3/7/10 - Team 7, Day 1

Update from James Dudley, MD:

Today, we have tried get oriented, organized, and ready for tomorrow, when our real work was supposed to begin. Unfortunately, just as we were finishing our inventory of supplies a young man was brought, sweaty, pale, and clammy. His family brought his medications; a small Walmart bag with five cardiac meds. He had undergone cardiac surgery in Indiana a year ago and was fragile even before he became ill yesterday with a fever, diarrhea and abdominal pain. He was critically ill, probably with sepsis. He required vigorous resuscitation, including a central line and intubation, as well as transfer to the field hospital near the airport that has been set up by the University of Miami. There they have ventilators and Intensive Care Units, all in tents. If anyone is looking for an adventure, ride in the back of ambulance, lights and sirens blasting, through the unlit streets of Port au Prince at night, crowded with tens of thousands of people on foot and bicycles. So our real real work starts in the morning.