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| On my last day in Haiti, I donated my net book computer to the rehab department so they could stay in touch with me and other therapists. They were possibly going to be without PT/OT help until January. I set up a new email and with google translate, they can write me in Creole if needed. They were very excited!! |
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| This is the rehab team including the 3 techs, Jean Claude, Miss Ketly, Rick, Paul, the archivist and our nurse manager, Miss Josie. |
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| That Friday, the techs came back to work and brought me a beautiful gift. They are such an amazing, special group of people and I miss them very much! |
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| On Friday, we didn't work due to the elections on Sunday. So we planned a Thanksgiving dinner for all the patients, staff and family. We had to find live turkeys and butcher them that morning. |
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| These two great ladies are the chefs of the compound and graciously, though anxiously, allowed us to use the kitchen that day. But they kept a close eye on us so we didn't hurt ourselves, ruin the food or burn the place down :) |
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| It's the green bean casserole!! |
The patients all helped with the food prep. Peeling potatoes and cutting and chopping. The culture doesn't really stress safe food preparation techniques but with the presence of cholera, we spent a lot of time teaching the patients about safe food handling.
All the volunteers helped with preparation in the kitchen. At one point, we were all dancing and singing to the recent "We are the World" that was created for Haiti after the earthquake. I know...Cheesy! But we really were from around the world. India, Phillipines, Canada, America, Britain and Chile. It was so fun to meet people from so many different places with such a variety of experiences. It really made me realize how very homogenous Minnesota is!
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| 2 small turkeys fed around 40 people!! |
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| Mashing the potatoes!! Yes, they had lumps, just like back at home :) |
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| This is Artiste on the Left, an amputee from the earthquake, who just receieved his new leg! And Dowson, a 13 year old boy who broke his leg and was casted for 3 months. |
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Me and my girls, my new sisters that I love and miss very much.
Right to Left: Rachel, RN,Lyndsay, OT, me, Brooke, MD, Suzanne, RN. |
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| Coralione, Sonel, me, Nixon, and Beny. |
Beautiful Wideline and I. After the photos, we had a dance party with drums and traditional Haitian music. Wideline sang me a beautiful song about Haiti.
This is YouYoute, whom you've met before and her two children. Simeel and Nixon live with a friend in Croix des Bouquet so they can go to school. YouYoute should hopefully be moving back with her family soon!
Here is the table set up for the night. I think we planned for 36 people but we fed more. Once everybody had gotten through the line, I requested that we all stand up and participate in my family's Thanksgiving tradition. We all held hands and Sister Gloria said a Thanksgiving prayer. Yes, I was crying!!
Saturday morning I left for America, with amazing memories, new friends and an overall feeling of accomplishment just in the sense that I knew I taught them some important therapy tools and was able to touch many lives. Though I do believe they touched my heart more than any of them realized. Once I got to Maimi, the first thing I did was get a table at a Mexican restaurant and have NACHOS!! I so desperately missed chips and salsa :)
My husband met me at the airport in Minneapolis with a wool coat, hat and mittens. I went from 86 degrees to 10 degrees in 12 hours. He reserved a hotel that allowed dogs and brought our golden retriever, Remmy, with to welcome me home!! It was wonderful! I was happy to be home. Then....drum roll....I got to take a HOT SHOWER!!!
I am sorry this post took so long, I think maybe I just didn't want this experience to feel so final. I am forever changed by the people in Haiti. I also seemed to get right back into normal life and sometimes my trip to Haiti feels like a really vivid dream. I know, no excuses, just was really slow with writing this one. Anyways...This is the last blog. I will be doing some slide shows and presentations in my home area, at Galeon, Church, and other places so you may get to see more photos yet that what the blog showed. So, I guess....
THE END :(
