Medical clinic

Yesterday was a holiday so I was able to tag along with a doctor to a medical clinic in a small village near the Dominican border. I had heard that it was sooo beautiful, with a natural spring feeding the lake nearby. It was an interesting day. I witnessed a minor surgery. A young lady (17 years old?) came in with a growth on her neck just below her ear. Dr. Ed was a bit apprehensive because he was worried that it had grown into other parts of her neck, most importantly a main artery. But he agreed to open it up, take a look around and then if necessary sew it up again. Thankfully, he was able to remove it and the girl was very happy. I tried to watch the surgery but have to admit that I felt a bit weak and had to sit down on the other side of the room. After that I sat right beside her but where I couldn't see the operation and tried to encourage her. The rest of the day was pretty quiet with colds, fevers and sore stomaches. But then this guy walked in with his foot all wrapped in a bloody cloth and said he has just cut his foot with a machete. Because of the amount of blood I was worried that he had cut a chunk off his foot, but actually when all the blood was cleaned up it was just a little cut (only needing 3 stitches). It had so much blood because of where the cut was. So that was my exciting day out of PAP. We went to see the spring and I could see the potential for beauty but was saddened by the garbage and the evidence of human beings everywhere. Ah... the story of Haiti.