So we took a few of the kids in for their evaluations today. What happens is before a child can be proposed- which is what they call matching the children here to an adoptive family somewhere- they have to have certain paperwork finished. Blood work done, psyc evaluation done, etc. Today, we took 4 kids in for their psyc evals.
Now this may seem like a fairly simple task, but lets walk through it. 4 kids. The oldest is 25 months. There was also another child going to the eye doctor. So on the ride down the mountain, we have 5 kids being held by 3 of us, 2 volunteers and a staff member. There is no such thing as car seats in Haiti, that is why they bring us volunteers along. 3 of the 5 kids have never been in a car before. Have you got any idea how scary it is getting into a car with the knowledge that it is not only possible but probable at least one kid will be throwing up. Car sickness, motion sickness, nerves, basic fear.... Who knows. So you climb into a car, take note of where the barf bags are(literally), remind yourself that the kids all have an extra set of clothes in the bag. Mentally smack yourself for not bringing your own change of clothes. THen we begin our trip down the mountain.
It takes a while to get down the mountain. There are big (big by Haitian standards) Mack trucks rumbling down the road. It has no lines, there are pedestrians everywhere, the tap taps(Haitian bus system, I think I explained them in a previous post) stop whenever a passenger tells them to, the road is curvy, and it is not by any means paved and groomed to North American standards. There aren't road rules like there are back home, if you are passing, give a coulpe toots on the horn, I've yet to see a speed limit sign, and have counted a total of two stop signs in the month that I have been here.
So we make it to the doctors office with no major incidents. No sick kids, which is in itself pretty miraculous, and they are all in fairly good moods.Our second daunting task. Now we have to take 4 kids into a waiting room for up to two hours. One at a time the staff member takes the kids in while we keep the others entertained. It is amazing what you can find for a child to play with when options are few. A pair of sunglasses, a hello kitty off a back pack, and single toy car manages to keep 3 kids entertained and happy. After sitting there and managing those three without an issue, hardly even a temper tantrum, I feel like I can handle anything!
The evaluations went really well. Amazingly well. One of the kids is my little guy that was sad with life and not doing so well when I first arrived. Well since then he has blossomed and he passed with flying colors! I am super excited because now maybe there is a chance that he will be matched with his family while I am here! So amazing!
The trip back was a little tricky as it was nearing lunch. We pulled out bottles and by the time we pulled in the gate, we had 5 sleeping babies and a very successful day!
Here are some photo album links
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=5840&l=3fff0&id=509833092
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=5803&l=145c4&id=509833092
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=5386&l=b78d1&id=509833092
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=5188&l=a19d9&id=509833092
Hope that works
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Templeton- my rat
I saw a rat.
That is pretty much all I wanted to say. I was sitting on the computers last night and a rat ran by. It is the first time in my life that I have seen a rat and I thought it was blog worthy. I have decided to call him Templeton (Charolettes Web anyone?).
Things are good. I have 2 weeks left and that is really soon. Hard to believe I've been here for a month already! But its all good. Dinner bell went so I got to get going. Have a great one!
That is pretty much all I wanted to say. I was sitting on the computers last night and a rat ran by. It is the first time in my life that I have seen a rat and I thought it was blog worthy. I have decided to call him Templeton (Charolettes Web anyone?).
Things are good. I have 2 weeks left and that is really soon. Hard to believe I've been here for a month already! But its all good. Dinner bell went so I got to get going. Have a great one!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
From the sickbed of Laura
I just experienced what was quite possibly the longest 5 1/2 days of my life.
During the day on Monday I had a headache and felt naseous on and off all day. We played cards in the evening and it began to go downhill. By the end of the game I was asking what heartburn felt like, what allergiest felt like, what asthma felt like. I had a pain in my chest and it wouldn't go away. So we go up to bed, I essentially collapsed onto mine. That was it.
I started getting hot and cold flashes. I was freezing cold, but my skin was burning hot to the touch. Turns out, I had a fever. By Tuesday morning my temp rose to 102.8. Needless tosay, by Wed night, when my fever finally broke, I was exhausted. The last 3 days were recovery.
Being sick left me with no appetite and not eating much(which, if you know me at all, is not like me in the least) means I didn't have alot of energy. So complete was my exhaustion that if I sat for more than a minute, I would start to sweat or even simply collapse back to my pillow. The thought of going down the the kitchen usually resulted in my curling up in a ball and taking another nap. When I did take the effort to make the short walk down, I'd stop in the living room on the way to rest, and the first thing I'd do in the kitchen was put my head down to rest.
Wednesday morning I started taking Ceftin. It is a broad spectrum antibiotic taken twice a day for 10 days. So I take my doses Wed and feel super naseous. I found out Thursday that it needs to be taken with food. Or you'll get sick. Opps. Well at least that meant I had to eat at least a couple meals a day. Even now just the thought of the pill makes me naseous. Friday, I was talking to Molly and she tells me that Ceftin dehydrates you. So the fact that for two nights straight I had been waking up throughout the night with a completely parched mouth. Normal. Needless today, I started drinking more water.
Now. All is well. I don't have my usual energy back yet, but that really doesn't mean much. I have some energy, and this morning I woke up hungry for the first time in almost a week. Definitely back on the upswing.
Home in 17 days. Hard to believe I've been here almost a month already.
During the day on Monday I had a headache and felt naseous on and off all day. We played cards in the evening and it began to go downhill. By the end of the game I was asking what heartburn felt like, what allergiest felt like, what asthma felt like. I had a pain in my chest and it wouldn't go away. So we go up to bed, I essentially collapsed onto mine. That was it.
I started getting hot and cold flashes. I was freezing cold, but my skin was burning hot to the touch. Turns out, I had a fever. By Tuesday morning my temp rose to 102.8. Needless tosay, by Wed night, when my fever finally broke, I was exhausted. The last 3 days were recovery.
Being sick left me with no appetite and not eating much(which, if you know me at all, is not like me in the least) means I didn't have alot of energy. So complete was my exhaustion that if I sat for more than a minute, I would start to sweat or even simply collapse back to my pillow. The thought of going down the the kitchen usually resulted in my curling up in a ball and taking another nap. When I did take the effort to make the short walk down, I'd stop in the living room on the way to rest, and the first thing I'd do in the kitchen was put my head down to rest.
Wednesday morning I started taking Ceftin. It is a broad spectrum antibiotic taken twice a day for 10 days. So I take my doses Wed and feel super naseous. I found out Thursday that it needs to be taken with food. Or you'll get sick. Opps. Well at least that meant I had to eat at least a couple meals a day. Even now just the thought of the pill makes me naseous. Friday, I was talking to Molly and she tells me that Ceftin dehydrates you. So the fact that for two nights straight I had been waking up throughout the night with a completely parched mouth. Normal. Needless today, I started drinking more water.
Now. All is well. I don't have my usual energy back yet, but that really doesn't mean much. I have some energy, and this morning I woke up hungry for the first time in almost a week. Definitely back on the upswing.
Home in 17 days. Hard to believe I've been here almost a month already.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Good day
Just figured I would send in a quick hello.
The hurricane turned out to be rather uneventful in our area. Apparently when they told us that it wouldn't have much of an effect this far into the mountains, they weren't kidding. First, from what I understand, Dean did not progress into a category 5, it remained a category 4. This is still a really large hurricane, simply a little smaller than they had predicted.
After all of our preparations to put things away, and 'hurricane proof' the area, I suppose I had expected more. However, it is best to be prepared and it is by far a better thing to get less than expected. We had som e fairly serious winds and rain throughout the night, both of which are still happening on and off, but otherwise we are finished with this hurricane. We have beat the threat =)
No major plans for this week. Not yet at least. There are 3 volunteers leaving and I have no idea if any are arriving. I shall keep in touch. Have a great day!
The hurricane turned out to be rather uneventful in our area. Apparently when they told us that it wouldn't have much of an effect this far into the mountains, they weren't kidding. First, from what I understand, Dean did not progress into a category 5, it remained a category 4. This is still a really large hurricane, simply a little smaller than they had predicted.
After all of our preparations to put things away, and 'hurricane proof' the area, I suppose I had expected more. However, it is best to be prepared and it is by far a better thing to get less than expected. We had som e fairly serious winds and rain throughout the night, both of which are still happening on and off, but otherwise we are finished with this hurricane. We have beat the threat =)
No major plans for this week. Not yet at least. There are 3 volunteers leaving and I have no idea if any are arriving. I shall keep in touch. Have a great day!
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