Last Day :(

I haven't made a post for a while as my computer charger was broken and now tonight is my last night here! Today at the clinic everyone made little cards for me and they all tried to write them in English because we now have English class there 3 times per week. It was very cute and made me pretty sad to have to be leaving. Everyone at the clinic is very appreciative of what everyone is doing for them and I wish I could stay longer!

I thought I would just give a brief overview of some of the patients I worked with while here and what progress they have made... here it goes!

Antoinette had a leg amputated below her knee and was working on getting more weight on her leg when I first arrived. After lots of practice she can now put all of her weight on her leg and for a short time she can walk without her crutches. She only ever uses one crutch now and she can up stairs and carry her baby around while walking on her prosthetic leg.

Sylvanie had a femur fracture and is doing very well. She can now walk without a cane when she feels like it which is a big improvement from walking with a crutch all of the time. When she does need to she only uses a cane, and she can walk outside on the road (which is unpaved) and she has gained some great flexibility!

Marjorie had an injury to her plantar fascia and had surgery and a skin graft on her foot. She now has drop foot and has to walk with an AFO. She still uses the AFO but she can now jog for short distances, climb stairs easily and can jump. She also had a below the elbow amputation and is hopefully awaiting a new hand however her arm is much less sensitive than it used to be from lots of de-sensitizing exercises.

Amanda had a femur fracture as well and has been doing mostly strength exercises since she has a cast still. She has gained a lot of range of motion at her knee and her swelling in her leg is improving steadily.

All of the patients at Heartline are incredible people with amazing unique stories that I could never do justice trying to tell. Whether they were brought to the hospital due to illness or injury they all touched the lives of many people and received the care and love they deserved from all of the staff at Heartline. It has been an amazing privilege working with this group and I really hope to come back to Haiti and work with them again. Haiti is an amazing country full of beauty and culture and it is something I believe everyone should experience. This trip has been the experience of a lifetime for me and I will never forget it. It was more than just a trip it was an inspiration, seeing the amazing humanitarian work that Heartline and other groups are doing here makes me excited and motivated to finish school and follow those inspirations.

2nd week at Heartline

Everything here at the clinic is going great. We had to put a cast on Amanda who was starting to walk, but the doctors decided that her femur wasn't healing properly and that it needed to be in a cast. Cliff the PA that was here made an awesome cast, be casted below the knee and then above the knee and then attached the two with hinges so Amanda can still bend her leg at the knee. I have been working with her at that, just getting her to try and move her leg and doing lots of passive movements, she has quite a bit of swelling in leg and knee and I am hoping getting some of her muscles moving will help to pump out the swelling.

Antoinette who had her leg amputated below the knee is doing amazing! Just a week ago she was only putting 20 lbs on her prosthetic leg and and today she went up to 80lbs she only weighs 100 so she is almost perfect! Today instead of doing the usual walking between benches that we set up as parallel bars she decided she wanted to try some stairs. I took to her to the back of the clinic where there is a set of stairs to the roof and we made our way up. She made it all the way without any help. She was even switching witch leg would go first up the next stair which should really help with her balance and strength. We walked around a bit on the roof and then came back down. She was getting really tired on the way down but she did it no problem! She is doing very well and should be going home soon, well to what used to be her home, you can read more about her story here.

Its been a really great couple of days everyone is doing so well and I'm very excited to see how much more progress well make!

Jumping for Joy!

The clinic has been incredible the last few days. So much progress has been made! Marjorie who had surgery on her plantar fascia in her foot is almost ready to go home. Today we worked on stairs, we walked up the stairs to the roof and walked around a bit there is a garden on the roof and some clothes lines. I have been working with her since I have been here to try and get her to run and today was the day. I kept encouraging her over and over and finally today on the roof she ran for about 10 steps! After that I asked her if she wanted to jump and she started jumping and laughing and jumping some more, it was amazing! Then we went down stairs and she was able to carry a 5 gallon bucket half full of water all around the clinic she has made a lot of progress.

Amanda is in a lot of pain right now she fractured her femur which is now healed but has a lot of inflammation and she has a brachial plexus lesion so she cant mover her arm. Today we did a lot of bed exercises for her leg which was quite an improvement from yesterday, and the did some passive movements with her arm she is getting able to have it moved further and further. Later in the day we did some exercises with the resistance bands for her leg and she tried to walk, she got about 2 steps but she is so much pain she started crying and sat back down. It was a good day for her she is doing a lot of work, she didn't want to stop but she was in too much pain.

I can't believe how much progress the patients have made just after one week it is amazing. They are so appreciative of you helping them and I think it is a great privilege that I get to work with them. I am learning so much and getting so much experience it is incredible. I really don't want to leave the clinic on the 20th but I know that Leogane was 90% destroyed by the earthquake and they need people to help with rebuilding. And my computer charger broke so after the 20th there will be maybe one post, I am borrowing someones computer now, hopefully I'll be able to borrow one when I move. Anyways I am having an incredible time here at Heartline it is a great organization and everyday at the clinic you feel like you accomplished something great and you know that you are helping to change the course of many peoples lives.

Heartline Day 2

I never knew how much music can get people happy! Today at the clinic in the morning we got some music going outside. All of a sudden after a few songs everyone was standing up everyone was dancing and everyone was laughing. After what all of these patients have gone through, from losing there whole family to having the leg crushed under their own house it is amazing to see that music can still put a smile on their face! Antoinette lost just below her knee on her right leg, she got a prosthetic leg and is working really hard to get used to it. Today when the music started playing she stood up walked over to a bench and threw away her crutches and started dancing. It was amazing! She is doing so well just last week when I was here she could only put 20lbs of body weight on her prosthetic leg, and today she got up to 60! She is doing so so well! It was David the PT's last day today and everyone was very sad he was leaving he has done such an amazing job with all of the patients, in just over a week he has had patients walk for the first time since the earthquake!

After the music and dancing and singing we took a little break and watched a movie, it was some kind of Haitian comedy, as far as I know and I had no idea what was going on. While we watched the movie I worked with a lady that had to have surgery on her foot and had her left arm amputated below the elbow. I just gave her a massage as she has a lot of scar tissue that is still sensitive and it needs to be touched and have pressure on it in order to bring down the sensitivity. Then I had her do a little boxing on my hand with her amputated arm which helped also to lower the sensitivity on the scar tissue on her arm. After that we did some walking on the stairs and I got her to jog! Only about 4 steps but she was very excited! It was a very fun day and I loved working with everyone, David taught me a a lot of stuff before he left and I will never be able to do what he was doing but I will try my best!

Back to Heartline!

Today I went back to Heartline until the 20^th. Will I'm there I'm going to be doing physical therapy with some the patients that have suffered mostly fractures from the earthquake. David the current physical therapist is leaving tomorrow and he has made some huge progress. He showed me the ropes today and he is doing some really great things with the patients. He has gotten people with femur fractures to walk for the first time since the earthquake and does some great exercises with the patients. I'm very excited to be working here! Today I did a lot with a boy that had his arm smushed in the earthquake he had to have some tendons replaced so the mobility in his fingers isn't very good, but it is getting much better! Cliff one of the PA's working made a dynamic cast which give some resistance to him when he closes his hand but pulls his fingers back up when he is not. He has most of his trouble keeping his fingers straight so this should do a great job! He made it out of coat hangers some tape and elastic bands! We weren't sure at first but it turned out great! After the clinic we all went to someones house for dinner which was delicious and then headed back to the guest house! Tomorrow the PT is showing me some more things and then I'll be trying to follow in his shoes.

Downtown and Jacmel

The last 2 days I have been doing some sight seeing with Fanfan. On Saturday we went to downtown Port au Prince. Downtown was very busy there were people everywhere selling all sorts of stuff. We went to see the Palace which is collapsed now, it was huge and the destruction that the earthquake caused is incredible. Most of downtown is destroyed so all the markets were on the street or the side of the street. I looked around trying to find a Haiti soccer jersey but apparently they don't exist right now. Then we went for lunch, We sat down at the restaurant which was basically a little shack that was part of someones house and got some rice and beans. Everyone that saw me there laughed because there was a blan in the restaurant. It was fun and we took some pictures and left. Then we went to see the cathedral which as you may have guessed is also collapsed we had to walk all around to find a spot as it was mostly fenced off. After that we went to find Fanfan a foam pad to sleep on he is sleeping in his tent on concrete right now. We found one and did some bargaining for it then headed home.

The next day we left at 6am and headed to Jacmel. Jacmel is a really old city that is an art hub in Haiti. The carnival happens in this city and there is a big voodoo influence. We got on the bus(Fanfan, Charnel and I) and headed up through the mountains on a tiny winding road. About halfway there we were stopped by a mudslide. This happens a lot in Haiti as all of the farmers on the mountains cut down the trees for fuel and then there is nothing holding the soil in place so when it rains hard like it did last night it all slides down onto the road. We waited there about 45 mins for the UN to come and clean up the road and then the bus continued on. When we got there we got a motorcycle taxi and headed to the city. We got there and didn't really know what to do Fanfan had never been their either so we walked around taking in the view (the city is on the coast) and then looked for some food. Then we did some shopping, I bought some art and a mask to add to my collection, buying stuff here involves a lot of bargaining the guy I bought the art from asked me what I wanted to pay and I told him and he said okay! That one was easy! After that we got another moto taxi and headed to the beach. We got there and no one had bathing suits, so I went for a swim in my shorts I wore all day and Fanfan waited around with Charnel. The water was so warm so I went in for a bit and then came out to dry. We took another moto taxi back to the bus stop and almost crashed! Se turned a corner and another motorcycle was turning on the wrong side of the road it was close, they yelled at each other and we carried on. The bus ride back was faster we were in a school us this time and whipped through the mountains going around 55mph the whole time! It was a little scary! Turning corners the driver just lays on the horn and hopes no one is coming! We got back and I helped Fanfan's friend make a facebook account.


It was a fun two days. The destruction from the earthquake here is crazy. Jacmel was 3 hours away from Port au Prince and everything was cracked or collapsed, the widespread damage caused by a few minutes is incredible, people are scared to go in concrete buildings now as there are still some aftershocks. It was my last day with Fanfan today so I said goodbye and told him he better come to the airport when I leave!

The Earthquake

Its 8 in the morning and I'm just waiting to leave and so I thought I would make a post about the earthquake. Fanfan told me his story a few days ago and so I'll try to say it from his point of view. Here it goes:


I was getting a ride to church in the taptap it was the morning. As we were driving along the driver began to swerve back and forth all over the road. At first I though his brake was no longer working and he was trying to stop. Then all of a sudden he came to a quick stop on the side of the road. At that time it felt like as if God picked up Haiti and dropped it back to the ground. I ran out of the taptap and everyone was walking around as if they were drunk. All you could here was rumbling everywhere. It was like Haiti was an elastic band, someone had stretched it very long and then cut it in half. No body could walk straight and buildings were crumbling to the ground. I looked up and the sky was gone, there was no sun there was no blue all you could see was grey dust. Many people thought this was the end of the world, the sky was gone buildings were toppling over and people were dying. It was a very frustrating time for me, I didn't know what to do. After I went to the church and it was completely collapsed, If I had gotten there I would be dead. I returned to my home and the room where I stay was flattened if I was there too I would have been dead. My family was okay but my room was destroyed. I feel very lucky that I was in that taptap at that time if I had been where I was supposed to be I would be dead. On that day every Haitian suddenly became a Christian they all believed it was the end of the world and that they had better believe in god. This was a very frustrating day for me...

Fanfan's story is incredible, the way he described it was very unique and the details he could remember was incredible. Fanfan is very lucky to be alive today it kind of makes you realize how lucky we are to be alive.

Delivering Water

Cite Soliel is the poorest slum in Haiti. It is actually a section of Port au Prince. Today I got to deliver water to a small part of Cite Soliel. I went with Fanfan who is friends with the guy that runs the organization Healing Haiti based in Minnesota. The organization pays to have clean water delivered to Cite Soliel 6 days per week all year. The water is used for bathing, toilets, cleaning, washing clothes, and cooking. We went to the well around 930am there is a pipe coming out of the ground that goes over the road and has two spouts where the water is delivered to the trucks. An endless line of water trucks were there when we got there, the trucks are lined up the entire day waiting for their turn to fill up with water. One truck will pack under the spout and the water starts spewing out, it actually never stops spewing out the truck drives under it while its pouring out then backs up to line up the whole of the tank with the falling water. It was quite a system. When water begins overflowing out of the tank the trucks behind honk like madmen and the truck moves along water spilling everywhere it was quite fun to watch. After getting some breakfast around the corner and waiting for an hour and a bit our trunk came from a previous delivery. We got in the truck and waited about 45mins for our turn to fill up. After we filled up we slowly and precariously drove away trying not to spill any water. We drove to Cite Soliel to the zone we were delivering and people began to line up with their buckets. When I got out of the truck all the kids starting yelling photo photo! So I took some pictures and we got to work. They handed me a hose coming out of the back of the truck and the water starting spewing out full blast. Fanfan would stand in front of me lining up the next bucket and I would fill it up and so on for about an hour. As you can imagine everyone wants to get some of the free water before the truck runs out and so there was one fight that started from a guy butting in line and a lot of pushing and slapping from people shoving their buckets under the hose and trying to run. After an hour the water trickled to a stop and there were still at least 30 people in line. It felt pretty bad having to leave but the truck comes back to that same section at least once per week. Cite Soliel was basically a bunch of concrete shacks with tin roofs no one has electricity no one has toilets no one has garbage bins as you can guess there is no clean water other than what is delivered. It was one of the poorest places I've ever seen. We drove over a river that was now a river of garbage literally. One one side of the bridge there was black stagnant water and on the other there was no water just garbage filling the river bank as far as you could see. I have never seen anything like it, I don't know how they are supposed to fix a sanitation problem at this scale as it would cost a fortune to have all this garbage removed and they would just have to move it to another location. It was incredible to see that the kids are still running around smiling and having fun despite the conditions they are forced to live in, it really gives you a perspective on your life and how we in the developed world really have nothing at all to complain about.

Heartline Ministries

Today I went with Jake and Becky (who I met at the guest house) to visit a clinic run by Heartline ministries. The organization is run by a man named John and his wife. Before the earthquake they ran a children's home and a women's home. After the earthquake the need for immediate medical care became urgent and they turned the children's home into a temporary clinic. The clinic part was basically a bunch of beds with a tarp above held up by PVC.They had about 15 beds all with injured kids or people in them. The patients usually are treated at a hospital and then there after care is done at this clinic. They had many nurses and PA's working there all volunteers. When we got their we gave our selves a little tour and then a lady came in holding a baby. The baby wasn't hers but her friends. The baby had accidentally fallen into a boiling pot of rice and beans and had very bad burns on it's butt. Pretty much all of the skin was burned off. The clinic is no longer taking patients as it was not meant to be a permanent clinic but rather an emergency clinic after the earthquake. Since it was a baby they treated the baby and the sent then drove them to a nearby burn unit. The rest of the day I worked with a physical therapist who is volunteering there. I got to do a lot of work with one boy who had his arm smushed in some rubble for a long time and so the circulation to his arm stopped and tissue began to die. The physical therapist has done a lot of work with him and he can now actually bend his fingers reasonably well which is a big improvement. Then we helped a lady who had her femur broken in the earthquake and is very scared to bend her leg now. The bone is healed enough that she can walk on it she is just scared. We did some exercises with her with some resistance bands and got her to bend her leg 90 degrees which was a big improvement. The physical therapist said that it is different in Haiti in that you can't just tell them what to do you have to get to know the patient and find out what they want to do and works for them and so he decided to offer the lady some sandals. However she had to take 5 steps in order to get the sandals. After a few hours of convincing she stood up with some help and walked those five steps which was amazing to see, it was her first time walking since the earthquake. The rest of the day we went on a tour of the whole operation with John the man who runs it. Heartline also has a womens home were they help women that have no jobs. They have a sewing program where they teach women how to sew purses and after practice they can sell the purses. Heartline provides them the material most of the time and the women put together amazing bags and purses and they are sold online and in their store in Haiti. Each woman has their own code attached to the bag label and when they are sold they receive a certain portion of the profit. It is a really great way to provide women with income to pay for housing and food and support their families. Heartline is a really great group doing so many good things for the community here. I haven't decided what I will be doing for the next two weeks but I may go live at Heartline and help them out we will see!

Physical Therapy for the lady that broke her femur

Orphanage Day #1

Today I got to go the three hands orphanage just a few minutes from my guest house. The orphanage is run by a lady named Gertrude who owned the guest house I was originally going to stay in but it collapsed in the earthquake. In the morning I met Fanfan who is essentially going to be my guide for a while. We took a taptap which I guess could be described as a small very colourfully painted bus. First of all it doesn't even stop you just wave it down and jump into the back well its moving if you don't get in then you don't get in. Once we made it to the orphanage I got shown around and then I just started playing with the kids. The first kid I met was Wolton who I coloured with for a long time. Then I met another girl whos name I don't know as she was mute. The orphanage has some kids with special needs. The kids were very cute and all wanted to hold your hand. Later in the day at lunch time I got to feed a little girl that had down's syndrome she was very cute and loved making faces at me and making me clap my hands. After that I found Wolton again and we played some more then he had a nap on me. At play time we got to draw in colouring books and we got use the stickers that I got from Mabel's labels. It was a really fun day. After that I took a motorcycle with me Fanfan and the driver... yes 3 people on an unpaved road weaving in and out of traffic it was fun! The rest of the day I hung out at the guest house. The orphanage was really fun they have so many kids and not enough people working but they take very good care of the kids they all get fed but you could tell they need someone to hold them and play with them. I brought bag of donations for them and we got to play with all the pencil crayons and stickers. Overall it was a very fun day, and I'm excited to go back!

Got Here Safe!

Well I got here okay! The flight was only 4 hours so I finally got to watch Avatar haha. When I got to the airport every driver I talked to said they knew the manager of my guest house and would drive me there. Then two of them had a little argument over who was going to drive me. I ended up picking the first driver Jackson who only had one arm but still somehow carried my bags! The drive was crazy, for 10 minutes all you could see was blue and white tents, everywhere I couldn't see where they ended. The roads were all clear at least the ones I was on. Behind the gates of houses you could see that behind the walls the houses were all mostly collapsed. some of the guest house I'm staying at is collapsed there is still one building with the bathrooms and some beds, and the whole front yard is full of tents, I get to sleep in one tonight hope it doesn't rain! It's 35 degrees and I love it! The rest of the day I'm just going to stay around the guest house and make some calls hopefully tomorrow I will be working in an orphanage or school.

View From the plane

Tent City!

All Packed!

Well I'm all packed... for the most part. I have two fifty pound bags PACKED full of donations, thanks to everyone who helped out. Some of the donations include cloth diapers, shoes, baby clothes, blankets, dolls, vitamins, and literacy supplies. The original plan was to bring these two bags as my luggage and bring my own things as a carry on, turns out a month worth of stuff weighs more than 22 pounds! Hopefully I will be able to get one of the donation bags on for free. Thanks so much to everyone that has supported me for the last 8 months it's finally time to leave!! I should be able to post about the trip while I'm in Haiti so keep reading!