Source & Credit: National Post | Canada
By Dr. Tim Rindlisbacher | May 18, 2010
I'm reporting back from my second medical relief mission to Haiti. It has been four months since the devastating earthquake of Jan. 12. Everyone asks me how the nation has fared. To be blunt, little has changed since early February. On the positive side, food and clean water are no longer scarce. More of the one million displaced persons are living under waterproof tents. But life is far from acceptable. Toppled bricks and crumbled concrete are everywhere. In one neighbourhood, what used to be a three-storey orphanage still remains pancaked to almost eye level. Locals matter-of-factly recite death tolls like sports scores or election results.
The view from atop the central hills of Port-au-Prince is a panorama of devastation. This isn't any ordinary post-disaster cleanup. The structural damage is compounded by extreme poverty, illiteracy, a corrupt political atmosphere and history of social unrest. The billions of dollars of aid earmarked for Haiti are at best only a temporary correction of the long and inexcusable maldistribution of global resources.
You may wonder what a sports medicine doctor such as myself could do in Haiti. I'll tell you: Get back to basics. Canadian medical education is strong on fundamentals, so we are all solid generalists before we begin our family medicine or other specialty training. I assessed many orthopedic problems including amputations, fractures and profound tissue and nerve damage. The first wave of surgeons to arrive in Haiti after the disaster have now long departed. Now patients have to deal with the consequences of hasty treatments and lack of proper follow-up care. Many limbs were left in casts far too long, or were improperly mobilized after casting. Without rehabilitation, these limbs will stiffen into a state only marginally more functional than an amputated limb. Physiotherapists have the healing hands that could perform the necessary rehabilitation. But they are as rare as snowshoes in today's Haiti. Meanwhile, precious time is passing for the injured, who may never recover full mobility.
And to the hills migrate waves of homeless Haitians. The torrid heat and nearly toxic humidity of these rainy months now smother the entire country. Haitians are an active people, who always seem to be carrying something heavy (often on their heads). They get their daily "cardio" workout hiking up and down steep hills. But the health benefits of this practical fitness program are undermined by poorly managed diabetes, a genetic predisposition to high blood pressure and a health-care system that is appalling by our standards.
It's easy to get discouraged about Haiti and its prospects. We've all heard stories of how some charitable donations have wound up in the pockets of greedy individuals. But we can't let that stifle our desire to help. I have personally seen dollars from generous Canadians going to help the poorest of the poor. We're not talking about some far-off nation we can ignore. In the global village, Haiti is almost our next-door neighbour: It takes less time to fly from Toronto to Port-au-Prince than it takes to fly from Vancouver to Halifax. We all need to revisit our support -- financial, medical and organizational -- to keep this earthquake from becoming a permanent health crisis for these suffering people.
- Tim Rindlisbacher, BSc (PT), MD, Dip. Sport Med., is director of Sports Health at the Cleveland Clinic in Toronto. Dr. Rindlisbacher has been working with Humanity First in Haiti. Visit humanityfirst.ca to find out how you can help.
Read more: Rehabilitating Haiti, limb by broken limb
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