Fundraiser for HMMoM

This weekend is the annual fundraiser for Haiti Medical Missions of Memphis. Annually, they hold a 24-hour run - Tour d'Esprit. Each year they ask a volunteer to write a tidbit about his/her time in Haiti to put in the program for the event. That means, this year, it is me as I am currently the only volunteer from the U.S. So I decided to post what I wrote as I know many people are obviously not attending the 24 hour event. Again, I had a hard time finding the right words to type to capture the life and work here, but I was able to write something. I am honestly not sure if HMMoM ended up using all that I wrote or just took bits and pieces of it to put in to the program. Read below.

A day in the life at the clinic…
It is 8am. The door opens and the patients start coming in. Some have been waiting for an hour others are just arriving. Appointment cards are gathered, charts are pulled, classes begin, and one-on-one therapy starts. As the morning continues on, 4 patients arrive for therapy per hour. Five to twenty more patients are seen for class. The therapists see smiles and they see tears. Another patient with high blood pressure on the verge of a stroke or a patient who still cannot produce a movement in the leg or arm. Each and every patient with a story and with a goal. It is now twelve…time for lunch. Oh, but wait, documentation is a must and a few adjustments on a piece of equipment must be completed. Lunch can wait a little while. It is now one o’clock. Time for more patients to come and more therapy to be completed. More exercises, more problem solving, more measurements are taken for another wheelchair, more function to be gained. It is now 3 o’clock and the last of the ten patients seen in the afternoon leaves as goodbyes are said. Time for more documentation and cleaning up from the day…..

From a volunteer’s perspective…
As I look out the window of the clinic, I see patients arriving for therapy. One of the other. Some are walking, others are on motos. Some walk into the clinic independently, some with a cane or a walker, and others are carried in by a caregiver. Often times as I look out, I see frowns and struggle. But those frowns and struggles are quickly turned into smiles and hope as the patient crosses the threshold into the clinic. The struggles, the tears, the pain, the fear intertwines with the laughter, the strength, and the progress that occurs within the four walls of the clinic. The patients may present with dark eyes rested upon worn faces, but their smiles are beaming and their spirits are bright. They fill the clinic with a sense of pure joy and happiness on a daily basis.

Hope. Joy. Relief. Fun. Each of these is a common theme daily. Hope that one day, function will be restored and work can resume. Joy comes as each milestone is reached. Relief arrives as a caregiver learns he does not have to carry his loved one again. Fun happens as therapy activities are completed.  

The facts…
The rehabilitation clinic continues to service individuals from Croix-des Bouquets as well as surrounding areas. The clinic provides therapy services to adult and pediatric patients of varying diagnoses including, stroke, arthritis, orthopedic issues, developmental delays, cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, etc. Overall, since May 2014 slightly over 120 patients have received therapy and countless have attended classes. Currently, on a daily basis 20-30 patients are provided one-on-one therapy during 60 minute sessions. In addition to one-on-one therapy sessions, 4 days a week various classes are offered to the adult patients and anywhere from 5-30 patients attend each class. These classes include stroke class, blood pressure class, arthritis class, exercise class, weight loss class, and back pain class. One day a week, a class on child development is offered to mothers of babies 0-12 months old followed by a quick evaluation of each child to assure proper development. Furthermore, the clinic now has an amazing workshop that allows the therapists room to adapt wheelchairs, make seating systems for kids to sit independently, and make adjustments to orthortics, among many other things. Not only is therapy completed and equipment developed within the clinic, but education plays a big role and not just for the patients. The clinic is a site for rehabilitation technician students from a university in Haiti to complete clinical rotations. Additionally, there is currently an occupational therapy student from the United States completely a three month clinical. Spreading the skills and the sustainability to future rehabilitation workers.