Today was my last day in the clinic. Since the work has been so hard I thought leaving the clinic would feel more exhilarating but it didn't. I am sad to go. After two weeks, I am just starting to get the knack for how things are run in the clinic (or not run). Telling my patients goodbye was very difficult and they all had such nice things to say. They would get sad when I said it was my last day.They all wanted to take pictures with me and give me hugs. It is amazing how appreciative they are. I have never received this much praise in the US. One of my patients who had a hip fracture from the earthquake and still cannot walk told me that she wished I had been her PT in the beginning because she would be normal by now. I have been working really hard with her using pilates exercises and have seen some amazing gains. It was so great to hear her say that but it makes me sad that she did not receive better care sooner. A lot of the patients say that they want me to come back again. As great as the experience with the patients has been, it is hard to say that I will ever come back. I wish I could at least find out how everyone is doing and to know that they will eventually walk again.
Hearing the patients appreciation makes me feel like this whole experience was beyond worth it. I was worried that I would not make a difference. It is hard to explain how much I have grown as a physical therapist and as a person from this experience. I want to thank my patients for that. I have learned so much here in Haiti and I will not return to the United States the same person. These memories will stay with me forever.
In 2 weeks here in Haiti, I feel like I have experienced a whole years worth of physical therapy. It has been an amazing experience, and I like I said, I don't think I have ever worked so hard in my entire life. I came here looking to help people who had been injured in the earthquake. I have always wanted to work overseas but never thought my physical therapy skills could be of use. This experience has taught me how important physical therapy is. The people that did not receive physical therapy are so weak and are struggling more in their rehab than I would have seen in the united states. At the same time, I have seen a culture that is so strong and despite tragedy, is able to smile, laugh, and work hard to get back to their lives. I have seen a kid with only one leg help lift the patients in the wheel chairs into the back of the truck. I wont name any names but a certain physical therapist I am working with could not get a patient into the back of the truck, but the kid with one leg was so determined, he lifted the patient all by himself.
My stories from this experience are endless and I cannot fathom writing them all in a blog. I can't wait to get home and enjoy the cool San Francisco breeze, see all my friends and family, and share my stories with you. Also, I can't wait for the snow season. On these hot days, all I think about it making snow angels :)
Bye bye (that is creole for good bye)and thanks for reading my blog and thanks for all your support from home. See you all soon
Kathy
Friday, September 17, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Degaje
After just 11 days in Haiti I think I have mastered the art of Degaje. Degaje is the Creole saying that basically means 'make it work'. We do not have a lot of supplies or space but we make it work.
This work is definitely tough, but not as hard as I thought it would be. Maybe because the people here are so nice and appreciative, or because I get to see improvements in their function in such a short period of time.
The hardest parts are:
1. The heat. Oh man is it hot and humid here. These dryfit shirts don't seem to make much of a difference and the scrubs are just stuck to me. Brian makes fun of me because my knees sweat. ha ha ha!
2. The emotional drain: hearing the stories of the patients can sometimes be too much to handle. It is hard to see that a patient has not had any therapy in 8 months since the earthquake, therefore they still cannot walk. In the US, we would have had them up walking the first day after their surgery.
3. Obviously the creepy crawlers. I am not a fan
4. How unsanitary things are. In the US I would be very grossed out but here in Haiti I just let it go and try not to think about it. DEGAJE
The Best parts:
1. Hearing the patients say "merci"
2. Seeing my 6 year old patient smile
3. Having Brian here to hang out with, to vent with, play cards with, and to sing songs with (We don't have any music so we rely on the music in our heads-DEGAJE).
4. Appreciating the little things: like getting pizza for dinner, sharing a coke at lunch with Brian, getting emails from friends and family back home, M&M's, finding Guinness beer at the little random market
Yesterday I had my first patient ever that had both legs amputated. He is doing really well but needs to get stronger before he can have his prosthesis. The way he transfers himself from the wheel chair to the bed is quite impressive and nothing I would have taught in the US but it works for him so DEGAJE
After Brian was done working with a patient that had a stroke and has a lot of arm and leg weakness, she hopped on the back of a motorcycle with her son and they sped off. DEGAJE
The receptionist at work had a spinal cord injury and is in a wheel chair but I saw her arrive to work on the back of a motorcycle and she just transferred herself so easily from the back of a motorcycle to her wheelchair without any help. DEGAJE.
My 3 year old patient with cerebral palsy arrived yesterday on the front of a motorcycle wearing sunglasses without a helmet. He sure did look cool :) DEGAJE
These are things I would NEVER see in the US. I have never trained anyone in a motorcycle transfer.
So I will leave you with the following picture. This is the giant tarantula that Marvin, the prosthetist, found in our backyard when he was turning on the generator in the middle of the night. Then he saw it the following evening after dinner so he came to get me to tell me he wanted to show me something "fun". He totally tricked me. He said that he new I would not have come if I new what it was.
This work is definitely tough, but not as hard as I thought it would be. Maybe because the people here are so nice and appreciative, or because I get to see improvements in their function in such a short period of time.
The hardest parts are:
1. The heat. Oh man is it hot and humid here. These dryfit shirts don't seem to make much of a difference and the scrubs are just stuck to me. Brian makes fun of me because my knees sweat. ha ha ha!
2. The emotional drain: hearing the stories of the patients can sometimes be too much to handle. It is hard to see that a patient has not had any therapy in 8 months since the earthquake, therefore they still cannot walk. In the US, we would have had them up walking the first day after their surgery.
3. Obviously the creepy crawlers. I am not a fan
4. How unsanitary things are. In the US I would be very grossed out but here in Haiti I just let it go and try not to think about it. DEGAJE
The Best parts:
1. Hearing the patients say "merci"
2. Seeing my 6 year old patient smile
3. Having Brian here to hang out with, to vent with, play cards with, and to sing songs with (We don't have any music so we rely on the music in our heads-DEGAJE).
4. Appreciating the little things: like getting pizza for dinner, sharing a coke at lunch with Brian, getting emails from friends and family back home, M&M's, finding Guinness beer at the little random market
Yesterday I had my first patient ever that had both legs amputated. He is doing really well but needs to get stronger before he can have his prosthesis. The way he transfers himself from the wheel chair to the bed is quite impressive and nothing I would have taught in the US but it works for him so DEGAJE
After Brian was done working with a patient that had a stroke and has a lot of arm and leg weakness, she hopped on the back of a motorcycle with her son and they sped off. DEGAJE
The receptionist at work had a spinal cord injury and is in a wheel chair but I saw her arrive to work on the back of a motorcycle and she just transferred herself so easily from the back of a motorcycle to her wheelchair without any help. DEGAJE.
My 3 year old patient with cerebral palsy arrived yesterday on the front of a motorcycle wearing sunglasses without a helmet. He sure did look cool :) DEGAJE
These are things I would NEVER see in the US. I have never trained anyone in a motorcycle transfer.
So I will leave you with the following picture. This is the giant tarantula that Marvin, the prosthetist, found in our backyard when he was turning on the generator in the middle of the night. Then he saw it the following evening after dinner so he came to get me to tell me he wanted to show me something "fun". He totally tricked me. He said that he new I would not have come if I new what it was.
Monday, September 13, 2010
So I let my guard down
So last night I woke up at around 2am to something large crawling on my face. I totally freaked out, grabbed it, threw it off of me, and jumped out of bed. I turned on the light and I was so afraid to see a tarantula in front of me, but there was nothing. I got out my headlamp and started looking under the bed and under the sheets, through all my clothes. Not an expedition I was excited about. At one point, one of my earplugs fell out from under a sheet and I jumped out of my skin. Finally I found it in my bed. Not a tarantula but a giant cockroach. It was on my face!!!!! YUCK!!!! Although if you are going to have something crawling on your face, I would choose a cockroach over a tarantula. Usually I sleep with the sheet over my head, but it was so hot I couldn't stand it and I was on top of the sheets. After that I had the sheet over my head and there was not even a tiny hole for a gnat to get through. I had to read a physical therapy journal article to get sleepy enough to fall back asleep. It is kind of funny because when I saw Brian this morning he said he slept terrible and then he says, "look at my forehead!" He has a giant bug bite the size of a silver dollar. Something was crawling on his face too.
This morning I woke up to a crazy thunder storm. It poured rain all morning and we were told that when it is raining, the patients don't usually show up. Oh, but not my patients. They are hard core and all of them showed up so it was another busy day in the clinic. I have become the wound care expert. Not that I am an expert by any means but Brian is not doing wound care and he is the only other therapist that I am working with. Therefore, by default I have become the expert. Brian on the other hand has lots of patients that have had strokes so I consider him the stroke expert in the clinic. He had a patient today that had a very severe stroke and he is only 24 years old. So sad.
The patients have been improving a lot in our short stay here. It is nice to have seen somebody who couldn't walk or had to use crutches or a walker last week and now be able to walk by themselves. Seeing the patients receive their prosthesis for the first time and start walking is also and amazing experience. Some of the patients have been waiting 5 years to get their prosthesis.
Thanks for emailing and sending me messages from home. Work is hard and your support means a lot.
This morning I woke up to a crazy thunder storm. It poured rain all morning and we were told that when it is raining, the patients don't usually show up. Oh, but not my patients. They are hard core and all of them showed up so it was another busy day in the clinic. I have become the wound care expert. Not that I am an expert by any means but Brian is not doing wound care and he is the only other therapist that I am working with. Therefore, by default I have become the expert. Brian on the other hand has lots of patients that have had strokes so I consider him the stroke expert in the clinic. He had a patient today that had a very severe stroke and he is only 24 years old. So sad.
The patients have been improving a lot in our short stay here. It is nice to have seen somebody who couldn't walk or had to use crutches or a walker last week and now be able to walk by themselves. Seeing the patients receive their prosthesis for the first time and start walking is also and amazing experience. Some of the patients have been waiting 5 years to get their prosthesis.
Thanks for emailing and sending me messages from home. Work is hard and your support means a lot.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Recharged and ready for week 2.
We are back from Port Salut, the prettiest beach I think I have ever seen, and we are feeling rested and recharged. We are ready to start week 2. Now we will be more familiar with our patients and it is nice to be establishing a raport with them. Although that will make it harder to say goodbye.
Haitian stats update:
Tarantula spottings: 3 (all from the car at night. If you can see a spider 25 feet in front of you from a car at night, that is one BIG spider)
I think the rooster hitched a ride and followed me to the beach or else he called up one of his buddies to make sure I woke up bright and early.
Brat Pitt spottings: still 0. Sorry Mom.
Mosquito Bites: jumped from 20 to 100 after being at the market in Les Cayes.
Friday, September 10, 2010
TGIF
Wow! I am pooped out! I came home from clinic today and just stayed in my bed for 2 hours, staring at the ceiling. For a treat from our hard week of work, Dr June is taking us to the beach for the weekend. We are going to Port Salut which is suppose to be a beautiful white sandy beach about 45 minutes from here. I am soooo excited.
Dr June is the physical therapist in charge of the clinic. She has done so much here in Les Cayes for the people. She has been here for about 10 years. She does not treat like it is a disaster but treats for the long term. She hires a lot of people with disabilities to help them integrate back into society. There is a guy that does the carpentry work on the house that had a spinal cord injury. He rides around in a bicycle that he moves with his arms. His arms are so buff. The Bernice Johnson Society is a rehabilitation center that teaches woman with disabilities skills to integrate back into society. She said that 70% of Haitians are unemployed and they don't treat people with disabilities very well. I am very impressed with Dr June Hanks and her passion for the Haitians.
I am off to bed but I wanted to update my Haitian Stats
Tarantula spottings: 1 (outside of the car but it was HUGE. It was dark out and I could still see it. Yikes!)
The rooster ouside my window takes 4 hours off a night from cockadoodledooing and his friend the dog takes over to bark during that time period so it all evens out in the end. I am use to it now :)
Good night and have a great weekend!!!
Dr June is the physical therapist in charge of the clinic. She has done so much here in Les Cayes for the people. She has been here for about 10 years. She does not treat like it is a disaster but treats for the long term. She hires a lot of people with disabilities to help them integrate back into society. There is a guy that does the carpentry work on the house that had a spinal cord injury. He rides around in a bicycle that he moves with his arms. His arms are so buff. The Bernice Johnson Society is a rehabilitation center that teaches woman with disabilities skills to integrate back into society. She said that 70% of Haitians are unemployed and they don't treat people with disabilities very well. I am very impressed with Dr June Hanks and her passion for the Haitians.
I am off to bed but I wanted to update my Haitian Stats
Tarantula spottings: 1 (outside of the car but it was HUGE. It was dark out and I could still see it. Yikes!)
The rooster ouside my window takes 4 hours off a night from cockadoodledooing and his friend the dog takes over to bark during that time period so it all evens out in the end. I am use to it now :)
Good night and have a great weekend!!!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Day 4
Wow! I don't think I have ever worked so hard in my entire physical therapy career. (nor have I ever sweat so much). The work is tough but rewarding. I am overwhelmed by people's stories of the earthquake and it is hard to imagine such tragedy. Please don't read my stories and think I am complaining because my suffering is insignificant to what the Haitians have gone through. I will share a few stories from today.
I worked with a 6 year old girl who had a right below the knee amputation and her left ankle was crushed after a sofa fell on her in the earthquake. Her pregnant mother and 2 sisters died. She is the sweetest most lovable girl and she walks with a prosthesis without any crutches. She does have a lot of problems from the injuries that we are working on. She hugs me and sits on my lap and I feel so much sadness that she does not have her mother to do that with.
Another patient that I had today shared his story with me. He was a Spanish teacher and was at work on the forth floor in Port Au Prince during the earthquake. The whole building collapsed and all the students and teachers below him died. He started crying while sharing his story. He said his life was saved because he was on the forth floor. He was trapped for 2 days. He lost one leg and his right hand was shattered. The left elbow was shattered so they fused it straight. He says, "I will never forget that day"
It feels like we are working in an ER where there are patients all over the room, babies crying, and it is so hot and humid. There is no time to take a break or even drink water which is good because I never have to stop for a bathroom break. Sometimes the electricity goes off and all the fans stop but we keep going. Just when we are making a dent in the line of patients, a truck will show up with 8 or 9 people in the back in wheel chairs. (I still dont know how they get in the truck). Brian and I often share one treatment table and sometimes only have one interpreter.
The people are so gracious and happy despite everything they have gone through. They like to joke and tell stories and wait patiently to see us.
My patient said he will never forget the earthquake. I will never forget these experiences in Haiti and the strength and love for life these people have taught me.
Haiti trip stats:
-number of times a minute the rooster outside my window cockadoodledoos: 5
-number of times I have beat Brian in cards: 15
-number of times Brian has beat me: 1
-scary spider spottings: 2
-tarantula spottings: 0
-breakfasts served with nutella: 4
-wedding proposals: 1
-Brad Pitt sightings: 0
-mosquito bites: 20 (not bad)
-showers per day: 2
I worked with a 6 year old girl who had a right below the knee amputation and her left ankle was crushed after a sofa fell on her in the earthquake. Her pregnant mother and 2 sisters died. She is the sweetest most lovable girl and she walks with a prosthesis without any crutches. She does have a lot of problems from the injuries that we are working on. She hugs me and sits on my lap and I feel so much sadness that she does not have her mother to do that with.
Another patient that I had today shared his story with me. He was a Spanish teacher and was at work on the forth floor in Port Au Prince during the earthquake. The whole building collapsed and all the students and teachers below him died. He started crying while sharing his story. He said his life was saved because he was on the forth floor. He was trapped for 2 days. He lost one leg and his right hand was shattered. The left elbow was shattered so they fused it straight. He says, "I will never forget that day"
It feels like we are working in an ER where there are patients all over the room, babies crying, and it is so hot and humid. There is no time to take a break or even drink water which is good because I never have to stop for a bathroom break. Sometimes the electricity goes off and all the fans stop but we keep going. Just when we are making a dent in the line of patients, a truck will show up with 8 or 9 people in the back in wheel chairs. (I still dont know how they get in the truck). Brian and I often share one treatment table and sometimes only have one interpreter.
The people are so gracious and happy despite everything they have gone through. They like to joke and tell stories and wait patiently to see us.
My patient said he will never forget the earthquake. I will never forget these experiences in Haiti and the strength and love for life these people have taught me.
Haiti trip stats:
-number of times a minute the rooster outside my window cockadoodledoos: 5
-number of times I have beat Brian in cards: 15
-number of times Brian has beat me: 1
-scary spider spottings: 2
-tarantula spottings: 0
-breakfasts served with nutella: 4
-wedding proposals: 1
-Brad Pitt sightings: 0
-mosquito bites: 20 (not bad)
-showers per day: 2
Monday, September 6, 2010
So after being in a small plane that was actually not so scary, I am in Les Cayes. It is beautiful here. I am staying in a really nice place. I feel very privileged to have my own room and my own bathroom. No more veganism here. I ate chicken that was killed today in our backyard and they bought it alive 200 meters down the road. Talk about eating Local.
Today was my first day working in the clinic. It totally met my expectations. I was out of my comfort zone but that is what I am looking for. There was no orientation and Brian and I were the only physical therapists in the clinic. We just kept taking patients one after the other. My first patient was new to the clinic and she had lost her leg in the earthquake. She is 22 years old and seemed very sad. I was told to not ask too many questions about the earthquake because they will talk to you about it when they are ready. I also had a patient that lost her leg 5 days after the earthquake after falling in a hole. She was very weak and was crying a lot. I had 1 orthopedic patient today which seems straight forward because that is what I usually treat in the US, but this patient was deaf and mute. How do you translate? I acted everything out. Finally I had the brilliant idea to have the translator write in French and then the patient wrote in French and he translated it back to me in English. It took a long time but then all of a sudden the patient realized I spoke English so he started writing in English. Of course that didn't happen until the end of our therapy session when I was trying to find out when he could come back again. Everybody in the clinic was shocked that he could understand English. Nobody had ever tried writing with him.
I had a guy who fractured his leg and they put metal plates on the outside of his leg and I had to do wound care with some bandaids. BANDAIDS. That is not wound care. I felt so out of my comfort zone but I had a doctor look at it and she said it looked fine. I also saw a 2 year old pediatric patient with deformed legs My first response is "I dont see pediatrics" but then I realize I have nobody to tell because they dont speak English and the mom is just looking at me, like please help, so I do my best and it all seems to work out. This is exactly what I was looking for. Doing things not necessarily perfect but just doing them. Letting my obsession with perfection go.Therefore I saw amputees, orthopedic patients, wound care and pediatrics. In addition, the prosthetists are from nicaragua and I also live with them. Carmen, one of the prosthetists, only speaks spanish and I am always bugging her with questions so I speak in spanish with her and my very limited Creole and French with the patients. My brain is exhausted. All in a days work and today is Labor day.
Anyways, the experiences have been amazing and I feel really good. The patients are also so appreciative and nice. I just wish I could communicate better with them.
Joy: I saw a super scary spider in the kitchen. As big as a tarantual but not a tarantula. It moved so fast. The Haitian lady who was in the kitchen started freaking out about killing it and since she doesn't speak English started acting out biting on her arm. Hmm...I dont know how well I will sleep tonight.
Today was my first day working in the clinic. It totally met my expectations. I was out of my comfort zone but that is what I am looking for. There was no orientation and Brian and I were the only physical therapists in the clinic. We just kept taking patients one after the other. My first patient was new to the clinic and she had lost her leg in the earthquake. She is 22 years old and seemed very sad. I was told to not ask too many questions about the earthquake because they will talk to you about it when they are ready. I also had a patient that lost her leg 5 days after the earthquake after falling in a hole. She was very weak and was crying a lot. I had 1 orthopedic patient today which seems straight forward because that is what I usually treat in the US, but this patient was deaf and mute. How do you translate? I acted everything out. Finally I had the brilliant idea to have the translator write in French and then the patient wrote in French and he translated it back to me in English. It took a long time but then all of a sudden the patient realized I spoke English so he started writing in English. Of course that didn't happen until the end of our therapy session when I was trying to find out when he could come back again. Everybody in the clinic was shocked that he could understand English. Nobody had ever tried writing with him.
I had a guy who fractured his leg and they put metal plates on the outside of his leg and I had to do wound care with some bandaids. BANDAIDS. That is not wound care. I felt so out of my comfort zone but I had a doctor look at it and she said it looked fine. I also saw a 2 year old pediatric patient with deformed legs My first response is "I dont see pediatrics" but then I realize I have nobody to tell because they dont speak English and the mom is just looking at me, like please help, so I do my best and it all seems to work out. This is exactly what I was looking for. Doing things not necessarily perfect but just doing them. Letting my obsession with perfection go.Therefore I saw amputees, orthopedic patients, wound care and pediatrics. In addition, the prosthetists are from nicaragua and I also live with them. Carmen, one of the prosthetists, only speaks spanish and I am always bugging her with questions so I speak in spanish with her and my very limited Creole and French with the patients. My brain is exhausted. All in a days work and today is Labor day.
Anyways, the experiences have been amazing and I feel really good. The patients are also so appreciative and nice. I just wish I could communicate better with them.
Joy: I saw a super scary spider in the kitchen. As big as a tarantual but not a tarantula. It moved so fast. The Haitian lady who was in the kitchen started freaking out about killing it and since she doesn't speak English started acting out biting on her arm. Hmm...I dont know how well I will sleep tonight.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
I'm Here
Just a quick note to let everyone know that I made it to Port Au Prince. It is amazing here. I cant believe I am here. Quite surreal. The people are so friendly and seeing the destruction from the earthquake is unbelievable. Especially since it has been 8 months since the earthquake. It looks like the earthquake just happened 1 month ago. Medical Teams International had a local Haitian, named Wilson, pick Brian and I up at the airport and drive us around Port Au Prince and even up into the mountains. He also took us to church. Man was it hot at church. We were sweating just sitting there for 2 hours. I dont have much time to write because I have a plane to catch to Les Cayes, plus the mosquitoes are eating me alive. Good thing I am taking my anti malaria medication. Tomorrow is my first day of work and I am really looking forward to it. It was hard to drive around all day and see all the people asking for help but not be able to do anything.
Hope all is well back in the states.
-Kathy
Hope all is well back in the states.
-Kathy
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Leaving Friday the 3rd
Wow, I can't believe I am leaving for Haiti tomorrow. I am all packed and ready to go. Definitely nervous. Don't know what to expect. Brian and I will be arriving in Les Cayes (pronounced La Kai) on Sunday after 2 days of travel. We will be working with advantage Haiti. There may not be internet, but I will try my best to keep this updated while I am in Haiti. Thanks for all your support and donations. I am excited to get there and hopefully make an impact and help some people.
For some reason the internet page changed for Medical Teams International. Here is the new link: http://www.medicalteams.org/netcommunity/KathyWachtman2
In addition you can visit: http://www.advantagehaiti.com/ for more information on the group I will be working with.
Take care and I hope to be in touch soon.
For some reason the internet page changed for Medical Teams International. Here is the new link: http://www.medicalteams.org/netcommunity/KathyWachtman2
In addition you can visit: http://www.advantagehaiti.com/ for more information on the group I will be working with.
Take care and I hope to be in touch soon.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
1 month and counting!
My volunteer trip to Haiti is approaching. I leave in 1 month and could use your help. I am very excited to be able to use my physical therapy skills to help out those devastated by the earthquake. I will be travelling to Haiti with my friend and physical therapy classmate Brian Ablang. I will keep you posted on any supplies that the clinic may need. Thank you!!!
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