So I have seriously been putting off writing this blog, but I need to just get some thoughts down on paper (or computer screen). I apologize if this is long and/or very jumbled.
I read an article that Relevant had in their most recent issue on my first flight from TUL to MIA. It is actually a really good article if you are at all interested in the history and current state of Haiti http://www.relevantmagazine.com/digital-issue-46
One quote from this article said, "This is not reconstruction-it's construction". Another quote, "Some of the reports I heard about the chaos, well, that's just the way Haiti normally is. Being used to that, I guess it was often easy to overlook the earthquake."
If there is one word I could use to describe most aspects of Haiti, it would be "chaos" or on a lighter note, "disorganization." I was in an area of the country that was not directly affected by the earthquake and it was highly disorganized and things that are simple in the US are difficult in Haiti (transportation, electricity, water, etc).
I have been to other third world countries (Jamaica, Venezuela, Mexico), but none of them compares to the poverty that I encountered in Haiti. It seemed more normal there to not have electricity than to actually have it. It was so dark at night. Seeing the people bathe in the river leads me to believe that most people don't have running water. I also noticed what seemed to be a bathroom just outside of the hospital that had hours posted on the front, so I am assuming a lot of people don't even have that at their houses. Limited access to health care- I had one man tell me that he fractured his leg a long time ago and instead of going to a doctor, someone made him some sort of homemade brace.
Change, how does it happen? As a disclaimer, this is my opinion from my limited time in Haiti and my limited communication with people there. I think (like most things) that change must happen from the inside out. There is definitely a culture of "this is just the way it is", and "degage-do the best with what you have". These can both be very positive, but sometimes it can cause you to not take action to change anything.
Another aspect of the culture is that I noticed is one of handouts. I did not notice this as much in the clinic, but I did with people on the streets. They almost have this notion that if you are white, you are supposed to help. I was told a few stories from some of the people who are there full time that helped confirm this. Apparently, if there is an accident of any sort on the roads motorcycle, bicycle, etc, if there is a white person involved, he is automatically at fault and owes the Haitian money.
A couple examples of this on my own. One boy said he wanted to be "our friend", but quickly after meeting us was asking us to help him find a laptop. He made it sound like he would try to raise the money, but quickly it seemed like he wanted us to give him a laptop. Another guy asked us to help him find a translator job, which is exactly what you would like to hear, "help me help myself", I am all for that. However, he came to the clinic and while I was working with a patient, he basically said, if the translator job doesn't work out, I would like to ask you to pay for my school. I admire his desire to go to school (this is definitely what a lot of people need), but there is an element of I just want someone to get me there rather than working hard to get there. One good thing about both of these boys is that they were thinking more forward. One was thinking about a laptop to research things and another was thinking about school. This, from what I understand, is also rare. Most Haitians think about how to survive right now, not so much about what will help me in the long run. A lot of what they do is "survival". This is why 80-90% of Haiti is deforested, because they don't think about the long term consequences.
I think this culture of "take care of me" and living on handouts is most likely rooted in their culture of slavery. Unfortunately, that is how the country started, as a place to import African slaves. The article explained that to pay the debt owed to France for their independence, the Haitian government closed all schools and stopped investments in infrastructure. This is horribly sad, because the country and the people have definitely suffered because of it.
If I sit and think about all the needs, where to start, how to help, how to "save" Haiti, I can get very overwhelmed. I know I don't have the answer, but thankfully, my God is big and he is not overwhelmed by it all.
I have been wrestling with what is my role? I can't claim ignorance now that I have seen. It reminds me of a song written by Brooke Fraser called Albertine. It is about her trip to Rwanda and more specifically, a girl named, Albertine
"Rwanda
Now that I have seen
I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
Now that I have held you
In my own arms
I cannot let go till you are... "
"I will tell the world
I will tell them where I've been
I will keep my word
I will tell them, Albertine"
Now that I have seen, I am responsible. Those are powerful words. I am responsible to pray, I am responsible to give, I am responsible to tell about the people, tell their stories, tell about their needs. I am responsible to support the full time workers there. I am still praying and considering my specific role in Haiti, am I supposed to go for longer next time? Am I supposed to mobilize more people to go and give? Am I supposed to invest my time there more long term? All of this is so hard to know.
It has really been difficult to come from a land of such poverty to a land of such affluence. Some things here seem so frivolous. I sat yesterday on a pier in Miami watching college kids party on big, fancy boats. I drove past the fancy shops of Nordstrom, Saks, etc. Almost every other car here is a Mercedes or BMW. The homes here are so fancy and flashy.
I really hope and pray that I don't just go back to my normal life and forget all about my experiences, the people I met, and the need in Haiti. I pray that I stay thoughtful and prayerful about Haiti and my role there.
Thank you so much for your prayers for me and for Haiti. I could not have had this experience and helped the people without your support and prayers.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Picking up where I left off
This might be kind of difficult to do, because I have spent a lot of time thinking, talking, praying, etc, but I am going to try to pick up where I left off with last nights thoughts before I was rudely interrupted by the bugs. I am serious, this bug was dive bombing my computer screen last night (yes, I was inside, there are lots of bugs inside, it is hard to prevent them when the place is very open, lots of ants, beetles, moths, a few cockroaches, and lizards and frogs-more on this later)
So, the morning was stressful at work, the drive was absolutely insane, and the beach was peaceful and calm. I wish I could try to describe the difference I felt right as I got out of the truck. I really felt like we had gone somewhere completely different when we arrived at the beach. June explained that this place is lovely, but there is nothing to support it (economically speaking). I was very thankful time at the beach and even the crazy journey getting there because it helped me to experience a little more of Haiti.
I think after that journey, I had a lot more questions than answers. I got the opportunity to talk with Marvin and some with June about the Haitian people, their history, their needs, etc. (I plan to tackle my take on the situation, needs, etc in a separate blog). I really treasured my time talking with Marvin, June, and others who live there full-time. I wish I had more time with them and more time in Haiti overall. One week was just not enough.
Ok, back to the journey, so the beach was lovely, then we headed back the same way we came, but this time it was dark. In a lot of places, it was very dark as most of the people do not have electricity. You could see an occasional light here and there, but no street lights or anything the majority of the way home. We stopped at a gas station where there was music blazing and bright lights. This was a full service station as I assume most of them are as it is a way for locals to make a living and get tips. When we got into the city of Les Cayes there were tons of people in the streets, in parking lots, some selling things, some just standing around. Marvin explained that before the earthquake, Les Cayes was pretty peaceful in the evening as people would turn in pretty early, but since the earthquake there are so many people that hang out late and a lot of people who really don't have anywhere to go. After another trip down the scary fast road with lots of motorcycles, we turned off onto the neighborhood road towards the house.
The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful with showering, packing, and blogging. Ok, I think I will write more tomorrow, I will try to post my pics tonight. Thanks for reading!
So, the morning was stressful at work, the drive was absolutely insane, and the beach was peaceful and calm. I wish I could try to describe the difference I felt right as I got out of the truck. I really felt like we had gone somewhere completely different when we arrived at the beach. June explained that this place is lovely, but there is nothing to support it (economically speaking). I was very thankful time at the beach and even the crazy journey getting there because it helped me to experience a little more of Haiti.
I think after that journey, I had a lot more questions than answers. I got the opportunity to talk with Marvin and some with June about the Haitian people, their history, their needs, etc. (I plan to tackle my take on the situation, needs, etc in a separate blog). I really treasured my time talking with Marvin, June, and others who live there full-time. I wish I had more time with them and more time in Haiti overall. One week was just not enough.
Ok, back to the journey, so the beach was lovely, then we headed back the same way we came, but this time it was dark. In a lot of places, it was very dark as most of the people do not have electricity. You could see an occasional light here and there, but no street lights or anything the majority of the way home. We stopped at a gas station where there was music blazing and bright lights. This was a full service station as I assume most of them are as it is a way for locals to make a living and get tips. When we got into the city of Les Cayes there were tons of people in the streets, in parking lots, some selling things, some just standing around. Marvin explained that before the earthquake, Les Cayes was pretty peaceful in the evening as people would turn in pretty early, but since the earthquake there are so many people that hang out late and a lot of people who really don't have anywhere to go. After another trip down the scary fast road with lots of motorcycles, we turned off onto the neighborhood road towards the house.
The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful with showering, packing, and blogging. Ok, I think I will write more tomorrow, I will try to post my pics tonight. Thanks for reading!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Stark Contrast
This day is definitely a day of contrasts or opposites or extremes, however you would like to call it. Today began very busy. We knew that we only had a half day to see our patients, because June wanted me to get a chance to see a different side of Haiti before I left. I really appreciated it, because up to this point, all I had seen was the neighborhood around the hospital and guest house. I figured that I would not even have a chance to see much because of the timing of things, so this was a great surprise!
So anyway, it started out very busy this morning with returning patients and new patients. I was running way late for lunch (they run a strict schedule for meals here) and then right as I was about to leave, another PT came in with a small 3 year old boy whose leg had been run over by a bicycle. She wasn't sure if he had fractured it or torn some ligaments. So I took a look at him, then a few others did, then off to the xray room he went and off to lunch I went. He ended up fracturing his tibia and fibula near the knee, so he had to get casted. I also did not have time to finish my documentation, so I went back to the clinic earlier than the meet up time to do so.
It took awhile for us to leave cause June had quite a few loose ends to tie up before we left. Me, Sarah, Heidi, and Marvin climbed in the bed of the truck and then June, Carmen, and Cindy were in the cab. The best way to sum up the drive is "Praise God I am alive!" There is absolutely no order on the streets, no stop signs, no yield signs, I saw one traffic light and one round-a-bout the whole (45 min drive). There are tons of people on motorcycles and they pass you on the left, the right, wherever they please. There were quite a few speed bumps called "Police couche" "sleeping police" in Creole, but that was the only thing that made anyone slow down. Also, did I mention there are people walking everywhere and a lot of times they don't even get out of the way. On the way back (in the dark), June had to slam on her breaks because a guy was walking in the middle of the road and then he got mad at us and even hit the side of the truck with his hand! On the way out there an SUV was riding our bumper like crazy, then he eventually passed us, which was also scary, cause he got soo close!
Ok enough about the crazy drive, I will try to describe what I saw, heard, and smelled. Lots of markets alongside the streets, lottery stands (Marvin says the lottery is huge here, this speaks a lot of the culture, which I will explain later), tombstones randomly in people's yards, A LOT of people bathing in the river (they apparently bathe everyday around 2-3 pm), people carrying all kinds of objects on their heads (water, sticks, etc), people yelling at us (because we are white, not because we are in the back of a truck), huge brightly painted buses, trash everywhere, one guy making kissing noises, another one dancing a bit provocatively (to put it nicely), smells of burning (wood, plastic, trash, etc), exhaust smells (honestly, I think the smells made me more sick to my stomach than the drive, but it is hard to determine), and then a beautiful countryside and a few great views of the ocean, some Haitians dancing and playing the drums, singing, and I am sure there is more, but that is what I can remember at 11pm. So we go through all this chaos to a little slice of paradise in the country.
The beach is called Port Salut. When you get there, you order your food because it takes 2 hours to prepare (really fresh fish and lobster). They have these nice huts with chairs set up underneath, a bar on the beach, and even some guesthouses yYou can rent for an evening or two. When we arrived there, there were only 2 other people on the whole beach other than employees. It was amazing! Apparently, Haitians don't really like the beach. The majority of people we saw there were not natives. This place was so peaceful, relaxing, and calm, I can see why the full-time people like to come here for some R and R. I will be posting pictures once I get to the US. Anyway, I ordered some yummy lobster and it came with fries, plantains, avocados, and rice with this yummy sauce. I also had the Haitian mixed drink: Rum and punch, it was good! (I made sure and had June order it with less rum and more punch...haha). Anyway, I spent about 15 min in the water and then Heidi, Sarah, and I went exploring. Since no one goes to the beach, there were tons of great finds in terms of shells and starfish..I didn't bring it with me, but there was a HUGE starfish washed up on the beach.
Ok, I am cutting this short because the bugs are swarming my computer and it's late. I will write more tomorrow.
Thanks for reading!
So anyway, it started out very busy this morning with returning patients and new patients. I was running way late for lunch (they run a strict schedule for meals here) and then right as I was about to leave, another PT came in with a small 3 year old boy whose leg had been run over by a bicycle. She wasn't sure if he had fractured it or torn some ligaments. So I took a look at him, then a few others did, then off to the xray room he went and off to lunch I went. He ended up fracturing his tibia and fibula near the knee, so he had to get casted. I also did not have time to finish my documentation, so I went back to the clinic earlier than the meet up time to do so.
It took awhile for us to leave cause June had quite a few loose ends to tie up before we left. Me, Sarah, Heidi, and Marvin climbed in the bed of the truck and then June, Carmen, and Cindy were in the cab. The best way to sum up the drive is "Praise God I am alive!" There is absolutely no order on the streets, no stop signs, no yield signs, I saw one traffic light and one round-a-bout the whole (45 min drive). There are tons of people on motorcycles and they pass you on the left, the right, wherever they please. There were quite a few speed bumps called "Police couche" "sleeping police" in Creole, but that was the only thing that made anyone slow down. Also, did I mention there are people walking everywhere and a lot of times they don't even get out of the way. On the way back (in the dark), June had to slam on her breaks because a guy was walking in the middle of the road and then he got mad at us and even hit the side of the truck with his hand! On the way out there an SUV was riding our bumper like crazy, then he eventually passed us, which was also scary, cause he got soo close!
Ok enough about the crazy drive, I will try to describe what I saw, heard, and smelled. Lots of markets alongside the streets, lottery stands (Marvin says the lottery is huge here, this speaks a lot of the culture, which I will explain later), tombstones randomly in people's yards, A LOT of people bathing in the river (they apparently bathe everyday around 2-3 pm), people carrying all kinds of objects on their heads (water, sticks, etc), people yelling at us (because we are white, not because we are in the back of a truck), huge brightly painted buses, trash everywhere, one guy making kissing noises, another one dancing a bit provocatively (to put it nicely), smells of burning (wood, plastic, trash, etc), exhaust smells (honestly, I think the smells made me more sick to my stomach than the drive, but it is hard to determine), and then a beautiful countryside and a few great views of the ocean, some Haitians dancing and playing the drums, singing, and I am sure there is more, but that is what I can remember at 11pm. So we go through all this chaos to a little slice of paradise in the country.
The beach is called Port Salut. When you get there, you order your food because it takes 2 hours to prepare (really fresh fish and lobster). They have these nice huts with chairs set up underneath, a bar on the beach, and even some guesthouses yYou can rent for an evening or two. When we arrived there, there were only 2 other people on the whole beach other than employees. It was amazing! Apparently, Haitians don't really like the beach. The majority of people we saw there were not natives. This place was so peaceful, relaxing, and calm, I can see why the full-time people like to come here for some R and R. I will be posting pictures once I get to the US. Anyway, I ordered some yummy lobster and it came with fries, plantains, avocados, and rice with this yummy sauce. I also had the Haitian mixed drink: Rum and punch, it was good! (I made sure and had June order it with less rum and more punch...haha). Anyway, I spent about 15 min in the water and then Heidi, Sarah, and I went exploring. Since no one goes to the beach, there were tons of great finds in terms of shells and starfish..I didn't bring it with me, but there was a HUGE starfish washed up on the beach.
Ok, I am cutting this short because the bugs are swarming my computer and it's late. I will write more tomorrow.
Thanks for reading!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
So many needs, So few resources
I am very pensive today. Today was a little rougher for me mentally and physically. We went to the Bernice Johnson Center for Women with Disabilities. It is basically a small apartment complex with some rehab items on site. These ladies live here and they also learn to crochet and knit and their stuff is sold in the US. I wish I would have had my camera with me so that you could see the living conditions. They are good for Haiti, but they are definitely not good to US standards. They basically have to go to the bathroom in port-a-potty and take showers in a tent. They are actually well taken care of with women to help with getting around, cooking, and cleaning.
Anyway, here I had a difficult time trying to communicate with a patient. Communicating things to patients about their condition is difficult enough in English, I feel somewhat helpless with a translator, because he is unable to communicate my emotions effectively. Anyway, that was taxing and a lot of times you see how far these people are from getting "rehabilitated" it is a bit overwhelming. This patient has a external fixator in her lower leg started just below the leg, she recently fell, was flown to PAP to have a good doctor examine her, and then flown back. This poor lady has been in an external fixator since January!! Long story short, the doctor told her that she needs to start putting weight through her leg because she is developing osteoporosis (she is probably in her 20's or 30's). So, today she says, "I need to go to the bathroom", so I said ok, then as she was walking (with steps approximately six inches long), I decided to make it therapy and walk with her (the whole process took about 45 minutes). Unbeknownst to me, the bathroom is an outhouse about 300 feet away!! The lady was barefoot and was scared to wear shoes (I think because she fell while wearing her shoes), so her poor feet were getting burnt by the hot concrete. I finally convinced her to let me put on the shoe after she was done using the restroom. Then, as we were walking back, I find out that this is the first time that she has walked since January (and used the actual bathroom)!! I said, "Wow! C'est tres bon (that's very good) and then asked What motivated you to do that?!" She said, "The doctor told me to start putting weight through my leg".
This is a prime example of the personality of a lot of these people here. Talk about motivation and determination!! It is another example of the poor quality of doctors that work in Haiti. There is no reason for her to have not been putting weight through her leg by now. WAY TOO LONG (In the states, you leave them on for maybe 6-8 weeks). All this is frustrating and really makes me feel overwhelmed with the size of the need here. God drastically needs to intervene here. June says that a lot of people say "If God wills it" about Haiti getting out of its current state, which she completely agrees that it will take an act of God to help this country, but she said that she sometimes gets tired of people saying that because they end up not doing anything to help with the change.
So anyway, lots of things on my mind. How do you provoke change? How can Haiti be saved? How can we effectively help the patients here, the ones we are in contact with? What happens when they leave the hospital? A lot of them have no home to return to. How can the clinic be more organized? How can the people receive good continuity of care when people are coming in and out all the time?
Anyway, thanks for reading my rant. I know I need to spend some time praying about all these things.
Anyway, here I had a difficult time trying to communicate with a patient. Communicating things to patients about their condition is difficult enough in English, I feel somewhat helpless with a translator, because he is unable to communicate my emotions effectively. Anyway, that was taxing and a lot of times you see how far these people are from getting "rehabilitated" it is a bit overwhelming. This patient has a external fixator in her lower leg started just below the leg, she recently fell, was flown to PAP to have a good doctor examine her, and then flown back. This poor lady has been in an external fixator since January!! Long story short, the doctor told her that she needs to start putting weight through her leg because she is developing osteoporosis (she is probably in her 20's or 30's). So, today she says, "I need to go to the bathroom", so I said ok, then as she was walking (with steps approximately six inches long), I decided to make it therapy and walk with her (the whole process took about 45 minutes). Unbeknownst to me, the bathroom is an outhouse about 300 feet away!! The lady was barefoot and was scared to wear shoes (I think because she fell while wearing her shoes), so her poor feet were getting burnt by the hot concrete. I finally convinced her to let me put on the shoe after she was done using the restroom. Then, as we were walking back, I find out that this is the first time that she has walked since January (and used the actual bathroom)!! I said, "Wow! C'est tres bon (that's very good) and then asked What motivated you to do that?!" She said, "The doctor told me to start putting weight through my leg".
This is a prime example of the personality of a lot of these people here. Talk about motivation and determination!! It is another example of the poor quality of doctors that work in Haiti. There is no reason for her to have not been putting weight through her leg by now. WAY TOO LONG (In the states, you leave them on for maybe 6-8 weeks). All this is frustrating and really makes me feel overwhelmed with the size of the need here. God drastically needs to intervene here. June says that a lot of people say "If God wills it" about Haiti getting out of its current state, which she completely agrees that it will take an act of God to help this country, but she said that she sometimes gets tired of people saying that because they end up not doing anything to help with the change.
So anyway, lots of things on my mind. How do you provoke change? How can Haiti be saved? How can we effectively help the patients here, the ones we are in contact with? What happens when they leave the hospital? A lot of them have no home to return to. How can the clinic be more organized? How can the people receive good continuity of care when people are coming in and out all the time?
Anyway, thanks for reading my rant. I know I need to spend some time praying about all these things.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Interesting Facts
Things that I am learning about Haiti and the Haitians:
1. You can’t sleep past 6 AM even if you try, because the roosters crow outside your window.
2. It storms almost every night here.
3. The thunder is very loud, so loud that I had to wear earplugs last night to sleep
4. Haitians don’t like to get out in the rain as evidenced by there being no patients when we first got to the clinic this morning. It also rained again in the afternoon and the patients stayed away..kinda funny
5. It takes longer to do things here and often times you seem very busy, but look back and realize you did not do near as much as you would have done in the US. I seem really busy here, but I see A LOT fewer patients.
6. Degage- we were told this term means “doing what you can”. Often times, I feel this way, because I feel like I don’t know exactly what I am doing, but I am doing the best I can with the available resources.
7. Other than walking, the main transportation around here is motorcycles and bicycles
8. They really do balance objects on their head to transport them.
9. They seem very interested in photos once you have taken them. I had a couple of them sit and watch me go through the pics on my camera
10. Most of them have great voices and they enjoy singing. Today, Lynda (a patient) tried to convince me to sing for her. I tried to explain to her that I did not sing well, but she didn’t care. I am supposed to sing a song for her tomorrow..should be interesting
11. The people really do take things in stride, many times patients wait for a long time before getting treatment, casted, etc, but they never seem to get upset. No one has any sort of entitlement attitude like most Americans do.
12. A week is definitely not long enough to experience the culture and build relationships, I am pretty bummed that I did not arrange to stay longer, because I am enjoying it and I feel like I am missing out on a lot by leaving after one week.
13. If you have power, you have generators, batteries, inverters, etc.
I know there are more things, but I will write them as I think of them.
Overall, today was another good day. It started off slowly because of the down pour we had. Thankfully, June picked us up this morning so we didn’t have to walk in the rain and mud. One very exciting thing that I got to do today was walk with my patient, Rita (the one whose story I told earlier). She asked me if she could walk back to her room with her cane rather than being wheeled up in her wheelchair. She walked all the way up the stairs to her room with minimal assistance on the stairs; it was great! You could tell that she was really excited as well. Other patients were also cheering her on, very cool!
We are enjoying our time getting to know the other folks staying at the guesthouse as well. There is one Haitian family from PAP staying here, a husband, wife, and 3 children. He is a minister and seems to be just taking a short furlough here with his family. They are very warm and friendly. There is another group of two men with their sons here. They are both ministers coming to speak at a conference.
We walked around the neighborhood tonight after dinner and went further than we have before. There is a small market where people are selling things from stick huts lit with the small propane cans that you put under catering dishes. We saw cooked food, fruit, snacks, and even a laundry place (we think).
I can’t believe I only have 2 more working days here. The day itself seems long, but when I think about how quickly I am going to leave, it seems very short.
It continues to be a very pleasant experience for me even though I have definitely felt stretched with the treatments (I have never worked with people with amputations before) and with the disorganization. I can easily see myself coming back and helping on a regular basis.
1. You can’t sleep past 6 AM even if you try, because the roosters crow outside your window.
2. It storms almost every night here.
3. The thunder is very loud, so loud that I had to wear earplugs last night to sleep
4. Haitians don’t like to get out in the rain as evidenced by there being no patients when we first got to the clinic this morning. It also rained again in the afternoon and the patients stayed away..kinda funny
5. It takes longer to do things here and often times you seem very busy, but look back and realize you did not do near as much as you would have done in the US. I seem really busy here, but I see A LOT fewer patients.
6. Degage- we were told this term means “doing what you can”. Often times, I feel this way, because I feel like I don’t know exactly what I am doing, but I am doing the best I can with the available resources.
7. Other than walking, the main transportation around here is motorcycles and bicycles
8. They really do balance objects on their head to transport them.
9. They seem very interested in photos once you have taken them. I had a couple of them sit and watch me go through the pics on my camera
10. Most of them have great voices and they enjoy singing. Today, Lynda (a patient) tried to convince me to sing for her. I tried to explain to her that I did not sing well, but she didn’t care. I am supposed to sing a song for her tomorrow..should be interesting
11. The people really do take things in stride, many times patients wait for a long time before getting treatment, casted, etc, but they never seem to get upset. No one has any sort of entitlement attitude like most Americans do.
12. A week is definitely not long enough to experience the culture and build relationships, I am pretty bummed that I did not arrange to stay longer, because I am enjoying it and I feel like I am missing out on a lot by leaving after one week.
13. If you have power, you have generators, batteries, inverters, etc.
I know there are more things, but I will write them as I think of them.
Overall, today was another good day. It started off slowly because of the down pour we had. Thankfully, June picked us up this morning so we didn’t have to walk in the rain and mud. One very exciting thing that I got to do today was walk with my patient, Rita (the one whose story I told earlier). She asked me if she could walk back to her room with her cane rather than being wheeled up in her wheelchair. She walked all the way up the stairs to her room with minimal assistance on the stairs; it was great! You could tell that she was really excited as well. Other patients were also cheering her on, very cool!
We are enjoying our time getting to know the other folks staying at the guesthouse as well. There is one Haitian family from PAP staying here, a husband, wife, and 3 children. He is a minister and seems to be just taking a short furlough here with his family. They are very warm and friendly. There is another group of two men with their sons here. They are both ministers coming to speak at a conference.
We walked around the neighborhood tonight after dinner and went further than we have before. There is a small market where people are selling things from stick huts lit with the small propane cans that you put under catering dishes. We saw cooked food, fruit, snacks, and even a laundry place (we think).
I can’t believe I only have 2 more working days here. The day itself seems long, but when I think about how quickly I am going to leave, it seems very short.
It continues to be a very pleasant experience for me even though I have definitely felt stretched with the treatments (I have never worked with people with amputations before) and with the disorganization. I can easily see myself coming back and helping on a regular basis.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Day 3
The day began with less chaos, although, the rooster still crowed. I seemed to sleep a bit better, I only woke up 3 times as opposed to 6 or 7. This morning for breakfast was heavier on the carbs and lighter on the protein, but I survived with a cliff bar later in the afternoon.
We arrived at 8 AM, because that is what time June told us to be there. Well, there were patients there, but we had no translators! No one showed until around 8:30 (which is when we will get there tomorrow), then we met for prayer, worship, and a teaching from Frankel. It was fun trying to sing a hymn in Creole. Heidi and I winged it as best we could. Many Haitians can sing well, so it is great just hearing them. Sometimes, we can hear people break out in song upstairs in the hospital.
We only had a couple of patients at first, but then out of nowhere comes June with literally a “truck full of patients”! She went the Bernice Johnson Center for Women to pick up the ladies who need rehabilitation. The clinic was packed very quickly. I saw about the same amount of patients as yesterday, maybe a few more. I got to work with a few of the patients that I saw yesterday, so that was nice (continuance of care is always good).
Probably one of my favorite parts of this day was working with Rita again. She is the one I spoke about who my heart really went out to yesterday. I asked the translator to help translate her story for me if she was willing to tell me. The gist of the story was that she was in her apartment/home on the 4th story lying in her bed when the earthquake happened. She remembered feeling things shaking, but then the next thing she new she was lying in the same position somewhere else. She said that it was hard for her to determine where she was. Apparently, she was thrown from her house and was lying on top of another house pinned under concrete. She remembered awakening and praying to God for help. Some men came to help (not sure on the time elapse) and got her son and her husband and then had to get the concrete off her. She ended up losing her 13 y/o son in the earthquake. She said she got some medical attention in PAP, but then was able to come to the hospital here. Minus a few weeks when she went to a different hospital, she has been here since the earthquake (January). I noticed that she was wearing a different gown today, so that made me happy.
The language barrier is very tough for me. In the US, I spend a lot of time talking with my patients and learning about them, here it is much more difficult. Even with a translator, you feel things are lost in translation. I would love to grab a translator after hours and just go up and visit with some of these people. I pray that God will open more doors in the future for relationship building.
I am finding that my French background is coming in very handy here. A lot of times, I can get the gist of what someone is saying and I can communicate a few words to my patients. Some of my patients speak French, so I will try my best to talk with them in French. I think that, with practice, I could learn Creole. It seems to be much easier than French in terms of conjugation and sentence structure.
We walked by the large church today (I believe it is a Baptist church). We stopped and listened to the service they were having for a bit. I might try to go back by tomorrow evening wearing appropriate clothing (I was in a tank top and long shorts) and see if they have a Wed night service.
So I pretty much sweat or feel sticky all day here. It isn’t uncomfortable enough that it affects what I am doing, but it is definitely different than what I am used to. I am sure that if I lived here longer, I would not notice it as much. In the evenings I have noticed that I feel like my skin is literally giving off heat, similar to how you feel when you have a sunburn, but not painful. Weird, I know.
Ok, well, I don’t get to sleep much past 6 with the rooster and the heat, so I better take a shower and get to bed.
Thanks again for reading and for your prayers!
We arrived at 8 AM, because that is what time June told us to be there. Well, there were patients there, but we had no translators! No one showed until around 8:30 (which is when we will get there tomorrow), then we met for prayer, worship, and a teaching from Frankel. It was fun trying to sing a hymn in Creole. Heidi and I winged it as best we could. Many Haitians can sing well, so it is great just hearing them. Sometimes, we can hear people break out in song upstairs in the hospital.
We only had a couple of patients at first, but then out of nowhere comes June with literally a “truck full of patients”! She went the Bernice Johnson Center for Women to pick up the ladies who need rehabilitation. The clinic was packed very quickly. I saw about the same amount of patients as yesterday, maybe a few more. I got to work with a few of the patients that I saw yesterday, so that was nice (continuance of care is always good).
Probably one of my favorite parts of this day was working with Rita again. She is the one I spoke about who my heart really went out to yesterday. I asked the translator to help translate her story for me if she was willing to tell me. The gist of the story was that she was in her apartment/home on the 4th story lying in her bed when the earthquake happened. She remembered feeling things shaking, but then the next thing she new she was lying in the same position somewhere else. She said that it was hard for her to determine where she was. Apparently, she was thrown from her house and was lying on top of another house pinned under concrete. She remembered awakening and praying to God for help. Some men came to help (not sure on the time elapse) and got her son and her husband and then had to get the concrete off her. She ended up losing her 13 y/o son in the earthquake. She said she got some medical attention in PAP, but then was able to come to the hospital here. Minus a few weeks when she went to a different hospital, she has been here since the earthquake (January). I noticed that she was wearing a different gown today, so that made me happy.
The language barrier is very tough for me. In the US, I spend a lot of time talking with my patients and learning about them, here it is much more difficult. Even with a translator, you feel things are lost in translation. I would love to grab a translator after hours and just go up and visit with some of these people. I pray that God will open more doors in the future for relationship building.
I am finding that my French background is coming in very handy here. A lot of times, I can get the gist of what someone is saying and I can communicate a few words to my patients. Some of my patients speak French, so I will try my best to talk with them in French. I think that, with practice, I could learn Creole. It seems to be much easier than French in terms of conjugation and sentence structure.
We walked by the large church today (I believe it is a Baptist church). We stopped and listened to the service they were having for a bit. I might try to go back by tomorrow evening wearing appropriate clothing (I was in a tank top and long shorts) and see if they have a Wed night service.
So I pretty much sweat or feel sticky all day here. It isn’t uncomfortable enough that it affects what I am doing, but it is definitely different than what I am used to. I am sure that if I lived here longer, I would not notice it as much. In the evenings I have noticed that I feel like my skin is literally giving off heat, similar to how you feel when you have a sunburn, but not painful. Weird, I know.
Ok, well, I don’t get to sleep much past 6 with the rooster and the heat, so I better take a shower and get to bed.
Thanks again for reading and for your prayers!
Monday, August 16, 2010
1st day of Therapy
We arrived at the hospital or Clinique du Centre Saint Lumiere. We had absolutely no idea where we were going once we got there, but Heidi was told to look for the Prosthetist, Walter (who we later found out was named Marvin). We eventually found the therapy gym and found Marvin. Shortly therafter, another physical therapist arrived. Her name is Ulrike (a full time missionary originally from Germany), she lives about an hour and a half away from Les Cayes (shortened Cayes and pronounced like K-ie) and volunteers off and on as needed. She specializes in pediatrics. She was very helpful, showed us around the hospital, and showed us the therapy ropes. We found out that Marvin and his wife, Carmen are here full time as missionaries with Medical Teams International. Marvin stays very busy fitting and making prostheses. Carmen assists Marvin as well as performing wound care if needed.
Let me tell you, I felt very ill prepared starting out because we didn’t get a true orientation or anything, we were really just “thrown to the wolves”. However, one of the guys who helped get the program started(can’t remember his name) did give us some encouraging words and prayed for us. This was very refreshing.
I ended up seeing about 6-8 patients (some are inpatient and some outpatient). Most of the patients had orthopedic problems, so that made it a little less intimidating. I saw one guy who was injured in a motorcycle accident, one guy who was attacked by a guy with a machete, and one lady who was injured from the earthquake along with her husband and children. Those are just the stories I know so far. I am very interested to hear more about the lady as my heart really went out to her. She came in with an old night gown that was safety pinned together. When I asked more about her, I found out that she has been in the hospital since after the earthquake along with most of her family. Her husband has since improved and moved back to Port au Prince to work. She had two external fixators (google it) because her legs were so broken from her injuries and this caused her to have to lie in awkward positions, so she has now developed a scoliosis and is complaining of back pain. Anyway, I am looking forward to working with her more, hearing her story, and helping to meet more of her needs.
Two very sad things that I saw today: An orphan baby (now 4 y/o) was left on the hospital steps with hydrocephalus (the babies with the abnormally large heads). She has been at the hospital for a long time, but has no family to care for her and has been struggling to stay alive. Some missionaries have come to care for her, but it seems the staff has lost hope for her. The other thing that happened today was that an elderly man came in who was very ill, Sarah (the other volunteer who is a nurse) started his IV, and not long after he passed away. I ended up seeing them roll him out on the stretcher, very sad.
Another great thing about today, I got to meet and talk a lot with the director, June. She invited us over to her house. I heard her story, how she came to faith and her heart for the Haitian people. She would like to rename the program “With open hands” to exemplify how we receive love from God and give to others. I asked a heavy question as it got later, “Can you explain the spiritual/religious climate in Haiti” and she said that she would like to answer this question, but would like to wait until Marvin and Carmen were there to hear the answer as well. Anyway, I enjoyed our time talking with her, and I look forward to more talks.
Food update: I have been eating well. 3 square meals and I tried to cram in some snacks when I had time in between patients. Either way, I survived without any major physical set backs. Something that will make all friends who read this laugh: I ate a hot dog today, actually, not just one, but two! Beggars can’t be choosers here, if you want your protein, you eat what you are given. I even ate goat meat for lunch!! It was quite tasty, actually. Tastes like beef, not chicken :)
Well, I had better get off to bed, a long day of rehab tomorrow. I might also get the chance to go to another rehab center tomorrow, which happens to be all women. I am looking forward to many more great experiences and stories.
Thanks for reading my lengthy updates.
Let me tell you, I felt very ill prepared starting out because we didn’t get a true orientation or anything, we were really just “thrown to the wolves”. However, one of the guys who helped get the program started(can’t remember his name) did give us some encouraging words and prayed for us. This was very refreshing.
I ended up seeing about 6-8 patients (some are inpatient and some outpatient). Most of the patients had orthopedic problems, so that made it a little less intimidating. I saw one guy who was injured in a motorcycle accident, one guy who was attacked by a guy with a machete, and one lady who was injured from the earthquake along with her husband and children. Those are just the stories I know so far. I am very interested to hear more about the lady as my heart really went out to her. She came in with an old night gown that was safety pinned together. When I asked more about her, I found out that she has been in the hospital since after the earthquake along with most of her family. Her husband has since improved and moved back to Port au Prince to work. She had two external fixators (google it) because her legs were so broken from her injuries and this caused her to have to lie in awkward positions, so she has now developed a scoliosis and is complaining of back pain. Anyway, I am looking forward to working with her more, hearing her story, and helping to meet more of her needs.
Two very sad things that I saw today: An orphan baby (now 4 y/o) was left on the hospital steps with hydrocephalus (the babies with the abnormally large heads). She has been at the hospital for a long time, but has no family to care for her and has been struggling to stay alive. Some missionaries have come to care for her, but it seems the staff has lost hope for her. The other thing that happened today was that an elderly man came in who was very ill, Sarah (the other volunteer who is a nurse) started his IV, and not long after he passed away. I ended up seeing them roll him out on the stretcher, very sad.
Another great thing about today, I got to meet and talk a lot with the director, June. She invited us over to her house. I heard her story, how she came to faith and her heart for the Haitian people. She would like to rename the program “With open hands” to exemplify how we receive love from God and give to others. I asked a heavy question as it got later, “Can you explain the spiritual/religious climate in Haiti” and she said that she would like to answer this question, but would like to wait until Marvin and Carmen were there to hear the answer as well. Anyway, I enjoyed our time talking with her, and I look forward to more talks.
Food update: I have been eating well. 3 square meals and I tried to cram in some snacks when I had time in between patients. Either way, I survived without any major physical set backs. Something that will make all friends who read this laugh: I ate a hot dog today, actually, not just one, but two! Beggars can’t be choosers here, if you want your protein, you eat what you are given. I even ate goat meat for lunch!! It was quite tasty, actually. Tastes like beef, not chicken :)
Well, I had better get off to bed, a long day of rehab tomorrow. I might also get the chance to go to another rehab center tomorrow, which happens to be all women. I am looking forward to many more great experiences and stories.
Thanks for reading my lengthy updates.
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