Today's heroes....Phil & Jim

A big thanks to Phil & Jim for their donations to support my trip. You guys are great! Who wants to be a hero tomorrow?  Just click the donation link and it could be you!

Still need to do some last minute shopping, but I do feel much less anxious today.  It also helps that I've confirmed a ride to the airport, and that all my in-country travel has been figured out (for as much as people picking me up in their trucks and driving me around Haiti can be).

My to-do list for the next 24 hours:

• Get some Advil that's not in gelcap form. Gelcaps and humidity don't mix well.
• Triple check my personal first aid kit.  I think I'm missing some stuff (itch cream for bites, meds for possible tummy issues), but had more than I thought.
• Do laundry!  Nothing worse than returning home after being gone this long to a pile of dirty clothes to go with the dirty clothes you brought back with you.  Except for not having clean sheets on your bed.
• Debate about what clothes to bring.  Alternate between thinking I've got too many, then too few.  Then worry I will have nothing appropriate to wear in NYC.  Rinse, repeat.
• PACK!

Last night was a bit hilarious.  I had all the outlets in the living room occupied with chargers (camera batteries, solar charger, Kindle, iPhone, MacBook).  Must find a way to deal with the tangle of cords I need to bring as well.

Today's my last day at work.  I will be doing a bit of work from home tomorrow morning, it was the only day 4 of us could find to record a podcast discussing a recent journal article for PTJ, but plan on doing last minute errands and packing (and re-packing) prior to my pick up for the airport at 1:15 pm (thanks, Tricia!).  Wish me luck!

OMG...less than 48 hours to departure!

It's a bit sad to read back at last year's blog. 
A) People were so much more interested in Haiti.  It was in the news.  Now, not so much.  Needs still there, but the lack of media attention is a bit sad.
B) I was so much more organized! I just confirmed some within country transportation details about 2 hours ago.  Two hours ago!  I still have shopping for supplies to do, and I don't even have a list of what I need!  I got my anti-malarial prescription filled last week, on the last day I could because I have to start taking those a week before I leave!
C) I'm taking some work with me.  This may be a great plan, since it will mean I will have my computer (doesn't mean I'll find reliable internet access).  But I had hoped to be farther ahead on some work projects so that I wouldn't have to bring it with me.
D) I've done a lousy job soliciting donations.  Way lousy.

On the up side, I don't feel nearly as anxious about getting to Port au Prince.  I'm not too nervous about what things will be like on a daily basis.  I know I love the food, and I know I will adore working so hard I make knee sweat stains on my scrubs every day.  I also know I'm excited because lots of the people I will be working with will be new, and some will be around from last year.

Most of all, I'm excited.  And friends and family are excited for me.  Which is a big help.

If you'd like to make a tax-deductible donation to support my trip, please click the link over there.  Secure online donation you can write off!  I could use the support, so please give if you can.  Thanks!

Donation Requests, 2011 edition

It's that time...shilling for donations.You guys were great last time with your generous donations of everything from cash to snacks to clothing to supplies. This year I'm focusing on medical and other equipment for the clinic, since a lot of the personal items donated last year I can bring again this year.

Things in Haiti still need your help. I appreciate everyone's donations, large and small. And thanks in advance!

Medical equipment for clinic use:

• Ace elastic wraps (4 inch and 6 inch): this is the biggest need.  These are used to shape a persons residual limb (aka stump) so they can get fitted for a prosthesis.  This is the first step in getting a person with an amputation at limb.  Very essential, and is short supply!
• Stump shrinkers, especially for transfemoral amputees (all sizes): Used to shape the residual limb and to pad the skin so the prosthesis doesn't rub it and make blisters.  Very needed, but if you don't work in medicine, hard to find.
• Latex-free gloves: large or extra large.  These are always needed!

Everyday stuff for use at the clinic:

• Cheap panty house (any size or color): these are used in the fabrication of the prostheses. They can be used, but can't have any runs (or only one small one), otherwise they don't work right. 
• Zip-lock bags (quart and gallon size)
• Men's briefs (sizes med & large
• Women's underwear (sizes 6 & 7) 

Donations to for me to use at the clinic:

• Scrubs (XL preferred, any color except white): this is what I wear to work in.  I left mine there last year for other staff and patients to use, and don't expect any in stock for me.  I will again leave these at the clinic on my departure for the Haitian staff and patients to use. 
• Electrolyte gel (Clif Bloks preferred): these saved me when I was sick during last year's trip.  Easy to eat when you don't feel well, loaded with electrolytes which deplete fast with the heat/humidity, and tasty.
• Cheap ballpoint pens (black ink preferred): To use and leave at the clinic. No one can ever have enough pens.  Heck, send me some with your company name/logo and be famous in Haiti!

Donations to support the costs of room, board, translation services, and transportation costs:

• I'm again funding myself to the East Coast.  Any monetary donation would fund travel from NYC to Haiti, my on the group transport in Haiti, room/board, and translation assistance at the clinic.  New this year, your donation through Medical Teams International is tax-deductible!  It goes to fund my costs, but goes through them so you can write it off!  If I raise more money than my costs, they will save it for my trip next year!  Click this link to donate to help with my costs! Just click my name, and voila!

Donating supplies?  You can drop them off outside my office door at the SMU campus or email me and I'll send you my address so you can mail them to me.  Remember, I am departing on July 13, so donations should be to my by July 11 if possible so I have time to pack them all up!


I'm doing the 'Blog Roll of Fame' again this year, so join those who've already made generous donations and get your name in lights on the internets!  Thanks again!

2011 Plans Confirmed!

So everything is set.  I'm leaving for Haiti on July 13 (arrive on the 14th), and will spend 2 weeks in Les Cayes with the Advantage Haiti program through MTI.  I will then fly and drive to Deschappelle for 2 weeks at HAS.  I'll be returning to the States on Aug 13, and spending 4 days in NYC before coming home.

I'm getting excited.  I'm scheduled my travel doctor visit to check my immunizations and get more prescriptions for Cipro and anti-malarials.  I've started to inventory my supplies--I will definitely need scrubs and a few other consumables.  I also need to confirm any donations that the clinic needs.  Details, details, details.  This is where I like to be--plans confirmed, details in flux.

Shout out to Judy, Reuben, and Pat for donating!  Remember, you can donate towards my 2 weeks in Cayes and towards my airfare (tax-deductible!) through Medical Teams International http://www.medicalteams.org/netcommunity/page.aspx?pid=405&tab=0&frsid=215

SMU student donations

Wow...an explosion of donations from the DPT students at Samuel
Merritt University! So far I have;

• 34 pairs of socks
• 13 towels
• 13 sheets
• 3 gait belts
• 3 pillowcases
• 2 pairs of shoes
• 3 pairs of scrubs + 2 scrub tops
• And a great rolling duffel to carry it all in!

You guys are awesome!

Also thanks to Harriet for her donation (translation services)!

Donations complete!

You guys are amazing!  Thanks to Shelly and her donation, I've gotten my wish list of items donated by you.  I can't thank you enough!

Off to have a little cry of excitement and gratitude before I go out shopping for my final items!

One week, that's it!

That's right.  Seven days.  And I've only got 0.66 days of sponsorship left!  $20!

• Recent article on Advantage Haiti
• Recent blog from an independent reporter visiting Haiti

I don't know what to say to that blog writer.  Maybe so many volunteers you saw were affiliated with religious organizations because they've been in Haiti since before the earthquake, or they have the infrastructure to host volunteers.  I'm going to Les Cayes with a religious organization, but not because it's a religious organization, but because I agree with their purpose, they have been delivering rehab services in Haiti since 2001, and they are committed to staying in Haiti.  I didn't want to volunteer with an organization that was going to show up for a year (or even two) and then just leave.  I wanted the commitment. I wanted to be contributing to a solid organization.  The religious part, that just happened.

I'm venturing out on what will hopefully be my last shopping trip.  And I leave in a week.

My eternal thanks to Lo for giving again (another 1/3 of a day), Kathy (1 day), Arlene (1 day), and Megan on behalf of the Marymount DPT c/o 2011 (1 day) for their sponsorship. Thanks! So the magic number today is $20--only 0.66 days left for sponsorship. Hurry now! Use the PayPal link to the right!

They say more than 1000 words

I found this great slideshow of Haiti photos over at SFGate.com.  Powerful stuff. Great motivator.

I am really liking that the number of days left for sponsorship (3) is less than days until my departure (8). I honestly didn't think when I decided to ask for sponsors that I would even get half the trip sponsored.  Now I'm $90 away from having everything but airfare covered by a bunch of great people.  Thanks!

Extra thanks to Mona and Erin for picking up a day of sponsorship. Thanks! So the magic number today is 4--only 4 days left for sponsorship. Hurry now! Use the PayPal link to the right, or donate directly to Advantage Haiti, the group I'm volunteering with at their website: http://www.advantagehaiti.com/.

Left arm soreness, got that

This will be short, my arm hurts.  Had my travel doctor visit yesterday, and ended up getting the Tdap (tetnus, pertussis, diptheria) vaccine.  My old tetnus shot was about 6.5 years old, and for Haiti they really want people to have had one in the last 5 years.  Also, with the pertussis outbreak here in California, it's not such a bad idea.  But everything else vaccine-wise was in order.  See, maximizing my vaccine dollars!  I also found out I can use cholorquine instead of malarone for malaria prophalaxis!  Yay!  No strange dreams!  And it doses once a week, which will be cheaper and easier for me.  In honor of Good Morning, Vietnam I think I'm going to go with a true Malaria Monday!  Heh.  Off to Costco to fill that script, and I have to start taking them on Monday, so it will be another way to psych myself up!

Also checked in with my backup credit card company letting them know I'm going to Haiti.  I don't plan on charging anything, but it's the "in case things go wrong, cash advance back up plan" card.  I had the customer service guy in stitches when he asked about my return date.  I mean, "I'm planning on returning on the 31st.  But I suppose one of the reasons I'd be using the card is if something is going very wrong, so....?" is probably not the way to answer that question.

Now for the last minute shopping for stuff I forgot, and the packing/re-packing game I like to play.  Nine days...I've made it to single digits!

Uber props to Paul & Stacia and Phil for helping me out with sponsoring lodging and meals.  And Paul, I promise if I pick up something over there to let you pay for my treatment!

I'm still looking for sponsors! All that's left is 5 days of lodging+meals, at $30/day. Use the PayPal link to the right, or donate directly to Advantage Haiti, the group I'm volunteering with at their website: http://www.advantagehaiti.com/.

33 days, that can't be right?

Time has certainly gotten away from me.  Only 33 days until I leave for Haiti!

I've still got tons of prep work to do.  My students have set up a donation station outside my office, and so far I've got a pack of socks from my boss in there.  Best part, they also donated the great North Face bag to haul all the goodies! And the fees for the extra baggage--these guys thought of everything!

I'm still looking for sponsorship for 11 days of rehab work (at $30/day), some other small costs (evacuation insurance and departure taxes).  But you know what else I'm looking for, your positive vibes!  Leave me a reply here, or over at my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/sharon.gorman) or over on my LiveJournal (http://slgorman.livejournal.com/).  Drop me a line, tell me I'm crazy, give me practical travel advice, or patient care advice (I know some of you are PTs or physicians).  Pump up my spirits, get me jazzed...heck, make me pause and consider how crazy this plan might just be.  But let me know you are thinking of me. Because the closer I get to my departure date, the more I'm thinking about all of you.  And how much your support, in all its myriad of forms, has meant to me.

I'm still looking for sponsors! Use the PayPal link to the right, or donate directly Advantage Haiti, the group I'm volunteering with at their website: http://www.advantagehaiti.com/. 

Added & Updated Props

Thanks to my hairdresser, Lisa, for supporting two days in Haiti! And
thanks to her for showing such kindness to the women and her daughter
who's car died in front of her salon. It is always nice to be reminded
how nice people can be to each other.

Lots 'o links

Haiti's still in the news, thank goodness.  I saw Bill Clinton's still on TV ads trying to get people to keep donating.  And a few other links to stories:

CNN has a great piece about Sean Penn's on the ground struggles in Port-au-Prince. 

And while not a new post, Doc Gurley actually gets it! And her plea for therapy in Haiti was one of the motivating forces in getting me to volunteer.

Short video with a physician talking about the need for physical therapy after the earthquake and his perspective on the need for PT in Haiti.

Donation, Support, and Props Update:
Lo--1/2 a day of lodging+meals, with the possiblity of more thanks to the LiveJournal fundraiser.
Jessica--portion of departure tax, via the LiveJoural fundraiser.
Amanda--pledged one day lodging+meals, and is going back to NOLA next year as a project leader!
Andy--lent me his water filter to bring as a back up.
Thanks so much!  Don't forget, you can donate securely online via PayPal.  See the link over to the right-->

Know any good travel guides to Haiti?

72 days and counting.  It feels like a lot less, and 72 sounds so big.  I know it will go super fast, but I'm trying to stay pumped and to keep my momentum up on the preparation side. Crazy thing is I had to spend about an hour on 3 different web sites to confirm I don't need a visa, and that if I'm working unpaid (which I will be) I still don't need a visa because Haiti has no such thing as a business visa.  This was really crazy because 2 websites claimed they did have a business visa, and one of the claimed I could use them to obtain it (for a fee of course).  Let the insane tricks to get money out of me begin!  Good thing I finally found the visa section of the actual Haitian website which was available in English, and clearly said they didn't have a business visa option and as a US citizen I only need 6 months left on my passport.  Now, if I could get more information about whether or not there's a departure fee (and more specifically, how much is it), I could consider today's preparation complete. Wish me luck!
[Edited to add: found it.  Seems to be $25 USD.  Adding this to my wish list for donations.  That's right, your $25 can make sure I make it out of Haiti on July 31!  Donate now!]

Donation, Support, and Props Updates:
Thanks to Doris for the helpful donation of 1.66 days at the guesthouse, and bringing me up to 5 days now fully supported! Hurry, only 15 days left for your to support!

Three of my online friends over at LiveJournal have kindly donated their artisitic and/or writing talents to help me raise funds.  They will create icons, banners, or fanfic if you send them proof of donation to me (via PayPal) or directly to AdvantageHaiti.  So if you are on LJ, for as little as $1 you can support me and get a little something for your troubles. Learn more at my LJ. And thanks to lo_duclavier, muselives, and musetrax for volunteering their time and talents to help support this trip!

No Travel Delays, This Time

Props to Kristin (got the 4 pairs of scrubs, and they fit!) and Lorraine (for 3.33 days at the guesthouse)! Also, thanks to Nikki for helping to collect and organize the Samuel Merritt University DPT Class of 2011 drive to collect requested items to bring!  You guys are amazing, so thanks.

Back safe and sound from a week in sunny, relaxing Mazatlan.  Which, while not a true miracle, was not what a lot of other travellers experienced this last week.  Between the ash cloud airplane delays all over Europe, to the protests in Thailand, I thought more than once on this trip that half of travel not just picking the "right" place to visit, but actually arriving there.  I've got my fair share of travel delays (who doesn't, these days), a story of an aborted flight on take-off due to a bird strike knocking out an engine (complete with the dump of jet fuel and landing on the runway with the Fire Brigade out in force), and experienced lost bags (with the one time occurring just after an ice storm in Toronto and requiring shopping 2 days before Christmas).  Heck, my purse got nicked in Italy (darn #1 bus stop in Turino).  But, as a wise friend told me after my purse was stolen, "Someday this will just be a hilarious story you can tell people."  And here I am, telling you.

But it does make one think, just being alive is dangerous, and travel (honestly) adds to that danger.  It's up to you to plan, be prepared, make the most of the strange occurrences travel (and life) throw at you.  Danger be damned.  But it's no excuse for a lack of preparation.  77 days until I leave for Haiti, what to do first?

Ask and you shall receive...who knew?

OMG.  You guys!  Who knew asking could go so well?

So far, not 5 hours after the shameless pandering and pulling of heart strings began...

1. Andy's got me covered on the $100 iPhone solar charger.  And a promise of sticks and tweezers to deal with parasites (ha!).
2. Reuben has stepped up to cover both the overnight Miami hotel AND my taxi transfers in Port-au-Prince.  Awesome!
3. An LJ friend, Lo, is going to coordinate a fanfic-athon over on LJ.  That's right.  Some fanfic authors will donate their fic-creating genius at your request for a donation! How great is that?

And to help get around the messy "mail a stranger a check" thing--donate via PayPal!  It's online, it's secure, it takes your donation in multiple ways.  See the clicky link over to the right.

Shameless Shilling Begins

That's right. I'm asking for your help. This three week adventure to Haiti won't pay for itself, so I'm...well, for lack of a better word...begging.

How to help:

• Donate some money to me directly to help pay for my room and board, taxi fare to shuttle between airports in Port-au-Prince, help me buy a solar charger for my iPhone, or help cover the overnight stay I need in Miami.  Any donation, no matter how small, will be treasured.
• Donate to the Advantage Program (secure online donations, or print a form), the group I'm volunteering with.

When* I get donations, I'll be adding a sponsor blogroll.  That's right, see your name on the Interwebs!

Read long version, for all the juicy details (including where to send any donations).  I'll be crossing items off this list as they are funded.

And thanks in advance!

*I'm such a negative nelly.  The first incarnation of this had "If I get donations..."  Edited to reflect my lame attempt at staying positive.