Day 3- Monday

Today we drive around looking for more trouble. At General, there are 2 American teams- one from Maine with 2 Ortho surgeons, an advanced practice nurse first assist, an anesthetist, a PACU nurse and a nephrologist who has spent a lot of time here and serves mostly as an interpreter. We are a ragtag group consisting of a cardiac nurse from NYC an Ortho surgeon from Atlanta, a retired Ortho surgeon from Eugene and me, the labor and delivery nurse. We are a team only because we are sharing housing and a driver, but are seeming to work better together than the Maine crew. There's some friction between the two groups- (Survivor-Les Cayes General...) add that to the chaos of the situation and communication difficulties between all of us Americans and the 2 Haitian surgeons and... Well, we thought we'd see if we could be helpful elsewhere.
Cité Med was crowded and had tiny private rooms. It seemed more a clinic and less a hospital, but there were two cute sisters on the 2nd floor recovering from similar leg fractures who grinned and giggled at us.
Hopiteaux Brenda is usually an ear-nose-throat clinic, but now has big UN tents outside and is seeing all patients. Some American, Canadian, Brazilian and Uruguayan medical staff seemed to have things under control. A nurse that we spoke briefly with told us that without interpreters to help us give care we would be in the way and we could help organize the stock room but that was it. I considered staying to do whatever I could, I could call our driver to fetch me at any time... I should have stayed. I am finding I do better with some structure, and have not had much success at finding my own opportunities or my own way. I have found some security with my new friends and am clinging to them. I hope they don't mind.
I want to be self-sufficient but fear a little for my safety and am not as confident as I want to be. Need my H here, or something. What did I think I was going to do? Start IVs, change dressings, organize paperwork... The nurses here sit behind a desk and chart. I have yet to see one change an IV bottle or give a medication. Not all that different from home I guess- who am I to judge? Language barrier makes it difficult to give instructions or explain a procedure, but I have to remember that love, caring and comfort are universal. And every little thing we can do helps.