"Patients from the Hanger Clinic in Deschapelles, Haiti are the definition of resilience"

The following is a guest blog entry written by HVO Volunteer and physical therapist, Karen Helfrich, who just returned from a session at Hopital Albert Schweitzer Haiti and the new Hanger Clinic in Deschapelles.

Patients from the Hanger Clinic in Deschapelles, Haiti are the definition of resilience. Each person is there because somehow during the course of their life each one has lost part of a limb or multiple limbs from their body. Coming to the Hanger Clinic is a new beginning for each person. At the Clinic, the patients receive a new prosthetic limb of what they previously lost. Each patient has a story to tell, and each has left an impression on me that I will never forget.

We had a young woman come walking into the clinic on her knees with flip-flops protecting her knees from the ground. At the age of five she lost part of both of her legs because of an infection. Now, sixteen years later, she is standing up tall and walking. On the first day that she got her new legs, she spent time learning how to walk again on the parallel bars. Over a period of time, with much hard work and sweat, she said goodbye to those parallel bars and is now able to walk without any assistance. Every day she would come into the clinic and give me a hug around my waist because it was as high as she could reach. I had to return to the United States before she was finished with her therapy, but I hope that some day I can return to Haiti and get a hug from her as she is standing tall.

We had a five-year-old girl who brought laughter and excitement into the clinic. She too had lost one of her legs. She was not able to wear her new prosthetic leg yet, but would walk all around the clinic with her forearm crutches and her one leg. Her favorite pastime while at the clinic was to play soccer with anyone she could rope into it by batting her pretty little eyes, and smiling wide.

The patients all had one thing in common: the loss of a limb. This helped unite them.

As new patients were admitted, and other patients got ready to graduate from therapy, they each helped teach each other what they had previously learned in therapy. As patients were waiting for their therapy time, they wouldn't sit in the halls, but would rather be up walking around, practicing the stairs, and walking on the terrain.

They are all so strong. I worked for a week and a half straight before I had a patient tell me that they were tired and needed to rest. I must admit I was relieved when I heard this because I wasn't sure if I could continue much longer with the activity we were doing, myself!

I have learned so much from my patients by their courage, strength and resilience.

To see more of Karen's photos from her time in Haiti, visit our RTTP Flickr album here.

For more information about the Rehabilitation Technician Training Program, visit the Friends' Projects page here.

Way to go, Denise!

Denise English accepts the first Humanitarian Award from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, presented by Dr. Cliff Brubaker (left), dean of the school, and Dr. Kevin Conley, president ofthe SHRS Alumni Society.

Our very own Denise English was honored this week by her alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh. Denise was awarded the Humanitarian Award from the University’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) on the occasion of the school’s 40^th anniversary.

Denise was the first alumna to receive this honor, which was created “to recognize those who are respected by their peers, recognized as leading experts, and are devoted to the promotion of human welfare.”

According to Dr. Clifford E. Brubaker, professor and dean, SHRS, “Mrs. English has gone beyond the call of duty in her humanitarian efforts related to providing rehabilitation training and therapies to the people of Haiti. Her work has spanned more than two decades and we are very proud of her dedication and commitment to others. We boldly count her among our most deserving alumni award recipients.”

The following statement was issued by the University of Pittsburgh on June 16th:

A 1973 graduate of SHRS’s Department of Physical Therapy, English has been the driving force behind the development of the Rehabilitation Technician Training Program at the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Deschapelles, Haiti. Having worked on development projects in that country since 1988, English realized the need for training programs that would develop local human resources and enable Haitian rehabilitation workers to serve in their communities. Once envisioned, she, along with a team of volunteer rehabilitation educators and clinicians from U.S. and Canadian universities, set about developing the curriculum and recruiting teachers. English and another instructor were providing student training in Haiti when the devastating earthquake rocked the island in January 2010. They continued the training and demonstrated hands-on skills as they assisted patients pouring into the area for care.

English is a volunteer professional with Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO), Haiti site, where she serves as program director. She also serves as co-coordinator on their Rehabilitation Curriculum Committee, helping to develop a rehabilitation aide curriculum that can be implemented in other underserved areas. English continues to provide PT services in the Pittsburgh area and is actively involved in the American Physical Therapy Association’s Health Policy Administration Section and the Cross Cultural and International Special Interest Group. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Physical Therapy Association (PPTA), the Haiti Solidarity Group of the Thomas Merton Center in Pittsburgh, and Health Volunteers Overseas/Physical Therapy Overseas, a board member of Friends of HAS Haiti, and is active in other Haiti-related organizations.

Time Flies!

Dear Readers,

If you're still around, thanks for sticking with us! The past few months have been very busy for the Friends of HAS, as we are still adjusting to the aftermath of the earthquake in January. The earthquake, though tragic, has brought about a good deal of positive change at Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti, including new programs in collaboration with national and international organizations. Here are a few updates on our work in Haiti and in the US.

One of these programs is a community development project, which is a collaborative effort between HAS Haiti and the United Nations. This project aims to employ many of the internally displaced Haitians in the Artibonite Valley through providing crucial improvements to the communities in this region. This includes everything from road improvements to a community mural project. You can follow this project's progress at their blog here, or of course, you can expect updates on the Friends' blog.

Another such project instituted in the past few months is the creation of a long-term prosthetic and rehabilitation center, based in Deschapelles, Haiti, near to HAS. This March, HAS announced that it was launching a new center in partnership with the Haitian Amputee Coalition. Through the creation of this center, the opportunity has arisen for HAS to play a significant role in the future of Haiti's health care by serving as one of eight planned centers for the provision of artificial limbs in the country. As with any disability, the loss of a limb in Haiti quickly translates into a loss of livelihood and economic security in an already fragile economic environment. With appropriate prosthesis and rehabilitative care, most patients can regain substantial mobility and independence, and can even enter the work force. Staffed by the US prosthetic experts from Hanger Orthopedic Group and Physicians for Peace, in conjunction with local Haitian medical professionals, the Haitian Amputee Coalition for Prosthetics and Rehabilitation Center at HAS is now functional. This initiative also compliments HAS's Rehabilitation Technician Training Program, which, as you know, was established in 2007 in collaboration with Health Volunteers Overseas to build professional infrastructure for rehabilitation services in Haiti. We are all very excited to be a part of this effort, which addresses a monumental need in today's Haiti.

On the US front, we have indeed had our hands full! Our very own Dr. Ian Rawson gave the commencement address at Carnegie Mellon University's graduation ceremony a few weeks ago. View the speech here.

Earlier this month, the Friends of HAS Haiti's Pittsburgh Marathon team was successful in not only completing a very long race, but in managing to raise over $8,000 for the Rehabilitation Technician Training Program. Congratulations team!

Plans are now well underway for our annual benefit gala, which will occur this year on September 10, 2010. The event will be honoring Louise Stephaich, a hospital board member who has worked tirelessly for the cause both before and after the earthquake. The event will be held at the Ellis Armory in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood. Ticket prices and more details will come soon! See the Save the Date email here. To request more information, or an official invitation to the event, email us at info@friendsofhas.org.

We are so excited about where we are headed as an organization, and we really could not do what we do without the support of our friends. Thank you for your continued support of our cause, and please stay in touch!

A Uniquely Haitian Experience...

The following was taken from a letter to our president from Cathy Donahoe, who was visiting HAS Haiti as a volunteer with our rehabilitation program. This was one of Cathy's more unique experiences, which she wanted to share with our blog readers:

While I obviously had many experiences during my two weeks at HAS, a uniquely pleasurable one came on the weekend. Plans to hike to two trees overlook with some other visitors didn’t go as planned and it became a solo hike for the sunrise. As I neared the overlook, two Haitian women were going to the same place and we started chatting in my weak Kreyol. On arriving, they split up and took their postures of prayer. The sun was just behind the mountains with cloud cover to delay the sunrise and make it more spectacular at the same time. I took my initial set of pictures then assumed my position for devotions. After a while, one of the ladies started singing and the chorus sounded easy enough that perhaps I could learn it. She began a moving meditation and singing, coming near where I was sitting. It took some effort to communicate that I wanted to learn her song, but we achieved the understanding and the lesson began. Singing together like this was a bonding time for us. We continued to try to communicate as others arrived. When I learned they planned on several hours there, I said my farewells and returned to the hospital grounds, singing my new song as I went, greeting the others heading up the trail to join the event. A couple of days later I met her as I walked along the canal road with others. We shared a quick hug and greeting before continuing on, but she is one whose picture I don’t require to remember her, though I have one.


Thank you and bless you for your efforts on behalf of the people in the Artibonite Valley and your encouragement and support for rehab services!

Cathy Donahoe

SAMS Missionary

Apartado 587

San Pedro de Macoris

Dominican Republic

Here are some of Cathy's pictures from her time working with rehabilitation patients and caregivers.

Video Interviews in Deschapelles, Haiti

This video was filmed and edited by Edward Rawson, son of Dr. Ian Rawson, current board president of HAS Haiti. For more of Edward's video interviews, visit his website at www.edwardrawson.com

"An ill wind..."

The following is a post from Denise English, RTTP program director, who has returned to the US from Haiti. Here are her brief reflections.

February 9, 2010

It’s been four weeks today since everything changed. Three weeks since I’ve written an entry. Two weeks since I’ve been back home in Pittsburgh.

Much to think about since returning. Words not coming easily.

Everything indeed has changed. So many things for the worse.

Some, as a result, for the better.

Infrastructure is being created. Groups are working in concert rather than isolation. Rehabilitation is now being pushed front and center.

"It is an ill wind that blows no good." -- English writer John Heywood (c. 1497 – 1580).

Reflections from David Charles Rehabilitation Services Manager

The following is a translation from French of a blog entry written by David Charles, HAS's rehabilitation services manager. He recounts, from a physical therapists standpoint, how the Rehabilitation service at HAS grew and learned to accommodate the in-pouring of trauma victims they encountered in the wake of the January earthquake.


On Tuesday, January 12th 2010, several hours after the quake hit, the rooms and hallways of HAS Haiti were already brimming with victims and the parents of victims of the major earthquake that hit Haiti and caused unprecedented damage in Port au Prince and its environs.

In the meantime, I wasn't at all conscious of the situation in Deschapelles, as I was at the Plassac Dispensary (one of HAS satellite despensaries), accompanying an rehab technician from RTTP's first graduating class in his adjustment to the first week of work. We were, to say the least, incredibly impatient to return to Deschapelles, not yet knowing the extent of the damage there.

The following day, we returned to HAS and the reality of the situation immediately presented itself. We prepared ourselves to receive incoming patients in the hospital courtyard as there was no longer any space in the interior of the hospital to house quake victims. All hospital personnel were in a state of alarm, and this was also the case for the rehabilitation service which was assailed by requests to immobilize fractures as the physicians made their evaluations.

Only a couple days thereafter, we saw a need to expand the rehabilitation work we were doing at the hospital. Our technicians, those responsible for rehab service, along with the program's professorship--all were implicated in transferring patients from the floor onto beds, to tech patients how to use their crutches after their casts were set, to mobilize patients in beds during their time in the hospital, and to both convince and teach the family how to continue these therapies at home. This crisis time allowed us to better understand how to handle mass car accidents; we were receiving a good deal of patients with all sorts of injuries, broken bones, that were necessary to immobilize immidiately as the victims waited for surgical intervention. Our greatest challenge was to learn how to best manage cases of spinal trauma by acute care, or an immobilization of the spinal column, and all with what little means we had at the time. Among the eight medullary [neural tube] trauma cases that were diagnosed, two passed away during their first five days at the hospital. Of the six others, one died after one week of treatment. The rehabilitative care in these extreme cases consisted primarily in the prevention of pressure sores and contractures, all while we kept the spinal column immobile, all this in addition to educating families how to continue these therapies. Only one patient developed pressure ulcers in the sacro-lumbar region, which, once identified were quickly treated.

Amputees were also among those to whom we gave rehabilitative support, even as soon as a few hours after the amputations were performed.

Right now, we are still in a crisis state, and our major preoccupation is of course the future of the patients who need a good deal of therapy after their trauma. The rehab service staff, composed of three technicians and one physical therapist, is now bolstered by a volunteer who was present at the hospital last year, and who wanted once again to lend a hand to the service.

In the time between my arrival at HAS Haiti in August 2009 to today, I have seen the rehabilitation service here evolve into a program that is much better structured, and which is now remarkably better able to respond effectively to major problems as they arise. The rehabilitation service of HAS is truly rare in that it is one of the few rehabilitation centers that provide therapy from the first day of hospitalization until the day of discharge, and in that it continues to accompany the patient beyond their release with a rehabilitation program that best suits their individual needs.

The rehabilitation service at HAS Haiti will continue to work to improve the living conditions of persons with disabilities by helping them to reintegrate into society. We thank, from the bottom of our hearts, all those who help us to exist, and those who work with us.

David CHARLES

Rehabilitation Services Manager

Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti

Deschapelles, Haiti