Thanks Jeff. Words to live by.

I heard there were about 50,000 US citizens in Haiti, mostly of Haitian origin, plus dependents, relatives, resident aliens and untold others seeking a visa or other assistance. The crowd was huge and the wait was sometimes several days. When we arrived we found many crowded into waiting rooms, with feces and vomit on the floor, many more crowded into outdoor courtyards within the embassy, and lines outside stretching into the distance. There were injured people, elderly people, pregnant women, and very many children and infants. Some had not eaten in days, many were ill, and all were dehydrated. It was a humanitarian and public health crisis in the making, but we were able to get things sorted out and radically improve conditions there.

The Haitians I met were unfailingly polite, friendly, patient, kind and extremely appreciative of anything we did. The foreign nationals involved in the rescue effort were a little less so. One graffiti: "We trust USA, not France." They had little good to say about the UN, either, who had a large footprint there, but seemed to be doing little or nothing to help.

Disease was also a major issue, especially Malaria and Dengue Fever. But your advice is sound. Thanks. As for physical security, that was well covered at a nearly paranoid level for us. Shooters often outnumbered rescuers.

Welcome back! Lots of good info.

With regard to antibiotics, I'm not a medical professional. Where do you get them? And how do you know which ones to take?

Ask your doctor for a prescription, explain it is for wilderness/foreign travel/emergency use only when there is no access to medical care, and not for routine "emergencies" at home.

Cipro may be an appropriate choice for your physician to prescribe. It has broad coverage over wounds, lower respiratory and urinary tract infections, infectious diarrhea, typhoid, etc.

Please get proper and thorough medical instruction on this, to make sure you know exactly when (and when not) and how to use whatever medicine is prescribed.

(Since I'm a paramedic, I tend to get some trust and leeway with this sort of thing. YMMV.)

I was asked privately what group I went to Haiti with. I thought it might be of more general interest:

Federal Dep't of Health and Human Services, National Disaster Medical System, Disaster Medical Assistance Team Florida 1.

http://www.hhs.gov/aspr/opeo/ndms/index.html

http://www.floridaonedmat.com/

Basically, a system of disaster medical teams throughout the US, capable of rapid deployment and equipped to set up and operate austere field hospitals, perform casualty collection and evacuation, and augment damaged or overwhelmed local medical infrastructure.

We are classified as a unformed, non-military service, and have the same legal job status as guardsmen and reservists when deployed.

THANKS for your service Jeff and the reports on the Forum, we all learned from your experience.

Mike