Along with sorting through the emotions and memories from her medical mission trip to Haiti, Bonnie Clair, MSN, RN, had another tall task: She had to sort through the pictures. “I took about 400,” she says. “I took pictures of Haiti and the Haitian people as well as the people I went with. I didn’t want to forget anyone.”

Clair, the retention project manager at Cox Health in Springfield, MO, went on a medical mission trip to Haiti for a week in March. It was seven days she’ll never forget. After a few weeks of letting the experience sink in, she candidly shared her thoughts, images, and memories with us. Her story, in three parts, will appear on our site Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Here are links to Part I and Part II. And here’s Part III, the aftermath:

So will you go back?
Definitely.

How much did it all cost?
My plane ticket was $1,080 and it was about $400 for the week. That covered translators and food while we were there. So, in total, less than $1,500. But it was different for everyone. It really depended where you originated from.

Is there any one memory that stands out above the rest?
I’m still kind of sorting it all out. But there’s one thing that does stand out: I was taking blood pressures and talking to the people (through my translator) and it struck me how many of these hundreds of individuals waiting to get in the clinic have the capacity to be excellent doctors and nurses. It’s not that they’re unintelligent; it’s that they have no access. We’re so privileged to be born American, we grow up here and have access to education and opportunity if we choose to pursue it. We’re not better than anyone else, but we are so fortunate to be born here. It’s a simplistic thought, but profound in its realization.

What advice would you give to other nurses who are considering a trip like this?
Go. I would make sure you were going with a reputable organization, one that is well established and one where you can see fruit of their labor. You definitely want to “sow” your expertise in a place that operates in integrity, and you can see actual results from their efforts. Personally, I also feel it is vital to align your efforts with an organization that is also addressing humanity’s spiritual needs. Holistic nursing encompasses all areas of human need; to ignore the spiritual needs of our patients is just as neglectful as overlooking their physical needs.

What was the best thing about coming home?
Telling other people about my experience. I’ve given several slide presentations since I’ve been home and it raises awareness. It helps people see beyond themselves. The world is so much bigger than our own backyard.

What’s the one image that you see when you think back?
The one time where I absolutely lost it. We were coming to the end of walking through Le Tant [a small village in Haiti]. It was almost surreal. I mentioned earlier about the little boy who had on a pair of dirty shorts, standing alone by a hut in the midst of so many animal droppings. Instead of just “seeing” him, I felt like I was able to literally perceive his circumstances with an understanding I did not have when I arrived only a week before. I just stood there and cried.

That one image stands out in my mind because it doesn’t have to be like that, and it shouldn’t. There were just so many stories crammed into one week’s time it is difficult to focus on only a few. There was the little boy with a broken arm who walked himself to the clinic after the witch doctor wrapped his arm in tree bark and banana leaves (the boy knew he needed additional help and came alone), the kids with rickets, elderly grandmas and grandpas who work so hard just to live, a young boy with intestinal worms who wanted to sit by me and play with a Matchbox car I gave him until it was his turn to see the doctor, and the pregnant mom who found out she was carrying twins (one of them breech) because we had an ultrasound tech on our team. (We were able to transport her to the hospital in Port-au-Prince for a cesarean section. The orphanage staff told us that mom and probably the breech twin would have died in childbirth in the mountains).

Give us one closing thought.
Having a part in helping others is a humbling and profound experience no matter where it occurs. However, in a third world country, it really grips you. As a nurse I’ve been fortunate to have had many thank-yous from patients and families over the years (as well as my share of unthankful patients and families, too). I can honestly say none of the gestures of appreciation I’ve experienced in my career can compare with a shy smile of gratitude from a fellow human being who would have had no hope except for the fact that I showed up in their world. How can I not go back?

Editor’s Note: Did you miss Part I or Part II of Bonnie’s trip? Check them out here and here.