02/20/09

At lunch today, Thom asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital. An old student who went to Sonlight had had a baby that night and needed a ride home. I had never been to the hospital so I gladly said I would. We finished up eating and then headed out.

The hospital isn't that far from Sonlight; maybe a ten minute ride or so. When we arrived I wasn't too surprised at what I saw. I had heard that the hospitals weren't very clean and this was no exception. The hospital was pretty dirty and I don't remember opening a door to go in. I believe the door was just left open. As I walked inside, there were a few people on beds in the hallway. As we reached the end, there was a large open room with bed after bed with mostly women lying in them. It seemed that most of the women I saw were pregnant, but I wasn't inside the room but a few minutes and then we were heading out. It was an interesting experience though we weren't there too long. It does make a person wonder how it is any better than just staying home. I guess the difference is within the care and knowledge of the doctors who are working there. From what I have heard, there are some very good Haitian doctors here.