Eleven Days in Haiti: Part 10 – Rest, Downtime, and MedEvacs
This is part 10 of the “Eleven Days in Haiti” series that started here: https://fbcbridgeport.org/eleven-days-haiti-part-1-series-intro. Be sure to get caught up if you missed a prior post!
DAY 8- REST, DOWNTIME, AND THEN THIS
Following 24 hours in the cholera hospital, Monday was about downtime and rest. I slept from 4am until 8:15 then got up for coffee and some breakfast, and coffee. Then I had some more coffee. There were some tasks that needed done around the mission house, so I spent some time cleaning one of the bedrooms that was used as a makeshift storage room. After some cleaning and re-organization of one of the supply closets, the bedroom was available once again for its intended use. I had some lunch, and coffee. Did I mention coffee? Somehow, I took a nap and went for a shower. There I met up with Dr. Daub where he told me the diarrhea was getting bad. I was unaware, but he said this was the fifth episode since his return from the clinic. Typical cholera. The disease can manifest itself within two hours of exposure.
We were all so careful, but after all, we were also 100% exposed.
Dr. Dan started him on IVs right away and we were trying to get as much Gatorade in him as possible. The team gathered around him to pray. Hopefully, he’ll be well enough to travel on Wednesday. So my earlier cleaning project was providential in that Dr. Daub was in need of isolation.
DAY 9 JUST ANOTHER DAY, OR “IS MEDEVAC A VERB?”
The construction team continues to work on repair and improvement projects around the compound. This helps to cement the relationship of NCBM with Samaritan’s Purse and Global Outreach as their construction capabilities are limited. For them, this is still a medical disaster relief project from the earthquake of nearly a year ago.
Dr. Daub had a long night—just feeling sick and weak along with frequent trips to the bathroom which had been dedicated exclusively for his recovery. As of 10:30am he is somewhat better, but not travel-worthy. With the team scheduled to leave tomorrow, Dan and Scott, our host, have been working on an evacuation plan for Dr. Daub. As more evidence of God’s providence, the team was provided with a medical evacuation insurance policy. I’m not clear on the details, but unannounced, just before we left the states, the team all got cards in the mail regarding this coverage, which was supplied to us at no charge. Steve Daub was going to collect. He will be medevac’d by air ambulance to a hospital near his home in Greenville, NC. There was a question of entering the US with an active cholera patient, but the air ambulance company said that customs would not be a problem. They evidently do this all the time.
Jenna has been stricken with some kind of intestinal bug. Other than epistaxis (nose bleeds) and rash, she has all the symptoms of typhoid fever, which we have seen regularly over the past week. She has a low grade fever, with nausea, belly pain, and inability to eat or drink. She does not have cholera. Dan started an IV to guard against dehydration. With no available labs to confirm a diagnosis, she was started on the drug of first choice, ciprofloxacin. Our goal is to get her well enough to travel.
