My First Mobile Clinic at Lavale

Disclaimer: Certain details/names changed and conditions deidentified to protect patient privacy. All photos taken and shared with consent of subjects; for minors, parent/guardian approval was obtained.

When Myrlande first told us about the rural clinic in Lavale, a nervous-excitement filled the room. After residing in Haiti for a little over a week, I had gotten rather comfortable with our routines of shadowing at the Angel Wings Clinic or the Cayes-Jacmel Hospital. I knew how to—and more importantly trusted myself to—use the automatic blood pressure cuff; I had people to translate readily available, and I always knew that, at the end of the day, my group and I would return safely to the mission house to talk about the day’s events over dinner. While Jacmel and the house had once seemed so foreign, it had already begun to feel like home. So, leaving for three full days and two nights was daunting, to say the least. We were to share one toilet between about twenty-seven people, sleep in sleeping bags on the floor, and, for the first time yet, hold genuine responsibility. 📷

The morning we left for the clinic we woke up at the ripe hour of 5 A.M., as we were originally supposed to leave by six. However, protests in Port-Au-Prince prevented the van from arriving until around 9, so we were able to sleep for a few more glorious hours. When the vans arrived, everyone from Angel Wings International piled into a van, a car, and one motorcycle. I sat with my bag (filled with Cliff bars and baby wipes) on my lap and watched as we climbed up the mountain. The scenery was beautiful. I had always pictured Haiti as dry and barren, as the media seems to only portray the dirt roads; however, trees, vegetation, and other greenery covered the landscape. Finally, we drove through a narrow dirt road and pulled into a dirt lot behind a small school. Over one-hundred people were already lined up, so we had to get started right away. 📷 📷📷

After unloading the van, we immediately set up the pharmacy, as this area would prove to be the most hectic. We lined the medication alphabetically on empty shelves and set up stools behind a very low table where we could sit and count out the pills. I worked here first with Lindsay, and within the first thirty minutes after opening, we already had around forty prescriptions. We developed a system pretty quickly: we put newer prescriptions on the bottom, so we would take from the top. First, we would decode the handwriting, then count out the pills, separating the various medications by bag. We would then label the bags and place them in a line on the table so Pinchot, the pharmacist, could grab from the front of the line, call the patients name, and explain how to use each medication. Occasionally, we would have to reduce the specific number of pills because we would run out, particularly with fever reducers and Amoxicillin. The pharmacy was fast-paced and intense, but I loved staying busy and working under pressure. 📷📷

Our second rotation was triage, so Lindsay and I worked there most of the afternoon and the second day. Here, we were responsible for taking blood pressure, temperature, and pulse, but we only had one automatic blood pressure cuff. I decided to challenge myself and use the manual cuff; I wanted the experience and practice. Unsurprisingly, within a couple of minutes, the manual cuff felt routine, and, honestly, I felt like a rock-star. We saw patient after patient with only a break at lunch. Sometimes, I would take the patient’s blood pressure twice because I could not believe how high it was. I observed pressures as high as 270/150. In those moments, I could truly recognize how we were making an impact, for if we had not come, that patient could have easily stroked out within the next few days. In this rotation, I felt as if I grew the most as a pre-med student. I was more independent in my work, and the doctors put trust in me, yet I became less nervous and instead excited by these ideas.

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Lastly, we spent some time shadowing Dr. Alix. I observed many patients’ painful skin infections, such as Scabies and impetigo. In a severe case, the impetigo was so prolonged, it covered her head in a thick white cap of crusted sores. We also watched as Dr. Alix injected antibiotics into the buttocks of a man with a serious case of Syphilis, as we observed the large, painful sore on his penis. If left untreated, this disease would have eventually spread to his internal organs and nervous system, resulting in death. 📷

The hectic day would end around 4 P.M., and so we would spend the evenings hanging out with the Angel Wings crew. One of my favorite parts of the trip was when I would go out behind the school and play soccer with Pipo, little-Fred, and Rodriguez. What started as a 2-V-2 fun game turned into intense scrimmaging. People from all over the neighborhood came both to watch and participate, their ages ranging from around five to thirty or forty years old. Young girls sat on the side wall, cheering or braiding Jehannaz and Lindsay’s hair, and young boys played. We would play from when we finished at the clinic until it became too dark to see the ball, even through the rain. Even though we did not share the same idiom, our common language was soccer, and I loved having the ability to connect with the Haitain citizens through a game we all love. 📷📷 📷

On our second night, after our intense soccer match, we were invited down to a local restaurant for drinks and snacks. Here, I was really able to experience traditional Haitian food. I had fried meats, fresh fruit juices, and a gigantic Haitian soda. While most of the Angel Wings crew spoke in Creole, my group and I laughed along, and I had so much fun letting loose after such a busy day. We ate and talked for a few hours, and then we walked back to the school to eat goat stew and get some sleep before we started again in the morning.

I can easily say the Lavale rural clinic was the most incredible experience I have ever had. We helped literally hundreds of people within a few days—people who otherwise would never receive medical care. While there are still many, many more people who need our help, I could leave that clinic knowing I genuinely made an impact on at least a few hundred lives. I did not care that I did not have a bed, or a shower. Looking back on it, I can honestly only report positive feelings, and I really cannot wait to do it again.