Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Bittersweet

October 8th

Well, it’s my last night in Haiti.  I have such a wide array of emotions right, so I’m having a hard time pinpointing my feelings.  I’m very excited to see Paul and the boys tomorrow. I’m very much ready to go home, free of sunburns and mosquito bites.

But there is a large part of me that isn’t ready to go.  I know that it is unlikely I will have the opportunity to return soon and that weighs heavy on my heart.  I don’t ever want to forget the people and experiences this trip has introduced me to.  I want nothing more to make a return trip, but just don’t know how feasible that will be.  Only God knows I guess.

Today was a rest day for us.  We went to the beach to chill out a bit.  First we visited the “private side”.  That was really like a resort, with working bathrooms and a nice resort feeling.  We decided to try out the “public side” because we were told it had more character.  It sure did.  The bottoms of the palm trees were colorfully painted and once again we had a chance to buy the beautiful handmade souvenirs the locals were selling.  I really wanted to buy some goods, but was out of cash.  That was probably a good thing, because I could have easily spent all my money.  It’s hard not to splurge when you see an item someone has worked so hard on and so could use the couple of bucks.

I decided to take a break from the mosquito torture and enjoy the sun torture today.  I got burnt to a crisp on the beach.  It’s okay though, at least now you can’t tell the difference between the bug bite redness and sunburn.  When we got back to the orphanage, the children seemed to be in amazement of my pink and red skin.  It was pretty humorous.

The girls braided my hair later in the evening.  That hurt! They pull your hair so tight you think you might get descalped!  But of course, I was pleased with the results, so it makes it worth it.

I’ve been worried about one of our teammates.  Tony, the other nurse on the trip has become very sick.  He became really hot and feeling sick on the way back to the orphanage last night.  He got a little better through the day, but keeps breaking fevers.  I’m not sure if he has heat stroke or Dengue Fever.  Either way, he is severely dehydrated, hot and not feeling well at all.  What a horrible way to feel in an undeveloped country.  We are planning to drag him on the plane and get him to Miami, where we can take him to a hospital if we need to.  I hope he gets better soon!

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