Saturday, May 28, 2011
We started out the weekend with a quiet morning studying for Boards and adjusting to the Haitian humidity. It's been fairly warm out, not excessively hot, but the humidity is brutal! So we sat outside, tossed around information, and had a Diabetes inservice, courtesy of Dr. Lauren McCray, where we all had our blood sugars taken (ouch it hurt). We also took some time to try and get some physical activity in by kicking a ball around on the driveway inside the house's gates, because we couldn't leave the compound until we'd had a tour.
We were antsy/eager to go out and about in Simone and do some exploring. In the late afternoon, Marvin, one of the prosthetists working here from Nicaragua, took us on our tour of Simone. We walked down to the river, where most of the people in town were doing their bathing, laundry, and cleaning their cars. It's also the only fresh water source for many people. We walked along the river and up into the hills and jungle. Along the way, we came across dozens of cows and goats tied up along the paths. Many of the people leave their livestock tied up outside during the day, and everyone knows who they belong to.
After our little hike, we headed over to one of the local schools where they have a soccer field, as well as a basketball court and a volleyball court. We spent much of the afternoon kicking a soccer ball and throwing a frisbee around with the local kids. Mo showed them how it's done on the soccer field with Marvin. Kara and Tricia headed up the frisbee movement. We don't think they've ever played frisbee before, but they all caught on really fast. They also got a kick out of our cameras and liked having their pictures taken then looking at them on the LCD screen. They then proceeded to show us all up by showing us all of their acrobatic skills. Pretty much every single kid could do cartwheels, backflips, back bends, walking handstands, and performing a variety of break-dancing moves. Tricia showed them the worm, which they got a kick out of. They were also fascinated by Lauren's Vibram shoes. One kid thought they were some kind of prosthetic, and didn't believe they were shoes until she pulled her heel out of one! They spent the rest of the time taking turns poking her toes..
After dinner, Marvin taught us about a half dozen card tricks. He's been here for about a year, and told us that most people know who he is, even if he doesn't know them. He also says people think he practices some kind of black magic voodoo because of his card tricks. Kara and Amanda spent a couple of hours playing cards with Kelly, who is Dr. June's cousin and has been teaching english at a local school, and Corky, who is one of the local translators.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
This morning we woke up and got dressed up for church. The church in Simone is some form of Protestant Christian church, we're not entirely sure what denomination. We didn't get there until about 9:30. By then, the service had been going on for over two hours already! Within 15 minutes, the pews around us were filled with curious kids, tugging on our hair and peering at us around their friends while their parents scolded them for not paying attention to the sermon. Naturally, because the service was in Creole, we couldn't understand a word, but we assume it was about God. It seemed like most of the town was at church. It was a great experience seeing their passion during worship. After church, we came home, ate some lunch and started up some more studying.
It had been overcast all morning, so we were concerned our plans to go to the beach were bust. Luckily, Marvin came down shortly after lunch to tell us to suit up, so we changed and piled in the truck to head to Port Salut, a beach about an hour away. We spent a good few hours on the beach, playing soccer with one of the local kids on the beach (we gave him a frisbee before we left), and swimming in the ocean, and, obviously, taking lots of pictures. We somehow all got bit by a clear wormy rolly polly parasite that we think was harmless because we spent an hour googling what it was and found 0 results (and we used every word possible "biting bug in salt water" "parasite with legs suction in ocean"..just a few of MANY searches.) We finished up the afternoon sitting in the shade with some fresh french fries and a cold Coke (disclaimer: We promise we are working, we just have no pictures of the clinic.. yet!)
We went to bed tired and excited to start our first day in the clinic. Vibrant church music with singing was still going on while we drifted off to sleep..
Monday, May 30, 2011
Day 1 in the clinic!
The morning started out, shockingly, humid. (It's really too bad sarcasm doesn't translate over the internet ;P ) It rained most of the night, so pretty much everything felt damp. At about 8:30, we headed over the clinic, which is only about a 5 minute walk up a hill. Marvin and Carmen, the prosthetists, accompanied us. We met our 4 translators (Ronnie, Berto, Joe, and newbie Kelly), as well as Isaac, who functions as sort of a rehab aide. Because of the weather, no patients had shown up yet, so we went on a tour of the hospital upstairs, and met the handful of patients we would see there. Isaac brought 3 of the inpatients down to the clinic, and we got started. It was our "initiation" to being real PTs-no CI's and we made all our own decisions!!
Caseload, Day 1: We saw a range of patients of all ages with mainly neurologic conditions, including several strokes, Guillan-Barre/Osmotic demyelination, cerebral palsy, and orthopedic conditions such as fractures, amputations, and mild genu varum (whom we discharged), as well as a patient with burns.
The atmosphere of the clinic is busy but relaxed, and we get to set our own schedule. We were able to work with patients as long as we wanted, some up to an hour and a half.
After clinic, we changed out of our scrubs and into shorts and did our (hopefully) daily walking circuit around Simone, with a "Bon Swa!" to everyone we passed, ending up back at the soccer field. There was an official game going on between two local teams, so we messed around with some of the young kids on the sidelines, Twong showing off her "karate" moves (they thought she was Jackie Chan). We then ran into Ronnie, one of our translators, who proceeded to hunt down a basketball for us to play with. We played two on two, and he schooled us (We claim home court advantage). Amanda sat on the sidelines with the kids taking pictures. Lauren sat on a rock. The end.
Here's a picture summary if you don't want to read the whole entry...
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Juggling competition in the compound
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| We're SOOO excited to study for boards! not. |
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| we had a diabetes in-service by Lauren |
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| Kara intrigued by sharp objects |
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| People getting water, bathing, and cleaning their cars |
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| Cholera isolation and treatment center-the brown squares were "housing" for patients during the worst of the outbreak |
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| beautiful view at the top of the hill we mounted |
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| Epic palm tree on hill |
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| Typical Simone housing |
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| On our way to the soccer field |
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Marvin and Maureen juggling
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| Patty teaching the Haitian boy ultimate frisbee |
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From here on out, she will be known as bucket baby.
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| Kara teaching the kids how to throw a frisbee |
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| Elite break dancing |
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| group shot |
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Road trip to the plaj
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self explanatory
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| Tiki hut + Coca Cola = Haitian heaven |
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| Juggling on the beach with Joseph |
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| Epic palm tree on beach |
