New York 2/9/2010 8:56:29 AM
Experiences of Texan Nurses with Haitian Earthquake Victims
Haitian Earthquake has moved every one
Haitian Earthquake has moved every one, what ever is done for their care is too small a measure and falls short of all the norms and practices, which exist in the rest of the world.
The disasters move the conscious of the nursing tribe beyond imagination irrespective of the fact it happens in the domestic land or overseas. They reach out in great numbers breaking all the barriers and shackles and are ready to support relief work risking their own health and are ready to work in the environment, where there nothing exists by the name of patient care.
They are very quick in mobilizing national international resources to provide aid of transportation and essential goods materials which can help in relief work they have decided to implement. They know how to work most efficiently even in spite shortcomings faced by them in a difficult to approach terrain, lacking infrastructure and facilities they are used to in normal working.
Learning about Haiti earthquake, innumerable nurses have offered their services to provide relief to disaster affected population. Three nurses from Texas spent a week at Haiti, setting up a facility center in a huge plot of land. The experiences they had with Haitian patients is unforgettable, their memories were so touching that they shall remain alive for ever they say.
The Beginning for Relief Operations:
Their story begins with a Hill Country bible Church had made a call for help of volunteers under the leadership of a local orthopedic surgeon. The call was responded by Sarena Green RN, BSN, Lindsey Griffin RN, BSN, and Jenny Husband RN, FNP were prompt to sign up. The trio team further managed donation of 2 G4s jets from a private citizen and also managed to collect 26000 pounds of medical supplies, antibiotics, anesthesia, cast materials and baby milk formulations.
Green and Griffin, had been good friends since the time they were attending and graduating together from the University of Texas at Austin in the year 2008. They were having interest of taking part in medical missions, considering it a means for serving the poor and during previous summer had visited Tanzania and Kenya for a period of two weeks. This small experience proved to be a big opportunity to learn how to get enormous quantities of goods very fast for relief work at Haiti. We had gone through such an exercise of preparation for Kenya and Tanzania just short time before, as recalled by Green, who is a NICU nurse in St. David’s Medical Centre in Austin.
Mission of Establishing of Small Hospital:
The departure for our trip to Haiti was on Jan. 24. It was for period of one week the objective was setting up a small hospital facility at Mission of Hope owned Clinic spread in a huge area of a 70-acre plot of land, located at 10 miles away from of Port-au-Prince.
Griffin recalls a million wonders would have happened, before and after the scheduled trip. Griffin, with Any Baby Can, belonging to a non-profit nurse family, who has joint programs in Austin, Texas the focus; was on the care of first time moms to be, the uniqueness is the organization continues to do the follow up till the infant attains 2 years age.
An oncologist donated an Ultrasound machine for the Haiti relief mission. In a short time with the generous support of donors we had enough supplies to set up a small hospital facility and a Pharmacy store also to make medicine and supplies available to the patients.
Just in a day it was possible to set up a small hospital, which started functioning next day. Just within three days the news of min hospital set up spread and US Navy were bringing the patient by deploying their Helicopters service.
The Hospital set up was now receiving critically injured patients, who availed services of similar hospitals elsewhere after the earthquake and were having infections or sepsis shock. There were many amputees, who after undergoing amputation were not in a position to get post operative care. They had contracted secondary infection at the site of postoperative wound.
There were patients suffering from malaria, typhoid and fractures, who were examined and treated at the hospital set up. There were pregnant, women also, who required treatment.
Open Lawn Amputations:
After the earthquake patients were amputated in the open lawns of the hospital, without use of anesthesia and there were innumerable patients who lacked post operative care and their wounds were infected.
We felt comfortable, because we had brought with us supplies in good quantity, but in the beginning there were problems of no finding the required material in a hurry. We were in a position to create make-shift IV Poles by hammering the nails on the walls and doors as narrated by Griffin. We found that foley bags were not there, in place of which we used normal saline bags. IV tubes and sutures were used to make them workable.
The Touching Experience with Dani a Patient:
The team of three nurses worked long hours and had in the process had emotional feelings for some of the patients treated by them. The highest emotions were for a patient named Dani, a 16 years old girl, who had to partially amputate her arm by herself, so as to enable her get out of the debris of a fallen building. Later on doctors at Port-au-Prince completed the amputation. Dani was having infection at the amputation wound. Surgeons cleaned the wound and put the dressing and postoperative care was given to her.
Taking the help of an interpreter Dani asked for a prayer to be made by the nurses so that their mind, body and spirit get healed by holistic approach. This incidence was very moving for us and there were tears in our eyes, seeing which Dani wipe our tears with the only hand she was having.
Because of our limitations of inability of keeping the patients for a long time, once Dani was stable, she was also discharged. Just 2 hours before she was to leave, her father came in and took her away along with.
By looking back Green remarked that the trip would have been more useful, if there were facilities of X-Ray to diagnose the patients. Some of the patients were sent to other clinics. She revealed that nursing care along with postoperative care has lot of importance for combating the infections of the wound.
The Trio Nurses, wished if some thing more could have been done besides giving them food, beds, and care they needed so badly. This was an enormous suffering and our strong faith to help them made it possible to give them what ever we could give.
The economic status of pre-earthquake Haiti is described as the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. The present state of post earthquake Haiti; shall be nation having population with maximum number of Amputees crippled of legs and arms, how they shall survive is difficult to imagine and to what extent they shall receive the aid is to be seen and question of their rehabilitation is equally difficult task.
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