A productive day in Port-au-Prince

For some reason, mornings here seem to be both too early and yet full of excitement and enthusiasm for what the day holds.

This morning, Jay and I hopped into the back of a small van headed to Port-au-Prince with the type of AC that consists of opening all possible windows and being grateful when the van is moving. The other practitioners stayed at HAS to see patients there. Thankfully, we moved most of the 2+ hours down to the New Life orphanage in Port-au-Prince where a constant stream of amputees were waiting to be cast.

We saw some children from the orphanage, but it also serves as a location to see patients that come in from the Port-au-Prince area. We saw a total of 24 patients and came back with 20 molds. Not a bad day's work! Especially since we didn't start until around 10 and left around 3. Here's a photo of all the casts Jay and I took today:



There was one 4-year-old little girl with an above-knee amputation who was brought by another charitable organization accompanied by her mother. She was a bit shy at first, but after a blown-up rubber glove was transformed into a chicken for her and we played with a retractable tape measure, we became fast friends. She seemed enthralled by my hair and just liked touching it. Very cute! Schneily definitely has some competition. :)

Tomorrow, the morning may greet me earlier than I want but with 20 casts and Haitian coffee waiting for us, it should again be a great day!

Anna's first day at the Hanger clinic in Haiti

Wow, what an amazing first day!

It seemed quite early this morning when a confused rooster welcomed the guys around 4am. Such friendly wildlife :)

The deluge of patients started at 8 and we didn't even break for a quick lunch until after 2. But, such rewarding work! The smiles here melt your heart.

Speaking of amazing smiles, I got to see Schneily today. If you don't know who that is, he's an amazingly cute 4-year-old that msnbc.com has been following. A ball of joyous energy and your friend right away. He is doing wonderfully! There was even a visitor today who asked which side his amputation was on! Here's some video of Schneily playing soccer ("football" here in Haiti) with Jay.

In the afternoon I got to work with a wonderful woman who lost a leg above-the-knee and an arm above-the-elbow on the other side in the earthquake. This afternoon, she got her prosthetic leg for the first time and was walking without her crutch by the end of the day! Wow!

*The above is a blog post e-mailed from Anna Avakian.

A look at Jay Tew's experiences

Over the next five days we’ll provide a look back at the last six weeks of work taking place at the Hanger / Haitian Amputee Coalition prosthetic and rehabilitation center in Deschapelle, Haiti.

4-year-old Schneily Similien at the Hanger / Haitian Amputee Coalition prosthetic and rehabilitation center at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Deschapelles, Haiti. Learn more about Schneily on MSNBC.com here.

Jay Tew, CP with one of the "cutest kids in the world" at the Hanger / Haitian Amputee Coalition prosthetic and rehabilitation center.

Hanger / Haitian Amputee Coalition prosthetic and rehabilitation center patients with their new prosthetic legs.