Felisitasyon

We managed to see patient nonm mil this afternoon. Today, alone, we saw a record number of women: one hundred and eight. If I do say so myself, we functioned like a well-oiled machine (not surprising, considering the amount of practice we have had by this point). We will continue seeing people tomorrow, until the last of our vials/test reagents run out (which should be after some 50-60 additional women are seen). I continue to be amazed by the turnout. Women have come from well beyond Leogane; five of our patients last week came from some remote village/town with a name I did not recognize: it took them over 24 hours to get to our clinic. It is simply amazing to think that mere word of mouth was sufficient for us to reach such distances and secure 1000 patients in a short period of time. Now, the difficulty will be the necessity of turning people away (particularly those who have traveled a long way, necessitating the expenditure of both time and money) once we run out of tests. These women are well informed and willing to address their healthcare needs, they just lack the means to do so.

Our next task: follow-up of women who have been seen at the clinic over the past one and a half years. Many of these women never came back for their results or never returned for appropriate treatments. Previous research at the clinic has demonstrated that approximately 20% of the population will test HPV positive, with nearly 5% having cervical cancer. Thus, follow-up is key, and is obviously severely lacking! My main concern over the next three weeks: getting this follow-up underway and getting it done now that Jackie has returned to the States! Instead of using her as my constant translator, I am now on my own… a scary thought indeed.

(And, of course, a more self-centered concern: the likely onset of intense boredom…)