Haitians Evicted in Delmas

See this article from the Miami Herald.

Desiderata

As the Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann says, “Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.”

Calvin Coolidge in West Peoria Helps Haiti

See this article on WEEK-WHOI TV today.

Calvin Coolidge Grade School in West Peoria had an event today at Franciscan Park that raised 2,000 dollars for Haitian Hearts.

The funds will be used for the pediatric malnutrition program in Cite Soleil in Port-au-Prince.

Haitian Hearts is very grateful for all of the kids efforts and for the very hard work of teacher Hedy Elliot-Gardner, Principal Blumer and the entire faculty and staff at Calvin Coolidge.

Rose (2000-2011)

Photo by John Carroll

Rose came to the Haitian clinic last year. She was escorted by her nice uncle who knew her history.

They spent much of the day travelling from a little village in southern Haiti to get to the clinic.

Rose's uncle explained to me that during Haiti's earthquake Rose was trapped for four days with her dead father's body in the rubble of a building in Port-au-Prince. She was miraculously pulled out with little injury, but during her post extrication exam someone noticed that she had a loud heart murmur.

I examined her and discovered she had an AV canal. This is a congenital heart defect that allows abnormal mixing of oxygenated and unoxygenated blood and too much blood flows to the lungs and hurts the lungs.

Rose needed to be further evaluated to see if she was a candidate for surgery.

So she and her uncle went back to her village and waited.

Rose was recently examined in Haiti and accepted for heart surgery to be done in August--three months from now. But on Saturday morning, three days ago, her mother notified us that Rose's legs swelled with fluid and she died.

Rose's mother was grateful for all we had done.

However, in all honesty, we didn't do much. And Rose needed heart surgery years ago. Long before the earthquake that killed her father.

Rose was able to survive Haiti's vicious earthquake, but the thing that killed her was Haiti's poverty.

Faith

 

Photo by John Carroll
May 21, 2011

"Faith that the thing can be done is essential to any great achievement."

Thomas N. Carruther

Peoria

Patience

"Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them--every day begin the task anew."

St. Francis de Sales

Temporary Protected Status Extended

See this important article.

Hope and Challenge in Haiti with New President

Photo by John Carroll


See this article from the Miami Herald.

Haiti's Big Day on Sunday

Photo by John Carroll


See this article.

Democracy, Haitian Style

See this article.

Baby Doc

Photo by John Carroll


Read this article from the Miami Herald.

This is all very hard to stomach.

Politics, Cholera, and AIDS

See this article.

UN Does not Blame Itself for Cholera in Haiti

Photo by John Carroll


See this article.

Tuberculosis in Haiti

Photo by John Carroll

This x ray is of a 60 year old man in clinic the other day in southern Haiti. He had some shortness of breath the last several months and smokes cigarettes. He had dull sounds on auscultation of his right lower chest.

He has a large right pleural effusion and his tuberculin skin test was 13 mm.

I started him on four drug chemotherapy for tuberculosis.

See this article from Crofs Blogs.

Southern Haiti

 

Southern Haiti

 

It has been another incredible Haitian experience.

Too bad I have to learn so much at the hands of poor Haitians who have no say-so in the matter.

Haitians are great teachers, but we have to be good students and listen to what they tell us.

Southern Haiti

 

Photo by John Carroll
April, 2011

Dear Up-and-Coming President Martelly

Photo by John Carroll


Dear Up-and-Coming President Martelly,

I want to be clear in this open letter to you: The entire world of reasonable people wish you the most success as Haiti's new leader.

I happen to work downstream in Haiti and see terrible medical problems all day long everyday.

These problems inflict so much trauma and cut the lives short of so many people.

The photo above is the right breast of a 41 year old Haitian patient of mine with inoperable breast cancer.

She had a breast biopsy in the Dominican Republic (DR) in October, 2010 and has undergone numerous rounds of chemotherapy in the DR.

However, she is now back in Haiti and too weak to travel back to the DR for further treatment. And she is in too much pain to make the rough trip on the roads.

Her right breast is rock hard and has holes that drain pus.

She has large lymph nodes in each armpit and above her collar bone which means that her cancer has spread.

If you could stand by her bedside and hold her hand and talk to this lady, I know you would do your best to prevent this misery from ever happening to another Haitian woman.

And unfortunately, this happens all the time to Haitian women. They don't have access to mammography, they get breast cancer, most don't get any reasonable therapy, and most suffer at the end of their lives needlessly. They don't have adequate pain control and many have NO pain control.

I give her morphine for her pain...just a tiny dose is all it takes to give her about 12 hours of happiness.

When I made rounds an hour ago, her face was kind of wild. I think she knows she is dying. She told me she was "pa bon" tonight as she pointed at her hideous right breast. She asked me if I would pray for her.

Her daughters stand at her bedside with their heads down as I try and teach them how to administer oral morphine to their mom.

My patient's sister called me today from West Palm Beach and inquired about her condition. I explained what I was doing for her and advised the sister that she should call each day.

Mr. Martelly, as you know, no one should live and die like this.

Please remember people like this lady when you are President of Haiti. They are everywhere in Haiti if we just look. She will help you from her spot in Heaven to guide you and provide you with benevolence and knowledge to help you help Haiti's vast population with their many medical problems.

Thank you.

John Carroll, MD
www.haitianhearts.org

Southern Haiti

 

Photo by John Carroll
April 14, 2011