Burn Advocates Network is working with Medical Angels in collaboration with Royal Carribean Cruise Lines Ltd. and University of Miami Medical School to open the first OT/PT clinic in Haiti. Jim Ressler from Medical Angels went to Haiti along with his team, Karen a physical therapist and Arlene an occupational therapist to set up the clinic. Below are Jim's detailed descriptions of his trip to Haiti so far. I did not edit this information, I wanted you to see it in its raw form.

Haiti Day 1. March 24, 2010
Wow. Its was an eyeopener. From landing in port au prince it has been crazy. Airport was lost so in big hangers. No baggage claim just everyone taking stuff. Walked out to try to find connection flight. Next hanger was thru slum that was a madhouse. We hiked to salsa air which was anhour delayed

Salsa air
Small 8 seater with bench seats. They were training a new pilot which made the 30 minute flight interesting. I didn't even realize as I fell asleep. We arrived in Cap hatien in the heat (96 degrees) with 3 other passengers and they asked for baggage claim tickets. Total of 6 onplane and didn't want to give us bags. It was a one room (roughly 500 foot)airport. There must be anither airport. Dr vulcan from justinian hospital and his asst picked us up in a pickup truck. Arline and karen sat inside and I had to sit in outside to watch the bags so no one stole them.

Road
Mud not roads in lots of places. Rode thru the worst slum I have ever seen. Mud covering passageways so we had to drive over mounds of dirt. People riding 4 on a moped. Poverty more like misery then poverty. Finally got to hotel. Not bad hotel.

Ot Pt clinic
Got to building and very dirty. Part of old church school but inside was not bad just a little dirty. Went thru the rooms and picked a large room. There idea is to have inpatient and outpatient. We will try to get supplies off dock tomarrow. Road to labedee still shut down in 2 spots due to mudslides and boulders in road. Potholes are more like ditches in the road.

Justinian hospital
Went to take a quick look tonite. was horrendous conditions. Filthy dirty. Post surgery room with pieces of metal holding up iv bags. Some beds no sheets. Dirty dirty. Everyone in one big room with no windows just the actual holes for window. Basically open air hospital. Saw 2 surgical rooms that were prepped and ready. Very dirty. Toured emergency room. Lots of pics on twitter under medicalangels. I also took lots of pics with regular camera. Arline and karen also shocked at conditions. Dr vulcain told us stories of him amputating on kitchen tables without good instruments. Saw some children in hospital that were crushed by earthquake. Really scary that people live like this. They really need all the help they can get.

Tomorrow
We leave at 8 to try to get to docks. If we can't get equipment back we are trying to hire a boat to bring it back along the coast and we will unload it from small baot if necessary. Anyway I will update tomorrow. Check out twitter. Also trying to get pics on flickr. Medicalangels on flickr

That's it for now

Haiti Day 2. March 25, 2010
We started out traveling with dr vulcain and arly from justinian hospital and u of miami early this morning. We took a path that really can't be called a road over the mountain. After driving thru mud and no real road for about 30 minutes in a pickup truck we came to a mudslide. Road was closed. There was a slide and a big boulder taller then me in the road. We got out and waled around it. On the other side it was either hike or hire a pickup truck to carry us the rest of the way. We hired a truck and road in the outdoor cab of truck for the next 30 minutes winding thru the mountain onunpaved "roads" and switchbacks. There were ditches and signs of mudslides everywhere. A few small impoverished towns along the way.

Labedee royal carribbean
We finally arrived at gates and they didn't want to let us in. Finally after reaching lauren in miami she arranged for us to meet with site manager david scott. He told us it would be awhile til road opened maybe a week. We had all our equipment on the docks. Labadee was like disneyworld. Outside of the gates everyone suffering and inside this beutiful facility. People come in on cruise ship and probably think this is the real Haiti. We tried to figure way to get goods out. We had worked on hiring boats to do it but worried about customs and all tariffs when we got to port in cap hatien. Finally site mgr suggested we take 10 skids of merchandise for ot pt clinic and he will truck them up to mudslide. From there we will carry the goods around boulder and over mudslide and load onto justinian hospital trucks. Better late then never. Hopefully road will be open in few days. Site manager was great. He told me he is running out of gas to keep site open and would like the road to be opened. He has 16000 people per week coming in and needs gas. Anyway he also told me that locals always problem for them. Besides suing him personally they are shooting at the royal carribbean guards sometimes. He can no longer leave site as they want to arrest him.

Docks
We then went and saw all of our supplies on the docks. For haiti with love was there helping. All merchandise made it and we are storing it outside with help of ursala and david scott site manager. We picked out ot pt skids for xport tomarrow.
Lunch
we loaded boats with pallets of supplies for a medical clinic in the real labade that royal carribbean is trying to rebuild. It is only accessable by boat now as roads are destroyed. Clinic was terrible. Need obgyn table. The one they have is filthy dirty. Exam tables are dirty. They are seeing about 50 patients a day. They take care of town of 6000. We have worked a deal with a pharmacist in states. Royal carribbean is paying and we are buying it for them and will ship via royal. Royal carribean is also rebuilding the clinic

Road home
We then clinbed in the back of another pickup with a bunch of locals and drove back to the site of mudslide to find then burning the bolder. They are going to try and make it into charocoal over the next day or so to soften the bolder. Then they will break it up and clear the road. Tommarrow we start at 7 with security back up the mountain to try and carry the goods thru the slide area. Hopefully royal carribean will have its trucks on their side of the mudslide.

That's basically it

Haiti Day 3. March 26, 2010
Picking up in labadee

Well the morning started early about 7. We drove up to site of mudslide. Royal was supposed to have trucks ther by 930. We went up with arly in a pickup truck and a large box truck. We met pressime and our security at the rock in "road". Pressime was an interesting character. He is a federal police officer married to founder of For Haiti with Love. He had 2 other officers with him and is a bit of a cowboy. Unlike any police I have seen he carries his gun in his waistband of his uniform pants. All the locals seem to know him. He told me there used to be 282 police officers in cap but now about 40 if I understood correctly. They don't even carry walkie talkies. So I rode in back of open pickup with him and 2 other officers down to the dock because royal trucks weren't there. When we got there ursala from royal was just leaving to meet us with 2 big trucks. We followed them back. I was happy to have the security with us as we had to travel thru a pretty dangerous place that they have lost supply trucks too.

The slide
By the time we got back to the boulder in road there had been another slide. We back the trucks up to the slide and backed the trucks on the other side up to the slide and began carrying all the skids of supplies across the slide area. The locals helped us whike security watched to make sure nothing was stolen. After about 2 hours of moving it was time to pay the locals. Pressime paid about 20 of them 40 dollars that I had given him. Apparently 1 guy took all of it and a small riot was brewing. Lots of screaming and yelling until presime and other officers found the guy and stripped him of the money. Pressime handed out the money but they were still not happy. He told us to leave and they would take care of the crowd. As we were trying to leave another truck has us blocked in. The driver was drunk but after 15 minutes or so we got him to move. A local let us know he was a bad drunk.

Clinic
We arrived at clinic and had another group of locals who helped us unload trucks. We were in a gated area otherwise I would think we would have lost some of the supplies. We unloaded and set up the clinic. After having to build exam tables and stuff with no tools we realized we were missing things. Karen and I decided to head back to royal to get missing stuff including paralel bars that are 10 feet long

Ride back to royal
I spole to jordana in ny who called lauren in miami who call ursala in laberde to let them know we were coming. It had rained in the mountains so roads we're muddy and ugly. We finally got past site of latest slides only to come across half trees in road etc. Also on the way up to the mountain we got into small car accident. We hit a taxi but only the two cars were scratched up. Everyone was fine. As we arrived at the dock I received word from jordana in nj that there is a problem. John block from the ship explorer of the seas had emailed a few minutes earlier and said they missed 1 30foot long skid and left it on the ship. The problem was the ship was halfway to bayonne already. So not to waste the trip we took 10 foot parallel bars from another shipment we had at dock. They were used but better thennothing. We loaded the pickup amd arly and I sat in the open cab and held the supplies in the truck. Back thru the bad area with 2 of us and no security. We finally got to clinic and set the rest up. The clinic is now basically built and ready to go. It was a crazy day

Dinner
We ate with dr vucain in a local place. They seem to be having electricity problems tonight as lights in whole city go out for short 5-10 minute spurts. Wild to see whole city go dark

Tomarrow
We are going to see For Haiti With Love. Supposedly they are in much worse shape then justinian hospital. Pressime will collect us ib morning. We will see their hospital and orphange. Til tomarrow good night

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Haiti Day 4. March 27, 2010
We got picked up by pressime and rosalyn at 8 this morning in an open box truck. Pressime is the police commander and is also running For Haiti With Love with his wife. He took us on about a 20 minute drive to the For Haiti with Love clinic and facility. There were a few hundred people waiting in line when we arrived. It was protected by armed guards and barb wire fencing. We took a tour of the facility which had a big star of David on the outside of it. It was started by rosalyns father who was Jewish. We saw the area where the burn victims are treated. Justinian hospital sends many patients to them for burn care. They only have nurses there no doctors yet they still operate. Conditions are really rough. Hopefully everyone saw the pics of the clinic. It is powered by 24 car batteries with some type of converter. He also has a generator there. He also showed us rooms where volunteers could stay. They were actually ok. He has 3 rooms 2 beds per room and also has mattress that can be used on floor. We toured and saw all the supplies (11 skids) that we donated. He also had lots of rice and beans people donated from the states. He told us a lot of burn people come to him just with gauze on their burns which means when they unwrap it it opens up wounds again. Since earthquake his volume has doubled for medical care. He has 2 nurses but needs all the help he can get. He needs extra batteries, flooring, beds, paperbags, and medical guaze, antiseptic, and anything else u can imagine. We then helped distribute food. She has a card system that u come in and get your card stamped 3 times a week for food. Additionally they give out hygien kits. After 500 or so people with cards get there food they randomly give out food to other people at the gates. There were hundreds of people climbing or trying to climb the gates for food. They told us a lot were from port au prince just trying to survive on minimal food they can afford to spare for them. They also have another area where mothers and young babies waait and they distribute formula and diapers for them. They told me every can of dry formula is opened so it can't be resold by the mothers. It was really sad. They also provide basic medical care for them. It was really incrediable to see. We were there for a few hours listening to their needs which is a lot.

We also looked thru their medical supplies we have sent. They sidtribute the wheelchairs and walkers etc to area hospitals who aren't getting aid from foriegners. we also saw a bone cutting machine they use for amputating. Remeber there are only nurses here. I didn't even ask about it as it looked as if they had used it
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Afterwards we got in back of truck again for a 40 minute journey thru one of the worst slums I have ever seen. Again not poverty but really a living hell. We passed markets of used clothing. They were selling rice for 1.25 dollars per cup. Lots of arguing and misery on the streets in the main square of this slum. We finally arrived in another area where the orphange was. It was a cement shell. 30 or so children live there. Armed guards watch the building. One room housed 16 girls 2 per bed ages 4-12. They seemed happy as they sang and danced. We have great video of this. Pressime and rosalyn showed us around. They need bunkbeds and clothing. We brought some clothing donations from polo. The girls were thrilled to get clothing. They all share clothing and nothing goes to waste. When one grows out of it the next takes it. There are no closets or bathrooms. They go outside to use bathroom in a bucket with ahole in ground. Horrible living conditions. I talked to them about mattresses and whayt happens when thye are done. They said they also give them away to others who need them. Most have mosqito nets but many don't have sheets. They desparately need sheets. A few of the children were from port au prince earthquake. One of them doesn't speak anymore because so traumatized by losing her family in quake. Very sad but they did seem happy. Within the orphanage they habe a school and church. School is a blackboard but they desparately need school supplies and chairs. They sit on dirt floor. All girls shower daily with a bucket in a private area. We stayed and they ate lunch. It was rice beans and meat and veggies. They get 3 meals a day. Night is light meal of porridge donated by john block art auctioneer of royal carribean. Overall they seemed happy but no toys or swings all of which things they are looking for.

We then went with all the girls to see a plot of land they want to purchas. They want 25k for the land but probably take 10k for it. It is much bigger and easier living. Right now they pay 3000 per year for their current space. Their current space is a cement block building. Kithen is 3 pots over 3 charcoal fires. A house mom sleeps inthe rooms with the girls and they are protected by a guard. It is a slum but everybody knows pressime and loves him as we walked thru the neighberhood. If I wasn't with him I would never go thru this neighborhood. I still was glad he had a gun in his waistband.

Next we went around the corner to pressime and rosalyns residence. It is under construction. They live there with his twins who were in port au prince for the earthquake. They also have an adopted son Samuel who was left on their porch by someone when he was roughly 6 months old. He is now about 2. They don't know exactly how old or where he came from. Oh yeah and he has 18 older girls living in the house with them. It is equivalent of a 3 bedroom house. At this point all the girls from the other orphange were at this house as well. There were 48 kids in this house with us. These people are saints. I couldn't do it. Rosalyn picks them all up and they all hug and kiss both of them. The youngest in the house is 1 year old. He is being adopted by someone in the states but his older sister who is 6 doesn't know it yet.

Next they took us on another journey for an hour in back of truck to millot to see Sacre couer hospital. This is a rough ride in the hot sun standing. Lots of no roads just dirt. Much of roads destroyed. Sacre Couer is considered one of the more modern hospitals. Many american doctors passing thru. This is where the O2 generator that sam shipped for holy name hosputal was. They built a special concrete room for it so it would stay in tact. We toured the icu which was still nothing like an american hospital. Met with the medical director and talked of needs list. He took us to the refugee camp area. Apparently hundreds of wounded flown in by UN helicopters after the quake and med director has ordered there discharge. Unfortunately they have no where to go as some are even children that came without parents so they set up this "camp". It was compassionate of this director to do this. He doesn't want to send people away as they have nowhere left to go during rainy season. We then toured what looked like the tv show MASH units. There were about 5 long tents where we met many child amputees. Kids 4 and up without limbs. We also toured birth unit in a tent etc. They seemed to be the best organized organization and we saw many doctors from america. We met teams from ohio, vermont, st barnabis in livingston and many others. When I was leaving the bathroom they had just rushed in a girl who had a head ruptured open and part of face crushed. They seemed to be very compassionate as I watched them work on this poor local girl. The med director had to go to help so I found my way out and met rest of group outside

As it rained we got back in the open trucks and road about an hour or longer back to motel. I needed cash but the banks are closed so pressime went to a part of town where there were guys on street with huge wads of cash just exchanging money on street. He said it was common for the banks don't always have money to exchange.

Anyway it was very tough day to see all this. The kids were really sad but what For Haiti With Love people do is amazing. It is so selfless what they are doing. Pressime and his wife are amazing. I didn't mention on sundays he allows anyone to come into the church at orphange and feeds everyone that comes.

Tomarrow we are seeing another hospital, going back to PT room and may possibly going to port au prince

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