2/3/2010   Joe called last night on a borrowed phone. He and Terry, the ER resident, went into Port au Prince to look for a suction machine so they could put a makeshift wound vac together. He told me if they had a wound vac ... or make one ... the crew believed they could save about half a dozen limbs on patients. They found a suction machine and took it back to the hospital at Pierre Payen. They did not go into the destroyed part of the city, though one of their crew had been there earlier. Joe said to me, "He said it was ugly, really ugly." The crew member told the others about walking into a tent holding about 20 young women, many with amputations. The docs at Pierre Payen have needed to perform only one amputation, an elderly man's foot. Joe said there is a plastic surgeon working with them this week and another plastic surgeon is arriving this weekend for next week.

 

Each crew that comes in brings supplies so they basically have what they need; he said they have more suture than they may EVER need. There are places in Port au Prince that are storing items so whoever needs something can go there to look for it, like the suction machine. That's probably an overly simplified description, but that's what I think I heard.

 

Dr. Vic Binkley (he established the Pierre Payen hospital) isn't arriving until Friday and is flying with medical people on a Haiti relief jet. Joe isn't certain, but thinks he may be able to hop a ride on the jet when it returns to the states. If he does, he doesn't know where it will land, but for some reason he thought Indiana. I'll call American Airlines and ask if they'll change his Feb. 14 return ticket to another date ... yet unknown ... from a yet unknown city ... to Omaha. I asked if he felt he was burning out and he said no, not yet.   

 

The well diggers he traveled with are constantly at work. The hospital compound had to call for their help a day or two ago, as one of the wells quit working. We take our clean water for granted.