Day Nine

Brian's update:
"We had the privilege of having OH5's Team Commander, Bill Devir, speak on the conference call tonight and he wanted to let you know that it was a very hot day in the mid 90's.
Sunday in Haiti is a quiet day. Many Haitians addend church and businesses close. Fortunately for the team, the Portalet service and trash pick-up came for them today! Last night at Thebaud Hospital (OH5's hospital name)they had Reggae Saturday. The workers who work with them brought their friends who played Haitian Reggae and some US music. Maybe they'll come back tonight?
Most of what they are seeing at the Thebaud have been routine health care issues and less trauma. They did send out a strike team to the food distribution to make patient contact there. They located a patient that required further care and transferred pt's. "

Brian also posted e-mails that were sent to the commander to send out, but nothing from Aaron. I attribute that to the fact that he's not with "our "team. He was pulled to the OH5 team because the needed a pediatrician..

Home front: We just got done watching Aaron save the life of a 6 month old on Dateline. It was awesome! My favorite part was when Aaron, Ryan and Sarah were sitting around after the fact and Ryan says, "When they play that in slow motion on TV what music do you want playing in the background?" Aaron and his wittiness didn't skip a beat, "Faith Hill's Just Breathe." Way to go Intern of the Year. Yes, that was filmed a year and a half ago, just after his first year of residency. I'm so proud of him! I don't know what I did to deserve him, but it must have been pretty good. I'm a lucky lady.

Day Eight

Brian didn't have much of anything to say tonight.

"Good Evening. On the conference call tonight we did not have a Haiti representative on line but were told that some of the treatment areas are staying busy and some have started slowing down. NDMS (national disaster medical system) is looking at other tasks being assigned and they have put additional teams on alert and they should be mobilized by Monday. These teams will be relieving teams there sometime next week and/or taking on their assignments. I anticipate that we may know something about our team ans preparations to bring them back sometime early to mid week, so I will keep you posted as that information becomes available.

The team celebrated their first delivery. Attached is a photo of mom and newborn.

Yesterday's stats revealed the following: On 29 Jan there were 273 HHS personnel in Haiti. Their mission was: US Embassy, Geheskio, PaP Airport, Teptionville, Thebaud (whis is the OH5 medical treatment site), and Promesse. The DMAT team at Port Varreux, where the USS Comfort is located, has been taken over by E-MEDS. Patients seen yesterday (by all teams combined) was 1,366 for a total of 18,587 pt's total for all teams since their arrival."

So I guess all is well and we will be waiting for early to mid week to find out when Aaron gets to come home. I talked to our friend Ken Pearce tonight. He just got home and was calling to apologize that he couldn't find Aaron to say good bye before he left the island. So he sent some LDS guy named Jeff from the US State Department of Diplomate Security (I think that's his title, I could be wrong) to "hunt" Aaron down and make sure he was doing alright and let him know that Ken went home. Ken's a good guy, always looking out for us, from afar. He says Aaron is his best friend.

Home front: Nice and cold and covered with ice. A friend offered to watch my kids so I could have some alone time to shop. It was much needed. I ventured out on the icy roads and got some fabric to make the girls some spring dresses and skirts. Then off to the grocery store. Friends and neighbors have been so good to us with Aaron being gone.

Tomorrow Bishop has decided not to start church until 12:00, so the road will have time to defrost before we all start making our trek. And he's only holding Sacrament Meeting. Nice! I think I can do that.

Day Seven (Half way there...I think)

Brian's update:
"Good evening. I did get some blips of information about the team tonight and they have been much busier today. They say aprox 77 pt's today. They had one baby that had over night that was febrile, that baby was discharged today. Also had another baby come in that they are keeping, also febrile. They sent out a strike team today and they treated 12 pt's in the field. Dr. Kwiatek and Steve Onder were busy doing hospital assessments today.

There was a large number of NGA (non governmental agencies) who arrived in the compound today. Some of these agencies are there for child adoption, another group are engineers who will assess the local buildings for structural soundness, etc.

The team commander stated the weather todays was 91 degrees and sunny. He reports all are healthy there. Drinking like crazy and acquiring a taste for MRE's--scary!"

I forgot to post an article from our local news station you can read it here. Kind of cool. Speaking of media: be sure to watch DATELINE Sunday night. A documentary crew followed the residents from our PICU for a month to get "a day in the life of" what they do. They mostly followed two of Aaron's friends, but we think Aaron will make an appearance. They happened to be filming when some kid coded, they have Aaron doing CPR and then they interviewed him after. SO DATELINE this SUNDAY NIGHT.

Home front: We have been in the middle of an ice storm today. It feels like it's raining ice pellets. The roads are a sheet of ice. No school today, which I thought was crazy this morning, but as the day went on, I was very glad I didn't have to go out and pick them up. The kids have had fun sledding on the ice and "ice skating" on our driveway. It was a good day. I have had the gas fire on all day. We are happy and well.

Day Six

Update from Brian. Not much of an update.

"Hello everyone. Not a whole lot of news coming in tonight that is specific to the OH5 team. With today being the first day that their Medical unit was officially open and managed by the OH5 team, I am betting they are very busy.

The report I heard tonight was in reference to the team stationed at Petion Ville medical sight. They also have strike teams that went out into the villages to look for those with medical needs. One story was of a 7 year old child they found with bilateral femur fractures and others in need of medical care. They are doing a terrific job.

I have attached a map that gives you an idea of where some of the medical facilities are. The OH5 Medical side is not marked on the map but it is about where the word Toussaint is located on the description of the airport. This mas has the team names that were there on Jan 23rd. That information is not current any longer as these teams have sent home and replaced."

So I guess our team is doing okay? No real news is good news at this point.

Home front: All is well. We had a quiet day. No excitement today. Kids are doing well, homework is being done, spelling words are being learned.

Day Five

Update:
"Good evening. We were fortunate to have Bill Devir, our team commander, on the conference call tonight. So we learned some details about the medical site where the OH5 team is located. The Israeli hospital did shut down to demobilize and the DMAT team came in to setup. Even though the hospital was closed there were patients showing up, so they only saw about 16, with 2 that gave them some excitement. One a maternity and one a gunshot wound.

The Israelis were seeing lots of pediatric patients and delivered 16 patients during their stint at this medical site. The site does have large tents so the staff is not sleeping in pup tents and they even have Porta potty's, so life is good in that respect. The 82nd infantry did move in and they are also staging all their military at this site also. So with the ratio of medical to military security, the team is more than secure which they are thankful for. They do have a curfew at night so the traffic is very limited as well. Tomorrow they officially open back up, so they are expecting to see large volumes of patients."

That's all Brian had for me tonight. Sounds like things shut down for a day or so to get Israel out and us in, but things will be rolling again. I still don't know what kind of shifts they are working. I'm assuming things don't shut down at night...they still have patients that need care during the night, even if they don't take new ones. I'm hoping Aaron will have so great stories when he gets home.

Home front: Same old, same old. What am I thinking? that's not true. at. all. Becky, across the street has been sick for a long time, found out a few days ago she has a lung infection. She started coughing so hard today she couldn't breathe well. She called me to help while Mike was racing home from work. Then she started having an anxiety attack on top of that. We called 911 and the paramedics came and monitored her until all was well.

Then a few hours later I look out the window and see 2 police cars across the street at the Howard's. What in the world?? Come to find out they were having troubles with their oldest son. I think he's 17, he's autistic and has something else going on as well. I guess he got really aggressive and violent, started throwing things and punching walls. They couldn't get him to calm down, and he's so big they couldn't restrain him. Hence the police came. He's in a behavioral hospital for the next little while until they can figure out what's going on.

So our quiet little West Point cul-da-saq (aka: Mayberry) was not so quiet today. I like quiet. Quiet is good. At least my little crew is quiet (okay, so our house is rarely quiet, but we have never had to call 911). I made jambalaya and homemade bread for dinner tonight. We shared with all the neighbors. They were happy. I was happy.

Random thought: I was getting Halle ready for bed a few minutes ago. She had a stinky diaper. I said, "Oooo Halle you stink." Halle: "Oooo dat's sick mama." Hopefully it won't be too much longer until she's ready to potty train.

Day Four

Just got word from my new best friend Brian (the communication guy from the team). Here's the report.

"Good evening. Last evening's report gave me the impression that the DMAT team was assigned to the embassy, but further communication this morning clarified that they bedded the OH5 team down at embassy ground last night as the crew had been up all night traveling to Haiti.

On tonight's team call we learned that the OH5 team will be taking over the field hospital for the Israeli Army. They will not be doing surgery at the sight but will be continue the medical care to those victims.

In the last 24 hours the teams have treated over 825 pt's. There were many stories shared tonight of the wonderful care the teams have given."

Home front: all is well. we had a great dinner with friends...even with Halle being a wild woman. People have been so good to us. Really. I don't feel like anything has changed, whether Aaron is at work or out of the country. Sad, but true. I did find myself waiting for the phone to ring last night like it usually does when he's on his way home from work. No ring.

Today I took Isaac to the eye doctor, he's just like his father...needs glasses.

Day Three

Aaron left Atlanta early this morning...like the middle of the night, and arrived in Haiti first thing this morning. I got what I thought was a random call from an old friend in Michigan, Ken Pearce. Saying. "Amy, I just saw Aaron at the airport. they are unloading and getting to their station." What? So, Ken is a major communication guy. The Church sent him down to set up communication for them and it just so happened that Aaron was there too. Small world when your Mormons.

I received an e-mail from Ohio 5's (the DMAT team Aaron is with) communications guy (Brian). He will have a conference call every evening at 6. Then he will send all the families an e-mail. This was the one from today.

"We just finished the Team Conference call they stated that the OH-5 team has be assigned to the US Embassy instead of the Gheskio clinic and are raring to go.

The teams are obviously very busy providing patient care. The report tonight stated that the teams there have treated 1,245 patients.

At this time I have no further information but will keep you posted on anything new."

Day Two

It's day two. The original plan was to leave Atlanta this morning and head to Haiti. However, the government learned from the first round of DMAT teams, that they needed to be A LOT stricter on who goes. So they have all been through "fit testing". No one with a BMI over 30 (I think that's what Aaron said), no one taking any kind of Rx (other than the malaria pill they have to take), and a few other stipulations. Aaron said several people were sent home. The fact of the matter is, DMAT is there to take care of the Haitians...not team members.

So as of this morning Aaron leaves the hotel at 1am Monday morning and flies out shortly after. His team will deploy with the Surgical team. They will both be working in a field hospital located on a soccer field. That's all we know right now.

He said that there were several problems with people sending out text messages. So they have a communication man who is to send family members daily updates. I will post those on here and probably Facebook.

Oh...to answer a question...He will be gone for 2 weeks. So not long, but long enough.

Day One

Aaron got the call from Washington DC that he has been waiting for.

"Hello"

"Dr. Gardner, this is so and so from NDMS, are you ready deploy?"

"Yes"

"You will leave tomorrow morning, we will e-mail your flight plans. You will need a typhoid vaccine today."

"I got it yesterday, I will be waiting for my flight plans."

"Thank you, goodbye."

That was it. He called me as I was dropping of the kids at school...my stomach sunk a bit from nerves, but at the same time I was so excited for him.

He spent the entire day repacking, picking up prescriptions (so he doesn't get sick), and getting everything covered at the hospital. He's funny, I just followed behind with his check list...both adding to it and checking things off. By 7:00pm everything was checked off. He could relax for a bit.

We dropped him off at the airport this morning. DAY ONE. The plan was to fly to Atlanta, meet up with the other DMAT team members, and be briefed on their mission. Then Sunday, they will fly to Haiti and let the craziness begin.

He has been told that they can't get phone calls out, but they can get text and occasional e-mails out. I told him to send little one liners just so I know all is well. I will post what I get from day to day, for those who want to be in the loop.

As for us here at home...all is well...nothing has changed. Isaac won his basketball game this morning and we have another one tonight. We have many wonderful people watching out for us and taking care of us. Not that I am incapable of being a single mom for such a short time, but it's nice to know people love us and want to help. We are blessed.

"Tent City" as crews now call the make-shift homes of thousands of Haitians. Hundreds of people line up to receive medical assistance, resources, or both.

Superhero Minutes

Caite called a mandatory Superhero meeting this morning. So with paper in hand to take note on their mission, 3 Supermen and a magical fairy (and Halle) gathered around the table.

Caite: "I'll turn all the bad guys into frogs..."
Hayden: "...and if you miss any we we'll take them down".

And thus began our Superhero day. I have been a frog more than once today.

Ready and Willing

For the sake of journaling I need to start at the beginning.

A massive, 7.0 earthquake hit Port au Prince Haiti on Tuesday Jan. 12, leaving the country completely devastated. I read that 80-90% of the buildings/houses are destroyed, leaving those who survived homeless, without food or water. I don't think they know how many have died, it's probably safe to say there will be many who will never be found under all the concrete. I read an article a few days ago that said there were over 1,500 bodies piled up outside the Port au Prince General Hospital and more being added every day. I cry when I watch the news stories, I would love to go and hold those little ones who have lost parents. I would love to comfort parents who have lost their children. My heart goes out to the country.

Aaron is a member of DMAT (disaster medical assistance team). It's a team set up by the federal government for this exact purpose. There are several teams located all over the country. who respond to the big disasters in the US. They have never been deployed outside of the country, until now. We have already deployed 3 DMAT teams to Haiti. 2 have set up field hospitals and another has been teamed up with the Coast Guard. Aaron has been put on alert with bags packed, passport, and stethoscope in hand for the next 6 weeks. He has his hand raised, "take me, I will go." This is the kind of stuff he dreams about.

The hospital also called him asking if he had a passport. The hospital was contacted by the government and placed "on call" with our transport teams. The plan is, when they get the signal, our teams will fly to Haiti pick up those in the field hospitals, load them onto big medical airplanes with all the equipment needed to keep them alive, and transport them to hospitals who can care for them. Aaron wasn't told which hospitals, I'm assuming some in Puerto Rico, Miami, and other big places who can handle them. Once again his hand is raised saying, "take me, I will go."

I hope he gets to go. It would be a chance of a life time. Although he really wants to do it over and over again. I was talking to a friend of mine and she said, "are you going to let him go?" Seriously??? Do you have to think about that?? A two week deployment is nothing when you look at the devastation in Haiti. There isn't much I can do for these people. I can't fly down and hold them, I don't have any money to send...so if Aaron gets a chance to go, I feel like we as a family are helping. Doing some good to people who need it.

Last night Aaron had to take new applicants to dinner which meant I had to take all the kids to Isaac's late practice. It's from 7-8 not too late, but my 3 little kids are usually in bed by 7:30. I let Caite and Hayden take a ball to play in the gym...not such a good idea. Halle was a MANIAC! She kept throwing the ball on the court and running after it screaming at the top of her lungs. So I had to keep running after her. I tried to entertain her on the side lines, but she was a complete mess. One of the other moms was watch and started to laugh.

I responded, "Do you want a 2 year old?"

She responded, "I know your are worn out, but it's better than my 16 year old who is trying to make me a grandma."

Enough said!

Yes, I'm worn out, yes I get frazzled. By the end of the day I feel like I have nothing else to give...but my kids are still young and I can still control their environment. We will continue to have family scriptures and prayers...even if Isaac is mad and covers is hears most of the time. I pray that the things we are doing now to teach them the Gospel and strengthen their testimonies will really take root so they can be strong and confident in their choices as they grow. I want them to understand that living a the Gospel makes life so much easier and truly brings happiness.

New Do

Aaron has been asking me for weeks to cut Caites hair off. He LOVES her hair with a chin length bob. So...do to an unfortunate gum mishap, Aaron's wish came true. It didn't take any convincing of Caite, only mom. I love doing her long hair, but I do have to admit, she looks pretty dang cute sporting her short bob.

What I have been ENJOYING so far

Last night we went across the street to the Rose's to watch the Cowboys play. Because it was late the kids went in the pajamas. The kids ENJOYED playing in Alex's room, and I ENJOYED spending time with Becky. Not much game watching was done. However, Isaac informed us every time the Cowboys scored.

Last Sunday as we were getting in our car to go to Church, it started snowing. The kids were very excited to see the flutters. Unfortunately that's all it was. Although it did call for school cancellation that next day. Go figure. We got to ENJOY an extra day of Christmas Vacation.

How can you not love these sleeping beauties. I think they are super cute. I also ENJOY our quiet house when everyone goes to bed. It is much needed after a house full of crazies all day.

This is the youngest of the Crazies I watch. He's super cute and fun to have around the house. Watching him and 2 other Crazy boys allows me to stay at home and ENJOY my own kids.


You will find us ENJOYING Isaac play basketball every Mon, Tues, and Sat. He loves it and is doing quiet well. But, I think I will ENJOY next month when we can have those evenings free again.

Halle Speaks

Halle can now say EVERYTHING. Her favorite word is Mama, mama, mama. I probably hear it a thousand times a day as she follows me around. It's cute in the morning, but by evening I don't want to be mama anymore. Today I got my coat on to take the trash out and this was my conversation with Halle:

H: Where go Mama? Go Chuch?

Me: No we went to church this morning, I'm taking out the trash.

H: Oh, I yike chuch.

Me: Do you like nursery?

H: I yike sing. "Sumbee, Sumbee, Jesus Sumbee."

She's a pretty cute little girl! We all adore her and are very happy Heavenly Father sent her to us. Isaac asked me the other day if "we could have another Halle." My answer, "No, because what if we get another Isaac?"

My Word for 2010

A Friend of mine has a "word for the year" that she chooses and then works all year on developing the appropriate characteristics within herself or her family. I have thought about what word I would like to choose for the year. After much thought and evaluation of my personality and situation I have chosen:

Enjoy!

I have a tendency of taking on too much and doing more than I need to. Which leaves me feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and frazzled. I find myself rushing through my obligations or tasks so I can get on with the next. I rarely slow down and ENJOY what I'm doing. Although daily life will still take place around here, I can slow down a bit. It hit me hard when Halle turned 2 that our kids are growing up very fast. I can't make time slow down, therefore I need to enjoy this time I do have.

I was reading in 3 Nephi a while ago and was reminded of a great lesson. Christ was teaching and visiting with the Nephites. It is about time for him to go and administer to other tribes, but he stays to "tarry a little longer with them". If He had time to tarry and enjoy the moment, I think I can also.

May this year be ENJOYABLE for all of us.