You smell it every time we pass there. We are about to have a team meeting prayer and then bed. Good night! Ellen

Had internet last night and now it is down again. The global support person for Verizon asked me if I was aware that Haiti is in a national disaster state. Ha! The baby is here. Welcome to Haiti. Ellen

We are getting ready to birth a baby here this morning as life rises out of the ashes. Ellen

We won’t ever complain about anything. This will be life changing for us. Ellen

Today there was a dog outside the hospital digging in the trash on the street and he found a human leg. There is no proper disposal of body parts. We were told that there had been a very foul odor in one room here and when someone checked, there were bags of body parts just stored in that hot room. There were still bodies in bags stacked on a street. There are fires on the streets all the time with rubble and who knows what being consumed. Out of the ashes… and in contrast, every night babies are being born here. Ellen

Good evening! We just treated a 7 year old with second degree burns to the lower back and buttocks. She had fallen into pot of boiling beans and we transferred her from a clinic 3 hours away. Pat, Joe (EMT), and I started IV, gave morphine, and debrided burns and applied Silvadine. At the same time, a mom in full labor presented and baby is breech, so we are searching for an OB doctor. We are sitting in ER enjoying bags of water. Verizon went above and beyond to get my email working so I can send that way again. Our front gate is padlocked and our security is a few young Haitian boys. Pat carries her Swiss Army knife. Ha! I feel fine tonight unlike my first night here. We had rice and beans tonight and lots of water. One team member was unloading Red Cross supplies and found some peaches and tuna. Canned. Our bodies won’t know how to handle that protein. We wish you were here. We are here for you! Ellen

Folks have many similarities to my African friends. They love when I use French. A young male amputee came in for dressing change and Fentanyl patch and asked to have a photo with me, so I did. Mostly I feel bad about taking pictures but the people want their plight known. Today a journalist came and interviewed me at the hospital and he is going to spend several days with us. At the hospital, there is 1 volunteer cook and patients get 1 meal a day. Today we fed the ICU patients sardines and crackers which was all we had other than pop tarts (which are so bad even the starving are refusing them but we eat them if there is nothing else). Wish you all were here but we are doing enough work for all of you. I felt nauseated at work this AM but I am fine now. Ellen

Still working at Petitionville Community Hospital. Got to sleep a few hours on a cot in the hospital where all the rescue staff chills for an hour or two when they can. Pat slept at the desk in the courtyard ER, as many of our patients do as well. They come in to get treated and they don't want to leave. As bad as this place is, it is better than any place they have to go. There is lots of vomiting and diarrhea, worms and dehydration. Many of the women are pregnant and babies are being born in these poverty stricken conditions. I am hungry, but would feel guilty if I was not. Obie will come in to replace me today; then Pat and I will have chores at our base camp. We wear the “Rescue 24” red shirts with our scrub pants then wash them and put them on a table by sizes. We don't put our names on them because we would waste time finding them. This way they get separated by size and you just grab one that fits. We share everything. When we leave the hospital we will go back through the food lines and tent slums and drive over the quake cracks, past the US embassy. We will again pass the mass gravesite and silently pray for the deceased who are at peace and their families who continue to suffer - yet they are still grateful to be alive. Bon matin et mercie pour les prieres! A bientot. Tim, thanks for allowing me to make this mission and thanks to everyone who is working in our places there. Ellen

We were overwhelmed with patients and have no charts, no papers, and the people have no money. Basically everyone is homeless. We have a few minutes down time and are trying to organize international supplies. The only one I have not been able to figure out is the Chinese as far as medications. Patients say “thank you” in whatever language they can, and we say "nous sommes ici pour vous" or “We are here for you”. There is definitely MERCY on the ground here. Mother McAuley would have come here for sure and Mother Theresa would have been right at home. Everyone we have seen says they are thirsty and hungry and they need clothing, so I plan to return in a set of scrubs and give my clothing away. I will have lots to do when I return. One young man asked me if I could get him a scholarship in the US and that could happen. Ellen

It is 9:09 pm. Been up since 5AM and working. Only 12 more hours to go if the bus gets here. It is strange being here at the ground zero of Haiti with no ability to leave unless someone comes to get me. It is not safe to even walk outside the hospital. I had a young woman who was beaten and miscarried and a young man who was brought in by police with rifles who was beaten about the head and got sutured by the light of our headlamps. I am working with folks from St. Thomas tonight and the young Haitian doctor who will be here for the duration. It is amazing how the Haitians are able to go on like they do. WE HAVE HAD SOME VERY SICK PATIENTS TONIGHT AND THEY ALL SAY THANK YOU. We had 2 young male amputees who told us when they were pinned by the quake they just wanted to die but that they could not do so because they knew all the rescue teams were doing to save them. They came in for pain control and say it is a miracle they are alive. They get their limbs amputated and go right home because there are no beds to keep them and still they are grateful. Miss all of you. Ellen

A new group of physicians has joined us. One is Pierce from Hawaii and he is an Emergency Physician like me who works urgent care in a mobile unit; ask me about it when I return. This evening, I admitted a patient to the hospital with pneumonia and a pulse ox of 76. (There was no doctor to admit her so I admitted her to myself.) I also did a primitive D&C on a young women having a miscarriage. There was no light and no equipment. There are some Haitian nurses who come to work and tonight there is a Haitian physician who just finished her program 1 month before the quake. She was excited to know I was working 24-36 hours and spending this night with her. Pat, Obie, and I run the ER, which is an open courtyard with tarps strung overhead so we have our own tent city. We are organizing it so it will be a real makeshift ER. I had some tuna in a little foil pack for dinner. There are mosquitoes all over the ER. My break is over, so I will join Pat in our Mercy ER here. Obie is back at the global outreach Haiti compound to sleep. He will replace me tomorrow. Some people are coming in for elective surgery because they want it when we are here because it will be expensive later. Of course, no elective surgery is being done. They are pleased that I speak to them in French as much as I can. Back to work. Pray for us. Ellen

We went to bed about 10 after taking our Navy showers: Get wet. Turn off water. Lather, rinse, and get out. We had a team meeting, got our assignments, and my team is going to work at the Petitionville Hospital: the team is Doctors Cuento and Lawson, Nurse Clackler, and X-ray Tech Cuento. We learned we will be the hospital staff because many Haitian nurses and doctors were crushed in the earthquake. There was another aftershock 2 days ago; we have not felt one yet. God is breaking us in gently. The hospital has 70-100 beds - many are cardboard on the floor. Must dress now 5 AM as we leave at 6 for duty in our scrubs and red “Rescue 24” shirts as the Baptist Men's Medical Reserve Corps. Je dois parler francais maintenant et je vais essayer d'apprender Creole. Ellen

We are up and going since 5 AM and headed to Petitionville Hospital. We prayed as we passed mass grave site. We passed though many tent tarp villages and through all the crushed buildings and mass devastation. We just passed US Embassy and its tents. People are living on the streets and the lucky ones have tarps. We are hearing screams of joy when rice bags are received. The last aftershock was the day before we arrived and we are told we will hear it and are to go outside. God is breaking us in gently. Pray for all. Ellen

We are at Community Hospital of Haiti. I just x-rayed a young man with back pain for 1 month and he has a fracture of L4 - by the grace of God he is not paralyzed and limped into the hospital. Today, Monday, is like West. BUSY, but we have lines of hundreds of patients. I wish you could hear the noise and occasional screams. We are working with the German and Bangladesh teams now. Wish you were here, but WE ARE HERE FOR YOU! Mercy in Haiti. Ellen

I feel great after sleeping and am ready to serve. Team 6 arrives Thursday and there are several folks from Asheville that called when they heard about our trip. I connected them with Gaylon Moss, so please thank Richard for connecting us to this amazing group of Christians. And tell Sr. Maria all of us are attending Mass together with our Haitian patients. There will be MERCY on the ground in Haiti. We are riding thru the rubble and have just driven over the quake crevices in the road on our bus – “the Mercy Wagon”. The mountains are rugged and lack vegetation and the ocean is beautiful in contrast to the squalor of tarps and crushed buildings/shacks. The people however will not be broken. Their faith is strong and the good God carries them when they cannot get up. We are bringing chicken patties, beans, and mashed potatoes for the ICU patients to feed the hungry. Ellen

Good morning. Day 3. On our way to work, oatmeal and toast for breakfast and coffee which we won’t see again until tomorrow. At St. Damian’s there is a ward full of children amputees from toddlers up - some have no arms, some have no legs, others may have 1, and they are laughing and playing like nothing happened. We may be gradually switching to different hospitals or tent cities. We will go wherever God sends us to work for his glory. Ellen

Good night. Tell Sr. Maria we are getting to attend mass at St. Damian’s children’s hospital before we work our 24 hour shift. The chapel is crumbled and the stained glass windows shattered and Father spoke about celebrating the Mass on the putrid graves of their loved ones. Pray for all of us to enable us to do what is needed. Please share with Tim and staff. Ellen

We will get up at 5 AM, dress, and go back to hospital to another 24 hours. Ellen

I am tired and wired, but know I will sleep tonight. Ellen

Pat is exhausted and is sleeping now. This AM I took a picture of a card a child made to thank us for helping her country. Ellen

Power went off but we have headlamps. Most of Haiti has no power or water at night. This AM I went up on the roof of the hospital to view the medical teams’ tent city. We all take care of one another like family. The Haitian MD who just finished her training has no experience and doesn’t know how to treat diabetic ketoacidosis. She asked me if I was an internist, so I said yes… if I was a pediatrician, I said yes. Ob/Gyn, yes. She smiled and kept asking questions. This AM I gifted her with my emergency medicine text and she was thrilled. Ellen

We were in a house that Franklin Graham was staying in because we had no beds in the main house. So now Team 4 left today and our Team 5 will be in the main house. 30 people and 2 bathrooms. I had a military minute cold shower and now am doing everyone’s laundry and whatever else we need. Tonight we sleep here and up at 5 AM and back for a 24 hour shift. I brought a pair of zip off pants so I am in shorts and my Lightning McQueen flip flops. Ellen

We just had breakfast. 2 pieces of bread with syrup on it and canned fruit cocktail. And a cup of coffee. We have to move to a different house now so still can’t sleep. Ellen

I am feeling better and we are back at the compound - praise the Lord. And they have coffee for us now. We are filthy. Love to all. Ellen

Headed home as replacement team coming in. Staying in house the NC Baptist Men’s group was able to secure. Franklin Graham staying at same place. Five-mile trek back to house takes 1-2 hours to drive due to navigating debris and people in the streets with tent cities and mass graves along the way. Ellen

We finished our 24 hour shift but no one has come to relieve us. I have a headache and am now trying not to throw up. I think I need a shower and sleep and do not want to take my migraine med and get on that bus and get sick. I admitted 2 patients to myself last night because there is no one to do it. Tell Belinda there is no credentialing here! We found out there is 1 cook for the hospital who is a volunteer and the patients get 1 meal per day. Ellen

Working in tent hospital - have seen hundreds and hundreds of patients since this morning. Organizing this place – working ER/triage. Patients coming from all over the hospital because medical personnel here do not know how to treat them. They do not have this type of experience and are relying on medical mission teams. Met French team who found an orphanage outside town with one building intact. 73 year old nun running the place by herself and over 30 children there. They saw my Mercy tag and asked if the Catholic church could send anyone to help. Not sure where they have received medical training but would be good to come back and teach them. Assistance will be needed for years. Pat Clackler and I are staying overnight – working 24-30 hour shift. Obie going back “home” and may work at children’s hospital tomorrow. In addition to peanut butter sandwich, have had water and a pop tart today.

Had patient who needed oxygen. Obie found an O2 tank but no tubing, but were able to rig up something that seems to be working. Another patient bleeding severely. Was told that she had been hit by car but later determined she’d been assaulted and had been pregnant and miscarried. I performed a D and C with my hand in hospital with no light. Primitive medicine here. Finding ways to do things. ER background good for that. Ellen

Have had crazy time here, and it’s hotter than Hades. Drinking water by the gallon; if don’t, feel faint. Seeing so many patients. Working in courtyard of hospital. International teams. Using medicines we brought. Hospital pharmacy ran out of potassium, but we were able to get it from our bag. Had 41 on bus today (usually 12 or 24). Had peanut butter sandwiches – pleased it wasn’t beans and rice! Ellen

We are working at Petitionville Community Hospital. Obie and I have ER/OR detail. We slept well for the first time last night. We saw mass graves, rice lines, all US aid, and lots of military. Ellen

We are through the border without being searched. The Lord is truly our shepherd for this one. Ellen

We are approaching the border and there are lines of trucks and buses and there is a flood here… water up to the road and over a few buildings. There are men with guns around the traffic. I would like to take a picture but don't want to inflame anyone. Ellen

I feel like you are right here with us. Our team is gelling nicely. I am on the bus with the dirty dozen - those who haven't had showers. Thank goodness for wet ones; we wash our faces and hands then hang them to dry and use them for the pit stops. Ellen

We are 3 kilometers from the Haitian border. Then we drive another 2 hours to our destination.
Ellen

No shower since Belmont. Facilities deteriorating as we get closer to our destination. This AM, a flush toilet with no water, then water but no paper. Now a bowl with no water, paper or seat, but we brought our wet ones. Ha! Ellen

Bear with me as I don't know when you are receiving my notes because the coverage is very sketchy. There are free range chickens goats and cows. We are really in the mountains now. Dominicans on the roadside are flashing us the peace sign.
Ellen

75 miles from the Haitian border. All organic bananas coconuts mangos eggplant tomatoes. Free range chickens goats and cows all along the road. Ellen

We are in the mountains now and I could walk faster than this bus is going. Every town we went through is guarded by military with rifles walking along both side of our bus and this is still in Dominican Republic! When we arrive I hope to wash and don my scrubs and rescue shirt and head to the hospital. Heart and mind, hands and feet doing what we came to do with little sleep but lots of adrenaline...MERCY on the ground. Ellen

Santo Domingo rest stop - 2 buses with our team of 24; toilets available but no paper. It is hot and sunny. Only 6 more hours to Haiti. Ellen

GOOD MORNING. POWER WENT OFF AT 3. GOOD THING I am used to that. It is stifling hot and we have no water or meals today. I have fruit stick almonds and life savers, meaningful name up at 5. We begin our 10 hour trek to Haiti. We thank you for all prayers. Spirits are high. Ellen

We are at Iglesis Bautista in Ozama Dominican Republic. Kind pastors served yucca rice and chicken at Midnight. Every single bag arrived and they allowed us through customs with no check. Almost all on plane were medical volunteers. The pilots and all working in airport thanked us for coming. Their kindness is overwhelming. We get up at 5 to begin the Trek. God is present. No doubts. Please share with staff. I miss everyone. Ellen