This blog is for my OT/PT friends and co-workers...
Welcome to YouYoute's tent. She had a tent located on land that the owner was donating for a short time after the earthquake. She was in our rehab center at the time of the notification for removal of all the tents from the land. She couldn't move her tent so the land owner burned it down.
On the home eval form: Entrance: none
Thankfully, just 15 miles down the rocky, pitted road into the country-side, we found the home of her family! They were very welcoming and we found out she has a 4 year old son, Elisinor. YouYoute is the lady in the yellow and pink in the middle. The little boy wouldn't let go of her pink skirt the whole time we were there. They were very excited to see YouYoute and want her to live with them.
However, on the home eval form: independent with transfers in/out of bed? No, she doesn't have a bed and they have 16 people living between three houses. This photo shows two homes. So, she needs a tent or a temporary shelter and is on the list for shelters being donated by organizations here.
Home eval: Can patient access laundry facilities? Yes, as long as she can sit on the ground. Which she can, even though she has significant injury to her leg that prevents her from bending it. Gotta wonder what my knee replacements will say when I ask them to get up and down off the floor with less than 90 degrees of knee flexion? Many of the people here are very resilient and determined.
This is Elfine's new home. She lost her leg in the earthquake and received her amputation and aftercare at Camp Hope. She lived in a tent and was one of the first people to be able to move into these cute little houses the organization is building for the people that have received care from them and now live in the tent city located on the same property.
Elfine is 6 months pregnant and expecting a little girl sometime in February. She does have a prosthetic for her above-the-knee amputation, but it doesn't fit right now due to her pregnancy.
This gray bed is Efine's, which she will share with her 3 year son and soon, her new baby girl. The other bed is for her mother. There are two other beds in her house for her sister-in-law and her two school age children. This makes me so thankful for my home in Alexandria. It will feel like a mansion when I get back home :)
Home eval: Can the patient access the toilet? Yes, she walks on one leg with crutches to the outhouse - The orange building in the middle. The place is very clean and they have toilets versus a hole in the ground.
Home Eval: Can the patient shower independently? Yes, once she brings the bucket from this spout to her home for a "bucket shower". The water is clean and safe...and cold.
This middle pink house is Elfine's. In Haiti, these houses are top-of-the-line. I think they are just adorable. We all know how much I like cute, cozy, little houses!!
While here, Elfine became very close with another female patient, Wideline. She has a spinal cord injury from an infection. It was a difficult outing for Wideline. She has been in some sort of hospital setting for a long time. We practiced car transfers and wheelchair mobility, including a 4 inch step. She did well, but on the way home, I could she see was overwhelmed by our excursion and very sad about saying goodbye. So was I! We all cried and the two guys with us just made fun of us. Typical men :) Some things are the same in all countries!
This is the school built right on site for all the children at Camp Hope and Love-A-Child orphanage. The Haitians are very dedicated to educating their children.
Say a prayer tonight thanking God for all the wonderful things you have: toilets, showers, hot water, electricity, safe roofs over your heads, good roads, clean water. All the things we take for granted every day.
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