Hello and thanks for taking the time to look at my blog again! Its been nearly a year since I left to go to Mercy Ships and 6 months since I've been home. I've been tossing around the idea of going on the ship next year but haven't planned anything definitively yet. Four weeks ago, when the news first broke about the earthquake, I felt God directing me to head there. Like most people, my heart was heavy was for the Haitians and I couldn't watch any news programs without getting emotional about it. But unlike most, I have a job that allows me to leave at the drop of a hat without consequence. Not to mention, a God that opens doors and moves obstacles along the way....

My friend Olivia Roberts, who was my constant companion and co-worker on the Africa Mercy, signed up to work for Mercy Works, the first-responder division of YWAM. We joined our group of 20 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Jan 26th. We weren't able to fly into Port-Au-Prince since the airport was closed, so the only other option they knew of was the DR- a 6 hour bus ride away. We arrived in Port-au-Prince the next morning and the team leader decided he wanted to take a team out to check out the clinic we would be working in. I joined that team and when we arrived at the clinic, the 7 of us who had joined this group all felt like we would be under-utilized in this clinic. I saw a few physical therapy needs, but it just wasn't what I was expecting. The 3 surgeons that were with us had heard about a group at the airport that was doing surgery and they pushed to check it out. We went there to find the University of Miami Medishare tent hospital, the place I would call home for the next 9 days. It was quite a production- filled with doctors, nurses, medics, PT's, OT's, pharmacists, and lots of general workers all taking care of the worst of the worst trauma in Haiti. For me, it was the place to be to fulfill the purpose I had hoped I would. Here is a link to a 6 minute nightline video you watch that not only gives a great view of the UM hospital, but interviews many people I now call friends....

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/er-haiti-9743136

A typical day here for me started around 6:30. We had an early morning meeting to discuss things that had changed during the night or to introduce new Chief Medical Officers, which changed like 4 times in the days we were there. All of the University of Miami hospital staff, which is primarily who had come to help, only got 4 days off to come, so the staff was constantly changing. At around 7:30, I would head to the tents to start working with patients. When we first arrived, the patient charts, which tell us what is wrong with them, what surgery was done, and precautions were a wreck. There were a bunch of papers thrown on a clipboard with various dates and little documentation of anything. It got a bit better as the days went on, but I thought this is typical for a disaster situation and just did the best I could with the information I had on everyone. Which honestly boiled down to- if the patient didnt' have a spinal cord injury or certain pelvic fractures, we got them up. With or without orders, we had to get them to where they could walk or get around in a wheelchair, as their bed was likely needed for someone else who had just arrived. A huge number of the patients had external fixators, which are used to hold together bones that are in multiple pieces- to stabilize it until it heals... I've never seen so many in one room in my life!

There were two tents with anywhere from 175-200 patients in both combined. I treated several hand injuries with splinting while I was there- which is my specialty, but I haven't really done it in a long time- it was a good challenge for me. The tents we worked in were air-conditioned but still were about 85 degrees most of the time which made our job quite sweaty. The patients all spent their days and nights on small cots that were about 16 inches from the ground. I'm so used to ergonomically-correct positions for myself when getting people up walking, so my back was screaming at me around the end of day one. Many therapists were in and out while I was there and I met some really awesome ones. At about day 2.5, when Carmen Maria, a UM therapist left, I was given the title of Director of Therapy by the Chief Medical Officer. Promotions happened quickly around there! I spent the next week coordinating therapists as they came in and out, showing them the ropes, and working our tails off! We put in 12-14 hour days and still weren't able to get to all the patients who needed to be seen. It wasn't necessarily mentally challenging work for us, but more physically and emotionally.

There were 4 operating rooms and surgery being done by general, plastic, or orthopedic surgeons throughout the day and into the night. Everyday, there were new victims who arrived by ambulance from outlying cities or smaller hospitals. I've never worked in an ER, so I've really never seen such acute trauma- lots of blood, lots of obviously shattered bones, people dehydrated to the point of looking near-death. I'm not going to add pictures like that to this blog, as I think its disrespectful to some degree and the media has already over-whelmed the public with this. Although the frequent barrage of media who invaded the hospital was annoying at times, I know they are getting the story and the needs of these people out there. Hopefully the nation won't be forgotten if these stories are told often enough.

Here are some answers to some of the questions people have asked:

1. What were the sleeping arrangements? We had a huge tent that the workers all slept in with the same cots the patients had. There were about 300 cots in the room. After waking up on day 2 with a scary mosquito-eaten face, I got a mosquito net around my cot.

2. What did you eat? I brought my own food, like protein bars, tortillas, candy. yes, candy is a food. Just FYI, peanut butter gets taken away at security now- its considered a gel.... Every person who left the hospital left their remaining food, so I chowed on that most of the time- lentils, beans, tuna. They also had MRE's for us...

3. Did you shower? We had 4 outdoor showers that sometimes had running water, but only if you were lucky. Most of the time we dumped bottled water over our heads. The showers were only like 5 foot 6 inches and the person next to you could easily check you out... kind of strange, but I was so glad to get a shower, I really didn't care. My clothes were so stinky and dirty when i got home- I think my jeans could stand up by themselves. I came home and took a bath, then a shower, I shaved, tweezed, exfoliated, masked, manicured, and pedicured myself before I felt like all the Haitian dirt was gone.

4. What was the town like? Did you go into the city? We were really near the epicenter on that first day, so I did get to see the devastation of the city itself. You have likely seen many pictures of collapsed buildings by now, but here are a few more- they say the primary reasons the buildings collapsed are due to the low amount of cement used in the cinder blocks. Many of the smaller buildings just had cinder blocks without any other support system. They say the soil is also being checked to see if this is also a factor before rebuilding.

5. Were there plenty of supplies? There was one tent at the hospital we referred to as Costco.... I've never seen so many supplies in one place from all over the US- tons of water, medical supplies, food, clothes, walkers, wheelchairs, crutches, and some totally random stuff...

6. Did you get anytime away from the hospital? We did get to have few relaxing nights- a couple of nights we walked to the UN- a 20 minute walk (with guys of course) where they had other-than-canned food- like chicken-on-a-stick and fries and nice cold beverages! I don't like beer, but a cold beer in Haiti was awesome! They had hot showers here too, so that was a plus. On our last night, after driving back to the DR because we couldn't fly out of port-au-prince as originally planned, two of the ortho surgeons, Anel and Joe, and Liv and I went to a restaurant on the water in the DR.

I know this has been an incredibly long post and you are probably tired of reading it. I just also wanted to share a letter than I sent back to the pastor of my church, Dave Stone, upon his request when i got home. I wrote this the morning after I got back.... right after breaking down a bit over the whole trip. For me, most of the time, I stuff my emotions until I get home and can do it in private. This time was no exception. I was asked about an hour after getting home if I was going back.... "I haven't even taken a shower yet!" was my response. I compare it to the marathon I ran in October--- for the rest of the day I was saying "why did i do that? I'm never running again!!" and then the next morning I got up and started looking for the next race online. For me, Haiti was the same. I woke up the next morning with a strong desire to start planning the next trip. I love the people, I love that I have the time and money to go, and I love that I can actually do something that helps. Leaving in 3 weeks if all goes well.....

Letter to my pastor.....

Dave,

I spoke to you after a sermon 2 weeks ago about my trip to Haiti. You asked me to contact you and let you know when I returned home- we got back last night after 12 days in Port-au-Prince. I have just been lying here, exhausted, watching last week's sermon and wondering.... am I running after Jesus? That is what I pray for myself, but the guilt of leaving a country that has such obvious needs for physical therapists, such as myself, causes me to question. I ended up working with the University of Miami Medishare tent hospital at the airport. It was quite a production, pretty organized given the situation, and full of medical professionals who came, mostly from Miami hospitals to take care of the worst of the worst injuries. Everyday, more people came. Just when I thought I couldn't possibly hear a more heart-breaking story, another would be told. A 13 year old , who had not only lost both parents, had to have her leg amputated.... amputations are a stigma in Haiti.... this girl will likely be shunned and will be unlikely to ever marry. So many who not only lost everything they had, but now have to return to live in a tent city inured without family or friends to care for them. I had translators who would work with me to communicate effectively with the patients. I had one lady who had suffered a head injury or had some mental deficits- the translators were unable to say which. She smiled all the time- even though she had a broken arm and a huge metal contraption called an external fixator on her leg. All the patients around her laughed at her because she kind of "talked out of her head" often. We worked together for a few days and on the third day, she stood and walked. Smiling, the whole time.... She sat down, raised her hands and said in Creole, "Every day, another step, thank you Jesus!" I realized that smiling was contagious. The leader of the NGO I went with prayed with me as he took me to leave me at this facility- that I would be the hands and feet of Jesus, that I would have an abundance or endless supply of energy, and that I would smile. All the time, at everyone.... that I would keep smiling despite the fact that everyone around me was devastated. Its a prayer that I will never forget..... I worked harder and had more energy than I have ever had in my life. I lifted huge people out of cots that were a foot off the ground all day long - 12 to 14 hours a day before I would get worn out. I smiled more than I have ever smiled in my life at everyone, every worker, every patient. God gave me a fresh attitude everyday and everyday I was ready to face the day and do whatever they needed me to do. The power of prayer is amazing!! I could go on and on, but I'm sure you don't have time to read a novel. A missionary I met said something I believe to be true- this could be Haiti's chance to start over. There are so many there helping now, so many who are sending support from here and from around the world, so many people who care about a nation that so many had given up on. The Haitians are wonderful people and I will always have a fondness for this country. I'm have a feeling that He isn't done using me there yet! I honestly can't wait to see what God has in store for them.... Thanks for taking the time to read this! Jana

Here are some pictures from the trip- I apologize for the disorganization, but this blogspot is not that easy to use and it takes hours to do this....

The presidential palace after the quake

An art supply store

Me and Liv eating chicken-on-a-stick at the UN

The future site of where we will be able to therapy outside of the big tent

Despite the fact that the city has fallen, the vendors are still present to make a living!

One of the cutest babies around.... couldn't get her to smile for the camera!

One of the many external fixators on the femur of a young girl

This is one of the amputees you will see smiling big! Amputations have been such a stigma for years in Haiti.... now that is is going to be seen more often, hopefully that will change.

This girl had already been discharged from the main hospital and was staying in a tent outside of our grounds set up by Shelter Box. She was still able to receive therapy and dressing changes once discharged.
Sweet girl who had a head laceration and a huge hand laceration

You never know what you're going to get when you open a donation box. Here is the most unusual thing we found- a sequined cast cover called Sling Couture. Wow....
Joe and me modeling the Sling Couture.

Me and Adelle, a sweet hard-working patient.

The patients loved to sit outside- we would get them up in the mornings and some would sit here all day.
The mini-Costco of supplies
This was a small orthopedic tent- for the patients who wouldn't fit in the big tent.
Me, looking lovely, in front of a recent supply of crutches and walkers that we desperately needed!
Me and Joe at the UN- that is a melted Twix on my finger....
Juan, Kevin, Jackie and I- some of the most awesome PTs from Miami. We all made a great team!

This was our living quarters
More devastation around the epicenter

Shelter Box tents set up for patients outside the main tent where they could stay for a few weeks.
One of the patients I donated stuff to before I left. She has multiple pelvic fractures and can't walk yet.
Friends from home had given me cash to do something worthwhile with, so I went around my last day and handed it out to the patients who were staying in the smaller tents. They each got about $5 and they were thrilled! US cash is more desired than Haitian right now.

This is a picture of the tent city in the background. This is where all of those without homes are staying... even the ones with homes aren't sleeping in them due to fear of aftershocks....