Posts Tagged ‘Earthquake’
* Update!
Posted on July 31st, 2010 by admin. Filed under Haiti.
Note: written in haste- hence, typos grammatical errors etc-. Forgive me.
I realize it’s been a while. I’m no longer in Haiti, but have continued to keep track of our patients there & wanted to update you on a few. Above is a story i never told you about til now. When i was working at Project Medishare in early April the work shifted from taking care of earthquake related injuries to being the one and only hospital equipped to care for dire emergencies like the above case. If the hospital was not there many would have died if life had gone on as “normal.”
The above child, let’s call him “Joe”- Joe and his sibling were outside (homeless due to quake) in one of Port au Prince’s many neighborhoods when an electric generator- which provided electricity to his neighborhood (installed by a private company)- suddenly burst into flames, falling from the sky- tragically landing on two small children: Joe and his sibling. Needless to say they suffered the worst kind of burns. When they were brought to Project Medishare they were put in the ICU. That day i was given the new duty of training 4 new psychs at the hospital. Many were asking very valid questions like- ‘how do you talk to people if you yourself have not experienced such tragedy’ (ie: natural disaster, death, losing a limb)? I explained that most of us have not been through this & that it doesn’t really help to ”talk at” folks like we do at home- we are simply there for people as human beings (why i often argue that you do not need to be a psych but def do need to be a compassionate person).
I had been there long enough to witness how the Hatians console eachother- in some ways it was more sophisticated in how we handle death- they mourn and grieve, and don’t try to talk one another into being anything but devastated. Enter: Joe, his mom (pictured) “Rose”, and his sibling who very sadly passed on pretty much right away- rest in peace.
Rose and her extended family received the bad news and were under a large green mango tree in mourning- this involved loud crying, reaching up to the sky and asking God the same question many many times ”why”, and pretty much losing it- as any of us would. One of the new psychs asked me- ”shoudn’t we sedate her.” No. We should let her mourn.
We sat under that mango tree for hours- sitting behind Rose, holding her, holding her hands, letting her hug us collapsing into tears. As we did a doctor came out and let us know- the next child- Joe- would probably pass on within 24 hours and to get her ready for it. Rose already sensed it.
We moved into the children’s tent where her child was, because she also needed to make big decisions- take the body on her own- for a funeral she cannot afford- or let us cremate the body. I am happy that Rose had family there to support her. She had already lost 2 other children in the quake (how anyone can believe in karma after knowing such stories is beyond me), so how she could handle any of this was truly miraculous.
I found a cot for in the children’s tent and laid Rose down, putting ice bags on her head- she began wailing asking God questions again, which built up to screaming. I sat behind her like a mom would do her to her child (mind you she is 6 foot tall- and i am 5′5″) and did what i had seen Hatians doing to eachother in such a situation. Eventually she was dead quiet- eyes wide opened, as if she herself had just died. I do not doubt that parts of her had- time after time.
One of the volunteers who was American but had done Peace Corps in Haiti & is married to a Hatian man came over- i told her I was worried that we had taken over the children’s tent by bringing in an adult who could yell louder than any of the kids there. All the families crowded around their sick youngsters- sometimes one whole family in one cot- were looking at us- some of their kids just beyond consciousness. I thought, in America parents would be pissed that this *adult* was having a melt down in the *kids* tent keeping their sick children awake. The volunteer, probably chuckling to herself at my naivate, told me- “no- they are used to this- and the way she mourns. What they are staring as it is how you are dealing with her. You are actually making a little statement right now & they are judging whether or not they can trust you- and these doctors- based on how you are helping (or not helping) her.”
_____
After a few hours, extended family made decisions about the child’s final arrangements, and they decided to leave for a few hours and change- they had already been there for about 24 hours, yet their clothes were still pressed and they were groomed meticulously. Grace and poise among devastation.
I thought that little Joe was definitely on his way out, and that how were they going to ever have the option for funerals… So i dipped into a special reserve of $ that friends had given me before i went to Haiti- for situations just like this- found $80, crumpled them up into a tight wad, and forced it into Rose’s hand. I did not realize that this small gesture would make them my die hard friends for life. Actually it probably wasn’t the $, it was probably that i happen to be there during one of the hardest times of her life.
_____
The good news is Joe was fighting for his life- fighting hard and he was making a comeback. There would be no way that he could fully recover in Haiti so a hospital that specialized in burns- in Boston- said that they would take him, and his mother (required for a relative to be with them). One of my friends, Lisa Anderson, worked night and day to get this med-evac to happen. She fought against bureacracy, workers who had the connections to government officials and visas not showing up to work for days on end w/ no excuse, and impatient nurses and volunteers who mistook other people’s negligence for Lisa dragging her feet. I observed as Lisa- a person normally cool as a cucumber- broke down into tears fightng to make this happen.
When the day came that the German EMT team was whisking away Joe and Rose to the United States there was another small but bizarre twist in the plot: Another volunteer appeared to be trying to take credit for the med evac (crazy, I know..). She stuck a cam corder in Rose’s face- getting her jovial reaction, her praising god for what was happening, not leaving Rose’s side like all her “hard work” had finally paid off. Because this volunteer was in everyone’s face, and Lisa is an understated, not looking for the spotlight sort of person- people started assuming that this was Lisa & that she was the person who put it all together! I was miffed, but Lisa did not care- she was just so thrilled that this med evac was finally bloody happening and that this child had a good chance of living because of it.
I think Rose may have sensed this. She came over and rubbed Lisa’s face with her hands- kissed her- thanked her, hugged her. One of the hospital admins, who knew how hard Lisa had worked for this yelled “Lisa, you go with them to the airport” clearly gesturing at the real Lisa Anderson. Everyone gathered round as the Germans lifted Joe into the ambulance- Everyone was relieved but no one more than Lisa & Joe’s family.
Lisa sent me the above photo from Boston a few weeks back- Joe is doing incredibly well. And Rose as always looks happy & appreciative for the little victories amist a life full of insurmountable hardship.
* some pix of PAP 6 weeks on:
Posted on March 8th, 2010 by admin. Filed under Haiti.
I rarely leave the tent hospital- maybe to go to a clinic or to the UN, but this time a friend took a few of us for a drive through the center of town “just to see it.” It was not different from what you see on TV, but to see the destruction 1st hand- after some time had passed- I could hardly imagine how anyone survived. Yet somehow life carries on. People sold fruit and rice out of bags at a “market”, and other industrious people were collecting metals from the rubble and cars that were destroyed in the quake. On the road side CDs, phones, champagne (?), radios, watches, shoes, etc- were up for sale. Rudimentary “tent cities” are everywhere- not sure how any of those can withstand even a light rain though, nevermind the rainy season. Near the UN tourist trinkets and art work are sold- Saw that as early as 2 weeks after the quake. At the recently re-opened airport necklace sellers are out in full force- giant smiles on their faces and jokes at hand.
* can the Argentine Army hold a candle to the Portuguese Bombeiros?
Posted on March 8th, 2010 by admin. Filed under Haiti, romance.
Yes, ladies & gentlemen i hear you- you are asking: what about the mens of PAP, this round? Last time we were in awe of the dreamy Portuguese Bombeiros. But as we know they left Haiti- all that is left is a shell of their old camp which is now used as a triage center for our hospital-
So eventually we all had to accept the reality- start to lather and wash our own hair- and sigh loudly as we eat canned fruit straight from a can- no rum drizzled atop by a muscular Adonis type. the suffering!!!! Enter: the Argentine Army…
YEs, ladies- it’s true. All a girl has to do is leave San Francisco to be treated like the goddess that we all are by handsome adorable sweet men from all sorts of different countries. But how do these gorgeous Argentine soldiers stack up in comparison to the Bombeiros??
As you an see: they are cute- but the sheer number is quite low (3 vs 30) add to that they do not have the sweet berets that the Portuguese wear. THey did come bearing their own Heineken- and yes it was cold, but no one spoon fed me or gave me a stylish flame resistant suit.
In the end they were a delicious diversion who tried their best- probably not smart to even attempt to compare them to 30 beret wearing elite force Bombeiros. However I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Argentines, and for a little while, received some extra special treatment. A memory never to be forgotten… in the midst of despair there is still life! Thank you for teaching me that.
* A piece I wrote for PBS; re: Haiti & patient privacy…
Posted on March 6th, 2010 by admin. Filed under Haiti, press.
* U of Miami Physical Therapy (PT) team in action…
Posted on February 19th, 2010 by admin. Filed under Haiti.
Unlike many in the States- if you give your average Hatian an opportunity to learn they take it, cherish it, and make the absolute most of it. I worked as a PT technician w/ a U of Miami team one rare day when were well staffed w/ PTs at the tent hospital. With our extra hands we decided to do follow up with some of the patients we had discharged to smaller clinics.. unfortunately the reality in these small clinics was that there were not docs, nurses, PTs or even cots for that matter….
A Hatian woman told me that most Hatians believe if you are sick or injured you should lay in bed & wait to heal- THat is counter to what PT is- and for many who suffered severe crush injuries, amputations, and broken bones, we knew we had to go out & educate that moving is in fact good for you- as long as it is done intelligently. At one clinic (pictured here) we had a woman go from a wheel chair to walking w/ a walker within 20 minutes with a PT from UM! She glowed as she walked- and seemed like she had just gotten her life back. It was empowering and gave me the chills to witness such a wonderful thing. It brought tears to my eyes- but like many times that week i bit them back. I worked with a school teacher that was lying on the floor in a tent the past week- i made her do some exercises that the PTs prescribed to her. She really hated it at first but with some animated enthusiasm and encourgaement (via translator) I got her up & walking with just 1 crutch- broken arm & all. Here she is calling her family to let them know the news afterwards:
When in a disaster area we all have to be extremely resourceful… not jsut with our professions but with supplies. The lead PT (a genius I might add) created a contraption with a Bally’s exercise club stretch cord, so that this sweet little 10 year old could slowly get some muscle control back -and again be able to do basic things like eat with his right arm. I was constantly struck by how much good came out of such little time and resources. I work as a psychologist: the mind- mental issues- things take a long time to change- but with PT- we saw instant results. Just a little bit of education brought so much joy. Ontop of that a few outgoing onlookers started imitating what we were doing- we began to train them in some PT basics so that after we were gone, they could step in to help. Again, the glow and joy that i saw from these poeple- to have a skill that was useful and could help- most have never had access to education- it again hit the point home that we have so much opportunity in the states that we take for granted. This was one of the most incredible days of my life. I am not expressing it too well here, but i will never ever forget this day- it warmed my heart and made me want to cry tears of joy.
* as the Fauxhawk turns: an enlightening thread from my facebook
Posted on February 19th, 2010 by admin. Filed under Haiti, romance.
Michelle May a nurse is trying to set me up with a doc- he has a fauxhawk & wears cowboy boots- do i do it?
Laticia Erving likes this.
* real men: the Bombeiros
Posted on February 7th, 2010 by admin. Filed under Haiti, romance.
I live in San Francisco- for those of you are not familiar, there is a dire shortage of men here who are, shall i say, real men… ones who treat ladies well, are hard working, responsible, mature, & well mannered…. enter: the Portuguese Bombeiros.
One night at the tent hospital in Port au Prince, I was fast asleep after an exhausting but rewarding day (would have it no other way). Had my earplugs in as i always do when i sleep in the same tent with over 200 people. Felt a tug on my leg- it was friend, Holly: “want to go to the Portuguese tent?” I had been interviewed by a Portuguese journalist earlier that day- he mentioned that i should come to their camp for a shower, good food and a beer. I jumped out of my cot at Holly’s invitation, slipped on my shoes, took out my earplugs, and grabbed a cute purse of mine which had only laid in the hay underneath my cot up until that point- we were offf…
One might say, what the hell were you doing thinking about frivolous things such as a handsome men’s dimples, or self-clean toilets when most Haitians live a life of misery. You are right- if it had not been me indulging i could see myself judging my actions- clearly jealous of such a person. Thing is- to distract oneself by beauty- it is natural- in a disaster we all have to let off steam. It had been 4 intense days up until that point- never having left the hospital even. When i arrived to their camp the Bombeiros offered me the moon: fruit salad with rum drizzled ontop, heineken beer (cold!!), croissants & cheese, my very own flame repellant white suit, commemorative pins, T-shirts, a non-stinky toilet, scalp massage & …..(gasp!!) they washed my hair!!! I had not been able to up until that point- with 200+ employees of the camp plus who knows how many patients & their families we often ran out of water. One of the lead Bombeiros got out a solar heated water & washed away…..
Let’s face it: i love the Bombeiros- they are handsome, sweet, attentive, and do good for the world- they set up a tent camp in PAP’s biggest stadium. They have responded to many a natural disaster including Iran’s earthquake in Bam in 2003. THey are the cream of the crop- an elite bunch- called the yellow canaries. Cute- their name matches their trousers. They even chivalrously came to wish me off at the PAP airport- one came back personally with yet another gift- a t-shirt that was size small- “your size” (clearly knows the way to my heart)
Thank you, reader- and thank you Bombeiros- for letting me indulge in some stress relief. Please don’t judge me.
I promise to go to Lisboa soon!
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ABC abduction border crossing Cairo carjacking citizen journalism CNN Dead Sea death Earthquake Egypt elections God grief gunshot wound Haiti hospitality hot Frenchmen Iran Iran protests Jordan Kurdish Kurdistan media media bias multimedia NBC PAP PBS physical therapy Port au Prince Port au Prine privacy issues Project Medishare protests Ramadan relief work romance Sanandaj Tabriz Tehran tragedy UM hospital University of Miami ZahedanRecent Posts
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- Update!
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