STAND The Haiti Project

Week 1 at STAND The Haiti Project

We had amazing pediatric team! Each and everyone of them worked their butts off all week and accomplished seeing and treating over 120 pediatric patients this week and built countless pieces of equipment, fit foot orthosis and shows, educated families, made hand splints, and treated kids!

STAND Team all together saw around 800 patients this week!!!

It is amazing to sit here and look back over the week and see what God has done.

Pediatric Therapist Team

Pediatric Team week 1 plus orthopedic & Prosthetic team that helped build

Entire STAND team week 1

DAY 1 STAND pediatric clinic 

We saw 27 children today. Evaluating, updating home program plans and educating parents, writing treatment plans for their 11 weeks intensive therapy.

We built some equipment today

-3 PVC pipe standees

-1 PVC pipe walker
-2 hand braces
- fit 15 pairs AFOs and shoes
- fix 1 walker and fit 1 pair crutches
-placed 1 cast
- made 1 PVC toy hanger....

It was a crazy busy but great day! Could not have pulled today off without my amazing team of STAND The Haiti Project volunteers and my Miriam Center crew!

Time to rest and prepare for round 2 tomorrow!

Beautiful Sunset

Burning the midnight oil making PVC walkers for the next day

Day 2: STAND Pediatric Clinic 

We saw 20 Outreach kids and 10 new kids = 30!!!! We made 2 walkers and 3 standers, 4 Haitian adapted chairs, a bucket chair,3 hand brace, fit countless AFO's and did a ton of family education. A lot of children and families lives were impacted today STAND The Haiti Project

This mom literally spent all day advocating for her son Stevens. She lives 2 hours from STAND and arrived at 10. She received a PT evaluation. Had equipment built a PVC pipe stander and bucket chair. He was for for AFOs, saw the medical team... Did a lot of waiting... This mom never once complained and by the time everything was finished it was 7PM and too late for her to safely travel home. We took advantage of the opportunity to love on them and bless them with a good meal, pop, movie, and a place to sleep.

Day 3 STAND PEDIATRIC CLINIC

 today we saw 7 new patients and 21 Outreach kids. We were down 1 therapist today and so it was a little extra crazy today. So thankful for all the help from the ortho and prosthetic team who has helped us build equipment the last 2 days. We built 3 adaptive Haitian chairs, a bucket chair, 2 walkers, 2 standers, 6 hand braces, and I am sure I am forgetting things!!!!! 

Great day at STAND The Haiti Project

Meet Will-Kingston. He is a 7 year old boy who came all the way from Gonaive (4-5 hours of unpaved roads). He was born with congenital amputations to both hands and 1 leg. His father advocated for him and tries to give him as “normal” of a life as possible. I was surprised to find out his father even had him enrolled in school! In Haiti it is very hard to get schools to accept children with special needs especially if they have an obvious physically disability. When he arrived the prosthetic team casted a mold for a prosthetic leg which he received during the second week of STAND. It brought me to tears watching him walk on 2 legs for the first time!!! The prosthetic team also worked alongside the OT team to create post bilateral hand splints which enable him to grasp items allowing him increased function and independence. Watching the moment he received them and how he took off coloring first with 1 hand then with both hands at the same time was priceless. Over the next week the team created a few extra post hand splints that had a universal cuff and magnets attached with would allow him to attach various items to help with eating, toileting, dressing, etc.  This boy is going to THRIVE all because he got the tools/equipment he needed to use arms and legs! 

Day 4 STAND- 

was spent at the Miriam Center at Northwest Haiti Christian Mission. It was great to have 2 of the pediatric PTs come and give me some treatment ideas for my kiddos and watch them love on the kids. Sorry I didn't take many pictures. At STAND The Haiti Project

STAND Day 5

we saw 8 new kids and 24 Outreach kids today. We built lots of equipment and fit a ton of foot orthosis.

Pediatric Highlights of the day....

1. Seeing Casandra walk without hands held...we have been working on standing and walking for 4 years.

2. I got to learn how to do the ponsetti method of casting.
3. Getting to for the second club foot casting kid with orthosis meaning the casting was a success.
4. Seeing how excited Estelle was to get a desk for school!
5. Watching Cliff fool everyone with his amazing smile.... Draw them in close... Then slap them across the face and laugh.... Oh cliff!!!!

There are so many more but I am tired.... Lol

This women has a partial amputation of her hand secondary to an accident. It was been like this for many years. What a blessing it was to her to have the prosthetic team Mcgyver a hand prosthesis for her. This will be a temporary one as mold were taken back to the states to make her a more durable and custom fitting splint. 

SECOND WEEK OF STAND

Due to the hurricane I was not present at STAND Days 6-8 of treatment as I went back to the Miriam Center to make sure the kids at the Miriam Center and all the residents at the mission were safe. But kids were still see by the Pat and Rachel 2 of the amazing pediatric Physical Therapists that stayed both weeks. I dont have as many pictures from week 2 but I do know a lot of kids were seen, parents were educated, children received adaptive seats and standers for at home and braces for hands and feet were fit and made. 

STAND week 2 TEAM

It is ALWAYS a blessing to work alongside the STAND team! Thank you STAND for lining up and bringing pediatric therapist to work alongside and to work with my children and their families! It is incredible that in the 2 weeks we saw around 175 kids even with the hurricane coming through. Each of the children were evaluated, home programs were written or updated, families were educated, my students and I learned new skills, and countless pieces of equipment were constructed. Below is a list of some of the equipment that was built and/or provided. 

4 Bucket Chairs

13 Haitian Adapted Chairs

17 PVC walkers and standers

Countless pairs of AFO’s and foot braces were fit

15+ custom hand braces made 

4 outreach kids received services from the prosthetic team

1 child had custom splints made for his bilateral amputated hands 

EXCITED to serve alongside them again in February!