Letters | Hello from Haiti

I’m back from Haiti, the poorest country in the world, and slowly readjusting. (It takes longer than you’d think to re-accept all of the technology and conveniences we so take for granted.) We were mostly in Port-Au-Prince but also did some medical outreach in Jacmel, along the coast.

I went with a group called Healing Hands for Haiti (www.healinghandsforhaiti.org). We worked in orphanages, the Port au Prince rehab clinic established by Healing Hands, and some rural outreach clinics. I was part of a large team of 20 practitioners—PTs, OTs, SLPs, MDs, RNs, and support staff.

We visited four different orphanages to address the needs of children with disabilities living in them. Many Haitians cannot afford to feed their families; many children with special needs are abandoned at hospitals and orphanages. There is also a strong social stigma associated with disability, so families may also feel they are protecting their children from society by placing them in an institution.

Here are a couple of pics of some of the kids we were able to use the Cascade DAFOs with.

Clearly, the orthoses worked very, very well! (We should have brought more shoes, though.) I’m so grateful for tools to help these children.

—Lauren Lyons, MSPT

Lukgan, a 12-month-old boy (and orphanage resident) who has spastic quad CP. He primarily crawls to ambulate, but with the DAFOs and a change to his walker, Lukgan was able to take about 20 steps.

Cevasali, a six-year-old girl in the orphanage who also has CP. She is nonambulatory, but with the DAFOs, her feet are held in better alignment and the staff can start to work on standing with her.