Day 3. We woke up for our first yoga class. Mike comes back from running with Prya, the PT in charge. We start the class, i can hear Mike making all sort of noises but prefer not to laugh so he keeps trying. I see Julie trembling furiously but i don't say anything so she keeps trying :) this trip was all about challenges ! instead, I'm horrible at cards game, but everybody does tell me that (LOL).
We pack our stuff, we have some breakfast with a starchy bread and some coffee. Put the casts on the back of the car and start the drive towards "Les Cayes". Again the same dumpy road that makes us shake and move like crazy. Heather tries to find an exercises by tightening her belly muscles, i know that there are hard days ahead of us so i try to relax every muscle in my body. Around 11 am i proposed to buy bananas, they are so tasty. We all have one. When i come back with Heather to the car, Julie is enjoying a popsicle! a deadly icy treat. I know there is definitely something going on in those frozen colored waters but she seems so happy that i prefer to stay quiet and take a picture instead. That is all part of the trip. Of course two days later she has diarrhea and we all agreed on the popsicle. Heather takes Dramamine before every drive, she says she is a light sleeper but no one believes that … although Julie has this disposible camera, and every time she passes a picture "krush krush krush" Heather does wake up, it is the only sound that perturbs her dream.
So we finally get to the O&P Rehab facility, directed by June Hanks . Skinny woman with a weird accent that makes me imagine her with cowboy pants and pistols. She is very smart and has a ton of faith. Lets do a description of our home mates. Marvin and Carmen. Couple from Nicaragua, they are good people, they have great hearts. They came to Haiti in order to help people. We will always remember that night when Marvin would showed us a card tricks and immediately after doing the tricks he would say "All right, ill show you" and he would reveal the secrets behind the cards. Hopefully they will stay there working and helping.
So those are the ones living in this place sharing the same roof with us. Back to our work. We had a pile of work to do. Mike set the time as a marathon. So we new that at mile 26 we were done! of course that took us around 3 days.
Its still day 3. We work as soon as we get there. Start filling molds. There is a technician. he is deaf and mute. First cast we strip down, the leg falls over. Mike : " Shit the pipe's half way down!" Marvin: "Welcome to Haiti". that is how our worked started. Up and downs but getting stuff done. These glitches were just things that reminded us where we were. For example, the eternally wet white paint on the walls that kept staining our clothes, the electricity cuts like 4 times a day, the three legged table, the work bench that got detached as we were putting our first casts, the spiders climbing out of the plaster bag, and the lack of googles that made us wear sun glasses inside the workshop. We worked till late that day. Ate dinner at the office. Heather discovers the coconut cookies or "cukies" as i would pronounce. We go back on the back of the pick up truck enjoying the breeze.
Day 4. We wake up really early. We do Yoga. This time breakfast is prepared. Julie is sick that day but she still shines like the sun. We worked really hard. Got KAFOS and AFOs done. But still have two KAFOS to make. Julie and Heather are ready to work at a central fab as technicians. They grind and use heavy machines. Heather has bandages all over her hands... its a fight between the machine & woman trying to over power them. Mike and I have colds. Work does not stop, we are like little ants. Jules sleep early. Mike, Heather and I gossip like school girls. We talk about life. We go to bed and all sleep like babies. Never did understand that expression. Dont babies wake up all the time during the night?
Final Installment to come...
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