I have been very excited to return to Haiti and Deschapelles. I had been looking forward to seeing my friends here again, and wondering how well they would remember me from my first two week rotation one year ago.
It was a great feeling arriving at Kay Hanger after the long journey from Port-Au-Prince. As Brandon had stated on his arrival it felt like coming home. As I saw each of the staff I was always met with big hugs. “Bon Jou!!” “Sak Pase!!” (The customary greetings). I was thrilled they all remembered me and were just as excited to see me. It felt more like a family reunion.
It was a quick week of learning the lead practitioner role and responsibilities. Brandon has done a great job and already having been here I already knew the general flow of the Klinik.
On Monday, the van from Port-Au-Prince arrived and out came one of my patients from a year ago. Kennda is a young teenaged woman who had great difficulty wearing her below-knee prosthesis. She had a very sharp tibia and despite many attempts to relive her pain in the prosthesis she could not get comfortable. We discussed with the surgeons at HAS the possibility of a revision of her residual limb. This was done the very next day (two days before I returned back home). We saw each other one last time to say goodbye on our last night here. I had prayed for her hoping the surgery would make the difference. To my surprise, Kennda stepped out of the van, walking so well you would never know she had a prosthesis at all. When she saw me she ran up to me and gave me a big hug and thanked me again for what we had done for her. It was a great start to my return to Haiti.
The week continued and I saw a few more patients that had returned for adjustments that all remembered me. I love this place; I love these people. It is amazing what an impact we all have here. It is a wonderful thing or as the Haitians would say “ Bon Bagay!”
