A photo essay by Roberto Westbrook, who traveled this fall to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with senior director of Global Health Programs for Physicians for Peace, Mary Kwasniewski.

“When we look back on Iraq, we’ll see that there is a huge part of the history that is missing,” said Nosh, the only photographer speaking this year at ODU’s annual Literary Festival. “I don’t think the world has the slightest sense of what happened during those first couple of years.”

Physicians for Peace’s volunteer physical therapists have contributed more than 1,700 hours of service to the clinic since the earthquake in January 2010. Luke Laczak, Ph.D., is a therapist from Harpursville, N.Y. Laczak was in Haiti in September and October 2010. << Previous | Next >>

Many of the patients at the clinic lost a limb in the earthquake of January 2010. Others have been waiting for a prosthesis for years. Even before the earthquake in Haiti, demand (and need) for prosthetic, orthotic and rehabilitation services far outpaced the number of service providers. << Previous | Next >>

Laczak was struck by the resilience of the patients at the clinic, and their spirit of encouragement. “In Haiti, when someone is working on a specific task with a prosthetic limb, someone who has already learned those concepts will be sitting right there and helping quite a bit,” Laczak said. “People really help each other [...]

Thirteen-year-old Vergelis Stevenson lost his leg when he was just two years old. The prosthetic leg he received at the Hanger Clinic is the first he’s ever had. << Previous | Next >>

“The kid’s got a 1,000-watt smile,” Laczak said.”He’s a hip disarticulation, which means no leg, whatsoever. He’s got a much harder future, as compared to someone who has a below-the-knee or below-the hip amputation, and he was just hopping around like a mad man. He’s got a great disposition.” << Previous | Next >>

“He’s so enthusiastic he just wants to run with his artificial limb,” agreed Clair Sparrius, who volunteered for Physicians for Peace in Haiti in October 2010. “He’s come here without any family, without any support…but he moves quickly and without fear.” << Previous | Next  >>

Asked if he would be returning to school after he left the clinic, Stevenson told Kwasniewski that his school, which has been closed since the earthquake, hasn’t re-opened yet — but that when it did start, he would be going. << Previous | Next >>

Back home in Edinburgh, Scotland, Sparrius is employed by the National Health Service. While in Haiti, she and the other volunteer physical therapists worked with Valdine Pierre, a six-year-old from Port-au-Prince. << Previous | Next >>

After the earthquake, Pierre underwent three operations to combat infections. Eventually, her right leg was amputated below the knee. << Previous | Next >>

Volunteering at the clinic is all about teamwork, said Sue Klappa, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the physical therapy program at St. Catherine University in Minneapolis: “It’s about building that community of collaboration, with the patients, with their families, with the prosthetists and physical therapists, and also (ideally) training the physical therapist technicians here.” << [...]

“Everyone brings their gifts and talents to the clinic for the benefit of the patient,” Klappa said. “When people have trust, they can come together in mutual collaboration and get more accomplished.” The October mission was her second volunteer mission with Physicians for Peace. << Previous | Next  >>

The 15 physical therapists who have volunteered for Physicians for Peace in Haiti this year totaled more than 1,300 patient visits and helped 635 amputee patients. Physicians for Peace is currently fundraising to send additional volunteer therapists to Haiti in 2011. The organization also hopes to establish a distance learning prosthetic and orthotic training and [...]