1st Day in Jacmel

It's been almost 24 hours since my last blog and I have a lot to report.

We left for Jacmel several hours later than expected due to several unforseen circumstances (again, "this is Haiti" motto applies). While Adrian and I were trying to bring down heavy hockey bags to be loaded into the van so we would be ready to go, I made the unfortunate mis-step and had a fall that has resulted in a significant sprain to the ankle. I  stepped on a loose rock and went down backward on a very steep set of stairs and realized that the "pop" I heard was probably not a good thing but since my foot was still pointing in the right direction and not wanting to make a big deal out of it, I walked down the rest of the stairs and back up before a team member commented on how pale I looked. Long story short, I severly sprained my ankle and have had it wrapped since yesterday. I can weight-bear but am going up and down stairs one at a time and hobbling around. With much Ibruprophen on board and the shockingly hot weather today, it is starting to feel better but is very swollen and is bruising considerably. The team is taking good care of me and I am trying to not be a clutz for the rest of the trip. Karen tells me that there has to be one person on each trip that gets really sick or hurts themselves. Nobody has got sick yet, so I guess I've taken one for the team on this!

We arrived at Hotel Cyvadier at 8pm and they had arranged a lobster dinner for us. The rooms are modest and you still can't flush toilet paper, but it is beautiful and when I woke up the private cove and beach is breathtaking. After driving through the worst area of Port-au-Prince last night where even our driver locked the doors, I feel like I am in paradise. The food is amazing and this experience is very different from being in the city.

Today started with a visit to Pazapa, a day school for children with disabilities and is the only one of it's kind in Haiti. Because their building was so damaged in the earthquake, they have been relocated to a field that is outside in wooden structures and two tents. The children are very well cared for and are very happy. Their parents attend and are very eager to learn. I was overwhelmed by the heat today but most struck by an encounter I had with a young deaf man who arrived to school in the afternoon needing a nurse. He had a huge gash on his knee that was a result of falling off of his bike two days earlier. With the traffic being the way it is in Haiti, I can't help but wonder if he fell to save his own life because he couldn't hear a car coming. After I bandaged him up and told him I would be back on Friday and I wanted to see him he was very happy. I found his wound covered with a dirty, scrap of materal. A simple bandaid to stop the bleeding wasn't available so he used what he could and it could have potentially caused him to acquire a serious infection.

The kids today were amazing and just wanted to have their picture taken and played with. We are going to do home visits tomorrow which I am very happy about and then back to Pazapa on Friday.

After work, we went for a swim in the ocean. The water was like being in a warm bath and a perfect way to end a hot and sweaty day. Afterward, we went into Jacmel to do some shopping and were able to walk the streets with our driver close behind. It is so different being in Jacmel. We would never be able to walk the streets in Port-au-Prince, but in Jacmel, we were not swarmed and I felt very safe despite attracting attention. It is overwheming to look into a 10X10 foot tent and see that it has been turned into a home for a family. When we returned to the hotel and I was trying to get internet access, I asked the man behind the desk how his day was and he said "Not very good". When I asked him why he said it was because he had a headache and his chest was heavy. I asked him if he had a cough and established that he did not seem to have an infection but a common cold. I also asked if he had any medicine, and he said: "No, I just have to come to work". I have a ton of medicine that I could give him for the next 24 hours that would take his misery away, but if everyone else at the hotel finds out I have medicine, then they will also expect me to help. I had a very difficult time with this notion today.

Had lobster for dinner again and headed for an early night and an 8am start time tomorrow. I love it here and totally understand the love/hate relationship that you acquire with Haiti.