Pediatric Genocide in Haiti (UPDATE)

Photo by John Carroll
August 24, 2011


What should be more important than a baby?

Should my laptop be more important? Should my car? Should my easy life be more important?

This baby in the picture was my first patient in pediatric clinic yesterday in Soleil.

His name is Aristide.

Aristide is eight months old and had been sick for 6 days with fever, diarrhea, and a cough. His mother stated that he is not eating or drinking much.

The baby was hot to touch and he did not respond normally to stimuli. He was breathing over 80 times per minute. I did a quick exam and quickly wrote a referral note to a nearby hospital and asked them to admit Aristide for sepsis.

Aristide's situation is obviously critical but since he is a baby he is trying to hold on.

And Soleil is full of babies like this.

His mother is young, but a "good mom" in my opinion. She just doesn't have many health care options for baby Aristide. She doesn't have Caterpillar insurance. She doesn't really have anything except her darling Aristide.

Mom did hurry to the hospital and he was admitted and started on IV ampicillin and gentamycin.

I will check on him to day and let you know if he survived.

President Martelly and the Haitian government need to get their act together and put babies, and clean water, and basics first. What can be more basic than good care of babies?

Bottom line: Aristide shouldn't have got this sick in the first place. But when babies are disposable objects here in Haiti, this is what happens.
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Update August 25, 2011: I checked on Aristide in the hospital this afternoon. He looks better.