PEI in pictures....

Our trip was amazing! We really enjoyed it... the kids had a blast and were great in the car. On day two (driving from maine to PEI) Carter thought it was a bad idea. When we left he was said to go. We didn't get nearly the amount of sleep we normally need but we spent time with friends that we will never forget! I am very thankful for such great friends we have.... it has taught me a lesson in humility! Now we are recovering and heading out on another adventure this weekend. Although I might just sleep the whole time!

Strawberry Picking...

We went strawberry picking with our MOPs group the middle of June and had a blast!
I dressed the girls appropriately for strawberry picking! Notice the shirts!

The next day we made jam! The kids loved helping and made a mess!
I just love making preserves! Not sure why but I do love it!
Daisy tried to help the clean up by licking the strawberry juice off of every spot on her body... she couldn't quite get it off her elbow though!

Cora woke up just in time for a couple licks of the ladle! We are enjoying our jam on homemade bread.... yum-o!

Carter's 5th Birthday

Carter turn 5 a few weeks ago and we celebrated with a pool party at our friends house. We felt very grateful for the use of their home and pool! Even though it poured and thunder the first hour of the party. But as soon as it was over we were in the pool and having fun! Here Carter is with Austin his buddy who turned 5 in May! His mom and I remember having pregnant bellies together and now look at our big boys!
Daisy has a mean swing... softball is in her near future!

Cora just LOVES to swim! She has no fear of the water! The will walk right into it! Thank goodness Auntie B is a life guard!
Carter loved his gift everyone! Thanks you so much!Here is his awesome Star Wars Legos cake! (If I may say so myself) I made this inbetween three trips to the hospital with a mama being induced and finally her giving birth at 3am. I finished it after only a couple hours of sleep in time to take a nap before the party! Thank you for all the help everyone!
Needless to say we ended the day very grateful for the gift of being parents, having wonderful kids that are healthy and growing! And to all our family and friends that continue to support us and love us!

The Graduate!

Our home has been busy since I came back from Haiti... I am trying to catch up! Carter Graduated from Preschool two weeks ago and we are so very proud of him as he grew in many ways. He was shyer than I thought he would be but that all changed this spring and he began to show his true colors a little more (my social butterfly!). There was a little incident where he "sneaked" away from a lesson to go back to the ice cream parlor with his little buddies... this didn't surprise me at all!Carter's special teacher Kerri was very sweet and he seemed to enjoy her. We are excited about Carter going to full day kindergarten next year. We will drive him to a another school in our town for the full day. I think it will give him more time to play, socialize and learn.... now I have to pack a lunch everyday! Yikes... Any healthy lunch suggestions?

For the summer we were adviced to help Carter with letter and number recognition.... I am trying my hardest to be laid back and just lead him. Not get all tense and frustrated with his lack of interest. We did buy him a Leapster for his birthday/graduation which seemed like a lame solution to the problem. But I think it has helped him a little. And he doesn't abuse his time with it. He especially loves being a Jedi and shooting the meteors with letters on them! Gotta love 5 year old boys and Star Wars!
This little girl just loves her big brother. She really does look up to him in the sweetest way. But she is also excited about her new adventures in nursery school next year!
Here she is trying to picture herself a year from now!

baby boy...

early this afternoon we had a Mama bring in her baby that was born last Friday at the Heartline Women's Center. The baby was extremily jaundice, a little lethargic, had a temp. He hadn't eaten since the night before. Hi mama knew it was good to bring him back to Beth and Joanna (the midwives) who then brought him to Heartline Hospital to see Dr. Jen. Grace who is a wonderful nurse got an IV in the baby, bolused him with fluids while I mixed the antibiotics and found things. It brought back many memories of Kenny being sick which was scary but this baby seemed healthier, like we caught any infection he had at the time. We made him a makeshift bed out of a rubbermaid box so he could lay out in the sun (more like a cloudy sky- unusual for Haiti) for some sun therapy- this helps get rid of the jaundice. I sat with him in the sun and gave him his second antibiotic. Then it started drizzling. When I got inside we decided to feed him since he was awake and smacking his lips. He seemed to want to eat but wasn't doing a very good job swallowing. His mama came back and I tried to have her breastfeed him but he was tired. I went home to take a nap and when I came back Grace said he seemed worse... lethargic and had just vomited some breast milk. This was really worrisome so Dr. Jen and Grace took the baby to Miami with his mama and Beth. The baby is now on a ventilator and being aggressively treated. We are praying he makes the night. It is so hard in Haiti to not have the ability to accurately diagnose with no labs... you really have to assess, reassess and go with your gut sometimes. Dr. Jen was right about moving him since he was decompensating in the car on the way to the hospital. We are praying for good news in the morning. Will you please join me and send out a prayer for this little one?

Haiiti II...

Hello everyone! I am here, safe, and with many friends. I worked mother hospital yester day which now consist of 12-15patients. They all need long term care or need follow up surgeries. Dr. Jen is trying to coordinate there care and get them what they need to be able to get home. It is a totally different place then when I left in February. It is quiet, calm, casual.... there is still a lot of love, friendship, and suppoert here for the patients. I spent most of my day playing with the kids, talking with the teenagers, and hanging out with the staff... giving a couple meds here and there. I even took some of the kids on the trampoline! I still LOVE the trampoline... and what a good workout! It was totally fun and I can still do some "tricks"... no back flips though. The kids are more cautious than me which is totally different than at home.... I am a cautious mother and they run circles around me! The change is nice... but I do miss my kids. In other Heartline news: the Women's Center is being moved and Joanna and Beth have been painting and even designed a birthing bed that carpenter made for them. The woman can squat on a self that is the head board that has a whole in is. I guess most Haitian women want to birth squatting. Jon McHoul is meeting with some gang/community leaders in BOston area of Cite Soliel to see what they want for the community and see where Heartline may fit in.... it maybe a new adventure for them. In this article you can read about the gangs and see what they are up to. It is pretty amazing to have an oppurtunity there. Well I am off to check on the hospital and then hang out, nap and work tonight! Love you all!

Truely Amazing!

As I plan to return to Haiti in less than 2 weeks I was lead to read this story written by a former Notre Dame Academy religious studies teacher:

"Many years ago while ministering in Port Au Prince, Haiti, my friends and I wandered into a hidden room in the local hospital. Herein we discovered Haiti’s throw-away children lying still and mute in cage-like cribs. A single glance laid bare the rejected children, starving for food and affection. They ranged in age from infancy to ten years old, and they were alone, dirty, and wearing stained, filthy rags on a small portion of their bodies. They were rigid from lack of movement and their sounds were animal-like from a lack of communication. Large rats waited in prey in the corners of the room.

Never had I known a more pitiable place. One small baby moved each of us to tears. Her name was Immaculata and she was hydrocephalic. Her large head seemed five times greater than her petite frame, which was only a little more than bones. One could, however, detect a hint of a smile from the corner of her mouth, the only sign of hope in this devastating scene. I wept over Immaculata, much as I imagined Jesus wept over Jerusalem. As I begged God to have mercy on Immaculata, I imagined that if she lived in my city, adequate medical care would afford her both comfort and progress. Left here in this room, she would undoubtedly die. I prayed in utter desperation ---“please, please dear God, have mercy on this child.”

Years later, my godson Kyle was killed by an aggressive driver. He lived for 11 days and during that time, was cared for with incredible precision in the pediatric intensive care unit at a prominent hospital. Kyle fought hard for his life as medical personnel assisted him with every grace and technology known to humankind. Committed to honoring his memory, Kyle’s mom and I delivered a large teddy bear to every child in the unit that Christmas. As we walked through the halls, the coordinating nurse told us about a Haitian child in the unit whose name was “Immaculata”. I responded that I had once worked with a baby named Immaculata in Haiti, but that her situation was truly a hopeless one.

As we entered the very last room, a cheerful woman greeted us, calling me by name. She was obviously the child’s mother. Although I didn’t know her, she had recognized me from the publicity surrounding my work in Haiti. I looked into the bed and there was the unmistakable smile of baby Immaculata, now five years old. I was stunned into silence and awe. Here was Immaculata before my very eyes, in a hospital with all the love, affection and medical expertise I had begged God for so many years ago. A family that had seen the pictures from that long ago trip to Haiti went and found her. They had adopted her and she was living a mere twenty minutes from my home.

Why do I keep going back to Haiti? Because this is only one of the many experiences I have had that have entwined my life into the lives of the Haitian people and made all our lives better."

Written by Pam Reidy


I was blown away by this story and it literally brought to tears when I realize I am going to see this precious baby Kenny/Kenley, now 10lbs, and his beautiful mother DJenie. I love this picture because she has so much confidence! Becoming a mother at 15 doesn't make you a woman. But being loved, supported, educated and then making the right decisions for you and your baby make you a beautiful young woman Djenie! Can't wait to see your smile soon! (and hold that baby)!

Javonica....

My favorite love bug from Haiti....

Her mom, Margaret, had Congested Heart Failure postpartum and after the quake. Margaret when she was more ill than when I saw her.

We are not sure why but for awhile she was on a Nitro gtt. When I was there she was Lasix, Isordil, Lisinopril and Lopressor just to control her high blood pressure and fluid status (pretty serious huh?). The ICU nurse in me wanted VS at least Q8hrs (maybe Q4) but she was healing and only getting VS and daily weights every morning. She was such a great pt.... jumping at the sight of me coming with the scale and blood pressure cuff. She also loved handing off Javonica to me every morning between 6-7am. Sometimes "baby J" was hungry and sometimes she just wanted to hang out and smile at us pale white Americans that wanted to squeeze her chunky, "I am the only baby in Haiti getting formula since my mom can't nurse me due to medications" thighs! A "crib" a nurse had made for Javonica prior to me.

I even gave her a bath the last day I was there... just hours before my flight to Ft. Launderdale. It was a beautiful moment to relax and be at peace with all I had done, seen and heard in Haiti.
I also dressed her in a dress I brought from home that was a hand-me down from my girls.
The sad part about this story is that Javonica is Margaret's 6th child and if Margaret has another baby she will probably die. Heartline is trying to find her a way to get a tubal ligation but this is very hard. Margaret knows this is best for her and wants it too. I think it is so sad that if she goes back to her village and is taken advantage of by a man (like most Haitian women are) and gets pregnant baby Javonica could no longer have a mother.... fixing Haiti seems so impossible in so many ways! I just have to pray that more people who have the answers get involved and help. Last thought of the day....

Laugh... it's good medicine!




*smaller pics are from Beth McHoul

Anntoinette Nassus

This beautiful woman lied in the rubble after the quake for more than a week (I think 13 days). She suffered a left tib/fib (lower leg fracture) with an external fixator, a wound on her left leg with a skin graft, and a right below the knee amputation, and she was 7 months pregnant!!!!! She went to the USS comfort for her care and a c-section. Her little boy was named Aidan and she was nursing him (or at least we were trying to have her nurse him). We were told when she had her baby she rejected him thinking there was no way her baby could have survived. He was a miracle to her. She was the most vocal of our patients. She leaned to the dramatic side and liked causing a scene. Her husband was always by her side.... a very quiet, calm man meeting her every need and command :). I really had to remind myself when I interacted with her what pain she must have been through and would still endure. We had to pre-medicate her and take her out of the tarp area and into the clinic for drsg changes because it was too traumatic for her. I changed her dressings one day and found her graft site to be too oozy for our liking, she also had some tunneling to her upper pin of her x-fix. I also tried to remove the sutures from her amputation but she was so upset (I thought she would hit me- don't blame her) so I only did half. She was so hysterical she was saying "I hear my baby crying. He has a big mouth. I don't want to feed him now!" We we took her back to her cot she told the other patients and nanny's that we tried to kill her without anesthesia.... she sure was entertaining!

The next day we took her up to the clinic area and I help teach Alisha (a newer nurse) how to do her dressings and take out the rest of her sutures. She was much better this time.

I think I just learned to have more empathy for her. She really was a strong woman! Even though sometimes she wanted to scream, cry, make a scene and I am sure crawl under a rock and forget about everything she held it all together most of the time. She also had a strong faith, paticipated in church and she was so thankful! When I went to say good bye to her she told me "Merci Cheri!" and gave me a great big hug! It was worth all that hard work in the end to help ease her pain. She still has a long recovery learning how to walk after they take out he x-fix. Remember she has an amputation on the other leg. I can't imagine the pain she has to still go through. Thank goodness she is strong, has support and lots of faith! And a little baby boy to live for and give her hope!

Detached....

a

Today i am feeling a little detached from everything.... my kids, my home, my stuff and even myself. I feel very lost. Maybe it is because I am feeling more detached from Haiti and our patients. I feel I helped while I was there but now what? Yeah I can try to raise money for Haiti and pray for the people of Haiti. But that all seems so distant. I just keep reminding myself that the people of Haiti have had their whole lives change and they are not detached. Yeah they seem to have hurt and loss in their lives but they had a lot of hope, joy and love for each other, themselves and us taking care of them. And they were so thankful to God for his work in their lives. The first night I was there the pastor who did church every night at our hospital asked us to come out so they could pray for us. All I could make out was "Merci Senior!" (Thank you God) over and over. They were so thankful for us and that they were not forgotten by God. They were so real! I want to be like that and not forget about them but also be very real to those around me. Above are pictures of them worshiping God as they are laying on their cots and sitting in wheelchairs!