As midwives whose patients are mostly Plain-sect Mennonites and Amish women, Patti Lee and Pam Craddock are used to working under less-than-ideal conditions, such as kerosene lighting and no electricity.

But they ain't seen nuthin' yet.

The two are bound for earthquake-ravaged Haiti to help tend the injured and deliver babies in overcrowded slums and refugee camps.

"Pam and I were saying, right from after the earthquake, we can do this," Lee said. "We're used to no electricity and flying by the seat of our pants. We don't have a call bell system to get doctors running if we have to resuscitate a baby."

The two, both registered nurses, have teamed up with Midwives For Haiti and will be leaving for that ravaged nation over the next two weeks.

Lee, who lives near Adamstown but whose office is in Caernarvon Township, leaves today. Her destination is a mountain town named Hinche, 118 miles from Port-au-Prince. In a country where, Lee said, 76 percent of child births are unattended by anyone trained in health care, she was to teach birthing skills to two students at a small midwifery school in Hinche.

"The whole idea was to bring in North American midwives to train Haitian midwives," Lee said.

But things have changed. Around the town has sprung up a refugee camp bulging with people living in squalor. Now an area that had about 50,000 people before the earthquake has 150,000.

"There is no sewer, no running water and just two hours of electricity at night, and that's in the town," Lee said. "So, apparently, the refugee camp is even worse."

Lee was told to bring "lots of gloves, Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer."

"They are just simply changing gloves, wiping down the instruments with the wipes, washing hands and going to the next lady," she said. "And there are babies just everywhere."

Her teaching assignment, she said, has likely been "put on hold." Instead, she was told to "be prepared to just plunge in."

Craddock, who lives in Lititz and has offices in Terre Hill and Leola, will leave April 2 and be sent to Cite Soleil, a decrepit section of Port-au-Prince.

"It was considered the worst slum in the western hemisphere prior to the earthquake," she said. "So now it is probably beyond imagination."

With no public sewer and with the rainy season to start April 1, Craddock expects the worst.

"Cite Soleil is below sea level, which means it floods," she said. "I expect to be wading through trash and raw sewage to get to where I am giving care."

The main problem for the two women is what to take. That question is further complicated by American Airlines, the only major carrier to fly into Haiti. American Airlines allows two check-on bags. A third bag costs an extra $100, even if it is filled with medical supplies for humanitarian purposes. Plus, check-on bags that weigh more than 50 pounds are subject to extra fees of $50 to $100.

"Our big problem is determining what it is we have got to take — what is absolutely necessary," said Craddock, who will not just be delivering babies, but treating sick and injured in a hospital. "So what do you take? You have three suitcases. That is a real problem."

Patients of the two midwives have stepped in, donating not just baby supplies, but cash to help defray expenses for travel and medical supplies. Lee said one of her patients gave her $300, which allowed her to buy an Ambu-Bag, which is used to resuscitate babies not breathing on their own.

"That's been happening over and over with my patients," she said. "They've just been phenomenal about it."

The two hope their trip will save many lives — mothers and babies who might otherwise die.

"We're just a drop in the bucket," Craddock said. "But if we can be one of many, many drops, we can make a difference."

lalexander@lnpnews.com