Today I got a great email from a colleague. She's also a physical therapist, and an educator, who had been to Haiti earlier this year. She wants to collaborate on something to help train Haitians to provide more rehab services, possibly involving our students, on a regular (probably annual) basis. Wow. What an opportunity that would be! I'm excited by the prospects for the future, but was really floored when she used the word "transformative" to describe her experience. It's been my secret hope, my unspoken wish, that this trip would provide something of that nature. I haven't dared say it out loud, for fear of jinxing it, but that's really want I want. An experience that can transform me, change me, shape me. So here I am, saying it for anyone to read. Putting it out there for all of you to know. Because now, I've got something to live up to, and it's no tiny thing.
Super thanks to Leah and Judy for their donations that will help fund my translation support (and employ locals for their translation services).
Showing posts with label why. Show all posts
Showing posts with label why. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
One week, that's it!
That's right. Seven days. And I've only got 0.66 days of sponsorship left! $20!
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!
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!
Friday, May 14, 2010
More on the Why
I keep getting the same question over and over, "Why are you going to Haiti?" And I'm at a loss for how to answer. I don't like to toot my own horn. Yes, I LOVE to talk, but about myself? Not really. Or at least not without a hefty dose of self-deprecation, some kind of joke that I'm the butt of, something silly or funny. But this question, so loaded with seriousness, so awesome is scope...well, I'm having a hard time coming up with an answer that isn't full of "ums" and "ohs" and plain old dead space.
So I was reading this post by Doc Gurley on sfgate.com this afternoon and it struck me. The way she described altruism:
It's been almost 6 and a half years since my car accident. The accident that literally changed my life, could have easily killed me and one of my dearest friends, and required I finally cut the cord and resign my physical therapy clinician position. I still treat patients, a few here and there, Neuro Clinic with the students, my research does involve me functioning at least somewhat like a physical therapist...but quitting that hospital job was so hard for me. Even though I'd put them off for at least 3 months after the accident to not schedule me, and my life was super hectic at the time with work and school responsibilities, and I knew I should use this as a good excuse (for lack of a better word) to get out of that commitment. And in these intervening 6 years I'm afraid I didn't have the opportunity to flex that altruistic muscle, ensure that I still knew how to transform myself (even if for a few moments) when I was with a patient to that other place where you get a momentary glimpse of what they are going through. And what if I was losing that.
This is one of the reasons I'm going. Because I read stories about what's happening in so many places around the world, and in this story I can see myself being able to help. Being able to play a small role and perhaps make a small difference. And I want to exercise that feeling. Give it a good, strong workout.
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/.
So I was reading this post by Doc Gurley on sfgate.com this afternoon and it struck me. The way she described altruism:
This is why I'm going. This is my answer."Altruism, you could say, is a form of neurologic teleportation - you inhabit another person's senses and feel the world from their driver's seat. It is an amazing gift that's freely available to us all. But we must exercise it, or it, like any other neurologic function, will atrophy over time."
It's been almost 6 and a half years since my car accident. The accident that literally changed my life, could have easily killed me and one of my dearest friends, and required I finally cut the cord and resign my physical therapy clinician position. I still treat patients, a few here and there, Neuro Clinic with the students, my research does involve me functioning at least somewhat like a physical therapist...but quitting that hospital job was so hard for me. Even though I'd put them off for at least 3 months after the accident to not schedule me, and my life was super hectic at the time with work and school responsibilities, and I knew I should use this as a good excuse (for lack of a better word) to get out of that commitment. And in these intervening 6 years I'm afraid I didn't have the opportunity to flex that altruistic muscle, ensure that I still knew how to transform myself (even if for a few moments) when I was with a patient to that other place where you get a momentary glimpse of what they are going through. And what if I was losing that.
This is one of the reasons I'm going. Because I read stories about what's happening in so many places around the world, and in this story I can see myself being able to help. Being able to play a small role and perhaps make a small difference. And I want to exercise that feeling. Give it a good, strong workout.
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/.