Day 4: Team Revive!

Number one rule in Haiti: be flexible...To start things off, Valdora was sick all day, no bueno.  We were supposed to drive to Bonne Fin for our first day at Hopital Lumiere, but the road was washed out, which ended up being a blessing in disguise.
We had some labor intensive moments: moving crutches and wheelchair accessories from one room of the MTI house to another, moving supplies from the MTI house to the new clinic in town, as well as moving our bags to travel to the hospital in and out of the trusty Land Cruiser.
We even saw some patients, 6 in all!  One of the two year olds we saw, Frantz, did not want any of us to touch him, but when he left he gave us all a hug, and even gave me a kiss.  We visited Pierre, a young man with spinal cord injury after falling out of mango tree.   We gave him the Lakers stocking and Kobe Bryant Jersey that Team Restore wanted for us to give him. He put it on, and even let his brother try it on.  For the most part, he has spent the last five years in bed, and all he wants is to get out of his room. I don't blame him. "Dr. Ola" explained to Pierre (with the help of our makeshift translator for the day, Marie) that our goals  would be to attain a wheelchair with a Roho cushion for him, progress to him leaving his room, and then his house.
In the afternoon, we walked down the road to the Bernice Johnson Center, which provides training in crochet and embroidery for young Haitian women both with and without disabilities.  The skills these women will learn will enable them earn money for themselves and survive on their own.  There was a large lawn, that we all just wanted to take a nap on under the giant mango tree, and the buildings were immaculate.   The crochet and embroidery work sold in the boutique was beautiful, and inexpensive compared to the same quality of goods you would find in the States. We each had to exercise some self-restraint.  Ola decided to pick up some early Christmas gifts, and ended up using June's tab.
Our days here feel like 3 days in one, and it's difficult to describe everything that's happened. Life is hard, and Haitians can definitely attest to that.

-Anita