My Arrival

Ralph signs his "exit" papers! It's a start.

My Haitian Home

Business as usual

Ely Lubin

Thousands of medical supplies sitting under a tent

A plie of medication abandon in a field

The second time you do something people think is crazy, the reaction you get is completely different from the first time, even if the first time proved positive. But I’m going to wager, any change of direction, any new venture would yield a similar response. Change is hard for everyone, even me.

Port-Au-Prince (PAP) is unchanged but the airport was much less chaotic. Hot, but less crowded, the carousel for the luggage was working and I was even able to find one of my bags all by myself. The other bag, I let someone else find. I didn’t want to start this trip out drenched from the heat. The airport is not air-conditioned, the roof is medal and it’s like an oven – it is sweltering. But my flight arrived early and Little Paul, Ralph and Christina were all there waiting for me. Little did I know Big Paul was actually out on the tarmac medi-vacing a 9 year old girl to a hospital in Boston. She was burned over 50% of her body; while sleeping in her tent, it caught fire, and a can of gasoline fell on her.

Over the past 4 months, The Paul’s have turned the garage they live in into a warehouse. It’s filled to the brim with medical supplies and canned food. Every day is a mixture of finding supplies, getting them where they are needed most, providing PAP with its ambulance service, providing medical aid and caring for a handful of orphanages. They are assisted by Junior and Forrest, 2 Haitians who are working their asses off for MMRC, Big and Little Paul’s NGO. What’s different about the work from my last visit is that the frenetic nature of everything has diminished. It’s understandable. Eventually, there is an acceptance that ‘things are worse, it’s the way it is and we’ll make the best of it.’ The streets are lined with people making food, selling garbage. Everything and anything becomes an opportunity to try and make a few pennies (gourdes). Even while they sit in a chair or on the ground of their makeshift stores, their hand goes out and they beg for money when you drive by. Kids and old weather-beaten, emaciated women come up to your window. As much as you would love to hand them money, it’s a mistake. Within seconds, a huge crowd surrounds your car and nothing good can come of it. I made that mistake once, I won’t do it again (not without an even bigger entourage). But sometimes I’ll hand out food or a drink through the window. They’re happy with that.

As soon as I got back to home base, I had Ralph sign his G-28 form. He was all smiles. He’s well on his way to getting back into the United States. I asked him if he will miss Haiti. He showed me the tiniest little space between his fingers, “maybe this much, he said, “but there is nothing here for me. I’ll never be anything if I can’t get out of here.” He meant it and he’s right. Where’s the opportunity if you can’t go to school and you’re not free to travel someplace where you can. Ralph is getting back to the U. S. I’m committed to that.

My Phone:

When I got off the plane my phone was working perfectly. Within an hour, I stopped getting email. I called Verizon and they got it going for me again. Then - nothing, no signal, nothing. I’m gonna be honest, my phone has become an appendage. I’m lost without it and that feeling is even more pronounced here in Haiti. I need to know I can talk to someone back home at anytime. How do you make a phone call to Verizon and tell them your phone’s not working if your phones not working? You borrow a Satellite phone, climb to the top of a tall building on a skimpy medal ladder and make the call. Satellite phones do not hold connections well, especially in the bad weather. Oh brother! Not to worry, Verizon got it going. They are the best. We have a very special relationship.

A New Kid on the Block:

We have a new kid with us, ten year old Ely Lubin. His mother and sister live in a small tent in a very bad, extraordinarily poor neighborhood called Cité Soleil. He was wondering around PAP when he ran into the The Paul’s. He asked if they could find an orphanage for him to live in but they decided, for now, he can live with them. He’s getting fed and he is even getting an education. One of the workers is helping him learn to read and do simple math problems. He helps out and we give him a little bit of money. When he gets his little bit of money, he brings it some home to his mom and sister and then he takes some to his friends who live on the streets and are starving. He is a very kind hearted child and he is very attentive to everyone around him. He is one of the thousands of beautiful Haitian children whose difficult lives were made so much more difficult by this earthquake. When you meet these kids, all you want to do is take them back home with you. I understand it’s not the solution to this vast problem, but the desire is there.

Most people know why I’m here this time. While Stacy and I are working on that specific problem, we are also doing all the other things that fill the days of a relief worker; helping the sick and injured and finding and delivering supplies to where they are needed most. We hit the jackpot today with supplies but I’m telling you, IT WAS HOT HOT HOT! Even I had to sit down. We also had a situation with a 20 year old boy who has some type of growth in his leg. It could be an infection (osteomyelitis), it could be a cyst (I know it’s not) or it could be an osteosarcoma (just between you and me – that’s what it is) A CT scan would probably tell us what’s going on but there are not too many scanners in Haiti and if you want a CT scan, it’s going to cost you $350.00 U.S. dollars and Haitians just don’t have that kind money. One of the medical directors thought if we could get a biopsy and prove he has an osteosarcoma, we could get him transferred to the states where there is sophisticated treatment and his leg could be spared. There’s no one in Haiti to do it right now so I suggested we have an orthopedist back home, talk someone through the procedure. It would not be the first time. I found someone who agreed to do it. We’ll see if it comes to that. More likely than not, he will have to have his leg amputated. Stacy is doing fund raising and having the necessary meetings with the people and organizations in Haiti that can make things happen.

Haiti is hotter, the air is dirtier, the people are hungrier and there are not nearly as many relief workers to help out. I met an ID (infectious disease) doctor last night. She runs a TB clinic. At this point, she is “the last man standing”. Young and very committed, she has no plans to leave. And unless you are sitting where I am right now: on my cot, in my tent, in the heat and humidity, with a rat running around, mosquito’s swarming everywhere and no suitable place to shower; you can’t imagine what a commitment it is. I’m only here a week this time and I’m glad.

Megan,"The last man standing".
Megan's TB clinic