July 2011

I thought I'd let you all know what's been going on since my last post several months ago. I am preparing for my next trip to Haiti in November and already have my hockey bags nearly full with small toys, bubbles, and sunglasses. I had a garage sale a few weekends ago and managed to raise $340 dollars which I will be putting towards my fund raising efforts.

I am still in physiotherapy once a week for both my ankle and my shoulder but slowly on the mend. The car is fixed, there ended up being over $8000.00 damage. Now I'll get to have fun with the provincial auto insurance to get a reasonable claim settled.

First night at home with my cast/ in a lot of pain!

The day after surgery and waiting to go home

Indent from the cast for 7 weeks!

First day with cast off. Grossest thing I've ever seen!

After the wonderful pedicure. Looks pretty good!

My pretty fibreglass cast for the next 7 weeks!

6 inch plate and 7 screws!

I am looking forward to getting back to Haiti and seeing my friends from last year's team. I'll fill you in on more soon. I plan on posting much more regularly. In the meantime, here are some pictures of my fracture. Kind of cool!



Chat soon!

News Article

Hello again, I really do miss blogging on here each day so I thought I would write an update on where things are at.

I haven't heard anything from the Burnaby Hospital Foundation about whether they are going to run a story on the amazing care I received. I hope they do, it really is a feel-good story that I think sends a positive message that our sometimes flawed health care system still has amazing individuals working to make traumatic experiences positive. So, in the interim, Meredith and Paige, two amazing nurses at Burnaby Hospital, thank you for making my time in the hospital so much better. Dr. Tarazi, you are amazing and I have had no post-op complications to speak of. My current PT told me that you are a very good surgeon and that I was lucky to have you operate on my ankle.

I have started physio and Kristie has told me that a complete recovery is expected. She stated that I'm already a bit ahead of the game in terms of ROM and has provided me exercises to do at home. I'll see her twice a week because in her words: "I really want to work that foot". I was in a car accident two weeks ago. I was rear-ended at at least the marked speed limit by a young distracted driver. His car was a write-off, and mine has just over $8,000.00 damage to it. I subsequently hit a car and that driver hit the car in front of her. It could have been so much worse had I been driving a smaller vehicle so I have some lucky gods looking out for me again!! Aside from a left shoulder that is also now getting physio, I'm totally fine and was not seriously injured.

I will post the recent news article that was published. This article is a follow up to the 1st one that ran before I left to Haiti.

Peace Arch News - Healing Hands   

 I'll keep posting over the coming months so that there is not a huge break between this and my next trip which will occur in November.

Bon Bagay!

My Haiti Compilation

The Cast Has Come Off........

So, I wanted to give everyone a quick update. It's been 7 weeks since returning from Haiti and my ankle fracture has healed enough to have my cast removed yesterday, YEAH!!

I am literally learning to walk again. I started with my aircast and crutches (because I was too scared to actually put my foot down) to one crutch to a runner and a cane and now I can walk without any support by the end of the day. I have a visible limp, it reminds me of how I was getting around in Haiti but my pain is minimal.

Reflecting on the past 7 weeks, I feel very fortunate that the events that happened did so for a reason. While this expreience was far from fun, it taught me to be more patient, to have to learn to ask others for help more than I do and that it's okay to do that, and to just sit and be with myself at times.

Before heading off to Hawaii with my mom this morning,  I wanted to thank everyone at Burnaby Hospital. The two nurses that stand out for me are Meredith and Paige. The OR nurses were fantastic and made me feel like I was in good hands! Dr. Tarazi is amazing! Not only did he leave me with a scar that after only 7 weeks is barely visible, was so kind, gentle and supportive and explained everything to me along the way. Edgardo in the cast clinic is the best tech I've ever met!! Not only is he very knowledgable, he went far beyond what he needed to when re-casting me 5 weeks ago to ensure I'd be comfortable and in alignment. He made me look forward to my cast clinic appointments!
Overall, this experience has been positive thanks to the great team at Burnaby Hospital! Thank you for helping me heal well enough that I am heading to Hawaii cast free!

Mom and I in Hawaii and I only have a walking cast!

A month later

So, it's been a month since returning from Haiti. While I can't believe that an entire month has passed, it also seems like it's been an eternity. I went in two weeks ago to have my post-op plaster cast removed fully expecting to be placed in a walking cast and was shocked to find out that I had to put in another 4 weeks non-weight bearing. Needless to say, it was not a proud moment for me and I am now sporting a bubble gum pink fibreglass cast which is much more comfortable and less heavy. Mom arrived 3 days ago to help me out and already we were able to get out and get all of my Christmas shopping completed. It felt so good to get this accomplished and I am noticing that I am getting stronger and can go much further on my crutches.
Mom went into a few stores for me that had too many stairs, but I ventured into a few and even learned how to go up a curb with crutches which was a big deal for me. I called in advance, and found out that Walmart has complimentary wheelchairs and despite it not always being my preferred place to shop, I was appreciative of this service. It felt really good to be out and about for 3 hours and being able to navigate around on my own. A taste of freedom I haven't experienced in 3 weeks. That said, I also felt very guilty watching mom make 5 trips from the car into the house bringing in all of the gifts and groceries we purchased.
Daily activities are getting less exhausting and I can be on my crutches for a while now. I feel much more safe leaving the house with crutches. My foot doesn't like being down and regularly goes quite purple and swells badly before I can get it elevated enough to see my regular skin tone return. My shoulders still ache alot but I am starting to feel like if I can just make it through next week, I'll have turned a corner and the end will be in sight.
I'll keep in touch and let you know how the cast removal went on Jan 7/11. Mom and I leave for Hawaii the next day, so hopefully I will be feeling the sand between all 10 toes!!

Bon bagay!

Update

So, I have a lot to report since my last blog entry.

I went to the hospital last Thursday morning and found out that I did in fact fracture my left fibula in two places (spiral fracture) just above my maleolus (ankle). It was a clean break and in line, but had shifted 2mm to the mid-line and the ER doctor referred me to the on-call orthopedic surgeon. This meant a 45 minute drive to Burnaby Hospital where Dr. Dunwoody who is amazing told me that he would recommend surgery due to the nature of the break and my age. I certainly wasn't expecting to hear that I needed surgery, so I left the hospital needing some time to process the information. I also felt that this was all quite dramatic considering I had been walking on a broken ankle for 9 days and it seemed to be improving. After consulting with a few friends in the medical profession, I decided on Friday morning to head back to the hospital and be added to the "add-on" list for surgical repair. Alethea and Robin drove me to the hospital on Friday evening and helped to get me settled in my room. I was admitted to the 4th floor Unit 4C where the nurses were fantastic. The hospital was as clean as I have seen and I was the youngest patient on the orthopedic unit by about 40 years.

Saturday morning arrived and Nelson, Alethea and the girls brought me Tim Hortons (the first since returning from Haiti) for breakfast and spent 2 hours with me which was wonderful. I was hoping that I would be called in for surgery later that day, but I was presented with a brown paper bag around 8pm that evening that contained a sandwich and applesauce......... obviously I wasn't going for surgery.

Sunday came and went, the same drill, maybe by lunch, then maybe by dinner and again, the same paper bag was offered. At this point, I had not eaten for more than 24 hours, I had an IV in my hand since Friday night and was feeling very weak, tired and lethargic. Nelson, Alethea and the girls came back to see me for a few hours but I know I wasn't very good company as I was feeling pretty sick and frustrated that I had spent more than 48 hours unable to go further than the end of the hallway while awaiting surgery.

Finally, on Monday morning, the nurse let me know that I was officially scheduled for surgery between 10 and 11am and sure enough, at 10:45am, I was wheeled down to OR. I was never so happy to be going for surgery. The anathesiologist commented that I looked nervous, and I quickly responded that the reason my pupils were so dilated, was because I was starving so he should hurry up and put me to sleep so we could get this over with. I woke up about 1.5 hours later in the recovery room to a wonderful nurse who gave me some fantastic medication for my post-op pain which was downright horrible.

I was returned to my room feeling like I couldn't keep my eyes open and fighting several waves of nausea but the best friends in the world, Nelson and Alethea again came to my rescue and brought me a "girl" happy meal for dinner. I fought through throwing it up in front of them a few times from the nausea but fell into a drug-induced coma shortly after they left. I received three more rounds of antibiotics through my IV before being discharged the following morning.

I am now at home using a walker to get around. I feel like one of the residents that resides in the facility that I work. It is very hard to use a walker and only weight-bear on one side. I find that I can only go short distances before fatiguing and needing to rest. This has been an eye-opener for me and makes me realize how quickly your independence can be taken away! I went back to work on Thursday and Friday this week and I'm feeling very frustrated and a bit depressed. I'm tired of not being able to to anything that I want. Not properly showering or washing my hair is just downright gross and outside of Haiti not socially appropriate. I want to nap all of the time and my house is slowly falling apart.

I have an appointment scheduled at the cast clinic this coming Friday (6 more sleeps) and I hope that if I am told I can't start walking on my left foot, that I can at least start wearing my aircast again and weight-bearing. I want nothing more than to get rid of this walker. My shoulders hurt and I've gotten into the habit of counting the number of steps it takes me to get to various locations around the house. Right now, I regret making the decision to have surgery, so I am living on the hope that I will be cast free in less than a week so I can at least start getting out of the house and doing the simple things we all take for granted. The irony, all I wanted to do is come home and be able to take hot showers, and since being home I've only been able to take one..... I feel like I'm back in Haiti again!!

First Day At Home

It was great to get home yesterday. After spending the night in Montreal and getting my first hot shower, I was suprised that my body didn't enjoy the idea of hot water as much as my brain wanted. I ended up having a lukewarm shower which was still wonderful. I arrived in Vancouver around 11am yesterday to Alethea and the girls and felt so wonderful to have a great friend pick me up. Robin was happy to see Aunty and Meagan was full of smiles. After getting home, I decided to leave all my luggage outside. It is suprisingly cold here since I left and snow is in the forcast for the weekend. I was getting in the Christmas spirit before leaving but now, it seems so odd to be thinking of Christmas. I decided to unpack a few items and was saddened that the only piece that didn't survive the trip home was a beautiful soapstone vase I had packed in my carry-on. I think it got broken when the guys were packing the van. I'm going to try to crazy glue it back together today.

I talked to Wes, mom and Tammy on the phone and it was great to be at home and enjoying some comforts we take for granted. I had to go to bed early tonight as I was so cold, I couldn't get warm.

I fell asleep quickly last night and woke up at 4:30am. I think my body was waiting for the roosters crowing and I was suprised at the stillness and quite of it here. The "anchor" is still healing and is throbbing badly this morning so I will be heading to the emergency to get an xray today. I thought about getting up and going now, but I'm enjoying laying in my bed.

I'm missing my teammates quite badly today and thinking about Gail, Fiona, Bernice, all of the great people still in Haiti and wishing I was there. I am also thinking of Noel who took such good care of us, Cyril who hired an amazing driver that got us to Jacmel in the dark safely, Christoff who treated us very well in Jacmel and when I started to think of Nathalie, the little girl we visited in her home, the tears came fast and furious. I had a good cry this morning, and I'm expecting that over the coming days or weeks, this spontaneous emotion will likely occur.

I already want to start planning for my next trip, and I am feeling very grateful for the opportunity that I was given. I met so many amazing people during my time in Haiti and I will keep each of them in my thoughts!

I used this in a previous post, but it has a very different meaning to me now that I have returned and I hope to keep the simplicity of life in Haiti with me as I get back into my life in Canada.


Life is too short

to wake up in the morning with regrets. 

So love the people who treat you right,

forgive about the ones who don't

and believe that everything

happens for a reason.

If you get a chance, take it.

If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said that it'd be easy,

they just promised

it would be worth it.

I had a chance, and I grabbed it with both hands this time, it has changed my life and I can't wait to do it all over again! Life your life, take a chance and experience the moments as they happen. I learned on this adventure that where there is pain and poverty there is also beauty and happiness, you just have to look a little harder.


Bon Bagay!



 

Until Next Time

This will be my last blog entry before leaving Haiti, and I woke up feeling very nostalgic about the past two weeks. It seems like I've been here much longer and yet it has gone by so very quickly. I enjoyed waking up under my bug net this morning listening to the morning noises and the rooster that wakes us all up every morning around 4am. Last night, we had a trubador band come to the guesthouse and play music for about an hour and a half and with a few rum sours on board, I was able to get up and dance one last time.

I've been fighting back tears most of the day and I'm not sure why. I'm excited to get home and have a hot shower and wash 2 week old conditioner out of my hair that I have never quite been able to rinse out but sad to be leaving a group of amazing people that I've spent a considerable amount of time with this past two weeks.

We're all leaving with a part of Haiti, unfortunately for Sarah, she's leaving with a stomach bug that has her laid out flat right now. I'm leaving with an ankle that Dr.Moise tells me is likely fractured and all of us have far too many bug bites to count.

Haiti, I have a love/hate relationship with you.

Here are some of the most frequently heard comments on this trip:

-Just for giggles, let's wear our seatbelts
-Which is worth more points, a baby or a pig
-Hurry and wait
-TIH ( thisi is Haiti)
-Hey I can get that to fit in my hockey bag
-What is this in American money?
-It's haiti time
-Do you have a Haitian bellybutton
-Make sure Todd's looking at you
-Where's the "others"
-Is everyone here, how many of us are there?
-What happens in Haiti stays in Haiti
-Shithead/Asshole
-Whatever you do, don't drink the water! Keep your mouth closed!
-What's the ASL sign for beer?
-I owe you for how many Prestige?
-I should have brought my fishing rod
-Five Haitians and a mule
-When's dinner?
-How is it possible to sweat and smell this bag?
-Do you think I could wear this one more time?
-Good morning sirs, I love you.
-I'm fine.
-Sleep when you're dead
-Expect the unexpected
-If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down
-The "anchor" or it kind of looks like a dragon
-I don't know, we'll ask Gail
-I forgot to take my Malerone
-Crocs aren't good for hiking
-Who has the bottle of rum sour
-More Pikliz and Acra please!
-A-mule-lance
-I'll never get used to a cold shower
-I forgot to put on my Haitian purfume
-What's that smell?
-Team Canada: hurricane, earthquake, riots, broken ankle and maybe Cholera

We are hearing that there are riots in Cap Haitian against UN Troops as it is widely believed here that the Cholera outbreak was introduced to Haiti when UN troops arrived from Nepal. We are hoping that everything goes smoothly when we arrive at the airport later today, but so far Port-au-Prince is quiet.

Bon Bagay!

Me, Myself & I

It's an overcast Saturday morning but very humid. After saying goodbye to my teammates, I sit by the pool. There would have been a considerable amount of hiking involved in going to Basin Bleu, a beautiful waterfall in Jacmel, so I decided not to go. BOO! I've tried to keep myself busy, read a few chapters from my book, painted my toenails, did laundry in the sink and took a nap. Time seems to stand still in Haiti. I can't believe that I only woke up 4 hours ago, and I was tired enough to take an hour long nap. How am I going to get back into my "regular" life?

It's been a busy few days. On Thursday we were honored with the privilege of going out and doing home visits to see children and their families that due to their disability or transportation are not able to attend Pazapa school. We visited two families and I came close to breaking down a few times when I realized where I was. People who don't know us, graciously invite us into their home with as much trust as you would give to your closest friends. We ask tons of questions, most often requiring Karen to interpret, and for a short while invade their home. I can't explain what it is like to be lead down a dusty pot-filled dirt road to a small shack and invited with kisses on the cheek because you're there to help a little girl laying on a bed with CP. We found out about this little girl through an orphanage run by Americans called Hands and Feet. Their maintenance manager is leaving the country and by Haitian standards "adopted" her but is not allowed to legally leave the country with her. Her name was Nathalie, and she hammed it up! Full of smiles despite us putting her in and out of her wheelchair several times to try to get it to fit her better and then me holding this timy little underweight body in my arms doing chest clapping to loosen the mucus from her lungs. She was cared by a lady who took her in after she had been abandoned on the steps of a church.

At this point, it was mid-afternoon and I didn't think it was possible for me to sweat as much as I was. It was dripping off me but despite the heat we went to see Gaylain, another little girl with CP. Her wheelchair required modifications, so there wasn't really anything for me to do but her older sister played hide-and-go-seek and tossed a ball around with me for about 45 min! So much fun, a very happy little girl who loved having some attention with a stranger for a small moment in time. Again, her parents were so thankful Adrian and Laura were able to fix her chair and dad watched very intently to make sure he knew what was being changed in case he had to do it in the future. This has been the most profound experience  I've had since being here and I find tears rolling down my face as I write. I don't know if it will be something that I will be able to talk about when returning home without becoming very emotional each time I think about how few people get to really see how most Haitians live everyday.

Later in the day, we did some shopping in downtown Jacmel. We met a man (I think his name was Tut Tut) who led us around to several stores. Well, they weren't really stores, they were small rooms that had no electricity and were dark and dusty but what we scored some beautiful art pieces. The artisans of Jacmel are most famous for their paper mache masks and we saw some amazing ones! Again, we got lucky and were able to walk the streets of Jacmel without getting swarmed or worried about our safety. Everyone was very respectful and freindly. Only Adrian got into a bit of trouble with a man on the street that tried to sell him old, mouldy Haitian cigars. I found some later in another store, which he bought and we tried one out later in the evening by the pool. Karen told us that there is a competition that must be had while in Jacmel. It is to see how many people can fit on a motorcycle at the same time. So far, Adrian is winning with 4 adults. So, of course, Laura asked the question that I will likely never hear again. "What is worth more, a baby or a pig"? Cyril who owns Tour Haiti and is Haitian, clarified that a pig is indeed worth more because it covers more surface area than a baby and is harder to hold. Just another reason why I'm loving it here...... the craziness of it all!

Friday was a quiet day for me. I got to do a bit of basic wound care with a few kids that had minor scratches and follow up on a wound that I had cleaned up on Wednesday. A young deaf boy had fallen off his bike and when he showed me his knee, the skin was almost gone to the bone and was covered with a dirty scrap of cloth and wrapped with some sort of tape that was peeling off. It was infected, covered with rocks and dirt and looked horrible. I got it cleaned up and when he came back on Friday to see me, I was happy to see pink skin at the base and was starting to heal. I realized that I came ill-prepared for this trip. Next time, I would bring a standard nursing assessment for all the children as there wer no nursing notes other than immunizations and diagnosis noted and I would do a quick head-to-toe on every child. The home visits would also be a great opportunity to do health teaching with the parents if I had brought basic information in Creole. Hygiene kits for the home would have also been great.

Sarah and Laura joined us on this leg of the trip and they have been wonderful to work with. They are so knowledgable and very innovative. As we were all working during home visits, I started to think that this is such a great idea, why don't things like this happen back home. To have an entire team come in at once and find resolutions to challenges makes sense. While Adrian and Laura were working on the chair, I was doing some chest physio and Karen and Sarah would do speech and OT assessments. There was no competition, we each had our specialty and left feeling like we made a difference in this little girl's quality of life.

I remember saying a few months ago, that I get to go to Haiti. More than ever I feel that sentiment today. It doesn't take too long before you get used to being dirty, hot, sweaty and wearing the same clothes many days in a row. You also reflect on how amazingly fortunate we are to live in a country that offers us safety, security, opportunities for personal development, basic healthcare and the right to live as free-thinking individuals.

I belive things happen for a reason and I think me spending some time by myself today to reflect on what I have seen here is good for me. I don't think I'm going to process everything that I have experienced until I get home and try to get back into ordinary life. Right now, in this moment, I feel relaxed, calm and knowing that I need to keep Haiti close to my heart when I go home.

A little boy watching us pack up at Pazapa



An amazing team!





 




My favorite photo!

 

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.