Final reflections from Jay Tew's most recent trip

Jay Tew recently returned to Haiti for a fourth rotation as lead clinician at Klinik Hanger. Following is his last blog post with reflections from Jay about the trip.

June 10, 2012

It’s time to depart once again. This time there is no one scheduled to greet the new person coming into Port-au-Prince; I am leaving and there’s no transition clinician to pick up the new person coming in. Joel realized this and asked if he could go and help with the new clinician pick up, “cause someone has to be there, right?” he says. I said, “Ok, that sounds like a good idea Joel, thank you”. The last I heard he is still making the Port-au-Prince run at 4am, headed over the mountain or down the coast to Port-au-Prince, greeting the new volunteer for Klinik Hanger.

I was there before the Klinik was built when Van (the founder of the Hanger Ivan R. Sabel Foundation and Haitian Amputee Coalition) introduced the mission and goal of the group. A sustainable clinic is the end result – send a focused group of professionals to a location in need, build a clinic, teach the people, and leave a sustainable clinic so the people of the land can continue to give care to their own in future times. Well Van, you did it. I couldn’t have dreamed it any better.

Reflections from Jay Tew - 11

Jay Tew recently returned to Haiti for a fourth rotation as lead clinician at Klinik Hanger. The next several blog posts are reflections from Jay about his most recent trip.

June 8, 2012

This is a monumental day for Klinik Hanger and Hopital Albert Schweitzer (HAS). The rehab department led by David Charles has set up the first community outreach program. They have scheduled ten appointments with homebound patients in need of orthotic and physical therapy care. A group of us leave early in the morning including David Charles PT, a physical therapy assistant, Joel, Klinik Hanger technician, and myself. We head to the community of Leoncoeur through corridors, back alley-like roadways, and very rough terrain at times even hard for the land cruiser to pass. We have to head out on foot many times. We evaluate ten patients and head back with eleven casts. Our day lasted from 7am to 3pm. It was a long, hot day but worth every drop of sweat.

 

One of the best moments, and scariest for me, was our first patient visit. We got our gear and walked through alleyways to a cement-like structure of a home. The family helped bring out an older lady who was post-stroke with drop foot. I start placing our supplies out to cast for an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) and as I remove the cast saw from the bag, it hits me like a freight train – there are no plugs here; we’re far away from any electrical source in this region. At this point I get cold chills (and it’s brutally hot); I’m trying to think what can I do. I still look at David and say with a quivering voice “guess there’s no electricity“. He just looks at me with a smile and says “no”. What an ignorant question but I had to try. Then I look to Joel and he says no worries boss I have my casting blade (utility blade that hooks away from patient to allow cast to be cut off safely). I cannot tell you how happy I was at that moment. I tell Joel he has saved the entire day my friend. He say’s “hey boss you always tell me be three steps ahead, so I bring it”. That was a great time and turning point for me because although I have had a great deal of time here, I still think like a foreigner at times. A Haitian practitioner understands the needs and situations best for their people; what the system is like and the needs once out of the protective walls of the clinic. I look at Joel and say, “Today is your day, I’m your assistant”. We evaluated everyone together and Joel applies and removes all casts today. I’m very proud to be here to assist the first Haitian rehabilitation community outreach program in this region we know of.

Reflections from Jay Tew - 10

Jay Tew recently returned to Haiti for a fourth rotation as lead clinician at Klinik Hanger. The next several blog posts are reflections from Jay about his most recent trip.

June 7, 2012

The clinic is closed today because it is a religious holiday in Haiti, and the clinic observes the holidays of Haiti. Some of my Haitian friends invite me to a sacred religions waterfall to celebrate the day in the cleansing waters. We travel very far up the mountain to a magnificent waterfall called Seau d'eau. People light candle for prayer and bath in the pool beneath. We trek up the falls to the top where the fall feels like a load of gravel build dumped on you from above. We spend the better part of the day here. It still amazes me to see such despair and then see such beauty in the same place.

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Jay Tew recently returned to Haiti for a fourth rotation as lead clinician at Klinik Hanger. The next several blog posts are reflections from Jay about his most recent trip.

June 5 – 7, 2012

There has been steady work in the Klinik, mostly fabrication and a few walk-ins these couple of days. Josef has left for Port-au-Prince. He is needed there to help with organization of a second prosthetic relief center. My German friend, I will miss you. I wish I had a little more time to work with him. It is a great thing to share your clinical and personal time with people from all over the world. You can learn so much from others whether it’s technical ideas or philosophical. Other than the purest form of giving and helping others who can’t help themselves, one of the most rewarding experiences is working over the past three years with all the Hanger and other volunteers here in Haiti. Getting to learn and take a little bit of each of them to make me into a better prosthetist and I believe, person as well, is priceless. I know I am not the same person who arrived in Haiti that Feb. 2010. I have been taken out of my bubble where my mind has expanded greatly and I’m a better person today. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world!

Reflections from Jay Tew - 8

Jay Tew recently returned to Haiti for a fourth rotation as lead clinician at Klinik Hanger. The next several blog posts are reflections from Jay about his most recent trip.

June 4, 2012

Today is a great day – everyone works the day through like a well-oiled machine. We are picking up orthotic pediatric patients every day. We had two more today for night splints, and one of the children was a little girl. She was nine-years-old, but about the size of a four-year-old. She was a sweet child with nothing but smiles.

One of our prosthetic practitioners, Alex, hurt his back at home. I believe it to be compression fracture of the lumbar (lower spine). He saw a doctor at the hospital and he said to brace it and don’t lift anything for a few weeks. This was a perfect time for him to learn about custom lumbar sacral orthosis (LSO). We all got together and casted Alex for his LSO. We filled, modified it, and instructed the whole way through the process using a broken branch from a tree, two pieces of a ½ round rasp and electrical tape. The guys learned the basics of bracing, above and below the injury. Then we pulled the LSO and trimmed it out to fit Alex. I only explained what and why we were doing the steps but the technicians did all the measurement, modifications, fabrication and fitting. The LSO fit very well and Alex is pleased and very proud of the work.

  

Reflections from Jay Tew - 7

Jay Tew recently returned to Haiti for a fourth rotation as lead clinician at Klinik Hanger. The next several blog posts are reflections from Jay about his most recent trip.

June 2 -3, 2012

This weekend I have off, so I have time to meditate and scout around the town and countryside. I take long walks and visit my friends down the corridor of Deschapelles. A group of friends are going to the public beach and ask me to come along. I agree and we take a tap tap to St. Marc then to Armani beach. We sit most of the day talking and enjoying our solitude. The UN soldiers are here and having their r & r. It all seems so normal to be here; I never thought I would be doing this in a million years. Then I remember the guy walking down the wall behind me whistling, twirling a shotgun and it merrily brings me back to reality; I think he’s the security guard.

Reflections from Jay Tew - 6

Jay Tew recently returned to Haiti for a fourth rotation as lead clinician at Klinik Hanger. The next several blog posts are reflections from Jay about his most recent trip.

June 1, 2012

Today is another consistent day of patient flow. It consisted of adjustments, walk in patients, a new bilateral below-knee patient, and a new above-knee patient. Our pediatric population is growing; we had three more knee-ankle-foot orthosis night splints for the hospital today. Rickets, a disorder that leads to softening and weakening of the bones, is still commonly seen here.