Early start to a long day. Marie Elande and I jumped on a moto around 7am on this cloudy morning. I of course forgot to make sure Marie had a jacket…some surrogate mom I am. We got to Fermathe and the taptap station without any flat tires or other distractions. There was only one bus at the station so we didn’t waste any time loading up. Because it was the only one the front seats were unfortunately already taken so we were forced to sit all the way in the back. Being a taptap as many people as possible piled in which meant I was sitting with Marie on my lap, holding my motorcycle helmet and coffee to-go mug as well as my purse. Not even close to comfortable. The ride went well…only two scares: when she told me she thought she was going to puke and when she said she had to pee. The helmet could have saved us if the first bodily function occurred. I would have been forced to burn it later but it would have gotten the job done. For the latter I was helpless. My prayers must have been heard because we made it to Petionville dry and smelling as delightful as you can after a sweaty ride with 15 strangers.
We grabbed some drinks and breakfast at a supermarket, met up with Junior and continued on our journey. We walked down the road a bit. At each crossing I had to drag Marie Elande to get her across in time…not being familiar with the city life she was understandable convinced that every car we passed would hit us so when Junior and I ran during a break in traffic she wasn’t convinced and would dig her heels in. Made Haiti traffic even more exciting for sure. The next taptap we got on was a big bus with high tech buzzers you push to let the driver in front know you need to get off. Fancy. Traffic going down to Port Au Prince was not very kind so we were in the big fancy bus for about an hour moving at a snail’s pace…a snail that had taken too much Benadryl, drank that strawberry milk.
When we finally arrived at the hospital I was surprised to find it was actually an office with a few specialists. Good news as this meant there wouldn’t be long lines of the general public seeking medical attention. Marie’s mother and older sister met us there and we were seen right away for the blood work. Marie did not like getting a needle in her arm at all. She didn’t cry much but kept reaching to pull it out. Between me, her mom, and the nurse who was excellent, we managed to convince her to leave the needle alone. Promises of candy? Bribes of ice cream? Perhaps, but it got the job done. We then waited for the sonogram to take place. Maybe one hour wait and she was in with the doctor. Marie and her mother went in and were back out in 15 minutes or so. I was impressed with the whole experience.
We said goodbye to Marie’s family and ventured on for more transportation fun. Luckily we landed a taptap fairly quickly and it was a truck bed with a cover so it was fairly cool. Oh, but then traffic decided to act like a jerk again and we sat for about an hour and a half. Another snail overdosed on Benadryl. And now it was 2ish so plenty hot. With a 7 year old sleeping on your lap that makes it extra spicy hot. Finally in Petionville we grabbed some lunch at a Haitian restaurant then found the next taptap running to Fermathe. No puking thank God…I was worried a stomach full of pork and rice wouldn’t sit well on a ride up the winding mountain roads. But we had managed to score a seat in the front which may have helped. Good because I really didn’t want to have to burn my helmet.
Oh mountain air at last. Me and Marie took the last leg of our trip by moto up to the center around 3:30. Long day but productive and relatively stress free. Now we wait for the results of the sonogram. Pray the doctors will recommend surgery to prevent this hernia from becoming a painful problem for Marie in her future. I will gladly partake in hospital adventures part 3 if it means her hernia will be healed.
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