Today my wife, Myriame Casimir Hunt, embarked on a journey to return to her native country of Haiti with a group of 20 other physicians & medical professionals from Rush University Hospital to aid earthquake survivors. During her time there I’ll be posting updates here on my blog for family & friends.

Dr. Stephanie Wang (who put this mission together) held a meeting yesterday for everyone going as well as their family members. After she provided details about the trip we all pitched in to pack the team’s medical supplies for the flights. The team will be leaving in three seperate flights throughout the day. Each person will have 1 carry-on bag for personal effects and 2 pieces of checked luggage containing medical supplies.

Trip Itenerary

01/25: Travel to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic with supplies. Check into hotel for the night.

01/26: Travel by bus to Haiti’s border. Since it will be night by then and traveling in the darkness is dangerous for both drivers & pedestrians they will spend the night at the border and drive into Port-Au-Prince at daybreak.

01/27: Head into Port-Au-Prince, setup camp, get to work!

01/28 – 02/01: HELP | AID | HEAL!!!!

02/02: Pack up and head back to Santo Domingo

02/03: Return home to Chicago

Situation / Conditions

As you can see from the striked out paragraph below, almost all of the planned details of their trip have changed (for the better!). Scroll down to the timeline for detailed updates. Here is a map of their current location…

There was a last minute change of plans as far as their location in Port-Au-Prince. They will be staying in the backyard of a mansion that is next door the Dominican Republic’s Embassy. There are daily aftershocks, so staying/working indoors is dangerous and will be avoided. It will be a rough 7 days for the team…1 bathroom, no showers, sleeping outside, and plenty of both heat and mosquitos. Security is a major concern. They will have a UN transport to their camp and the area is patrolled by both the Hatian Police & US Soilders. However, they will not have their own security present throughout their stay. That said, violence in Port-Au-Prince doesn’t appear to be wide spread at the moment. They have plenty of bottled water and will have 1 hot meal during the day along with snacks that each person brought for themselves. There is a fairly large tent city next to the camp, so they will have PLENTY of patients to keep they busy throughout the day. They won’t work at all during the night since they will have no power for lights. The plus side to this is that they should have time to rest both physically & mentally. Here is a satellite view of where their location will be (the “I” marker is where the embassy is)…

Communications

The communication situation is sketchy. I bought Mimi a phone from T-Mobile (who has roaming agreements in Haiti and isn’t charging for calls to/from there until the 31st) primarily for texting and the occasional phone call. There probably won’t be a way to recharge the phone so she’ll turn it on every couple of hours to send/reply to messages. One of the doctors heard that someone has setup a WiFi network in the immediate area that they will be in. Just in case it’s true, I loaded Skype and Twitterific on her iPod Touch before she left. Worse case scenario, the team has a satellite phone that they’ll use to check in daily with another doctor at Rush (Dr. Shobha Rao) who’s doing a fantastic job handling a lot of the logistics for the mission.

Personal Note

Although I’m a bit nervous about her safety, I’m excited for her! I know that she is happy to finally be able to do something to help after feeling so helpless night after night in front of CNN with tears in her her eyes. I love you Baby, and I am EXTREMELY proud of you!!! Be safe and come back home to me! I wish I could be there with you…

Timeline

Today’s updates will be posted in the timeline below (Central Standard Time). I’ll start a new timeline each day and send a link via twitter, so be sure to follow me (and her as well)… Rather than creating separate blog posts for each day I’m going to update the timeline for all days of the trip below. Again, all times are in CST unless otherwise noted…

4:14 AM: Headed to O’Hare Airport.

6:04 AM: First leg of Mimi’s flight took off. She should be landing in Atlanta around 7:30 and taking off for Santo Domingo around 8:45.

7:45 AM: via text: “Just landed in ATL“.

7:50 AM: Her plane is still on the runway, some sort of delay of a plane at the gate where her plane is suppose to go. Looks like they may be moving to a different gate though.

8:35 AM: She made a mad 20 minute dash from gate to gate, but she made it through Customs on time.

9:09 AM: Left ATL to Santo Domingo. Should be landing around 11:44 AM.

11:56 AM: Mimi landed in Santo Domingo

1:36 PM: I just heard from one of coordinators of the trip here in Chicago. Mimi is with the team’s contact in DR and is headed to her hotel. She doesn’t have cell service, but she should have internet at the hotel which will allow her to Skype from her Touch. The other doctors are delayed in Philly due to weather.

4:52 PM: I’ve been talking to Mimi on and off since around 3 PM via Skype and cell phone. There are a few issues will cell service, she can accept calls and text messages but she can’t call or text out. I’m working with T-Mobile to get that straightened out. She is in good spirits and looks forward to tomorrow!

8:36 AM: Chatted with Mimi. It looks like the rest of the team has been held up in Philly due to bad weather. They are due in around 10 PM CST.

10:11 PM: via Dr. Rao: “Jen Towbin just called. They have just landed in Santo Domingo. They will need to go through immigration and customs.“

12:34 AM: Just talked to Mimi, the rest of the team finally made it in to the Hotel!

10:06 AM: Received a photo of the group from Dr. Rao…

(click photo to enlarge)

10:27 AM: The team is leaving for the border in about 30 minutes. There have been some significant changes to their plans! They are still spending the night at the border in a hotel. Tomorrow they will be traveling to different locations than the one posted above though. They will now be staying in a church on Delmas 75. Internal medicine doctors (including Mimi) will be working about a mile away in a town called Carefour. The surgical doctors will be working in a different location (I’ll find out where and post it later today). The church has running water, electricity, and (I’m told) is very well built! I will create new Google maps and post them later today as well… UPDATE: The team will have transportation to/from the church to their work sites. They will also have security during their stay!

11:22 AM: I’m STILL battling with T-Mobile! Each time I call I’m told by the customer support rep that they’ve figured out the reason why she can’t make calls or send text messages. It’s always a new reason, and whatever “solutions” they try never works. On to call number twentysomething…

11:25 AM: The team is leaving for the border now!

1:27 PM: I optimized my blog for viewing on mobile devices, so if you’d like to stay updated on your phone feel free to point your mobile browsers to this same address! I’ve verified that it displays correctly on webOS (Palm Pre & Pixi), iPhone, and Android devices. Others should work as well though.

4:48 PM: The team has stopped in a small town called San Jaun De La Maguana for a short break. Mimi says that they are moving at a good pace and that all is going well! Also, the surgical team will be working at the General Hospital when they arrive in Port-Au-Prince tomorrow.

6:08 PM: The team is about an hour from the border.

8:13 PM: The team arrived at their hotel near the border about a half hour ago. They are walking over to a restaurant to get some dinner then rest up for tomorrow.

1:03 AM: Briefly spoke with Mimi, all is well!

8:05 AM: The team just crossed the border into Haiti, the UN is there providing security. While calls aren’t going through, 2-way text messages are now working. T-Mobile officially sucks a little instead of a lot now!

8:53 AM: The team is in Belladare which is normally about 3 hours from Port-Au-Prince. The roads are unpaved and very bumpy so it may take longer.

9:45 AM: Right after one of the supply truck’s tires went flat the bus carrying the team suffered a flat tire as well. They are currently stopped to repair both tires.

10:10 AM: They are moving on without fixing the flats. Both vehicles are dual axle so they should be fine.

10:45 AM: They stopped to change the bus tire, the supply truck tire will remain though. Hopefully they get back underway soon!

11:18 AM: Back on the road! Hopefully there aren’t any more mishaps along the way…

12:01 PM: Yet another flat tire on the truck! They changed it quickly though and are already on the road again.

2:41 PM: Although T-Mobile claims to be providing free services to/from Haiti until the 31st, I’m getting charged .25¢ per message that is sent from there!!! I sorta feel like they are profiting off of the earthquake distaster. I’d feel better if they just kept quiet and not advertised any discounts is “support” of Haiti. Anyway, I’ll stop my T-Mobile rant here and save it for another blog post…

2:59 PM: Another tire mishap, the bus again this time. They are back on the road and hope to get to Port-Au-Prince in 2 hours.

3:44 PM: The team has finally entered Port-Au-Prince.

4:03 PM: They still have about a half hour before the reach the church that they are staying at. Mimi says the destruction is even worse than it looks on television.

5:49 PM: The team has arrived at their destination which is a school (not a church) called Quisqueya Christian School in Delmas. She said the location is very nice (“fabulous” was the exact word she used). There are US soldiers based there and security is VERY tight. She also said there are many other teams from all over the world at this location.

6:24 PM: They won’t be going to the locations cited yesterday, but rather sent out to different clinics and hospitals where they are needed most. It sounds like everything is very well organized. Mimi & I will be Skyping later so I should have plenty of details then! Also, Dr. Jeff Mjaanes posted some photos at the Rush University Medical Center News Blog.

7:58 PM: (From Dr. Rao via e-mail) From Keith Boyd: “We are safe…. Very safe. We are living with the US military! This is beyond our wildest dreams. There are 8 soldiers setting up an air conditioned tent right now. We are inside the walled compound of a Christian school which is now occupied by the US military and 180 health care workers. Showers, prepared meals and security all provided. We are very happy.” From Jeff Mjaanes: “We made it! After a long trip we have finally arrived! We are being lodged on the campus of the Quisqeya Christian School, an elementary school in Port-au-Prince in the Delmas neighborhood. This was private elementary school that was closed after the earthquake and turned into an impromptu Earthquake Crisis Center. In addition to us, they are currently housing multiple medical teams from across the US and other countries. It is secure. We have a large tent for all of us. We feel very priveleged – we have one hot meal a day, electricity, water/showers and intermittent internet! Tomorrow we will be going out into the community. We will update again tomorrow.“

9:47 PM: Received a couple of brief messages from Mimi. The team is unpacking all of the medical supplies from their luggage and repacking them for tomorrow’s excursions. After they they’ll get some well deserved sleep.

5:46 AM: The team is getting ready to go to their first clinic. Updates will probably be scarce compared to the previous days as they will be spending the bulk of their time treating patients. There is a new picture posted on Rush’s Blog.

1:41 PM: Test message from Mimi: “This is soooooooo crazy..so many people. Its just sad..some of these people have never seen a doctor… So many chronic medical problems. Some of these folks needs to be admitted but they say they cant afford to go to hosp….just awful.” She also said although sometimes it seems like it’s patchwork, they are doing a LOT of good!

2:29 PM: The surgical & medical are working in two different sites, all are doing well!

3:03 PM: I just received the following photo taken by Dr. Benjamin Lind. I believe this is the clinic that Mimi is at, but I’m not 100% sure yet.

(click photo to enlarge)

3:56 PM: And a couple of more…

(click photo to enlarge)


(click photo to enlarge)

4:17 PM: Update from Dr. Benjamin Lind: “Done with the clinic. We saw a few hundred patients today. Probably a third or more are earthquake related. A lot of rib fractures. We set some broken bones and took care of wounds that had become neglected. We treated a pregnant woman with pneumonia. The rest was primary care, which people are grateful to get. To give you a sense of how poor this area is, the streets haven’t been drawn in on the Google maps.“

4:26 PM: Update from Dr. Keith Boyd: “Four of us went to a make-shift clinic across from a large hospital. We saw about 160 patients mostly for routine care and some urgent care. We are exhausted but I can say it was one of the more satisfying days of work I have experienced. The Haitian people are very warm and were grateful for our help. We are safe and exhausted but feel good about what we accomplished today.“

9:20 PM: Mimi & I finally had a chance to Skype tonight. Unfortunately the battery in her iPod was dying so we were only able to speak for a few minutes. She was part of the four person team at the clinic that Dr. Boyd and Dr. Lind mention above. They had quite a few patients suffering from post traumatic stress (understandably). Outside of that, most of the patients they treated had chronic illnesses that were unrelated to the earthquake (diabetes, heart disease, etc). People who suffered trauma were across the street at a hospital where the surgery team was. She said it’s really hard for her to see Haiti in the condition that it’s in. What you see on CNN doesn’t compare to what it’s really like. She’s taking it in stride though and is generally in good spirits. She loves being immersed in Creole again, sometimes she started speaking to the other doctors in Creole accidentally. It’s hard not to use your native tongue when it’s all around you! Hopefully we’ll be able to talk longer tomorrow…

9:29 PM: There is a great post about the teams first day on Rush’s Blog by Dr. Mjaanes.

7:43 AM: The team is on there way to a new clinic, riding in the back of a pickup truck. You gotta get there however you can!

9:44 AM: There is a new post at Rush’s blog that includes a couple of new photos, including the one below of the team in front of their tent…

(click photo to enlarge)

5:30 PM: Another excellent post by Dr. Mjaanes, this time a day 2 recap! Contains a couple of photos, including this one…

(click photo to enlarge)

8:23 PM: Skyped with Mimi for about 20 minutes. Her part of the team treated more quake related injuries today than yesterday…lots of kids and pregnant woman. No exact numbers, but she said it was around 300 total. They were at a makeshift clinic inside a church in a neighborhood called Carefour (one of the original locations that they planned to visit as well as the neighborhood that Mimi grew up in!). The surgery team went to the General Hospital again. She took lots of photos today, but unfortunately there is no way way to upload them directly (I’ll post them after she returns). In the mean time Dr. Jaafer Golzar’s Facebook Page has plenty of photos from the trip!

6:08 AM: The team is getting ready for day 3 at clinics and hospitals. The team will be in three groups again today. One is going to the General Hospital (surgery team I thing), one to the clinic they’ve been going to that is across from the General Hospital, and the last going to a place called “CDI”.

3:07 PM: Mimi treated all kids, say’s she felt like a pediatrician today. She received a visit from her cousins that live in Port-Au-Prince! Luckily they all were unharmed in the quake.

5:09 PM: On the way back to the compound the team stopped by a restaurant called Epidor and had a burger and fries! I’m amazed that there are any restaurants open for business and have food! She said her cheeseburger was really good!

9:11 PM: Several new posts at Rush’s blog:

• Dr. John Fernandez from the O.R.
• It’s Like a Scene from the Civil War by Dr. David Ansell
• Reflections on the first few days of the trip by Dr. David Ansell
• 400 Patients Seen at Make-Shift Urgent Care Center by Dr. Jeff Mjaanes

6:05 AM: I just heard from Mimi. That Epidor burger may have tasted good, but it wasn’t good for her. She was a little sick last night because of it. She’s fine but disappointed because she needs to rest up a bit and won’t be going out today. One of the other docs was sick last night as well but recovered quickly and will be treating patients today. All this after another illness on the team yesterday that resulted in a recovery day for him as well (he’s now much better by the way). Hopefully this is the last of any illness the team suffers!

3:01 PM: Skyped with Mimi a bit. She’s feeling a lot better but is still suffering an upset stomach. She said she’ll feel well enough to head back out to the clinics tomorrow! Right now she’s reading a book and resting comfortably.

7:33 PM: Heard from Mimi again. She’s calling it a night, hoping to feel 100% by the morning!

10:00 PM: Dr. Mjaanes’ daily post is up on Rush’s Blog.

6:16 AM: Mimi had a good night’s rest and is feeling well enough to go treat people today. Unfortunately the mysterious 24-hour bug that is going around the compound has affected two more doctors on the team. Today is the last whole day in Port-Au-Price, the team is heading back to Santo Domingo tomorrow. Hopefully everyone will remain healthy until then!

3:12 PM: The team is back at camp. The other two doctors are still feeling under sick, but they are improving. More phone/T-Mobile issues today (hence the scarce updates).

5:43 PM: Dr. Keith Boyd: “Anesthesia returned to the same hospital where they have gone the previous two days. They have not yet returned. Another team that has been staffing a number of the tents at the general hospital returned there to begin the hand off of the care of the patients they have managed the last several days. A third team returned to the tent city across from the presidential palace. All three of us there saw only kids as the need is overwhelming. We returned exhausted. I personally found it to be the most taxing of all the days. So much need and so few resources. Jen and Stephanie stayed at camp recovering and were well-cared for by Anna. Tomorrow we sort our supplies in the morning as we will leave half here and have Alfredo store half for future trips. We then travel by bus to the DR for our flight Wednesday. We are looking forward to being home and enjoying the basic comforts we all take for granted every day.“

9:31 PM: Just finished Skyping with Mimi. Today was her last day treating patients. For the past two days she’s only treated children. The team has a lot of supplies left. Some will be left at the various clinics & hospitals where they have worked. The rest will be packed up tomorrow and stored at a clinic in DR where Dr. Wang regular visits. They will be available for the next Rush team that makes this trip. Mimi also had a chance to see some of her cousins in Haiti again today! SIDE NOTE: Mimi said the people who were arrested for trying to take children from Haiti across the border were staying in the same camp as the team. She remembers seeing them leave!

6:17 AM: Part of the team is packing up supplies for the road trip back to Santo Domingo while the other half (surgery & anesthesia) is at the General Hospital operating. Their DR contact, Alfredo, has come down with the mysterious compound sickness that’s been affecting the team.

11:20 AM: The supplies are packed and the team at the compound is waiting on the bus. They will pick up the rest of the team at the hospital and head for Santo Domingo. They are taking a different route out than they took into Port-Au-Prince which is suppose to be quicker.

12:45 PM: The bus has arrived at the compound.

2:02 PM: They picked up the rest of the team and are headed to the border.

2:46 PM: Rush Blog Post by Dr. Jeff Mjaanes: Heading Home

3:21 PM: They are stuck in some traffic, but it doesn’t lok like it will delay them too long. Luckily they are crossing at a border that is open 24 hours rather than the border that they came in through that closes at 6 PM!

3:25 PM: One of the vehicles traveling along with the team caught on fire! They put it out with dirt. Alfredo is going to stay with the vehicle until it’s towed someplace safe.

4:16 PM: The team is back on their way.

5:34 PM: Rush Blog Post by Dr. John Fernandez: Sacrifice and Compassion

6:10 PM: They have reached the border.

6:17 PM: They decided to stop for a bathroom break. The driver said they have another 5 to 6 hours before reaching their hotel in Santo Domingo.

6:40 PM: Rush Blog Post by Dr. Jeff Mjaanes: Leaving Port-au-Prince

12:10 AM: The team has arrived and settled in at their hotel in Santo Domingo. No WiFi, but the hotel is nice! Alfredo was able to catch up with the team and is staying at the hotel as well. Mimi’s flight doesn’t leave until 11:25 CST, the rest of the team is leaving earlier. They will arrive around 5 PM. Mimi has a 2 1/2 hour layover in NYC and should arrive back in Chicago around 9:50!

12:39 AM: Dr. David Ansell: “We have arrived in Sto Domingo. The group at the General Hospital were picked up by the bus at 3:30. We made a brief stop with the US Military holding up traffic as Jay Dutton found a tracheostomy tube in a bag on the bus and delivered it to the ER while Stephanie checked in on the little baby girl who she brought to the hospital on Thursday. She’s doing well. After a stop at the refugee camp across from the collapsed presidential palace we dropped off supplies that we had left over at the makeshift clinic there. By the time we reached our hotel it was 9 hours later. All safe and sound“.

8:30 AM: The rest of the team has left for the airport.

10:39 AM: Mimi has left for the airport. Her flight is scheduled to d at 11:25 AM CST and scheduled to land in NYC (JFK) at 3:59 PM CST.

10:56 AM: Mimi is just boarded, her flight seems to be on schedule!

2:14 PM: Mimi is a little past half way through her flight:

2:43 PM: The rest of the team is boarding in Philly and should be underway very soon.

4:03 PM: Mimi just landed in NY. Waiting on her call after she goes through customs!

5:12 PM: The rest of the team has landed in Chicago! After some brief interviews with the media they will be arriving home to hot showers and warm beds!

5:45 PM: I just got off of the phone with Mimi. She had a good flight from Santo Domingo and is looking forward to finishing the last leg of her trip home. A bit of news from yesterday…she said that all of the medicine that the team was bringing back to be stored in DR for use by the next team was confiscated at the border. Not sure of all the details related to that. At any rate, she should be back around 9:50 tonight!

8:17 PM: Headed to the airport to pick her up, her flight will be here early!

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