Team Sinai Haiti

This is day 5 of Team Sinai's adventure in Haiti. We can't believe that we are this far into it. Even those of us who have been on mission trips before have never quite had an experience like this.  We are living on the second floor of the hospital which is open to the outside and open to a patient ward.  We hear everything especially at 3 in the morning when a patient with PTSD wakes up and starts screaming. When we try to get back to sleep the roosters start crowing.  We start our day at 6:30 with a meeting out on the front steps (Aaron can't find the lid to the percolator so we can't even have real coffee!)  Last night we finished at 1130 tonight was earlier for some of us but others are still in the  OR....
The need is so great here.  We have many patients scheduled for the OR each day. The ortho team round on between  40 and 50 patients a day. As well as taking care of the patients there we have a pediatric ward which has between 5-7 patients a day.  The urgent care center is closed when we are busy but people still come.  People are waiting outside by the time we go out to our morning meeting. W e have been seeing at least 15 pediatric patients a day (another pediatrician also is seeing kids at the same time). The ER is hopping with interesting cases.  We have seen the beginnings of life as well as the end. Many happy moments and many sad.
The people are wonderful and so appreciative of everything we do.We are working with other volunteers from the US who are also great and very helpful.
The nurses who work in the hospital are paid very little and have many patients to care for.  Most others who work in the hospital are volunteers.  All of the translators (our best friends) volunteer.  They are great!  Sometimes you are not quite sure that they have told the patient what you want them to say of if they are saying what they think they should be told. Sometimes they say much more than you have told them to. :)
It has been an extremely tiring week but one none of us would ever take back.
Goodnight.