Chicago NP Helps Haitian Amputee
Monday November 17, 2008
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*Lupe and her father visit with mission volunteers at the Little by Little clinic in Gramothe, Haiti.
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It also describes the philosophy of the missionary work done by Susan M. Walsh, RN, MS, CPNP, as part of the nonprofit organization Little by Little. "I want to keep my work straightforward and, therefore, more effective," she explains. "We named the organization Little by Little because with each visit we are able to gradually expand our services more and more."
In Haiti there are two to three doctors for every 10,000 patients. The mission's purpose is to provide family primary care and promote maternal-child wellness in a clinic in Gramothe.
Walsh, an instructor of pediatrics in the University of Illinois-Chicago's nurse practitioner program, offers former students the opportunity to go on the trip to gain global health experience in addition to helping an underserved population. However, Little by Little is not affiliated with the university. The nonprofit organizes volunteers who raise the funding needed to travel and provide medical care.
In January, mission volunteers cared for a patient who had been in a terrible auto accident. Four young girls were walking home from school in Thomassin when they were hit by a car whose driver had lost control on the steep grade. Witnesses flagged down a truck-like vehicle, and the victims were loaded inside for the long, rocky trip to a Port-au-Prince hospital, about an hour away. Three of the girls died.
"It was a miracle that Lupe* survived that trip," Walsh says. "I often wonder if any of the others would have survived if the conditions had been better."
In a country where simply walking on the rocky terrain is a challenge, Lupe's left leg had to be amputated above the knee. U.S. mission volunteers at the Gramothe clinic helped care for Lupe for a week after her amputation.
"I feel that fate played a huge role that afternoon," says Mary Mulhall, one of the nonmedical volunteers. "If it had happened days earlier or later, it would not have made such an impact on us. But the immediacy of it made us feel the tragedy. When we heard about Lupe, we were determined to help her."
Willem Charles, who runs Mountain Top Ministries, serves as Little by Little's contact in Gramothe and was one of the first responders to the accident scene.
"Lupe lives in extreme poverty in a small concrete house, with a dirt floor, no electricity, no plumbing," Walsh says. "She has several siblings, including a newborn who was born in June when our team returned to Haiti."
The team knew the 10-year-old girl would have a difficult time obtaining a prosthesis and without the artificial limb would be unable to walk even with crutches. Her father carries her wherever she needs to go, sometimes for miles.
When Leslie A. Cordes, MD, FAAP, associate staff at Children's Hospital in Chicago, heard Lupe's story, she attempted to help Lupe come to the U.S. for prosthesis fitting and rehabilitation.
She contacted many specialists, such as Robert D. Lipschutz, CP, a prosthetist at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Since Lipschutz also had volunteered in Haiti, he knew there would be no prosthesis available to fit a girl.
At the request of volunteers, Shriners Hospitals for Children in Chicago evaluated Lupe but did not accept her for admission. Instead, Healing Hands of Haiti, which provides rehabilitation services for physically disabled adults and children, will work on Lupe's rehabilitation in Port-au-Prince with the help of Little by Little.
To become a volunteer, contact Susan M. Walsh at sue@LittlebyLittleHaiti.org.
* Names have been changed.
Patricia McVary, RN, BA, MA, is a freelance writer. To comment, e-mail editorIL@nursingspectrum.com.
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