Violence in the Slum–UPDATE (September 10, 2015)
John-Wood September 7, 2015 (Photo by John Carroll)
A few days ago I posted here about what happens when violence strangles a poor society. People like John-Wood suffer.
The next day John-Wood and his mother Maudlin showed back up in pediatric clinic in Soleil. Maudlin told me that she had indeed gone to the children’s hospital where I had referred John-Wood, but she was told at the hospital that they had “no beds” and sent her home with John-Wood. He was prescribed no medication.
So I reexamined John-Wood. He checked out about the same. I was mainly worried about pneumonia, dehydration, and potential sepsis. Once again he tried to smile at me. He is a little baby that you can love really easily but I wished he would not smile at me. I felt too guilty to be part of this charade.
I discussed John-Wood with my Haitian pediatrician colleague who sits at a desk right behind me and she suggested that we try to admit John-Wood to St. Catherine’s Hospital right next door to our clinic.
Saint Catherine’s is a state run hospital in the slum which is not working well. In fact it is hardly working at all. The prices are just too high for the common poor Haitian. Even though it costs just a couple of US dollars to obtain a dossier, be examined by a physician, and obtain a bed, this is way too much for most people in Soleil. And the mothers cannot pay for additional material like IV catheters, tubing, fluids, and antibiotics…which don’t cost much of anything either.
Maudlin assured me that her father could help out with the money and I shoved some money in her hand when no one was looking. We have about 200 patients a day and everyone watches what is happening very closely when a baby is being consulted. There are not many secrets in Haiti.
So I gave little John-Wood a dose of injectable antibiotic and told mom to go quickly to St. Catherine’s with him. She agreed.
What could go wrong with this plan? If this were my first trip to Haiti I would have thought this was “fail-safe” and been quite proud of this arrangement. However, I knew better. We are not in Kansas (or Illinois) here.
Yesterday my Haitian phone rang while I was in clinic. It was Maudlin. She called me from her home to tell me that John-Wood was evaluated at St. Catherine’s the day before but was not admitted. He was prescribed some liquid antibiotic. However, she could not pay for the antibiotics and was at home with John-Wood who was doing about the same.
I asked her to return to the clinic right away and I would re examine John-Wood and probably give him another shot of antibiotic. (It costs about 75 cents to be examined here.) And if John-Wood stayed alive, this medication would last him another 24 hours.
However, Maudlin said she was doing wash yesterday and that she would bring John-Wood to clinic today. I basically begged her to come right then but she said that she could not because she needed to wash John-Wood’s clothes.
Today is Thursday and a few minutes ago Maudlin called me again. She said that she left her home in Sarthe today with John-Wood. Sarthe is a neighborhood about four miles from Soleil and our clinic. However, Maudlin stated that she could not enter Soleil because there was too much shooting going on this morning between rival gangs and the public transportation she was on would not enter the slum.
So she returned home with John-Wood. She said John-Wood still has fever, diarrhea, and is weak. He is asleep right now and is “not playing” when he is awake. John-Wood is a baby who is meant to “play”, so this scares me.
So I called the Sisters who run the clinic after my conversation with Maudlin. I spoke to a Haitian Sister and a Brazilian Sister who I have worked with for 10 years, and they both confirmed what Maudlin had told me. There was shooting going on sporadically near the clinic this morning and that their staff could not enter Soleil either. The last thing I heard the Brazilian Sister say was “they are shooting now” and my phone ran out of minutes. (The Sisters live across the street from the clinic and have told me that the shooting starts every morning at 3 AM; but today it is heavier.)
My motorcycle driver Manes came to pick me up a few minutes ago. I usually say an Act of Contrition each morning before I get on the back of his Chinese 125 cc scooter. The traffic is horrendous in Port on airport road each morning. And Manes really hits the gas once we reach Soleil so we don’t “catch a bullet” (using his words).
Manes and I sat down and talked. I asked him if he knew about Soleil this morning and he said yes. He was not eager to go in and seemed quite relieved when I suggested that we not go to clinic.
However, we called Maudlin again after I restored my phone minutes. Manes will take me to make a home visit on John-Wood after I get this post up.
This is all so unnecessary. So much wasted time and effort. So much inefficiency. So many wasted lives. Violence stops progress at every level.
Please pray today for John-Wood, Maudlin, Manes, the Sisters, and all Haitian people of every color and means .
John A. Carroll, MD
www.haitianhearts.org
Comments in 2015--
Hello John
I read your letter you sent to St. Francis Hospital. I then went into your daily blog and read about little John Wood. I am watching Jo Ann today, so I read your blogs to JoAnn too. The whole situation over there is so sad, and my heart melts for the future of John Wood and all the Haitian People. What a wonderful friend you are to all of them. John Please know that you are in our prayers daily. May God keep you safe as you strive to help them in what seems impossible odds, and may God bring you safely home to your own loved ones. God bless you for all you do. Karen Schotthofer