Update from Allen Patee

I just received this from my classmate Allen Patee:

I’ve been in Haiti for the past 2.5 days and the experiences here have been amazing. There is so much opportunity to help so many people in so many ways. I spent 13 hours yesterday in the OR helping out with ortho cases. There was no OR nurse or tech present so I was helping out with those types of things. I would also periodically scrub and help hold limbs in various positions. When we were done with our cases for the day we built ortho trays and continued to organize the OR. Today I stayed extremely busy in a clinic/urgent care/ ER. There were literally hundreds of Haitians lined up since early this am. There was one Pediatrician, several RN’s, and me. I ended up seeing 42 patients on my own!! I saw lots of infections, asthma exacerbations, hypertensive urgencies, musculo-skeletal injuries, peds, peds, and more peds! I did have a Haitian translator to translate and document for me. Apparently this is how it has been every day. There is a good supply of antibiotics, and we provide full care. They have also been begging for people to work overnight shifts in the ED and in L&D. There is a couple of midwives and one OB GYN intern. Yesterday there were several deliveries, 3 C sections, and 2 patients in eclampsia (not Pre-eclampsia—these patients were actually having seizures)! The people here are all so grateful for the help that we provide. It is such a blessing to be here and to be able to help. There is definitely more than enough to do for all of our classmates, and I know that you would feel tremendously blessed if you are able to come.

Thank you for your continued prayers,

Allen