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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