MISSION TO HAITI: DAY 5

The good news is, I don't have a mirror. I have not bathed or washed my hair in days. I have no make-up, no Channel Lifting Serum, no Clinique eye cream. What’s happened to me in just 5 days - it's not pretty. I'll write more tonight.

I'm back:
I write in the back of an abandon hospital. The power is turned on at night and the Wi-Fi stays on as long as the power stays on. I’m sitting on a stretcher. The walls are cracked. There is still food left on a table from someone's old lunch. Occasionally, a rat will run by. He's been working on an old bag of Ramen Noodles. Charming! But honestly, I'm glad I have power and I'm ecstatic that I have Internet.

I want to backtrack to yesterday. I did not mention that on our way to the orphanage, we got a call from General Hospital (the tent-clinic set up outside the hospital). They had one hour of oxygen left and 6 people dependent on it. We had to make a quick detour to find where oxygen might be warehoused, or perhaps, stored in some abandon hospital. Got it and delivered it. It took more than an hour. Everything takes more than an hour because the traffic is horrendous. I have no idea where everybody is going.

OK, back to today. I had money wired to me through Western Union (thanks Matt) Stop worrying, 3 big guys accompanied me. It took 2 hours to get there. Wednesday is market day. There are thousands of people in the street trying to sell anything and everything.



I have to drink a lot of water here. It is VERY hot. I had to go to the bathroom badly and believe me, there is no good place to do that. I was hoping Western Union would have a bathroom. When I walked in (I had a stethoscope around my neck) the security guard said she didn’t feel good. I examined her, gave her some Advil and told her to drink more water. I asked if they had a bathroom and was escorted by an armed guard to a bathroom I wouldn’t let a dog use. I had no choice. Luckily, I carry gloves and sterilizing wipes with me at all times. Brother!

Ralph, one of our translators.

After the bank we went to The U.S. Consulate. Ralph, a 17 year old Haitian-American boy who has been helping as a translator, had his passport, Green Card and birth certificate stolen by his stepmother. He was born in Haiti. His parents divorced when he was 5. He lived with his mother until age 9 when his dad took him and his new wife to the United States. Last year, his stepmother decided she didn’t want him around anymore and took him back to Haiti. She left him here and made off with all his ID (a very valuable commodity here in Haiti). You cannot go to school in Haiti without a birth certificate. You cannot buy a phone without a birth certificate. He's living in Tent City and has been staying with us. He's been helping us out so we want to help him out. We took him to the Consulate to help start the process. What a fiasco but ultimately, we made a little progress. We have to go back tomorrow at 7 a.m. Nothing is easy here. By the way, where the U.N., Consulate and Embassy are; you would never know there was an earthquake.

It's pouring.