So despite the very long trip that included a few layovers and delayed flights we are happy to say we've arrived to our much anticipated destination. Although we were very sleep deprived, we were anxiously awaiting our adventure. As soon as we got off the plane, we were greeted by a local band who immediately uplifted our mood. Getting to our hotel was quite the adventure - the rules of the road are very different from America - if they even exist at all.. There are no lanes, speed limit, or street signs. Stopping in the middle of the road for a freshly cut coconut was not out of the ordinary, in fact it was quite refreshing in this humid 95 degree weather. Our first day consisted of getting settled in our hotel and orienting at the hospital in Port au Prince. We are looking forward to getting a great night of sleep and then we will be off to a clinic in Jacmel tomorrow. :)
-Jessica, Amy, Shannon, Sarah
Monday, September 17, 2012
We're in Haiti!
We've arrived in Haiti!!!!!! It has been quite the experience already, including flight delays and road travel that we were able to laugh about later, but was scary at the time. We had a really long journey and got to see a lot of the city. We arrived at the hotel, and it is very beautiful. We then went to lunch and tried goat, beef, chicken, and fish (delicious!), and lastly went to the Hospital Adventiste de Haiti for a tour. We are now sitting down to dinner and reflecting on the day, and we look forward on our journey with optimism and excitement!
Lindsey, Cara, Jennie, and Genevieve
Lindsey, Cara, Jennie, and Genevieve
Friday, September 14, 2012
Packing party before Haiti
I am very excited to finally begin packing for our trip to Haiti! We have soo much stuff that we are taking with us and it makes me very happy that so many people have donated supplies for our trip. Thank you to everyone who helped out on the supply drive. You guys did GREAT. Packing party was fun! Cant wait to go to Haiti on Sunday.
Packing Party!
We are super excited for our trip! So many people donated and came together to show how generous a community can be when thinking of those in need. We can't wait to experience the culture and to take this trip as an amazing learning opportunity to better our nursing skills. Thank you LTR for all you've done, and we hope to make you proud!
Lindsey, Sarah, Jessie, Jill and Cara
Lindsey, Sarah, Jessie, Jill and Cara
Almost there!
We're currently at our packing party, and we had a very generous amount of supplies that were donated. We are very excited about our trip and can't believe it's less than 48 hours away! We know we're in for a huge culture shock and are going to have experiences that we'll never forget. Looking forward to being in Port Au Prince and for the trip of a lifetime!
- Genevieve, Amy, Jessica and Brooke
- Genevieve, Amy, Jessica and Brooke
Friday, August 10, 2012
Trip July-Aug 2012
Hi All,
Well, the conclusion of another enjoyable and successful trip to Haiti has occurred. I read Erin's excellent blogs, but after having a week to contemplate our trip wanted to add a bit from my experiences in Jacmel. While the rest of the group was in Carrefour working at the orphanage, LaConcorde, I was in Jacmel working at St Michel Hospital and trying to get some details on the preparation of the new land site completed. Our group in this trip consisted of Doug Hart, the Treasurer of LTR, my oldest daughter, Erin Lewis, family friend from DC, Cackie Howe and her 17 year old daughter Maggie and a Spencer high school junior, Jordan Cornwell. This group did great work while working with the kids and also had a great time in Jacmel visiting the new land site, etc. The kids immediately fell in love with all of them!
I hoped in this trip to achieve the planning for the well and to get an estimate for the cost of the security fence that was to be placed around the property so we could start building soon. I also had arranged to work with Dr Oda and Dr Rozan at St Michel Hospital in Jacmel. I had previously met both of these young orthopedic surgeons and initiated plans to help them out with equipment and instruction in orthopedic surgery. They both are very dedicated orthopedic surgeons doing very difficult work with little equipment.
Shortly before arriving in Haiti, I had received a call from our neighbor at the new land site, informing me that there had been some interesting developments resulting from the government's plan to expand the airport. It seems that as part of an overall plan to improve the tourist capabilities in Jacmel, a 30 million dollar airport expansion was being done and that it could effect our property. The assistance of our neighbor, Charley Elgin, Director of Pathfinder Missions, was VERY helpful and led to us getting things worked out with the gentleman we bought the land from. It appears that the only effect of this project is that we will be delayed about 1 month or so in starting the building, but very acceptable alternative plans were arrived at. Now we only have to wait for the government to tell us EXACTLY where the new border of the airport expansion will be. An example of the proverbial, 2 steps forward one step back.
Once the land details were worked out, I was able to concentrate on doing some orthopedic work and in trying to help arrange final plans for the group of nursing students from the Denver School of Nursing who were to be traveling with Barb in September on the next LTR adventure. Due to the generosity of my patients, partners and Dr Don Berg from Ottumwa, I was able to take a large number of external fixators to the hospital for their use. While there, these came in very handy in the treatment of several patients. Jenny Thompson from Zimmer and Spencer Hospital were both very kind in providing other orthopedic equipment which I was able to use while there. Sara Schmidt, one of the nurses I work with in Spencer, was also a life saver in making cloth sleeves that could be sterilized and used as a mitt to cover the 2 Dewalt drills I purchased to take to St Michel. It is hard to believe, but the hospital which cares for many orthopedic patients each day not only does not have a C-arm for fluoroscopy, but also has no power drills, no plates/screws, no k-wires, etc. Now at least they have the power drills and k-wires. Next, I will need to round up some more ortho equipment before the next trip. All in all, the orthopedic work was very rewarding and I look forward to getting back to Jacmel to work with my orthopedic friends.
Plans for the DSN trip in September were finalized with the St Michel Hospital and the Jacmel nursing school very excited about the prospect of an affiliation with DSN. The nursing program in PAP was also extremely appreciative of this opportunity and I think these 15 nursing students, to include daughter Cara, will have a very rewarding and life changing trip. All in all, this trip, as usual, was extremely successful and rewarding for all. Having the opportunity to spend this special time with daughter Erin, was even more meaningful for me. To see the effect Haiti has on my fellow travelers is always a bonus I look forward to. I can not imagine how anyone that is lucky enough to meet these amazing people can not be changed by the experience.
Thanks to all that made the trip for your amazing work and for those who are helping us better the life of the children of LaConcorde. God bless--Rick
Well, the conclusion of another enjoyable and successful trip to Haiti has occurred. I read Erin's excellent blogs, but after having a week to contemplate our trip wanted to add a bit from my experiences in Jacmel. While the rest of the group was in Carrefour working at the orphanage, LaConcorde, I was in Jacmel working at St Michel Hospital and trying to get some details on the preparation of the new land site completed. Our group in this trip consisted of Doug Hart, the Treasurer of LTR, my oldest daughter, Erin Lewis, family friend from DC, Cackie Howe and her 17 year old daughter Maggie and a Spencer high school junior, Jordan Cornwell. This group did great work while working with the kids and also had a great time in Jacmel visiting the new land site, etc. The kids immediately fell in love with all of them!
I hoped in this trip to achieve the planning for the well and to get an estimate for the cost of the security fence that was to be placed around the property so we could start building soon. I also had arranged to work with Dr Oda and Dr Rozan at St Michel Hospital in Jacmel. I had previously met both of these young orthopedic surgeons and initiated plans to help them out with equipment and instruction in orthopedic surgery. They both are very dedicated orthopedic surgeons doing very difficult work with little equipment.
Shortly before arriving in Haiti, I had received a call from our neighbor at the new land site, informing me that there had been some interesting developments resulting from the government's plan to expand the airport. It seems that as part of an overall plan to improve the tourist capabilities in Jacmel, a 30 million dollar airport expansion was being done and that it could effect our property. The assistance of our neighbor, Charley Elgin, Director of Pathfinder Missions, was VERY helpful and led to us getting things worked out with the gentleman we bought the land from. It appears that the only effect of this project is that we will be delayed about 1 month or so in starting the building, but very acceptable alternative plans were arrived at. Now we only have to wait for the government to tell us EXACTLY where the new border of the airport expansion will be. An example of the proverbial, 2 steps forward one step back.
Once the land details were worked out, I was able to concentrate on doing some orthopedic work and in trying to help arrange final plans for the group of nursing students from the Denver School of Nursing who were to be traveling with Barb in September on the next LTR adventure. Due to the generosity of my patients, partners and Dr Don Berg from Ottumwa, I was able to take a large number of external fixators to the hospital for their use. While there, these came in very handy in the treatment of several patients. Jenny Thompson from Zimmer and Spencer Hospital were both very kind in providing other orthopedic equipment which I was able to use while there. Sara Schmidt, one of the nurses I work with in Spencer, was also a life saver in making cloth sleeves that could be sterilized and used as a mitt to cover the 2 Dewalt drills I purchased to take to St Michel. It is hard to believe, but the hospital which cares for many orthopedic patients each day not only does not have a C-arm for fluoroscopy, but also has no power drills, no plates/screws, no k-wires, etc. Now at least they have the power drills and k-wires. Next, I will need to round up some more ortho equipment before the next trip. All in all, the orthopedic work was very rewarding and I look forward to getting back to Jacmel to work with my orthopedic friends.
Plans for the DSN trip in September were finalized with the St Michel Hospital and the Jacmel nursing school very excited about the prospect of an affiliation with DSN. The nursing program in PAP was also extremely appreciative of this opportunity and I think these 15 nursing students, to include daughter Cara, will have a very rewarding and life changing trip. All in all, this trip, as usual, was extremely successful and rewarding for all. Having the opportunity to spend this special time with daughter Erin, was even more meaningful for me. To see the effect Haiti has on my fellow travelers is always a bonus I look forward to. I can not imagine how anyone that is lucky enough to meet these amazing people can not be changed by the experience.
Thanks to all that made the trip for your amazing work and for those who are helping us better the life of the children of LaConcorde. God bless--Rick
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
July 2012 Haiti Trip: Part 2
Traveled to Jacmel yesterday afternoon. A beautiful drive over
the mountains and through the country side. Arrived at our hotel
to meet Dad. He was very happy to see us. Francesse, her
daughter Francessca, and Frantz's brother, Elize, joined us for
the 2 hour trip. It is very safe here. We were able to walk around
and there were many children playing outside. We feasted
last night on goat and fish. The best fish I have ever had! Seeing
Doug order and enjoy goat was quite an experience.
After dinner we were tired from the half day with the children
and the trip to Jacmel so we hit the sack. After the A/C kicked
on around 10 the power in the hotel promptly went out. They
tried hard to start the generator to no avail. Then came the animals:
mosquitos, cats, dogs, chickens & of course the men working
on the generator. Not sure anyone got a lot of sleep last night.
Jordan and I were up laughing for hours because of the situation.
What an awesome story to take home!
As I wait for the others in our group to wake I am watching
everyone getting ready for the market. Goods for the market are
being carried on backs, heads and in wheeled barrels. We are
going to the open market for breakfast this morning
then switch to a different hotel closer to the land this evening.
Everyone I have met has been patient with our language barriers.
I am having one of the most incredible times I have ever had.
Many many blessings & much love,
Erin Lewis
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