Journey to Cap Haitien

Once we were finished in Pignon we traveled by truck to Cap Haitien. "Cap" is the second largest city in Haiti and is located on the northern coast of the country. Its about 50 nautical miles to Cuba.

Lucy had to travel with the luggage in a truck ahead of us. The roads were beyond desciption. To give you an example. The distance to Cap is only about 25 miles but it takes 4.5 hours to travel there by road! Initially we had hoped to take a plane ride down but the only plane available was the 182. By this time we had all had enough of the 182 and we were looking forward to seeing the country side. I must say that during this trip I was able to see a good majority of the country and the extremes of city life to country life. This trip to Cap over unbelivable roads was awesome. To describe or even show you pictures of the roads wouldnt do justice to some of the ruts, holes, and incongruities. Luckily we had a relatively new Land Crusiser and it did a remarkable job navigating the terrain. If there are any Land Rover dealers out there who would like to film an offroad comercial....the road to Cap is your place! haha I actually mentioned that this would be a great place to have an off road rally. Much like the race across Baja.

Our land rover and a picture of some of the typical roads.

This is a view of the Citadel. It was build after the revolution around 1808. It sits atop a mountain overlooking Cap.

There were people all along the road carrying produce to market.

This guy was ina hurry to get somewhere.

This is an example of the "tap-tap's" Its how most people get around the country. As you can see the bus in the background there are people all over the top of the bus as well. Its amazing that more people aren't hurt in auto accidents becasue of the road conditions and overcrowded transportation. We saw many people in our Pignon clinic who road the TapTap's from 6 HOURS to come and see us. It puts into perspective how determined and desparate the people were for health care.



This is a video of the second river crossing on the way to Cap. This was the dry season so crossing the river wasnt as dangerous.

this gives you an idea of how narrow and crowded the streets were in Cap. Motorcycles zooming in and out of the traffic jams. Lots of near misses and random cars pull out into traffic. Imagine your local city with no street lights, no lines on the road but surprisingly it works!

This is a view from one of the bridge crossings in Cap. Note the shanty towns along the river.

This is a view of Cap from the mountains.

Made it to Pignoon and been very busy.

So the next day (Sunday) we left Port au Prince to pignon aboard the 182.

Thankfully they filled the plane up before take off!

The co-pilot was busy taking pictures. Luckily we had a great Pilot.





View of the surrounding sky and mountains near Port au Prince

Beautiful day. No problems until about 15 minutes from pignon and the weather turned bad. We had to set the plane down on a runway in a village called Hinch. But I would not call it a runway. We had to fly over the strip to clear off the goats, chickens and people. Then when we landed it was all rock. I thought the landing gear was going to come off. I have always wanted to know what a carrier landing was like and this was probably the closest I will come. Luckily we got the plane stopped and the pilot said "see no problem man'". Holy cow. But he was an excellent pilot.

We were swarmed by people and waited out the storm under the wing of the plane.


It was Sunday and the this little guy had come from church.

Got back in about an hour later and flew to Pignon. It had a nice grass strip that was smooth. Here is a video of the landing on the grass field.

Arrived at the dorm and immediately went to clinic. Dr. Fogarty and the team had already signed up a bunch of patients. The hospital was unbelievable. People everywhere in the corners, halls, some bad trauma.

Monday we operated until about 7:00pm and then had clinic until 8:00pm. Holy cow I was beat all day. Not to mention I didn't sleep at all Sunday night due to the roosters outside my window. They started at 1:00am and never stopped. uggg.

So far we have done 3 cleft lips, a palate, a latissimus flap for a bad burn contracture of the right arm a bad finger burn contracture. Many others as well. I believe we have 40 cases scheduled this week.

The little ones with the cleft lips were soooo cute. There was one who was 8 y/o (named Jessica) who just smiled like it was the only emotion she had. really sweet.

Finished a little early yesterday and Stuart, Maria and I climbed the 2000 foot peak here in Pignon. Wow what a climb. Straight up. Wasn't really a trail more like a water shed area. Gorgeous view from the top. Reminded me a lot of Africa.

Stuart on the Trailand Our Talkitive Guides to the top of the mountian

The view form the top. Pignon is in the distance at the base of the hill.

Also went to the local cemetery where there were voodoo dolls hanging from the trees. Interesting aspect of death here. You only rent space at the cemetery. A lot of open graves with bones of the dead just lying in the dirt. Very surreal and a little spooky.

Detour in Port au Prince

Power is in and out here so I will be brief.
Flew in to Port au Prince yesterday afternoon. The airplane that we were supposed to be flying on had mechanical problems and had been canceled. The only option was a Cessna 182 a small single engine 3 seater plus the pilot. We had 8 adults and 14 50lb bags.

So we all had to stand on scales with our bags and Maria and I devised this flight schedule that could handle the weight.

The streets of Port au Prince while driving to the hotel.

The presidential palace in Port.

Overall four flights up into the mountains. the first two flights made it ok while myself, maria, and her mom waited at the airport. Funny thing was Dr. Fogarty negociated three flights before he left but it was going to take four and told the guy the tall guy with glasses would pay. Only problem was I didn't have any money! haha So I had Dr. Roge loan me the money from his stash, plus mine, and Sandy's and we were able to get enough. It was like some deal at the airport to get us on a the last minute. Dr. Roge and his wife and some bags made it on the second flight. However the weather in the mountains worsened and we couldn't make it out. But the experienced team members with all the money and the two French speakers had already flown away! haha So here we were stuck with about 8 bags and three people at 5:00 pm in port au prince with no contacts! yikes. Luckily the driver Nadar showed up to check on us. Was really a great guy and drove us to the Le plaza hotel in downtown port au prince.

The poverty along the way was startling. Overcrowded. Crazy drining, no stoplights or stop signs. People hanging off the bus. But we made it to the hotel fine with a shot gun weilding security guard. Met two nice Americans from St Louis for dinner. Had an ice cold shower and washed my clothes in the bathtub with a bar of soap. Dinner was great. Haitian rice, carrots bread, water and beer (Called Prestige). Excellent comarardary and a safe, fun ending to a long day. Heading up into the mountains today at 9:00am (10:00am est) on the 182! wish us luck. I have lots of pictures but the computer has locked me out. So I will update them when I can.
Cheers!

On our way!

The Team

David Fogarty
Lucy Pierce, RN
Stuart Niel, MD - Anesthesiologist
Claude Roge, M.D. - Pediatric Cardiologist
Sandra Kertz, RN - Recovery Nurse
Shelly Roge - Patient Liason
Maria Kertz - Community Service
Tom McClellan

So you want to know more about us and Pignon, Haiti?

So this is going to be my first attempt at Blogging. Despite being pretty fluent in computers I have never had the time or inclination to blog. However after being asked to go on this trip I thought it would be a great way to share the experience and draw attention to the organization (WV Interplast). So in advance I want to apologize to everyone reading this that I am a terrible typist and speller. I will try and remember to use spell check but no promises.

To be honest I don't even know if they have Internet access at the hospital in Pignon but I am taking the chance that they do so in hopes I can continue this blog. I hope to be able to share the journey through words and send photos and possibly video. (no promises) We will just see how it goes.

I have always wanted to go on a trip like this. Dreamed of it. It really isn't the best time in my career (just started a year ago) because I am trying to build a business and wrestle with the growing pains that all businesses go through. However David Fogarty, a local retired Plastic Surgeon, made me an offer I couldn't refuse....literally people, I couldn't refuse it......I tried. He said, "Boy, if you wait for the perfect time to go it will never happen. There is never a perfect time to go." So I signed up. He is right. To make a difference you have to sacrifice and just volunteer. But as the time has gotten closer I have gotten more excited to the point now I cant wait to get started.

So what do I know about Haiti...well nothing really. I know its a Carribean country that shares a border with the Dominican Republic and is considered the poorest country in the western hemisphere. I will try and share some history with you below as I research it further. Most of this information I am going to paraphrase from wikipedia or other Internet resources so I don't pretend its my composition. But hey what can you do...


Got this from the CIA website...no close up spy photos though. See the link for your own reading: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html

The native Taino Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by COLUMBUS in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola, and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island, which later became Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE. After a prolonged struggle, Haiti became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. After an armed rebellion led to the forced resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE in February 2004, an interim government took office to organize new elections under the auspices of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Continued violence and technical delays prompted repeated postponements, but Haiti finally did inaugurate a democratically elected president and parliament in May of 2006.

Capital - Port-au-prince
Size - Slightly smaller than the state of Maryland.
Highest point -Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m
Population -8,924,553
Life expectancy at birth - 57.56 years (Unbelievable in the 21 century) In the USA its 78.14 years
Economy - Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 80% of the population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty. Two-thirds of all Haitians depend on the agricultural sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming, and remain vulnerable to damage from frequent natural disasters, exacerbated by the country's widespread deforestation.


Pignon, where we are headed is a small town in the north central highlands of Haiti. Its about 30 min flight south of Cap Haitien. A small hospital was founded there in the 80's.

See the hospital website at:


http://www.pignon.org/