Today was our first "regular schedule" where we had PTs working in the outpatient clinic and the inpatient hospital. People come by early in the morning to get a number and wait all day if necessary if needed to see a PT, MD, or Wound Care Nurse. Some spend the night sleeping on the ground at the entrance to our clinic. It was not so bad actually. We were very well staffed. The regular PT techs were also here to help us. Our job is to teach them as well as see patients. It works well.
One of the PT techs is Wilfrid - one of my former patients who now works here at Medishare! He came strolling in and just stood in front of me smiling! It was a lovely reunion! How wonderful to see Wilfrid standing before me on two good legs! We exchanged several big hugs and just laughed with pleasure at how wonderful it was to meet again! Wilfrid has become quite famous with the public and reporter Sanjay Gupta of CNN! I tell him he is a famous movie star now! He laughs! Later Wilfrid announced to me that Emmanuelle - another former patient of mine is coming today for a visit! Suddenly Emmanuelle showed up with a big smile on her face! She had been locked up in a traffic jam so that is why she arrived so late. She strutted in and walked across the room for me to see her walk! What a beautiful sight! They told every one they were my "Haitian children" and I am their "American mom!" It was a very fun morning! I even did some work (eventually)! Another former patient from Jimani will also try to stop by another day! Good thing as I am supposed to be here to work! Building relationships is also important!
In the outpatient clinic today we saw patients with all kinds of diagnoses from those s/p stroke to people with amputations to sports medicine issues even! I worked with a caregiver of a 7 month baby whose mother died in the earth quake protecting the little one from the collapsed building. That treatment was all about teaching the caregiver about lifts and carries, postitioning, and heel cord stretching. I spent time teaching about head control, moving from more hands on to less as baby gets stonger. We talked about not spending time in symmetrical positions and how to challenge baby to gain control of his environment! The caregiver says it is time he is able to look around and see his country - Haiti - so it is important for her to learn how to best help him! He may even be president some day she says!
When not in the outpatient clinic, I get to go to the peds unit where I work with the kids and their care givers. There are several babies with extreme hydrocephalus. Yesterday I taught one caregiver how to assist the little one in gaining head control. All he had been doing was lying in bed unable to turn his head much. His body was a prisoner to his head size. After a bit of work, he was today up in a wheelchair looking around and playing with his caregiver. Pretty fast learner!
We are also doing a great deal of wound care and pin care on those folks with external fixators in place. One young man came in and was not quite ready to have the fixator removed. He will have to wait 3 more weeks according to the x-ray. We were able to move to gait without crutches and educated him on daily pin care! Often we get called to the ER for crutch training. There was even a prisoner who was brought in for wound care today.
Last night we were able to go to the UN cafeteria for dinner. It was lovely to get off campus and have a hamburger & fries! Of course we also had to sample a "Prestige" or the 2000 prize winning beer of Haiti! It was a good night with the full moon shining on Haiti!
Tomorrow will bring much of the same work where we have to be adaptable and think very creatively with some of the limited supplies and yet we seem to have just what we need at the time. The Haitians say, "Degaje" which means "Make due or manage." We seem to do just that!
Be Well!
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