Find us a hospital

Please God, help us get her to a hospital! 

Our first full day in Trouin we got some help from Nicole, a nurse at the Canadian clinic next to Georgette’s house. Since it was the weekend there were not doctors. Georgette got her to come see Caroline and she brought some Tylenol for the fever and pain and something to help with the vomiting. About midnight we were awakened by Caroline’s screams. She was coughing and vomiting. We saw that the vomit was dark in color – hard to tell without real light. I panicked and we hollered for Pere Michaud. He and Georgette came quickly and soon after there was Nicole. I was so scared that I thought she was going to die and apparently she heard me saying this – she told me at the end of the trip. We gathered up a few things and all got in the car. Gail and PM in front, Caroline and me in the back, with her lying on my lap, Georgette and Nicole in the way back on the two little pull down side seats. We headed down that mountain road, very slowly. You have to stop for all the holes and watch the side of the mountain. I wasn’t really scared. We made it to the highway on our way to Léogane. It was midnight Sat. night when we began this trip. As we came into the first town, the highway was completely blocked by people who were celebrating, dancing, drinking and blowing horns. PM honked and honked but we were stuck. Some good Samaritan Haitians helped us by working to find a way through the crowd and directing us to the side of the road. I was scared that we would never make it through the crowd. It was like the street party in Macon or any town in Europeduring the World Cup. But somehow with help of people we didn’t know, we got through even past the main part where a Ra Ra band was playing. We went a little farther and more ra ra in the streets. We finally reached our destination, Hôpital Sainte Croix, an Episcopal hospital. We got Caroline in and I helped fill out all the forms. They were moving her to a big room with lots of beds, but only one patient. Georgette said we should get her to a private room which we were about to do when Gail and PM returned from their excursion upstairs. There was one doctor there who said we needed to take her to Doctors Without Borders. It was less than a mile away and not too difficult to get there even though we encountered more street festivity.

After two days at Doctors Without Borders we were advised to move Caroline to a private hospital in Port au Prince. They gave us the addresses of two hospitals, no phone numbers or contact information. We had spoken with a guy named Robert who told us that the hospital could help transfer patients in their ambulances, but by the time we were released it was too late. They said they do not do any transfers in the afternoon because it is too dangerous for the driver to return after dark. I thought we would just use PM’s car, but he decided to return to Sainte Croix for their ambulance. He had to wait for a driver to come so we were quite late leaving – like six o’clock. It gets dark around seven thirty.The ambulance did not have a stretcher so Caroline had to crawl in and lie on a narrow pad on the floor. There was no AC and she was burning up with fever so PM opened the side door so we could get some air. Gail fanned her. We stopped and bought some cold bottled water that we placed around her body to cool her down. Then PM asked some random people to help us get some ice packs. There are people on the streets with a huge bag on their heads, full of these “sachets” of ice, similar to Capri sun, but just water and no straw. We got about six of these ice packets and used them to cool her down. Then the ambulance stopped again ---- a flat tire! We had to open up the back door to cool her off and it was getting dark. People would come up to both open doors and stare in at us. PM and some random Samaritan got some branches and put them in a can as a signal to the traffic on the highway. I called them palms for Palm Sunday. Gail thought the ra ra celebration had something to do with Palm Sunday. Ha ha! The driver or some Samaritan took off with the tire, rolling it up the road and we waited. All I could think of was the fact that Drs w/o B said it was dangerous after dark. Then PM suggested we rent a tap tap to get us there. We would have our own tap tap (basically a very small truck with a raised roof and benches on the side – used like taxi transport all over Haiti). I said no way and then it pulled up behind us. Caroline would have been lying in the back of the truck – I just couldn’t imagine it…the roads are horrible. Finally two guys come rolling two tires and we finally hit the road again.

We go to hospital one on the list, CDIT I think. But when we arrive, it is no longer in service. Could we have called ahead? Did anyone know how to find the number? Would the next hospital be open or was it too late? I miss GOOGLE!

We arrived at Hôpital du Canapé Vert and are admitted through the gate. They finally agree to admit her. (see two hospitals)