I just want to take a moment to thank all of you for your gifts. Whether it was money donated, prayers, emails, good wishes...
I so greatly appreciated the support and feel blessed to have each one of you in my life!
Love,
Amy
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
O-H-I-O
My aunt Pam sent an email today saying she looks forward to my wrap-up blog. It struck me that I hadn't done that yet. Truth is, I've not been feeling well at all; still pretty sick, so my focus has been on my health since Wed night when we returned. Starting to improve now. So...here goes...
Had an unexpected moment when we first returned to Miami. I figured I'd feel a sense of comfort come over me, being back on U.S. soil, and I did. But, I also felt tears come to my eyes. It was quite the culture shock. I felt like I was standing still as everyone was racing around me and I was overcome by the thought "We have soooo much" (here in the States). Maybe some guilt even? Don't know, but it was a bit upsetting. Just made me realize it will take some time for me to reconsile all I saw and experienced but still return to my usual life here.
Our team was happy to have some downtime in Santiago before returning. We were anxious to get back to our families, but realized the time to decompress was an unexpected blessing.
I got home late Wed, so went to bed and picked Liam up from pre-school on Thursday. He was just going down for his nap so I crept over to his cot and rubbed his back. He turned his head, fingers in his mouth (of course), and smiled "MAMA!" He climbed up on my lap and wrapped his arms around my neck, again "mama". I was home.
When people ask me about the trip, I enjoy talking about it. I say it was really challenging, but it was phenomenal. What struck me most was the hope and the perseverance I saw in people. I felt that more than the sadness. The sadness was there, believe me, couldn't miss it; soooo much need there. I loved the way I witnessed communities rally around each other. Like nothing I've ever seen in the States. Haitians pick each other up and take care of strangers even when they don't have enough to feed their own. No one in the hospital was alone. They had support of others.
And I know some wonder if they could really do much to help over there. I'm here to tell you, yes. A resounding YES. You have to be open to it. You have to see what's happening around you and how people are reacting, and then you'll see that just your presence tells them that others in the world care. We cared enough to come all that way to be with them. To help any way we could. And they were appreciative. Every smile, every look in their eyes told me that. Ok, not everyone's eyes were happy to see us, but you get the point.
As we left, I remembered that I don't like saying good-bye so I tend to distance myself as I leave and quickly resolve that I'm onto the next place. But, and this is a big but, I now understand why my teammates feel like when they return to Dessalines, Haiti they've returned home. I understand that a piece of our hearts remain there. It was an amazing experience.
I like when people ask if the trip changed me for life. I think there are many, many experiences through life that change me. Some small, some big. What I think is...I sure hope so. I hope it changes me. I hope it added to my growth and that change keeps on comin' :) 'Cause life is good. It's real good and I love stepping out of my comfort zone and challenging myself. Fun to check out how I'm gonna react. Whether it's my child testing his limits at home OR slamming me into a disaster situation in Haiti. It's all part of growth and growth is good. Not always easy, but it's good.
p.s. If anyone comes across my luggage I'd love to have that returned. According to the airline, it should be somewhere in the Detroit area now. Thanks so much :)
Love to all!!! Amy
Had an unexpected moment when we first returned to Miami. I figured I'd feel a sense of comfort come over me, being back on U.S. soil, and I did. But, I also felt tears come to my eyes. It was quite the culture shock. I felt like I was standing still as everyone was racing around me and I was overcome by the thought "We have soooo much" (here in the States). Maybe some guilt even? Don't know, but it was a bit upsetting. Just made me realize it will take some time for me to reconsile all I saw and experienced but still return to my usual life here.
Our team was happy to have some downtime in Santiago before returning. We were anxious to get back to our families, but realized the time to decompress was an unexpected blessing.
I got home late Wed, so went to bed and picked Liam up from pre-school on Thursday. He was just going down for his nap so I crept over to his cot and rubbed his back. He turned his head, fingers in his mouth (of course), and smiled "MAMA!" He climbed up on my lap and wrapped his arms around my neck, again "mama". I was home.
When people ask me about the trip, I enjoy talking about it. I say it was really challenging, but it was phenomenal. What struck me most was the hope and the perseverance I saw in people. I felt that more than the sadness. The sadness was there, believe me, couldn't miss it; soooo much need there. I loved the way I witnessed communities rally around each other. Like nothing I've ever seen in the States. Haitians pick each other up and take care of strangers even when they don't have enough to feed their own. No one in the hospital was alone. They had support of others.
And I know some wonder if they could really do much to help over there. I'm here to tell you, yes. A resounding YES. You have to be open to it. You have to see what's happening around you and how people are reacting, and then you'll see that just your presence tells them that others in the world care. We cared enough to come all that way to be with them. To help any way we could. And they were appreciative. Every smile, every look in their eyes told me that. Ok, not everyone's eyes were happy to see us, but you get the point.
As we left, I remembered that I don't like saying good-bye so I tend to distance myself as I leave and quickly resolve that I'm onto the next place. But, and this is a big but, I now understand why my teammates feel like when they return to Dessalines, Haiti they've returned home. I understand that a piece of our hearts remain there. It was an amazing experience.
I like when people ask if the trip changed me for life. I think there are many, many experiences through life that change me. Some small, some big. What I think is...I sure hope so. I hope it changes me. I hope it added to my growth and that change keeps on comin' :) 'Cause life is good. It's real good and I love stepping out of my comfort zone and challenging myself. Fun to check out how I'm gonna react. Whether it's my child testing his limits at home OR slamming me into a disaster situation in Haiti. It's all part of growth and growth is good. Not always easy, but it's good.
p.s. If anyone comes across my luggage I'd love to have that returned. According to the airline, it should be somewhere in the Detroit area now. Thanks so much :)
Love to all!!! Amy
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Back to the States today
We are back in Santiago, DR now. Yesterday was quite a day of travel. Our expected 5 hr trip turned into 9 hrs. Took 1.5 hrs to get out of Cap-haitien due to all the rain in the past few days. We heard later that mudslides there killed 4. Once out of Cap-haitien our bus broke down. Oh boy. Nothing like hanging out on the side of some Haitian road for a couple of hours. What was a little concerning is it was the only part of our trip when we were down to just the 4 of us who don't speak Creole. Luckily we found another passenger who spoke English and gave us updates on what was going on.
Our last day at the hospital in Dessalines, we only worked the morning so I thought it would be a slower day. Nope. The whole mood in the place shifted. You could feel more desparation in the Haitians b/c they realized we were leaving. So I had a lot thrown at me, but it was AWESOME. My 6 yr old girl with the knee contracture returned and we put her under conscious sedation only to find that we still couldn't get her knee straight enough for her to be able to walk. Nuts! So Tim (ortho doc) took her to surgery to release part of her gastroc and got it straight. In the midst of that, I was explaining things to her family. I thought they were her parents, but found out it was aunt and uncle. Parents were killed in the earthquake. I bit my lip on that one. Had to squeeze back tears so I could show them strength that she was going to be ok. We'd get her walking again. That was a tough one. I got to hold Samailia's hand as she woke up and I could see her mouthing "porquoi", "why?" and thank you in creole. It was one of my favorite moments of this trip. Her aunt gave me Samalia's school picture. I'll treasure that.
I also got an opportunity I wasn't expecting. As I'm running around the hospital, my translator Ywans (the chaplain) pulled me aside to say this woman had lost her oldest dtr in the quake and he needed me to come with them and counsel. Umm...ok. Talk about shoving me outside my comfort zone. My first thoughts were, I'm no psychologist, what the heck am I supposed to say. But I had to quick jump out of my own crap and step up to her needs. So we stepped into a small room and sure enough they both looked at me like well, what are you gonna say? Ok, right, let me come up with something. But as I stepped all over myself trying to come up with words to share, things came to me. I remembered others explaining that these people have symptoms of PTSD but don't recognize them as "normal". They think they're diseased or possessed or something. So I went over those symptoms and explained that they are expected. I shared my experience with grieving and she cried. I shared some of my spiritual thoughts and she listened. It was a wonderful, personal moment and I hope it helped her some, because I know it did a world of good for me. Ywans later explained that even though he is a chaplain, he knew she needed to hear from me. I guess as an American who came to help and share with her. To show that we weren't just here to give medical care, but also because our hearts hurt and we wanted to be present in these moments WITH them. I know we came to help others, but what's awesome is how much a trip like this gives to us too.
And later I saw a 52 yr old man who had a stroke the night before. His symptoms had already improved, but he still was weak on his right side and had trouble speaking, swallowing, no use of his wrist and hand, very uncoordinated. I realized people here don't have models for people with strokes getting better. They usually debilitate more and then die. So I spent a lot of time showing him and family how to rehabilitate him and trying to convince them all, he has great potential for full recovery. Got tense when his youngest dtr arrived and saw her dad sitting on the bed, drooling and leaning to his right. Once her tears started, his came back and the whole family lost it. This culture wails when they are sad, so I had to get out of the area with Ywans' guidance and let them cope for a while. I later returned and again explained his prognosis for recovery, and trained the man's brother on walking, exercises, having him use his right arm for functional tasks, swallowing. Here, I'm an OT, PT and speech therapist. So funny.
The rest of the time I walked around the hospital finding patients with broken bones or whatever injuries and giving them tips. I even chased down one 20-some yr old who was leaving with crutches to tell him to start putting weight on his previously broken leg. Our ortho guy had seen on xray that the fracture was healed so he was in a walking boot but wouldn't put his foot on the ground as he walked. He laughed at me. I was pretty aggressive in telling him to put his foot down as he walked. Those I work with in the States will not be surprised by this :) But, really, here there's no time for sugarcoating. It's a perfect fit for me. Ha. Ha.
Love to all! Amy
Our last day at the hospital in Dessalines, we only worked the morning so I thought it would be a slower day. Nope. The whole mood in the place shifted. You could feel more desparation in the Haitians b/c they realized we were leaving. So I had a lot thrown at me, but it was AWESOME. My 6 yr old girl with the knee contracture returned and we put her under conscious sedation only to find that we still couldn't get her knee straight enough for her to be able to walk. Nuts! So Tim (ortho doc) took her to surgery to release part of her gastroc and got it straight. In the midst of that, I was explaining things to her family. I thought they were her parents, but found out it was aunt and uncle. Parents were killed in the earthquake. I bit my lip on that one. Had to squeeze back tears so I could show them strength that she was going to be ok. We'd get her walking again. That was a tough one. I got to hold Samailia's hand as she woke up and I could see her mouthing "porquoi", "why?" and thank you in creole. It was one of my favorite moments of this trip. Her aunt gave me Samalia's school picture. I'll treasure that.
I also got an opportunity I wasn't expecting. As I'm running around the hospital, my translator Ywans (the chaplain) pulled me aside to say this woman had lost her oldest dtr in the quake and he needed me to come with them and counsel. Umm...ok. Talk about shoving me outside my comfort zone. My first thoughts were, I'm no psychologist, what the heck am I supposed to say. But I had to quick jump out of my own crap and step up to her needs. So we stepped into a small room and sure enough they both looked at me like well, what are you gonna say? Ok, right, let me come up with something. But as I stepped all over myself trying to come up with words to share, things came to me. I remembered others explaining that these people have symptoms of PTSD but don't recognize them as "normal". They think they're diseased or possessed or something. So I went over those symptoms and explained that they are expected. I shared my experience with grieving and she cried. I shared some of my spiritual thoughts and she listened. It was a wonderful, personal moment and I hope it helped her some, because I know it did a world of good for me. Ywans later explained that even though he is a chaplain, he knew she needed to hear from me. I guess as an American who came to help and share with her. To show that we weren't just here to give medical care, but also because our hearts hurt and we wanted to be present in these moments WITH them. I know we came to help others, but what's awesome is how much a trip like this gives to us too.
And later I saw a 52 yr old man who had a stroke the night before. His symptoms had already improved, but he still was weak on his right side and had trouble speaking, swallowing, no use of his wrist and hand, very uncoordinated. I realized people here don't have models for people with strokes getting better. They usually debilitate more and then die. So I spent a lot of time showing him and family how to rehabilitate him and trying to convince them all, he has great potential for full recovery. Got tense when his youngest dtr arrived and saw her dad sitting on the bed, drooling and leaning to his right. Once her tears started, his came back and the whole family lost it. This culture wails when they are sad, so I had to get out of the area with Ywans' guidance and let them cope for a while. I later returned and again explained his prognosis for recovery, and trained the man's brother on walking, exercises, having him use his right arm for functional tasks, swallowing. Here, I'm an OT, PT and speech therapist. So funny.
The rest of the time I walked around the hospital finding patients with broken bones or whatever injuries and giving them tips. I even chased down one 20-some yr old who was leaving with crutches to tell him to start putting weight on his previously broken leg. Our ortho guy had seen on xray that the fracture was healed so he was in a walking boot but wouldn't put his foot on the ground as he walked. He laughed at me. I was pretty aggressive in telling him to put his foot down as he walked. Those I work with in the States will not be surprised by this :) But, really, here there's no time for sugarcoating. It's a perfect fit for me. Ha. Ha.
Love to all! Amy
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Port au Prince- Day 6
Got up early and drove to Port au Prince today. Pretty drive along Carribean Sea. Around St. Mark we began to see tents. Earthquake devastation progressively worsened as we came into Port. Oh, we came VERY close to hitting a cow on the way. MOO! We just grazed her. Nice driving, Ken!
Not sure how much I want to talk about what we saw... It was difficult once we drove up to the mission house where my team stayed years past. I knew that's what it was by their gasps as we turned the corner. I asked Emily if it was FOHO (Friends of Haiti Org) and she nodded. Our friend and translator Robinson told his story our first night, of being at FOHO looking for Jeanie who was the mission leader and his boss. She was leaving for the States the next day so he wanted to say goodbye and get his instructions. She was busy when he was looking for her so he left to meet up with his fiance. The quake hit 6 minutes later and Jeanie was killed. Our team leader, Dan pulled her husband out and he's now recovering in the States. But, seeing the building leveled and remembering Robinson's story was too much and I broke down. I really broke down. Met Robinson's fiance later. She was at nursing school the day of the quake and decided to leave early. The entire nursing school collapsed in the quake with all 85 students except for Robinson's fiance and one other killed.
So, we pulled together; Jim grabbed my hand and said "Let's go to church". We went to the Free Methodist Church. People were gathered outside AND inside. The inside alone holds 2,000! So with tears still fresh on our faces, we stepped into the church and they were SINGGGG-INGGGG their hearts out. I was so lifted. In the midst of all this destruction, these people were celebrating (big time!) It seriously felt like New Years Eve. And they made room for the 6 of us to sit. Such an experience. Their service today was from 6a-noon. Now that's some churchin'. They sing. They dance. They pray. They rest. They step outside to take breaks as they want. But they get together to worship for 6 hrs. We were there for about 2. One preacher that got up, spoke English and announced our presence and welcomed us. 2,000 faces turned our way. We were the only 6 white folk; guess that's how they knew who he was talking about. They clapped for our relief efforts. The children were especially fun. They kept sneaking glances at us and thought it was so cool when we smiled and waved. It was amazing. Those people filled me with hope. Made me want to dance.
Other things that struck me were, seeing many buildings undamaged and then others that were destroyed. And people are just continuing on with life and surviving like they've had to do for so long, even before the quake. Lots of makeshift tents and some "communities" of tents set up by organizations like Unisef. Lots of UN presence. We saw where the 82nd Airborn set up base. Many, many sea shipping containers of relief items. We couldn't help but think, so glad to see so many supplies. Hope they're being distributed. Saw women carrying bags of rice on their heads. Bags read "US RELIEF".
Oh, and at church, one young girl came down the aisle to the end of our bench/pew. She was singing and dancing like all the rest. Emily heard her mom tell her to come back. The girl said "No, I want stand with the Blancs"
And that was my day :) Love to you all! -Amy
Not sure how much I want to talk about what we saw... It was difficult once we drove up to the mission house where my team stayed years past. I knew that's what it was by their gasps as we turned the corner. I asked Emily if it was FOHO (Friends of Haiti Org) and she nodded. Our friend and translator Robinson told his story our first night, of being at FOHO looking for Jeanie who was the mission leader and his boss. She was leaving for the States the next day so he wanted to say goodbye and get his instructions. She was busy when he was looking for her so he left to meet up with his fiance. The quake hit 6 minutes later and Jeanie was killed. Our team leader, Dan pulled her husband out and he's now recovering in the States. But, seeing the building leveled and remembering Robinson's story was too much and I broke down. I really broke down. Met Robinson's fiance later. She was at nursing school the day of the quake and decided to leave early. The entire nursing school collapsed in the quake with all 85 students except for Robinson's fiance and one other killed.
So, we pulled together; Jim grabbed my hand and said "Let's go to church". We went to the Free Methodist Church. People were gathered outside AND inside. The inside alone holds 2,000! So with tears still fresh on our faces, we stepped into the church and they were SINGGGG-INGGGG their hearts out. I was so lifted. In the midst of all this destruction, these people were celebrating (big time!) It seriously felt like New Years Eve. And they made room for the 6 of us to sit. Such an experience. Their service today was from 6a-noon. Now that's some churchin'. They sing. They dance. They pray. They rest. They step outside to take breaks as they want. But they get together to worship for 6 hrs. We were there for about 2. One preacher that got up, spoke English and announced our presence and welcomed us. 2,000 faces turned our way. We were the only 6 white folk; guess that's how they knew who he was talking about. They clapped for our relief efforts. The children were especially fun. They kept sneaking glances at us and thought it was so cool when we smiled and waved. It was amazing. Those people filled me with hope. Made me want to dance.
Other things that struck me were, seeing many buildings undamaged and then others that were destroyed. And people are just continuing on with life and surviving like they've had to do for so long, even before the quake. Lots of makeshift tents and some "communities" of tents set up by organizations like Unisef. Lots of UN presence. We saw where the 82nd Airborn set up base. Many, many sea shipping containers of relief items. We couldn't help but think, so glad to see so many supplies. Hope they're being distributed. Saw women carrying bags of rice on their heads. Bags read "US RELIEF".
Oh, and at church, one young girl came down the aisle to the end of our bench/pew. She was singing and dancing like all the rest. Emily heard her mom tell her to come back. The girl said "No, I want stand with the Blancs"
And that was my day :) Love to you all! -Amy
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Another Good Day- the proposal
Every night our team gathers after dinner to "debrief". We each say a little bit about how our day went; share our thoughts. Can be challenging when we're all so tired and hot, etc. But, it's nice to hear from everyone. So I figured I'd blog like I spoke in the debriefing tonight.
Started with, "I had another good day." Had 3 patients return from yesterday. Eric and Jim shortened crutches so that my 6 yr old patient could walk with support since she can only use one leg as of now. The woman with crush injury from being trapped under rubble practiced again using a walker. Much better today. Now walking on her own using the walker. Yesterday she could not even stand without me helping her balance and barely stepped a few times. Awesome progress. She was really appreciative. Eric and I worked on alterations for the wheelchair of the 5 yr old with CP. I told him what I wanted and he made it happen. We all just do what we need to do. It's cool.
So, interesting case today. 28 yr old man in a wheelchair since 2004. VERY thin with diffuse muscle atrophy. Essentially skin and bones. The ortho doc, Tim, and I worked together. Found out his older brother also has this syndrome. Something like muscular dystrophy. Anyway, I figured I wouldn't get him standing well, let alone walking. But he said he gets into bed on his own. Yeah...no. 2 of us tried to stand him using a walker. No go. But I wanted him to have some success with our visit so I got 4 of us into position to help him stand using the walker. He showed some pleasure. Sometimes people just want "anything" to feel like we helped them. A couple of our non-medical people asked me if he'll get better. He won't. Emily asked me if it's hard for me to work with someone in that situation. It's not. My mind automatically switches into, "well, what CAN I do for them?"
Tomorrow we go to Port au Prince. I'm glad for that. Just something I want to see. We are taking extra precautions. Should be safe. We hear the smell of death isn't so bad anymore. The air is thicker with concrete dust than here so I'll wear a mask. My breathing problems have improved, for the record. Cough is better.
Forgot to tell you my big news yesterday. Got a marriage proposal. One of the translators had quite a crush on Emily until he found out I was the single one. Ha! Ha! That changed everything. He was pretty distraught that I was not married and wanted to find me a husband. Hmm...who did he have in mind?? Emily had quite a good time teasing me about him all yesterday. Well, it all changed today. He told Emily he very badly wanted to get to America and he wanted me or her to help him. Wink, wink. She had to put the boundaries up. Long story short, engagement is off. We were warned about the umm...forwardness of men here. It's been...interesting.
Joy of my day was talking to little man on the phone!!! And he was a chatterbox. All sorts of stories. There's nothing like hearing him say "i love you mom".
Also, so happy I got to talk to my mom and dad. They were pretty surprised to hear from me.
Better eat some cookies and get to bed. Getting up early to get to Port. Hoping for no drums or chanting tonight so we can all get some sleep.
Started with, "I had another good day." Had 3 patients return from yesterday. Eric and Jim shortened crutches so that my 6 yr old patient could walk with support since she can only use one leg as of now. The woman with crush injury from being trapped under rubble practiced again using a walker. Much better today. Now walking on her own using the walker. Yesterday she could not even stand without me helping her balance and barely stepped a few times. Awesome progress. She was really appreciative. Eric and I worked on alterations for the wheelchair of the 5 yr old with CP. I told him what I wanted and he made it happen. We all just do what we need to do. It's cool.
So, interesting case today. 28 yr old man in a wheelchair since 2004. VERY thin with diffuse muscle atrophy. Essentially skin and bones. The ortho doc, Tim, and I worked together. Found out his older brother also has this syndrome. Something like muscular dystrophy. Anyway, I figured I wouldn't get him standing well, let alone walking. But he said he gets into bed on his own. Yeah...no. 2 of us tried to stand him using a walker. No go. But I wanted him to have some success with our visit so I got 4 of us into position to help him stand using the walker. He showed some pleasure. Sometimes people just want "anything" to feel like we helped them. A couple of our non-medical people asked me if he'll get better. He won't. Emily asked me if it's hard for me to work with someone in that situation. It's not. My mind automatically switches into, "well, what CAN I do for them?"
Tomorrow we go to Port au Prince. I'm glad for that. Just something I want to see. We are taking extra precautions. Should be safe. We hear the smell of death isn't so bad anymore. The air is thicker with concrete dust than here so I'll wear a mask. My breathing problems have improved, for the record. Cough is better.
Forgot to tell you my big news yesterday. Got a marriage proposal. One of the translators had quite a crush on Emily until he found out I was the single one. Ha! Ha! That changed everything. He was pretty distraught that I was not married and wanted to find me a husband. Hmm...who did he have in mind?? Emily had quite a good time teasing me about him all yesterday. Well, it all changed today. He told Emily he very badly wanted to get to America and he wanted me or her to help him. Wink, wink. She had to put the boundaries up. Long story short, engagement is off. We were warned about the umm...forwardness of men here. It's been...interesting.
Joy of my day was talking to little man on the phone!!! And he was a chatterbox. All sorts of stories. There's nothing like hearing him say "i love you mom".
Also, so happy I got to talk to my mom and dad. They were pretty surprised to hear from me.
Better eat some cookies and get to bed. Getting up early to get to Port. Hoping for no drums or chanting tonight so we can all get some sleep.
Photos
Bonjour! See photos of our trip www.smithgalleryphotography.com. More updates to come.
Very little sleep last night. Loud chanting/singing from local church until 3:30 am. Feel pretty good despite. Had "shower" and breakfast...my new favorite...Haitian coffee. Cough is better, I think. Ribs hurt very much from so much coughing. On Zpack now and took Vicodin for pain. Yep; hitting the hard stuff. We're not messing around anymore:) Eating well. Eric asked what I'm eating here. Rice and beans are a staple. We make sandwiches and have crackers/chips at lunch. Oatmeal/eggs, trail mix at breakfast. Have had chicken. Goat is big here, but haven't had it yet, as far as I know. "Figs" which are bananas to us. Fried plantanes. I'm eating well. More later. Time to go to work. Au revoir!
Very little sleep last night. Loud chanting/singing from local church until 3:30 am. Feel pretty good despite. Had "shower" and breakfast...my new favorite...Haitian coffee. Cough is better, I think. Ribs hurt very much from so much coughing. On Zpack now and took Vicodin for pain. Yep; hitting the hard stuff. We're not messing around anymore:) Eating well. Eric asked what I'm eating here. Rice and beans are a staple. We make sandwiches and have crackers/chips at lunch. Oatmeal/eggs, trail mix at breakfast. Have had chicken. Goat is big here, but haven't had it yet, as far as I know. "Figs" which are bananas to us. Fried plantanes. I'm eating well. More later. Time to go to work. Au revoir!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Great day
Today was a great day. Not easy, but great. It was our first full day of work at the hospital. We're getting used to understanding this is a relief effort which means disorganization. Gotta go with it. During breakfast Dr. Dan announced that there were at least 100 people gathered to see us b/c a radio announcement went out stating that an eye doctor, an ortho doctor, and a therapist were here. So,they came. We set up the docs in rooms and then Dr. Dan said there were many who wanted to see me so I needed my own room. I got the one by the toilet and they were worried I wouldn't be able to work b/c the smell was so bad. Yeah, hmmm, you all are coping with an earthquake, I'll get over a smelly room.
With the help of a translator and Deedee Snider, I saw people with strokes, crush injuries from the earthquake, broken bones, Radial Nerve Palsy (for you OT's), the two orphans with Cerebral Palsy, arthritis, etc. So interesting to hear their stories. I did a lot of crutch and walker training, exercises, adaptive equipment training (Haitian style, eg. I'd ask the translator, "do they even have a toilet to sit on?" ) Kinda hard to suggest elevating a toilet seat for someone who doesn't have more than a hole in the ground out back. Hmmm...let me think about that one. I'll come up with something :)
Much time teaching patients and their families what to do to help get use of their arm or leg back. To keep them from falling, to get them back walking, to protect their own bodies while caring for the patient. They were amazed and seemed pleased to see their husband walk with a quad cane after a stroke (he'd been in a wheelchair for a long time); to show a foster mom that her dependent son w/ CP could crawl if she works on it, and her CP daughter can stand up with very little help; overall showing people who, we are finding, believe the earthquake happened b/c they were bad, that there are things THEY can do to walk again, to use their arm again, etc.
The team said I was beaming all day. I was. It was awesome.
I have a few returning tomorrow. The woman who was trapped for a few hours (nerve damage in right arm and open wound left leg, no fracture, lots of pain), needs more practice using the walker. The boy with CP needs a lot of adjustments to his wheelchair, the 6 yr old girl with a knee that won't straighten needs crutch training and stretching education if she ever wants to walk on that leg again. And this is team work. I asked our engineer guy to shorten adult wooden crutches to her height. Tomorrow I'll show her and her fam how to use them. I can't wait.
I am so moved by these people. EVERY person we saw came here WITH someone. And many were just friends who were the 24 hr caretakers to the patient. They take each other in. They sacrifice like nothing I've ever seen before. The community just watches us and tries to help the patient learn what we're instructing on. They wait for a long time just to see us. They are always gracious. Two words keep popping up in my head this week...PERSEVERANCE and COMPASSION. And I'm enjoying the time I take to analyze that. And you know how much I love to analyze! I'm learning so much this week. It's a fantastic journey.
Oh, the walk back to the Citadel is so cool. Kids call to their friends and come running to us, yelling "Blanc, Blanc". (White for those who don't speak Creole, ha, ha) I took pictures of them and then showed them the pic on my camera screen. They don't typically have mirrors so it's way cool to watch their reaction to seeing themselves. They touch their face or hair and just laugh and laugh. Then they want to pose for more. We always have to ask the adult, if they are near, for permission to take the child's photo. Apparently with the Voodoo beliefs, photographs capture a part of your soul so some parents say no photos.
Time to head to bed. It's cooler tonight. We sat on the roof, talking and star gazing earlier. What moments to live in. We could hear children in a nearby church, singing Creole hymns. I was so moved to hear people who have suffered so much, sing so gloriously. It was a great day.
With the help of a translator and Deedee Snider, I saw people with strokes, crush injuries from the earthquake, broken bones, Radial Nerve Palsy (for you OT's), the two orphans with Cerebral Palsy, arthritis, etc. So interesting to hear their stories. I did a lot of crutch and walker training, exercises, adaptive equipment training (Haitian style, eg. I'd ask the translator, "do they even have a toilet to sit on?" ) Kinda hard to suggest elevating a toilet seat for someone who doesn't have more than a hole in the ground out back. Hmmm...let me think about that one. I'll come up with something :)
Much time teaching patients and their families what to do to help get use of their arm or leg back. To keep them from falling, to get them back walking, to protect their own bodies while caring for the patient. They were amazed and seemed pleased to see their husband walk with a quad cane after a stroke (he'd been in a wheelchair for a long time); to show a foster mom that her dependent son w/ CP could crawl if she works on it, and her CP daughter can stand up with very little help; overall showing people who, we are finding, believe the earthquake happened b/c they were bad, that there are things THEY can do to walk again, to use their arm again, etc.
The team said I was beaming all day. I was. It was awesome.
I have a few returning tomorrow. The woman who was trapped for a few hours (nerve damage in right arm and open wound left leg, no fracture, lots of pain), needs more practice using the walker. The boy with CP needs a lot of adjustments to his wheelchair, the 6 yr old girl with a knee that won't straighten needs crutch training and stretching education if she ever wants to walk on that leg again. And this is team work. I asked our engineer guy to shorten adult wooden crutches to her height. Tomorrow I'll show her and her fam how to use them. I can't wait.
I am so moved by these people. EVERY person we saw came here WITH someone. And many were just friends who were the 24 hr caretakers to the patient. They take each other in. They sacrifice like nothing I've ever seen before. The community just watches us and tries to help the patient learn what we're instructing on. They wait for a long time just to see us. They are always gracious. Two words keep popping up in my head this week...PERSEVERANCE and COMPASSION. And I'm enjoying the time I take to analyze that. And you know how much I love to analyze! I'm learning so much this week. It's a fantastic journey.
Oh, the walk back to the Citadel is so cool. Kids call to their friends and come running to us, yelling "Blanc, Blanc". (White for those who don't speak Creole, ha, ha) I took pictures of them and then showed them the pic on my camera screen. They don't typically have mirrors so it's way cool to watch their reaction to seeing themselves. They touch their face or hair and just laugh and laugh. Then they want to pose for more. We always have to ask the adult, if they are near, for permission to take the child's photo. Apparently with the Voodoo beliefs, photographs capture a part of your soul so some parents say no photos.
Time to head to bed. It's cooler tonight. We sat on the roof, talking and star gazing earlier. What moments to live in. We could hear children in a nearby church, singing Creole hymns. I was so moved to hear people who have suffered so much, sing so gloriously. It was a great day.
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