After our 3-hour car ride from Hinche to Port Au Prince, checking our much reduced baggage, and settling in to await our flight, Viola fainted and threw up all over the floor. Although she has had episodes like this before, it was still quite dramatic and worrisome for all of us. We laid her down on the floor and I rubbed ice on her neck and back until she felt better to sit up. She borrowed an extra skirt from Norrell and felt good enough to walk onto the plane. The plane ride was uncomfortable and harrowing for her though, vomitting again twice. By the last leg of our trip, Miami to JFK, she had stopped throwing up but was now experiencing body aches all over. Could this be chikungunya? Ugh. She was able to lay across 2 seats with her head on my lap, and that got us landed in New York.
By Sunday, Viola was feeling intermittently better, but still not 100 per cent. Dina was the next to start feeling some intestinal distress. Because Viola is almost back to normal, I am convinced that it is not a mosquito-born illness like chikungunya or Dengue fever. She never had a fever. But most likely, the combo of illness from the toddlers at the Azil, water-born microbes and motion-sickness. Dina seems to have a typical Haiti dysentery. It is a hazard of the trip. We all managed to stave off the mosquito bites, maybe half a dozen each. But it is so hard to make sure that you do not drink the water. We took daily bucket showers and water can get in your mouth. We ate produce that hopefully and probably was treated correctly for us, but so easy for something to slip through. Even the way dishes are washed can lead to an unfriendly microbe ruining your day.
So, we are here in NY. Viola and Dina are sleeping way passed 10:30am. I think this will be the last post unless I put up some more photos here and there. Thanks for tuning in, thanks for all your donations, whether you donated money, time, clothes, stuff. We made it all happen together and supported a small town in Haiti, called Hinche.
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