A veiw from the haiti repair shop!

It is now day 6 of the trip to Haiti and the Mission of Hope. My name is Shane Leonard and I came to Haiti with one clear objective, to repair as much Equipment, vehicles and anything else that moves. Over the last several days I have learned to use the 50 lbs of tools I was allowed to transport in the most"unique" ways possible. It is very hard to anticipate what to bring but with a little imagination you really can do anything! Like fixing an ATV to run again, a large generator, a small Toyota Land-cruiser or an Ambulance inside a large tent in the 100 degree heat with limited hand tools or overcoming a very distinct language barrier when priming a large diesel generator with Franz, the Haitian man responsible here for it's operation. With a little help from drawing pictures in sand with a screwdriver and some frusteration on my part as how to evoke my need of a 24mm wrench which took us a visual sample of my biggest wrench, a 18 mm and several tries at creole in which I may have insulted one of Franz's relatives in my crude pronunciations. LOL
All said i have been very b usy and the work required here would take several months too complete but it has been very productive as a whole. I have enjoyed the trip immensely the weather is difficult to acclimate into within a short time. One other very striking thing that needs to be mentioned is the absolute lunacy when driving in Haiti. Most of you know how involved I am in NASCAR and I have to tell you the way in which people drive is insane! It is like everyone is qualifying for the Daytona 500 here every time they get behind the wheel of a vehicle. That vehicle may be a school bus (AKA Tap-Tap) with 50 or more passengers on the roof and triple stacked inside traveling at 85 mph or a fully loaded 1967 Mack dump truck that is so overloaded and poorly maintained it can only acheive speeds of 50 mph! I have to say though how much I miss my Family especially Zachary my son who I cannot wait to see in two more sleeps.

A day of rest and getting the clinic ready!!!!!

Hi, and thanks for many replies. It is good to hear from you!!! Hope all is well with everyone at home. I think life is moving at a little faster pace for all of you. Just turn up your heat in your house to 104 F, and you will slow down and put your feet up with a fan blowing over your body. Well today was that temperature in Haiti. We went to the church service this morning. It was packed with about 1,000 Haitians and a few whites. It was very alive with amazing worship in creole and english. The people really love God, and depend on Him for their needs and strength. Half way through the children left for a children's service, so Jim, John and Shane joined the kids and had a blast. There were over 100 children. They sang songs, told stories and danced. They got to hold a 3 week old baby and had fun with the kids. After a 2 and a half hour service that seem no longer than an hour. We went to a local restaurant for lunch. There were over 30 of us and we had a wonderful chicken and rice lunch at Big Daddy Chicken. When we got back, our work day started. We all went down to the clinic with the ortho doctors and nurses and one dentist. We started to clean and prepare the O.R. room and everyone was organizing their stations. We organized and clean the dentists quarters which is going to work out amazing. We finished up around 5:30 and were slightly dehydrated. We had a great chicken dinner with amazing mash potatoes and a ton of water and juice. Jim, John, Shane, Fiona, Grant, Sandy, and Samantha had a great game of Texas Hold em poker. I had a great time making a new friend, Amy. Just heading off for some zzzeeeeees. Love you all much. We serve an awesome God. He loves us so much. peace and love Kim.

A day off to go to the Beach

Today we went north of Port Au Prince through a number of small towns to a beach area. This was a cultural shock not only to see the day to day life of the people we treat but to see how they drive. There are pretty much no traffic laws or signs. Police are almost non exist. Most people driving just use their horn to make sure you know they are coming and then pass at almost any point on the road whether they can see or not. At one point we were battling to pass and were three wide. For those that don't own a vehicle, which would be most of the people, they use the Tap Tap's. A Tap Tap is a cross between a taxi and a bus. Basically they take almost any vehicle that can carry people and drive along and pick people up. when you want off you just tap the vehicle to tell the driver to stop. The funny thing is this could be an old beat up school bus or a pick up truck. Either way they are both carry double to triple the people the vehicle is rated for. People are hanging of the sides or sitting on the roof. It is unbelievable. The worst part is when they are involved in an accident many people will be seriously injuried. I thought it was awesome but Kim was freaking out.

As it was Saturday the small towns all had large markets going on. The streets were packed with vendors selling fruit, live chickens, you name it, they were probably selling it.

It was great to relax for a day and diffuse what we were seeing and doing down here. I know it is not the same scale of critical care others were seeing right after the earthquake but the people are still very sick and emotionally many are struggling. Though they may not show it outwardly in how they act some are showing it through the stress, strain of their living conditions and their signs and symptoms. Many other relief workers from other organizations were at the beach doing the same thing we were.

Tomorrow we will go to church in the morning at the MOH church. It will be great to see people from the neighbouring area come to church as well as the kids from the orphanage.

More tomorrow, Jim. Sweet dreams Robert and Alanna. XOXO

Friday in the Clinic

Friday clinic was a busy one. They take in extra patients because they close on the week-end and on top off this Monday they will go back to a small user fee so many people want to be seen today. In the clinic today we saw a lot of babies and children as well as pregnant women. Word has got out that MOH has an ultrasound machine so they all want to have their babies checked to make sure the fetus is OK.
It was very hot today as well. John and Fiona were doing triage and Jim was in the E/R with Doctor Keely. We had a 8 month old come that only weighted 6.9 kg. Oliver was left at an orphanage after the earthquake. He was anemic, malnourished, had thrush and probably was suffering from Malaria and may be going into renal failure. He was difficult to rouse and grossly dehydrated. We started an IV and gave him a bolus of fluid. He perked up a bit and then we were able to feed him some formula by 20 cc syringe. Poor little guy. We were able to transfer him out to Port au Prince to a hospital for more long term care.
Shane was busy fixing the main generator today. this is a very big job. He has been able to fix everything he has put his hands and mind too. The guy is awesome.

written by Jim. Robert and Alanna see you soon.

Hi everyone, all my love to you. Elaine if you are following the blog. I think you would really like it here. Mission of Hope is a great place to support. The hardest things for me so far have been the extreme heat and intense nausea. I was not well at all on Thursday night as you could see in the picture above. Near the end of each day I wonder if I will make it through the next. Thank goodness for Gods strength. I am relying on Him. Friday morning was better. I was so grateful for Fiona who gave me the IV and gravol. Then Jim came in and topped me up with more gravol. I had tears running down my checks thanking Fiona and Jim. I thank God for Doctors, nurses, paramedics and any medical trained people. It has been humbling and amazing to be able to be in the clinic watching what these medical staff are doing to treat and help the Haitians and the rest of us who are not doing so well. It has only increase my respect and gratefulness for all the years of training medical professionals do. For all you medical dudes reading this, I love you!!!!!!!. I did put in a morning at the clinic and was able to see Nelize and massage Gabby and spend time with both of them. Nelize had no pain through the night and her wound is healing amazing. Gabby too, new tissue is growing on his legs. Prayed with many this morning. I slept for the entire afternoon and early to bed. Thanks for all your prayers. Miss you, love you. Written by Kim

Thursday Night Blog Entry

Well we have had trouble getting online so we are behind in our Blog. We also have had no phone access so we apologize for not being able to call home. Sorry Alanna and Robert. Blog and e-mail are our only sources to communicate.
Thursday night Kim was feeling nauseated and had to go to bed. We gave her IV fluids and Gravol. The next day she rested half the day and then was back up and running. The picture should tell you how she was feeling...

2nd day at the Clinic MOH, Haiti

Today again it was very hot. 95+ degrees. You sweat just standing in the shade. Today we saw about 100 patients. Many kids today that were dehydrated and malnourished. One I saw who was difficult to wake and flaccid. He was rehydrated with IV fluids and then he drank 8 onces of formula. It was great to see the little guy alert.

Grant is having an opportunity to get to some other work while we are here.

John and I did triage with an RN from Missouri. Then we moved to the med room and continued to organize new stock.

Fiona worked in the E/R room with Doctor Keely and was in her element. They treated lots of kinds and did ultrasound on a number of pregnant women.

Shane is doing his magic fixing anything with a motor. Today he fixed an ATV and now has his own wheels to zip around on.

Kim had a great day starting at the orphanage with the babies and then came up to the clinic to pray and massage some patients. She had a chance to pray and work with the same lady, Naleze, that she met yesterday.

The food has been great down here and dinners have been traditionally Haitian. Rice, potatoes, chicken, goat, and salads. Very good and the staff are awesome.

Yesterday we heard a story about one staff member, he met us at the airport. When the earthquake hit he was studying at a bible school with about 50 students. The building collapsed. As they tried to get out a friend pushed him to avoid a collapsing wall. His friend landed on top of him. Both were crushed under the wall. As the lay in under the collapsed wall they were singing worship songs. It started with many voices and as the hours passed less and less were singing. His friend who tried to save him did laying on top of him. He was finally pulled out from under the rumble. Only 11 of his class survived. He works for MOH and came to the clinic for his injuries. He was mentally a complete wreck for days and many prayed for him. He has completely recovered and now knows that he was saved for a purpose here on earth. He now is the worship leader at the MOH church and has a passion for doing whatever God would ask him to do.

There are many stories like this and we are starting to hear more of them. We will try to share as we go.

Tomorrow we are back in the clinic and then we will do other things on the week-end as the clinic is closed.

Robert enjoy the provincials. Go Grizzlies Go! Alanna, I hope you have a great time at Courtney's. Love you both. Daddy. XOXO.

Great First Day

Hello Robert, Alanna and friends. God is so amazing how He turns disaster and grief into something good. We are learning so much about Mission of Hope. Since the earthquake this place is being blessed with abundance of supplies, food, medical equipment, medication and so on. Funds to increase there building of housing 100 more guest , building rooms for the orphanage and they are building a sport pad that will be used for basketball and the first in Haiti roller hockey. The medical clinic is one of the best clinics for people from Port au Prince and in the other direction, people come hours away because there is nothing else. They line up every morning at the locked gate and they determine the number of patients they can take by the ratio of medical staff they have. They do hire haitian nurses and doctors, but they say it is not easy to find medical staff. They would like to hire more so this is something we can be praying for. There mission statement is all about education for the young. They have 1,300 students at the school. They are educating and feeding them. They have come to the understanding that the children need to have good nutrition to learn well. The grades are from kindergarden to grade 12. They have a state test they write at the end of high school. The average pass in Haiti is 15%. At mission of hope there are getting a 90% pass. They are expanding the school. So that they will have 1,300 in the morning and 1,300 in the afternoon. This is just a little insight on their heart here to educate the children so that they will become leaders and train them in the trades to make a better life here in Haiti. Their next step is to build a technical school for the trades. I had an amazing day. I was given the privelege and opportunity to massage patients in the wound care area. I massaged them and prayed with them and I am believing for Gods mercy and love to heal them. I made some special friends today and I will be seeing them each day at the wound care area. We took Nalize a woman home in the ambulance with Jim and John and I rode in the back with Nalize and her sister Jenize. It was a crazy journey to her home, all the back roads through endless villages. It is so impoverished. We met her family, all her sisters and babies, mother and husband. They all live together in a few houses beside each other. I look forward to seeing her tomorrow. She was in motor cycle accident and broke her wrist and her leg which has a serious road rash and she is not able to walk without a walker. So I am helping with range of motion and walking. Well, time to go. Love you all and thank you so much for your prayers and support. Good night Robert and Alanna, God bless, sweet dreams to all. Kim

First full day in Medical Clinic at MOH

Bonjour, our first full day we were working in the medical clinic and Shane was busy fixing a generator and the Haiti 1 ambulance. We triaged and treated about 80 patients today. The set up and Haitian doctors and staff are great. The interpretors we worked with are all very good and we had fun bantering back and forth with them.

John set up and in triage and did initial vitals on most of the patients. Fiona and Jim triaged the patients and then sent them into the clinic area and E/R. Kim worked in the clinic massaging patients and doing some physio. She ahd opportunity to pray with patients as well.

Shane has been having a ball working on the motorized toys down here already. Last night John and Shane rebuilt a fan and today Shane fixed a large generator and in doing service work on the ambulance.
Were about to have dinner. more to come. Jim

Safely in Haiti at Mission of Hope

Hi everyone, after a long day flying from Toronto to Montreal and then direct to Haiti we have arrived. Grant and Sandy picked us up at the Airport and it was a bit of a zoo. We had help bringing the bags to the van and then we were off through Port au Prince to get to the mission site. MOH is approximately 25 km from the city. As we drove through you could see some of the damage that was done. We went around the city and Grant said that most of the devastation was in the city centre. I am sure we will see more of this as the week goes on. The roads are terrible and so it is a slow ride out of the city. It is a very busy and populated city with over 80% unemployment before the earthquake. There are no building standards and so many places collapsed due to poor quality construction and poor cement.

A large team of 57 will be leaving tomorrow and that will leave just a small team of us to work at the clinic. It should be a very busy week seeing about 100 patients per day and the odd emergency from the community at night. More about this tomorrow.

It is very hot here and we will need to adjust. It was approximately 30 celcius today. Many people doing incredible work. We stopped in at the University of Miami Hospital today near Port au Prince. Very well laid out and they have probably 150 patients.

Jim

Hi everyone, the flight and the entire trip to the mission house could not have gone smoother!!!!
All the stories that we have heard are not what I experienced so far. The people are lovely and it reminds me much like the other trips we have been on. Although we are just beginning to hear the stories of the devastation of people who have lost many family members or all their family. When we toured the hospital today we saw some serious burns and wounds - some very sick and injured people. My heart went out to them. We are doing well. It is great to be with Grant and Sandy. We will add photos of what we saw today on tomorrows blog. We love you all and thank you for your prayers. Sweet dreams R&A.......love Kim

Getting ready to go to Mission of Hope in Haiti

Welcome to our Blog. This will hopefully give you the reader an opportunity to follow us as we try to provide assistance to the Haitian people. We will try to Blog every other day and provide photos and our experience as it unfolds. I hope you find it insightful.

Kim and I have been interested in going to Haiti every since friends, Grant and Sandy Rumford and their four kids, decided to go to Haiti as long term missionaries. Grant works with Jim as a Halton Advanced Care Paramedic and took a leave of absence last September and now Grant, Sandy and their kids have lived through the earthquake. Grant has been managing the medical clinic on the Haiti Mission of Hope site. Many medical teams have been down already. In the wake of the Earthquake their has been incredible need from the Haitian people for an international response, rescue and ongoing medical care.

Kim and I are busy packing. We are part of a large 15 person medical team that is going down to assist in the clinic, on the ambulance, in the orpahnage and school that are all on the MOH site. Many people have donated items that we will be taking down with us. Each person on the team has been gathering items of medical need to take down. We will each be taking down two hockey bags full of supplies. Our personal items will all fit in one carry on and a back pack.

Well time to get back to packing and some time with Robert and Alanna.