Today was surgery day, aka nervous wreck day (for me). Marie Elande and I headed down to the hospital on a moto around 8:30. We had a bag packed with the essentials: clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, sheets, blankets, and toilet paper because absolutely none of those things are provided for you. The doctor said to be there at 8:30 so I was a bit nervous we were late but then we discovered he wasn’t there yet and the pharmacy where we needed to buy the syringes, IV drip, etc. didn’t open until 9:30. So around 10 we finally went into the actual hospital to prepare for the surgery. We visited with the doctor briefly at which point I paid him. He took the money, put it in an envelope, and stuffed it in a desk drawer and told us to go wait by the surgery room. Oh Haiti.
After more waiting, Marie went in to the surgery room to be prepped with an IV. Then after a little more wait time the anesthesiologist arrived. At this point it was 2 and I was getting restless and increasingly nervous. Junior and I left for a bit to do some business in town and came back to find Marie resting in hospital bed with her mother at her side. She was alert but clearly worn out. She was too weak to get up for the bathroom so my friend Simon did me a favor and tracked down some diapers. I promised her I would return tomorrow with something to eat (she hadn’t eaten all day) and drink. Hopefully she will recover quickly, without infection. Surgery is a tough way to start out summer vacation but hopefully her stay won’t last too long. Continued prayers are welcome and I will give an update sometime over the weekend.
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