Clinic Day

Everyone was in bed quite early last night after an evening swim with a beer. Unfortunately, I did not sleep through the night. Just kept waking up on and off and wondered if it was my body's way of not letting me miss a minute of the time I have left in Haiti. The sounds at night are amazing, tropical birds, palm trees rustling in the wind and the distant music from the shanty town.

I got up early and got dressed to head out to the clinic with Fiona today. She workes for HH and helps to run a rehab clinic for SCI patients (spinal cord injury). I was able to work alongside a nurse and the doctor. They allowed me to do an assessment on a 31 year old woman named Martha. She was a masters of communications and marketing student on full scholorship at the time of the earthquake and was stuck under rubble for 16 hours. She was left with a partial spinal cord injury in her lumar region and walked into the clinic with the assistance of a walker. It almost brought me to tears that she had the physical strength and will to get herself to the clinic amid all of the rubble. She is currently living in a shelter which has many stairs so it is very difficult for her to get to and from her home. The doctor told Martha that he was concerned about her bladder management and told her that he wants her to do intermittent cathertizing every 4 hours to prevent UTI and other complications. Although he was speaking to her in Creole and I could only make out some of the conversation, you could see the sadness in her eyes that this was one more obstacle she would have to figure out each day. After a few moments, she said "lè nou kòmanse" which means When do we start? The doctor mentioned after her physio and she attacked her physio regime like no patient I have ever seen. She told me that sometimes she is afraid to go inside becuase she can't move quickly if there was another earthquake. Many people here are afraid to go indoors and sleeping inside after being through a magnitude 7.0 earthquake is unsettling.

Fiona showed me some wounds that they have healed that would have been challenging for physicians and nurses to heal with all of our fancy wound care products. They went back to basics, packing, betadine and hydrocolliod and have given back quality of life to so many requiring rehab services! I was very proud today to see what phenomonal work is going on at the clinic and made me think that spending 6 months here would be so amazing to follow someone through their complete recovery.

I spent 3 hours at the clinic before having to get picked up to head back to the guesthouse so that we could get a driver to take us to Jacmel. We will be doing some work at Pazapa Among the facilities destroyed in the earthquake is Pazapa (Creole for "Step by step"), a charity run from two buildings in downtown Jacmel, which helps disabled children. The charity's two rented buildings suffered condemning damage, just after the children left for the day. We will be working outside while here, so we are hoping for sunshine and great weather.

I have no new photos to post for this entry, but hope to have some soon from Jacmel. The shopping is apparently amazing and I hope to pick up some artwork for my next fundraiser.

Bon Bagay!