A Hot day in Haiti

Today has been the hottest day yet here in Port au Prince. The work goes on though, and the team made it through until sundown without needing IV fluids!

Tom and Dave made a new leg for an amputee yesterday, and fitted numerous braces for the folks at Hospitai Espoir. The dynamic duo split up today as Dave set out for St. Boniface to aid in meeting the needs there. Hence, Erin and Rebecca welcomed a familiar face this afternoon. The best news though is that since Dave was joining them midweek, Rebecca and Erin were able to let him know if there were any supplies they needed and give him an idea of what would be needed from him. Dave set out for the 4+ hr drive with what was needed, good team work.

Tom went solo today to Hospitai Espoir. Yesterday he and Dave met a kindhearted woman from MA who has just returned to Haiti with 4 children who suffered from severe burns during the earthquake in January. She found a sponsor in the US to fly the children to the Shriner's Hospitals in Springfield and Boston MA and has now returned to bring them home. When she met Dave and Tom yesterday, she drummed up some work for them, so Tom had a very busy afternoon. He casted two gentlemen, both with BKA, for prostheses. He has a busy night ahead of him as well because it takes 4 hrs per prosthetic to complete fabrication and he has to go back tomorrow to deliver them. He really misses Dave! It is pretty awesome to be able to give someone a new leg the same day or within 24 hrs. There is some fantastic work going on there.

Hydrocephalus clinic was in full swing today as Liz and Annelle worked very hard to prepare the mothers for the upcoming surgeries for their children. The moms learned range of motion and how to care for the incisions post-op, and tomorrow they will be tested on what they learned. Last night the team made some rattles out of supplies on hand to give the kids some auditory stimulation. Great work ladies!

Yesterday Barbara and Marielle finished up at Holy Angel (Melissa's Hope) orphanage. They came back asking for a walker for a little girl who had outgrown hers and was having back pain from being hunched over. While nothing here fit her size, that surely won't stop this crew - Tom cut down a walker with his power saw, and the walker will get delivered to her sometime this week. Barbara visited a new orphanage - Notre Maison - today with Cara. With the heat today they report the children are napping on the tile floor instead of their beds just to keep a little cooler. They were able to spend their time treating the children who needed OT and PT services as well as help lift their spirits with some donated toys. They brought smiles all around.

Dana, Lori and Marielle held down the fort at the Healing Hands clinic today. There was a steady flow of patients and their impact is notable. There are many medical needs with Marielle identifying many patients with hypertension and showing some symptoms of diabetes. She and Annelle have been able to identify other needs as well these past few days, such as doses of medicine that are too low to be effective. They are engaging the staff here to made changes where needed and provide some education for ongoing care. Dana and Lori are continuing to treat the crush injuries, with some carryover for the patients who were here Monday and Tuesday, and providing new evaluation and treatment planning for those who were new today. Their services are much needed and much appreciated.

The A/C went out at the Project Medishare tent today, which is already very warm as the tent heats up during the day. By mid day 4 nurses were in need of IV fluids, and everyone was being extra careful to drink lots of fluids. Despite the heat patients were willing to work today, maybe because it was cooler outside and for some of them who are able to be out of bed therapy is a good option to cool down. Dawn brought some leg straps for the spinal cord injury patients as well as some abdominal binders. We also had some pressure relief foot splints to bring, badly needed by many patients with heel ulcers. Project Medishare had none of these items in stock so it was Christmas in May today.

To sum up the spirit of the team, we are all seeing and doing many new things. We are diving into our skillsets and doing everything we can to meet whatever need arises. We are often asked, are you this kind of nurse, OT, PT? And the answer is "Today I am" and we figure it out.