Les Cayes has received steady rains throughout the day. This has provided a welcome relief to the heat, but also allowed a lighter flow of patients. Heavy rains make it difficult to walk on roads or take the motorcycle. We were able to see our inpatients and usual rehab center patients, but few outpatients made the journey in. The lighter schedule provided a nice opportunity for Betty, the Canadian physiotherapist, to give me some needed training on prosthetic rehabilitation and gait for our patients. I think I am starting to get my “therapy legs” back again after being atrophied the last couple of years.

My Canadian colleagues will head home after several weeks of volunteering here and making a serious contribution to the rehab needs of the community. They are leaving me on my own next week to meet the needs of the clinic. Give me strength! And some extra endurance too! I will miss their dedication, compassion, expertise and the amazing amount of energy, fun and enthusiasm that they bring to their work.

I might actually be picking up on a bit of Creole, the local language spoken here. Creole is a mixture of colonial French and African languages, with a milieu of Spanish and English thrown in for good measure. French is the official language of business and education, widely spoken, but not by all, especially in the rural areas as any school education is privately paid. A patient explained to me in Creole the problem she was having with her arm, and with her gestures and picking up on a few key words, I actually could make out what her concern was. Responding back to her on what she needed to do was a different story, however! I needed translator help for this.