JULY 25
When the entire world around you is a "Salle De Observation" or a Room of Obversation, you have no choice but to sit and listen. Whether it is listening to a patient's question, their answers to my questions, their pain, or their silence, a doctor must have a keen ear. Often times I find myself leaning closer to their beds to hear their voices. Not because I need to hear better, but because their voice needs to be amplified with my translation. From my ears, to the words that I speak, I am responsible for their voice. It is not an easy task, but I know that it is an important when I am translating for these patients. As they speak, Doctor Close looks at the patient and sometimes our eyes meet, but it is as if her eyes never move from the patient. All that matters with each consultation is the voice of the patient. I find, that we need to be the voice for each other. There are sounds, questions, pains, and silences that can not reach other people if it were not for an intermediate personnel. We can reach those who have not been given a chance to listen. We can amplify voices that are often muted and marginalized. All we have to do is listen and lean in a bit closer.
Today was my last day working with Dr. Close because she was leaving today. I met her in the “Salle de Observation.,” and we quickly got to work. The name of the game was discharging patients. The less time these patients spend in the “Salle de Observation,” the quicker more patients can be brought in to be seen. After a while, Dr. Close and I built a system: we were going to provide name-bands to every patient and then get to the work. Naming the patients are a very important component to providing adequate care to them because if the charts get mixed up, the patients get mixed up. Patients are sometime lucid and cannot advocate for themselves, they can not say their names, their family members (if they are around) has to speak up for them. So before we get to work, we name the patients and get them organized. Afterwards, I started a new system where I would go around and get their charts organized. We have to get the system organized and spend less time finding the patients and more time treating them. I feel sad that Dr. Close was leaving because I felt that everything she did was to make sure that the care that each patient received became better.
Today we visited the Palace of 365 Doors created by Former President and successful rebellion leader King Henri Christophe. One of Petite-Riviere's popular site is the 365-doors palace built in 1816 by former King Henri Christophe. However, the palace is now undergoing renovation works by the current administration that will hopefully give to the area its former glory. This site is being refurbished and renewed to highlight the beauty of this palace. We were lucky enough to see it after gaining permission to enter from a local community member who had “The Keys.” The people of Haiti are starting to slowly realize the beauty of maintaining these historical sites in their state. The pictures on Google do not do it justice. It is beautiful. I can just imagine how it was back in the day. When you start to look around, you see new communities that have erected, children running away these places, and their elders sitting around and watching them.
I looked at the Fort and thought about the power that must have been needed to stand up for something and follow it through. There are so many of these sites all around the country of Haiti. It is nice to see the progress that is being made around these sites, but certain things need not to change. It was disappointing to see the lack of care that was being applied to this Fort. How a community member can just unlock the door to the Fort just because he had the key. Regardless of the lack of care, I stood at the Fort amazed by how history was made by my ancestors. Whether the people of Haiti realize it or not, this was history.
After which, we drove over to Lester Beach and enjoyed some of the water. It was not really a beach. It was more organized water— meaning that there was a steady stream of water that slid down concrete in a man-made fashion. The water was cold and fun.
