No hope for this boy...only love

One of the most touching moments of our trip was when Peterson was carried into our clinic. The four-year-old blind and brain-damaged boy is dying from fluid in the brain. An operation went wrong two years ago and he has been in a sort of hospice care ever since. In this photo, Kris Maki and Dr. Stephen Badolato change the dressings on the boy's head.
Team members took turns rubbing the boy's arms, legs and tummy, just to let him know that he is loved.

Lisa Bahary did an awesome job in Haiti. She's already expressed interest in my next mission -- Nicaragua in January! Keep coming back to the blog. More photos will be posted.

Mission Accomplished

The clinic faced a mad rush of people today (Saturday) looking to be treated. By mid-afternoon it was mission accomplished and time for some R & R. The team went to Wahoo Bay where we enjoyed shrimp, lobster and a swim in the ocean. We are playing with the children now that we surely will miss.
Thanks for the prayers!

Some emotional cases

Father Tony from a neaby orphanage of severely handicapped children stopped by our clinic with two of his neediest -- Peterson and Robert. Robert was literally left on his doorstep by his parents. He suffers from cerebral palsy and other serious maladies. The doctors did ther best to make them comfortable, but it was Jennifer (above) who gave the special little angel what he needed most from us today -- someone to love him.

Clinic is Open!

News of our medical clinic spread quickly through the village and surrounding neighborhoods. Dr. Stephen Badolato (above checking an unborn baby's heartbeat) and Dr. Lance Maki were assisted by nurses Kristine Maki and Lisa Bahary in seeing more than 40 women and children on Thursday. Also assisting were my wife Jennifer Torres in the pharmacy and my son Danny.Today, Friday, more were lined up even before the doors opened.
The people have been friendly and eager to accept our help. So far the trip has been nothing but a blessing.

Smiling Kids

Here is my son Danny playing with some of the kids. We're exhausted. Tomorrow some photos of the everyone else including the docs in action. They saw more than 30 women today.

We're Here!

After a challenging situation at the airport where Spirit initially declined to let us take two bags apiece in, we got them through and landed in Haiti. The village in Bon Repos is beautiful and caters to single moms and women who have been abused, It also caters to parents looking to find takers for their children. Above is me with Melvin. He received good news today -- though I found it sad for his mother. He has been adopted and leaves for Washington State anyday now.

We're Off

My son Danny and I spent a busy night packing, shopping and washing clothes for the trip. I am exhausted but excited to get the mission under way.

AsI packed the bags I was awed by the generous outpourng our mission has received. Just today a pediatrician friend of ours dropped off bags and bags of baby formula. The people at Florida Today, where I work, were also extremely giving. Every day this wek there was a bag of clothes or formula or baby bottles waiting for me on my desk.

We barely had enough room for everything.

Thank you, thank you, thak you.

But I am not done asking.

Please pray hard and often for us over these next few days. Pray that our trip is successful and that the Lord keeps us safe. Please pray especially that the people we visit will be lifted by hope and faith.

Amen.

Itinerary for Team members

We will be flying out of Fort lauderdale at 7:10 a.m. Due to the time change (one hour) we land at 8:30. After clearing customs we will try and grab lunch at one of the reliable Port-su-Prince hotels before heading out to the clinic, which is about 30 minutes from the airport.

Once there we will set up our quarters, get briefed by Barbara Walker -- who runs the clinic -- and figure out logistics. By this time women will be lining up to be seen already. We will try and get the clinic up and running as soon as possible.

Each doctor will be paired with a nurse and a layman. The four laymen -- myself, Jennifer, Danny and Craig, will work 90 minute shifts assisting the docs. During the rest of the time, it would be good to interact with the children, etc.

If anyone feels overwhelmed at any time, please see myself or Joe Hurston. Hurston and Joe Prussel will spend the majority of their time doing maintenance work at the compound including working on the water purifiers.

We will repeat this on Friday and for much of Saturday. We will try to get away from the village for a nice dinner on Saturday night.

We depart Port Au Prince around 9 Sunday morning.

A few reminders:
-- Bring baby wipes and hand sanitizer
-- Expect to bathe with cold water a bucket
-- Water is fine as Joe has had purifiers there for years
-- Bring snack food that is rich in protein
-- It will be hot, dress accordingly
-- Bring bug spray
-- BRING EARPLUGS -- My wife tells me I snore!

Children of Haiti

The children of Haiti have many reasons to be angry. There is little food and they are hungry. There are many illnesses and little medicine. Their water is dirty and carries disease. It is difficult for them to go to school. Many can not afford to go.
They have many reasons not to smile, but oh how they want to. It takes very little effort -- a smile from you, a wave, a balloon, lollipop or peanut butter sandwich.
Let's make sure to take the time next week to make the children smile. They need it.

Rib not broken/Call for baby forumala and supplies

My wife's rib is not broken so it looks as if she will be able to make the trip after all. This is great news. Thanks for the prayers.

Right now we are feverishly trying to gather the supplies mentioned by Millie Badolato in her comments below my first post. Please check out what she has to say. But the bottom line is we are looking for baby formula, prenatal vitamins, baby clothes, tooth brushes, etc...anything and everything will help.

Stay tuned. Itinerary and photos to come.

Team Member may be forced to stay behind

As I write this, my wife Jennifer is at Dr. Stephen Badolato's office being examined for what she fears is a broken rib. (Dr. Steve is one of the team members going on the medical mission!)
With the trip in only eight days, I pray that she will be alright to travel. The roads in Haiti are bumpy enough without having to worry about a broken rib.
Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer, will ya?
p.s. I promise to pose some photos from last year's mission very soon. Stay tuned.

Thank You for making this Happen

This blog is being created for all those who gave so generously to make this medical mission a reality. Without your donations and your prayers this would not be happening.

Africa has become the new cause celebre and it should be because Africa's needs are many. I was fortunate enough to spend nearly two weeks in Zambia writing about AIDS orphans and the unique challenges they face.

But Haiti has many of the same problems and is barely a 90 minute flight from Miami. I think the people there think the world may have forgotten about them.

Thanks to your help we will prove them wrong.

Did you know that Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere?

Check back on this site for periodic updates and tons of photos once we get back from our June women's healthcare clinic.

God bless you.