Continuing Education in Haiti

Today I began the first half of the continuing education program on stroke originally planned for last Saturday. (Flexibility of mind and spirit is an absolute necessity in Haiti.) There were 12 Rehabilitation Technicians in attendance from the 3 classes that I have helped to teach in 2009, 10 and 11, as well as the Haitian Physical Therapist in charge of the department. They were a GREAT group--just what any instructor would want. They listened, asked questions, and participated in the activities that I had planned. This was all done through a translator making their patience even more admirable. We all had a good laugh with the 2 Techs who agreed to take part in the demonstration of dysarthria (weakness of the muscles producing speech). Both techs stuffed 6 pieces of hard candy in their mouths, then they tried to rapidly repeat a sentence in Kreyol. The effect was quite amusing in these healthy young people, but served the purpose of demonstrating the difficulty that may be experienced by their patients. No patients were scheduled during the 4 hours of the program, but just by chance one out patient came in after missing his appointment last week. He was suffering from a stroke and his treatment served as an excellent demonstration of many of the things I had been talking about. As we debriefed afterward, the students had been quite attentive to the problems that he presented. Tomorrow brings the second half of the session and I am in need of some down time to restore my sagging energy level. These bright young people answering questions make the work well worth it. More about the campus and hospital this weekend.