I just wanted to tell you a brief summary of our wonderful trip to St. Boniface (March 2-7, 2010).

Our team which consisted of an OT, PT, two computer whizzes, 2 nurses (not including Sandy) and a nurse practitioner accomplished so much in such a short amount of time.

Our OT/PT team was phenomenal.  They went to work right away doing their magic with the paraplegics and spinal cord injured patients from the USS Comfort.  We saw people walking for the first time, getting into wheelchairs, sitting up and communicating and they left a wealth of information behind with detailed notes for the next team that comes along.  Lucy Shenk, the OT, and Sarah Suter, the PT, were so inspired by our hospital and the care that was given to these people.  They felt that God directed them there to be reinvigorated in their profession and to use their God given skills.  What is remarkable is that I found them or they found me, one week before leaving on this trip.  I know Conor and the staff were so impressed with their compassion and skills.

I was able to work with another nurse and do wound care, clean bedsores and give a Grand Rounds talk to the Haitian nurses and doctors on Wound Care Management.  My clinical specialty is dermatology and it was put to great use.  Your new head nurse, Ms. Matu (sp?) got right in there with me and I had her doing all the dressing changes the last day.  We put together a wound care kit that she can carry around with her and the staff can refer to whenever needed to change these wounds.  I left them my talk on a flash drive that they downloaded and we printed the instructions in Creole so the nurse can refer to them.  I am always so impressed with the nursing care and I can see how Ms. Matu has really taken responsibility for her nurses since assuming the leadership position.

Sandy and Magdala, the nurse practitioner, were available whenever needed by all of us.  It was nice to see that Sandy was able to go to Lakay Granmoun for the first time with us.  I believe she really enjoyed it.  I can''t say enough of Marta, the caretaker for the seniors, and of course Ellen Bolden, their wonderful advocate and administrator.  We left Lakay Granmoun knowing what great care the seniors were receiving.  And we also brought a bedside commode for Abraham and a walker for Lerrisson.  Maria, one of my nurses, also got into an animated dominos game with them which was so entertaining.

Our trip was enlightening, stimulating, awe-inspiring and God driven just witnessing the incredible majesty of what is being accomplished at St. Boniface.  Don''t ever forget how much Queen of Peace Catholic Community is committed to this ministry as Father Jeff and our staff are daily advocates for this phenomenal institution.  Our twice yearly trips are already full and if we are needed at anytime, our community is commited to doing whatever God needs us to do.  I am so blessed to have listened to the Holy Spirit when he opened my heart to take on this ministry.  And it has been all the wonderful parishoners at Queen of Peace that make these trips possible.

Lastly, I can''t tell you how lucky we are to have Conor Shapiro, Ellen Bolden, Nancy, and Betsy Sherwood as your core team at St. Boniface right now.  The energy, enthusiasm, committment, dedication to St. Boniface and everything it stands for is inspiring and truly God directed.  Dr. Blaise did a wonderful job stepping in for Dr. Pierre who was on vacation and his smile lights up the hospital and everyone around him.

As you can tell, St. Boniface will be a part of my life for the rest of my life.  I thank God for giving me this opportunity in my life to make a difference, to be inspired and to inspire others to give of themselves.  Everyone who leaves Fond des Blancs comes away touched and changed for the rest of their lives.  I hope you know that in years to come I am willing to do anything at anytime to promote St. Boniface and keep in moving in the direction it is right now ... a beacon of hope for these wonderful Haitian people. 

God Bless,

Janine

We are up early packing and getting ready to leave this beautiful haven for the sick.

Sister Ellen just returned from taking a 19 month old boy who died home to his village with his mother and father.  This child died from a disease that he would have survived in the US.   But that is life in Haiti and the people just go on.  I helped deliver a baby girl last night so for one life that died another one was born.   Isn't God all around us?   Definitely, and thank goodness for this hospital.

We will be going to Mother Theresa's orphanage this morning and intend to bring the baby clothes we were able to pack.  It will be emotional and heart wrenching but we will give these children love that they wouldn't have had today.  After that, we will be staying at Hospice St. Joseph, start to wind down and then leave tomorrow morning.

Thank you for all your prayers and support.  The Queen of Peace Community has made such a difference in the lives of these wonderful Haitian people.  I look forward to bringing another team of medical staff here in March.

Janine Plavac, R.N., Team Leader

For most of those reading this blog, Sak Pase means (What's up?!?!) in English. That phrase being one of the most common in the States, especially in the young population. I have been amazed how friendly the people here in Haiti are.... It has been a great experience for me and hope to come back here very soon.....

Today was a great day, seeing more and more FIBROIDS!! So amazed by it all. During the last few days I have found connection with two young girls. They have visited us all through out the day, not knowing English but ALWAYS having a smile on their faces. I sometimes felt like they were laughing at us, but still appreciated their company .... I am so happy to see young girls that live simple and remain energentic. But yet again thats all they know.

I realized how much a smile and touch can have an effect on a person. I had the opportunity to help assist with a Cesarean Section  on Tuesday on a woman who was in labor for a very long time that did not progress in labor. Although we could not communicate verbally, the power of touch connected us. I have visited her off and on since the delivery saying hello and asking how she was, always not being able to say a lot but enough to make a difference. Today she finally got to see and hold her baby girl. She was all smiles!!! I think I will definately miss her the most.

Im so thankful for the opportunity to have experienced all I have and hope to do it again. My life has been changed forever!!

Ronnie Jo

Here is my take on the nurses on the team.  We had a very long day today.  Started at 7 AM rounding on the patients from the night before and ended our last case at 8:30 PM.  In between Mary and I went to the senior home and that was awesome.  The residents were so happy and thankful for the gifts we brought them.  We were there tonight when a woman delivered a child by C-section that unfortunately didn't make it.  But through all this we have all bonded together and this is my take on our team.

Eduardo - determined, persistant, witty, good humor, skillful, compassionate, and caring

Andy - team player, teddy bear, adorable, funny, calm,willing to do what needs to be done, insightful

Kristin - determined, responsible, perfectionist, knowledgeable, can't sleep at night, starving (vegetarian and goat doesn't cut it)

Mary - laid back, compassionate, fun loving, positive, touchy-feely

Ronnie - confident, searching, willing to step in, cute, young, energetic

Sandy - hard to believe, great teacher, patient, never says no, goes the extra mile

Amy - smiley-face, expressive with hands, sweetest person, excellent nurse, calm

I am signing off at this point and Kristin and Amy are going to describe me (uh-oh)

And then there's Janine.....what a wonderful leader she is, keeping us all in line and focused on the days activities.  She is up early, energetic, (think energizer bunny), orgainzed, bossy (well, only a little).  Let's just say she is the center of our team and we all want to make her happy.

And, I'm not much of a blogger but this Haiti experience has been unbelievable for me.  I have traveled a lot but this is my first mission trip and hopefully will not be my last.  The people who work @ this hospital are the amazing ones.  They  work really hard in conditions most people would not tolerate.  They have my utmost respect.  The patients are very stoic and appreciative of everything we do....saying "thank you" even if it's the only english word they know.

I miss my family terribly, especially my grand daughter, Clare.  I am anxious to be home to see them, hug them and appreciate how fortunate I am to have them and the wonderful life I have.

Hope I didn't drone on too long but Janine has been bugging me to blog since we got her.

Kristin

I was not really sure when I walked into the bathroom in the morning what where those things scurrying around.   "They are just roaches" he said.  Hmmm, they did not bother me and I did not bother them.   We had a good day today.  We feel we helped some women that would otherwise would not have the opportunity of having top notch care like the one Dr. Muskus can provide.   I can tell you that I Think I have continued "sweating the pounds away".  I try to bring up the weight at the end of the day drinking cold Haitian beer.   For all those medical people you really need to know that this Haiti Mission experience is the real deal.   You can provide care to people that really need it and you don''t expect anything in return.   We have a wonderful group and, in spite of the hard work,  we have had a good time.   I cannot wait to see my family though...

Eduardo

It is 5:30 AM and we are moving a little slower today.  I think all of us were drained from the heat and long day yesterday.  However, we round on our surgery patients around 6:45 AM, unpack a few more bags of supplies and start our surgery day.

We are invited to visit the senior home, Lakay Grammon, today and Mary, myself, and anyone else that can get away is planning on going.  We are bringing them the clothes and comfort kits that we brought.  I can't wait to see their faces.  The batteries are going into the radio so I imagine we might be doing some dancing.

I did send some photos from yesterday to be posted so hopefully they will be posted soon.

Thanks for all the prayers.....we feel your love.

Janine

Before I came to Haiti, I was sort of worried about the cold showers.  Hahhahaahahahhahaha.   That is exactly why I want at the end of the day.   Janine said that our OR is air conditioned.  But someone forgot the freon.   I may have lost about 10 pounds of sweat today wearing my surgical gown and face mask in a balmy 85 degree temperature.  Hmmm, maybe this is good for me, not only for my soul but also for my body!    Today has been a good day.   I feel we have helped some women that otherwise would have never been able to have adequate care.  I pray the their recovery will be swift!.   So, at the end of the day, our reward, besides the cold shower, is a couple of Prestige Beers.    Then, I think I will fall in bed and pass out.     By the way, I realize now that I am going to miss the Oktoberfest celebration at QOP.  Can someone save me some leftover beer and sausages?    Finally, today is my wife''s birthday and I want everybody to know I love her more than ever!

Eduardo Marichal, M.D., Fearless Leader

We put all of our supplies away and quickly began assessing the women that were waiting for Drs. Muskus and Marichal to take care of.  There is an OB here, Dr. Guerriere who is going to be working with the docs.  He doesn't speak much English, but that is not hard for Eduardo to understand, as sometimes we can't understand him.....haha.  But we just finished our first case, abdominal hysterectomy, and as Dr. Muskus said, "We don't do abdominal cases anymore because of the advances in medicine so I am relearning this skill all over again."

Now we have shifted Dr. Marichal to scrub tech with Kristin and Dr. Guerriere is going to assist Dr. Muskus.

Ronnie is in clinic, Amy and Mary are doing pre and post op, Kristin is scrubbing with Sandy and I am all over as needed.

Will try and send some updated photos later tonight.  However the woman we just did the hysterectomy on will be taking home her uterus and burying it in the yard.  That is their custom and in fact, was showing it to her daughter and family.   Eduardo took some photos but I think w will keep those for our eyes only.

Janine Plavac, R.N., Team Leader

P.S.  It is hot here but the OR is where to be.... only place air conditioned so you know the docs will be spending all their time in there.

We are stirring this morning to the sounds of the roosters awakening us.  It is presently 5:30 AM and the hospital is awakening not us as much, but the community that will keep us on track.  The family members are gathering their water to help wash their mom or dad in the hospital since there isn''t running water.  We are slowly moving and coming out into the kitchen to get the coffee.  That is what woke me up this morning but now I don''t think I need any caffeine.  I am already excited for the day to begin.

Our luggage arrived last night late so we will unpack all the  medical supplies this morning while the docs start evaluating the patients.  It will be a whirlwind day today.  We are so happy to have arrived safely.  Thanks to all for your prayers.  Will update later this evening.

Janine Plavac, R.N., Team Leader

This beautiful countryside that is called Fond des Blancs finally came into view after a 100 mile rigorous ambulance ride.  We certainly got to know everyone alot better after this ride.  We have a wonderful interpreter named Ricardo, who is going to be following us around.  He lives outside of Port au Prince and he come to the hospital when the mission trips arrive to help us speak to the patients.

When we arrived, we dusted ourselves off, a few of us found the cold drinks, and then I gave Ronnie and Kristin the tour of the hospital.  I walked into the OR and found there was one C-section going on and another to follow.  Dr. Muskus and Ronnie went to shower and change into scrubs so they could help Dr. Guerriere who is the resident OB/GYN and is great.  We have alot of failure to thrive babies in the hospital so I know Kristin and Ronnie will be busy.

We have a full OR schedule tomorrow.  We will unpack, put away the supplies and then get to work.

God''s majesty is all around us.  From the beautiful parents watching over their children, the post partum mom''s nursing their babies, the nurses working in the hospital and Sister Ellen, who is seeing to our needs.

Hopefully, we will upload some pictures tonight so you will see who we are to go with our notes.

Janine Plavac, Team Leader

Our adventure began this past friday night when the team came together to tackle the task of packing our luggage.  It is so important to take as much as possible to serve these wonderful people.  They depend on us to bring all the supplies needed for our surgery, pre and post op care and to restock their dwindling surgical and hospital supplies.  We were blessed to have found the Hospital Sisters in Springfield, Missouri who operate a clearinghouse of medical supplies that are given to them.  We were able to get over 800 pounds of supplies from them and we are forever grateful. 

 As time progressed Friday night, our stack of boxes got smaller as our luggage filled out.  We weighed each bag and made sure it was not over 50 pounds.  We ended up with baby clothes, baby bottles, C-section drapes, sutures, instruments, vitamins (all types), tons of meds and when we got done, the total weight was over 1000 pounds.  GOD IS GOOD!!!!  He directed me to the Sisters who were able to help us because we were praying hard to find these medical supplies.

 We leave tomorrow for Tampa and arrive in Port au Prince around noon on Tues.  Hopefully, I will be able to write upon our arrival.  Wednesday is a busy day.... up at dawn, unpack all the luggage, put it away, then start our surgical cases.  Please pray for us and for the wonderful people we are going to minister to at St. Boniface Hospital in Fond des Blancs, Haiti.  

Janine Plavac, Team Leader