The flight to Cap via Turks was uneventful and I was happy that we could squeeze all the necessary supplies into Ed Constanine’s Baron. Although We didnt what the sunrise, the light playing off the clouds and casting shadows on the Carribean was amazing. After some unusual ATC instructions in French,we broke out over the harbor at Cap, an interesting experience with no radar coverage. The airport was quiet. Immigration d was empty and we actually had to find someone to stamp my visa. The customs agents, however, had the time to open and inspect every box. Ray, the hospital COO, was there, and after some closed door discussions, it appeared that our charitable donations would be allowed into the country.
Despite warnings from the State Department regarding post election violence, the streets were calm and other than some vandalized political billboards, it would be hard to tell that there were any significant issues. The cholera epidemic did not seem to affect the street vendors, and there was the normal buzz of activity around the hospital and the open air market.
Accessing the compound, however, there was a clear change since my last visit. Security was much tighter and fences had been erected to isolate the cholera ward. You could only enter through a decontamination tent, where you put on boots and gloves. Dilute Clorox solution was spread about in open bins, and hand cleansing was mandatory. The former school had been converted to a cholera ward and special beds (with a hole cut in the middle, to allow the diarrhea to drain,) were arranged in three rows. Some children looked better than I expected, although those early in the rescucitation were still quite lethargic. A nurse, who had heard that I was coming, asked, if I knew where there were some Lactated ringers for IVs, - they had been told by staff that there was no more, and patient census was increasing. I found several liters and a fresh case at other sites less than 100 yards away – I guess that confirms why we need the inventory system.
There was a different intensity since my last visits. The volunteers remain as committed as ever, and it was good to see familiar faces. The patients are more acutely ill and get better or die quickly. The treatment of cholera isn’t as dramatic an earthquake victims with crushed extremities, yet diarrheal illnesses remain one of the leading causes of childhood death worldwide. Over the next month we will potentially save more lives than after the earthquake, quietly and competently.
And if we can get this inventory system up and running, we might even find the Lactated Ringers we need, without me raiding my secret stash…
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