Bay Area doctors who spent about a week and a half aiding earthquake victims in Haiti will talk about their experiences Tuesday.
Fifteen surgeons from the Sutter Health Network -- which includes Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, California Pacific Medical Center and Mills-Peninsula Health Services -- worked 20-hour days in haiti. They returned home Monday and most of them are already back on the job.
The medical team kept a blog during their trip, taking pictures of the patients they helped save and writing about their long days. They handled dozens of surgeries on people suffering from serious wounds and bone fractures.
Intense emotional events seem to imprint differently on the brain and time lengthens. With sleep deprivation, circadian rhythm disruption and the constant stress of doing something new (and critically important), the team may feel a little disoriented for a day or two upon return. They may find themselves mentally back in Haiti with the sounds, cries, different scents and lighting.
They may be unable to "turn-off" the thoughts of certain patients or colleagues with which they worked closely. Unpacking and looking at photos (and this blog) will bring back a flood of memories.
On Tuesday the surgeons will talk to the public about their experiences via a news conference at California Pacific Medical Center.
