The hike would have been great if I had enough water, some food, and my sneakers. It was beautiful up there and it was fun to get out of the hospital complex for a bit. We reached the vaccination poste around 12pm where the “Ti Foye” (the Creole name for the nutrition apprenticeship program) was being held. The kids were just starting to eat the meal of rice, beans, green leafy vegetables, and dried fish that the moms had prepared that morning. There were 6 kids, the majority of whom were between 2-6 months and a couple who were almost a year old. Most of the moms were breastfeeding but also giving the kids complimentary foods. There is strong evidence to support that exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months is best for babies everywhere and in developing countries it’s particularly useful in preventing diarrhea (a major cause of infant mortality). From what I hear this is unfortunately not practiced all that much in Haiti for many different reasons. The kids in the Ti Foye were all underweight and had visible signs of malnutrition (e.g. very thin arms, big tummies, and one child had some reddish hair), but seemed to be enjoying the food! While the kids were being fed, the monitrice talked with the moms about the importance of breastfeeding. I had a ton of questions and I can’t wait until my Creole is better so I can ask them!
(View along the way up to Grande Savane)
I was starving by the time we got back to the hospital. Today’s food tasted like chicken soup to me again (or what I remember/imagine chicken soup to taste like). I couldn’t eat it and instead fed it to the cat who found it quite delicious. The rice and beans tasted less meaty to me so I was able to inhale that and then run to my first Creole lesson.
Today has the potential to be a pretty good day actually. BUT in the morning before leaving for the village I was called over to the hospital because one of the monitrices had been admitted last night. I actually talked with her yesterday and she seemed fine! Over the night she developed a very high fever, nausea, and vomiting. She looked horrible. I was told that laboratory tests had been ordered (but yet to be done). I went to see her again in the evening. Still no lab results, although they started her on an antibiotic. By this time there were no doctors to be found anywhere so I went and got Frank (the Cuban doctor - I know where he lives!!). I just needed someone to reassure me that she wasn’t dieing! The family had even called in a priest to pray for her which just freaked me out. I think she has malaria and I have a stash of chloroquine I could give her, but the Haitian doctors insist they wait for lab results (even though it’s extremely likely it is malaria given the high incidence in the area, blah blah blah). The other major problem is that the lab in the hospital is not functioning!!! When I got home I had the biggest headache ever.
