St. Pierre parish,
Baradères, Haiti
Sister parish of St. John the Baptist, Silver
Spring, Md.
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Since my first SJB mission to Baradères in 1996, treating infectious diseases, most commonly gastro-intestinal infection with H. pylori and worms, has become routine. Managing chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, and depression is another matter. Hypertension, silent but lethal, is easily diagnosed. Short-term treatment is of dubious value. Long-term control, achievable for most with a few modern medicines and regular monitoring, markedly reduces the likelihood of disability and death. Aches and pains in the back, shoulders and head are ubiquitous, at least after 40 years of hoeing fields, harvesting sugar cane and fire wood, and carrying heavy loads on the head for hours per day. There are no alternatives to such labors, and degenerative joint disease cannot be cured. Almost every adult leaves our clinic with a few small bags of ibuprofen or Tylenol, instructed to take a couple of pills a day. Their gratitude is deep, but so is my regret. Thousands would have relief for pennies a day, if there was a system of para-professionals to distribute over-the-counter analgesics.
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