Belated Greetings from Milot

Have been at the hospital for 4 days. There is a single internet access, and I have been spending some time working on repairs, as well as helping our surgical team from Hartford and the MD/MPH students from Tufts. Rachel has jumped right in and is out in the community with the MPH students, completing a survey on maternal health choices. She's worked with one of the MPH students on a early childhood stimulation program in the nutrition center, and has travel to Cap to go to the orphanage with Sister Ann. It's hard not to feel exceedingly proud of her.



I've already been humbled again by the interesting diagnoses. A young man presented with clear cut appendicitis. As the students were coming over to examine him, we ran through the differential - don't forget typhoid I said, remembering a previous case. I was working with a Haitian surgeon, educated in Cuba. Communicating in French and Spanish, we explored the patient and found a mass in his cecum and very large lymph nodes. It didn't look like cancer, and I was pondering what to do next. "GI Tuberculosis" I heard over my shoulder.

It was my friend Jerry Bernard, who had stuck his head in at just the right time.



There's always more to learn...

I'm keeping notes and will update you as access permits.

Thanks for your support.