Day 5- A Day of Song

Music seemed to follow our group everywhere today. The Campos team started the morning by singing with the children in the clinic receiving medicine to teach them how to take it properly. They also sang during lunchtime with the children about God. We saw 120 patients today and distributed vitamins to many more children.

The Operating Room was extremely busy today. There were 11 cases completed today and Chris Waldrop, the youngest member of our team, has scrubbed in on several cases and assisted with anesthesia today.

After a delicious dinner the group loaded up on the trucks to head to church. The members of our team who have sponsored students had the opportunity to meet them today and spend time with them. Our group took communion and Liz Toland translated the sermon given by the pastor, Jorge. Our evening was ended in song, just as it began.

Lunch break full of singing with the Campos team.

Dr. Clark as a pediatrician.

Liz Toland translating the sermon at church.

Our main mode of transportation, arriving for the church service.

Teri Bryant demonstrating how we get a warm shower.

Anne Hagan with the cutest.baby.ever. His name is Victor, we will be checking her suitcase for him before we leave.

A neighbor to the school where the clinic was set up today.

May McBurney with a satisfied patient.

Dr. Ellis & Scrub Tech Erica operating.

Lindsey Valentine spending time with her sponsor student, Henesis, playing dress up.

Dr. Delaney with his new sponsor student, Hector, and his mother.

The Mann family spending time with their sponsor student, Junior, and his father before church.

Rounding up the kids to give them albendizole and multivitamins. Lead by Juan Ernesto, the pastor, we all sang (or tried) head, shoulders, knees and toes together.

Day 4- Another Day Full

After attending flagraising and a tour at the CCED school, funded in part by Solid Rock, our teams went their separate ways to start their day.

Today the Campos team ventured to the Southwest again to a school about an hour and a half away to set up a clinic. There the team saw and treated about 90 patients and passed out vitamins to at least 50 additional children.

Today the Operating Room was very busy with 10 surgeries that included a hernia repair by Dr. Madge Ellis, a hystorectomy done by Dr. Mark Gustafson, and a hand reconstruction done by Dr. Hagan. The schedule for the week was filled up today.

We finished off our day with dinner at a local restaurant and ice cream from a local shop.




Dr. Delaney showing a patient that the ear scope is just a light and won't hurt her.

Dr. Joe Clark & daughter Kathleen at the flagraising at the CCED school

Jeanne Harner & Rachel McLease joking around in the scrub room.

Dr. Mann feeding his wife, Patty, some ice cream.

The nurses, interpreters, and other doctors taking picture of Dr. Hagan in surgery.

Diane Moody with a hernia patient in Recovery.

Denise Revercomb comforting a patient in Pre-Op.

Doug Call & Charlie Coulter with a prothetics patient learning to walk.

Suzanne in the new computer lab at the CCED school after flag raising.

Day 3- Our First Full day of Campos Teams, Consultations & a Bit of Surgery

Early Wake Up Call

After an early wake up with the roosters and a hearty breakfast our teams were ready to go. The Campos teams headed Southwest towards the Haitian border near El Cercado and the OR teams set up clinics for morning consultations and scrubbed in this afternoon for some surgeries.

The Campos team saw about 125 patients today spanning the ages of 6 month to 70 year olds. Dr. Cindy Johns and Suzanne Fischer mainly handled the adults while Dr. Russ Delaney learned how to navigate pediatric treatment while out in the countryside. Vitamins were provided for each patient along with additional treatments as needed by Teri Bryant. The team of nurses and translators, foreign and domestic, were also a great help.

At the clinic Dr. Mann, Waldrop, and Hagans all had orthopedic consultations and scheduled about 12 casees. They have nearly filled their schedules for the week and only have a few slots left for Thursday afternoon cases. Today the nurses & doctors saw many trauma injuries as well as congenital deformities.

All the while Bob Williams and David Rupp, the president of Solid Rock Missions, were touring the surrounding neighborhoods lead by Corra Hunse. Corra is involved with the Child Nutrition Program and was showing them the long-term, positive results of the program that are really beginning to develop. They made one stop to see a family of 17 children and thanks to the program, which is going strong, those children were able to receive the nutritional assistance that their family would not have been able to afford otherwise.

Dr. Hagan with his patient who had an extra digit removed.

Dr. Mann on a consultation.

The man who had hernia surgery was being well taken care of by the nurses in the recovery room.

The Campos team posing in front of the breathtaking view from the clinic site of the day.

The intake area where nurses Denise Revercome and Anna Faber took vitals and Liz Tolland translated.



Visiting the family of 17 children benefiting from the Child Nutrition Program near El Cercado.

Day 2- Getting Settled and Unpacked

San Juan de la Maguana

After a long journey, one that was extended for some due to flight cancellations, our whole team has made it to the Guesthouse in San Juan. While in Santo Domingo we met with our church's sponsored medical student, Miguelina. She just graduated from medical school and we presented her with a graduation gift over breakfast before leaving for San Juan. Our church's ministerial intern, Elizabeth Toland, has joined us and is serving as our spiritual leader and is doing a great job. She will be leading the Bibles & Bricks trip to San Juan this July.

This afternoon everyone was in the process of unpacking surgical supplies and organizing medications and multivitamins. We are prepared to start early tomorrow with half of our group doing consultations at the clinic at the Guesthouse and the other half going into the surrounding areas to run a sattelite clinic.

Getting the pharmacy storage room unpacked and organized
A group went to The Jim Smith School to check out the construction that has been completed in the past and to meet the principal, Angela.

Some students of the Jim Smith school posing by the Elementary classrooms built by and with the support of Second Presbyterian Church.

Presenting Miguelina with a graduation gift.

Touch down! We have made it to our hotel safely! We will post pictures and a more detailed update tomorrow!

Made it To Miami

Wheels Up! We departed the church at 7 this morning for Raleigh and have touched down in Miami. Our flight is scheduled to leave on time at 5: 30 for Santo Domingo and everyone is ready to get there! We will try to make a post from Santo Domingo when we land.

All Packed and Getting Excited!!

Dominican Republic 2011

After two consecutive Monday night packing meetings our group is ready to go!!
Tomorrow we will be meeting at the church to load up the bus in preparation for our 7:00 AM departure Saturday morning. We hope to reach Santo Domingo around 8:30 PM (7:30 EST) Saturday evening!

Upon arrival Monday at the Guesthouse in San Juan de la Maguana we are expecting weather in the 80's and partly cloudy skies all week. I will be posting daily updates from sunny San Juan, so stay tuned for photos of our group in action!

Hasta Luego,
Mary Chandler Pruette