Remembering her first trip to Haiti, retired nurse Genie Ashworth laughs as she recalls her primitive accommodations. “There were 12 of us and we all slept in two rooms on the floor or in five-foot long bunks. We had to use trashcans filled with water to bath ourselves ” said Ashworth, one of the founding members of Haiti Medical Missions of Memphis (HMMoM). “When we got back home, we were covered in red bug bites and we all looked like we had chicken pox.”
Fast-forward 13 years and Ashworth is busy finalizing preparations for the 13th Annual 24-Hour Tour d’Esprit this weekend, Sept. 30-Oct. 1. The running event provides the majority of the funding for the now bustling Holy Spirit Clinic in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, a medical facility Ashworth helped open just a few years after her first trip in 1997.
“It’s really overwhelming how much it’s grown,” said Ashworth. She muses about the clinics humble beginnings. “Haiti Medical Missions of Memphis was a ma and pa organization on a shoe-string budget,” she said. In 1997, Ashworth went to Haiti along with other medical professionals from the Holy Spirit Church after one of its former parishioners, who started a school just outside Port-au-Prince, requested a medical team to treat his students.
In spite of the hardships of the first trip, Ashworth and others returned to the school several times over the next three years because of what they saw. In addition to helping the children at the school, she and the other volunteers would travel to surrounding communities, hospitals, clinics and orphanages. “These people were the poorest of the poor and if we wanted to make an impact, we would keep going back to Haiti,” she said.
The idea of opening a permanent clinic began to take shape. Dr. Gordon Kraus, a Memphis internist and a founding member of HMMoM, is a running enthusiast who has participated in numerous marathons. He decided to combine his love of running and passion for preventive medicine by hosting a running event to raise funds for the charity.
As Memphis did not have a 24-hour running race, he believed the uniqueness of the fundraiser would attract people. Additionally, it would benefit the Memphis community by providing an opportunity to have fun while exercising.
During the 24-Hour Tour d’Esprit, runners compete with a team or as an individual and complete as many laps around a one-mile loop in 24 hours. “The first year, two of us sat at a table and counted the runners’ laps as they went by,” said Dr. Kraus. Despite its austerity, the race succeeded in funding the building and initial operating costs of the clinic.
Ashworth and Dr. Kraus returned to Haiti, cash in hand, to purchase property and start their mission. While there they met Fr. Joseph Durante, a missionary priest from Italy, who offered to build the clinic on the grounds of the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Croix-des-Bouquets which is 12 miles outside Port-au-Prince.
“We all just sat under a mango tree and talked. The clinic evolved from there, and we settled everything with a handshake,” said Ashworth. In 2001, the clinic became fully operational.
The free clinic grew steadily and became vital to the Haitian people in Croix- des-Bouquets who previously had no access to health care. However, everything changed on January 12, 2010 when a deadly 7.0 earthquake flattened Haiti in minutes.
“So many hospitals and medical facilities were destroyed and we were still standing,” Ashworth said. Although the clinic itself is only about 2,000 square feet, it became a general medical facility and surgery center utilized by organizations from all over the world.
Overwhelmed with patients, the clinics supply of medicine and bandages quickly diminished.
Instead of collapsing along with rest of the Port-au-Prince region, the clinic persevered. “We expanded so quickly after the earthquake,” Ashworth said.
Donations from all over the Memphis poured into the Holy Spirit Church, which was serving as the headquarters for HMMoM. Within a few months after the earthquake, HMMoM began networking with the United Nations and various non-governmental organizations from all over the world to distribute the supplies to wherever in Haiti they were needed the most.
In the weeks after the earthquake, Catholic Relief Services gave HMMoM a grant to start an inpatient rehabilitation clinic so Haitians with catastrophic injures could receive occupational and physical therapy services. When the grant money ran out in December of 2010, the inpatient rehabilitation facility closed. However, an outpatient physical and occupational therapy clinic, with a fully equipped gym, remains.
“Kids with disabilities who previously had zero hope now have a place to go where they will be acknowledged as human beings,” said Susie Kraus, wife of Dr. Kraus, an occupational therapist who was instrumental in establishing the rehabilitation clinic. “The therapists are able to help these children and mothers with equipment and a plan that gives them hope they never had before.”
HMMoM now staffs and stocks a full-service medical center with an emphasis on holistic medicine. Along with traditional medical and dental care, it offers multiple wellness clinics for individuals across the lifespan including classes on nutrition, diabetes, hypertension and back care.
The clinic doctors have also been on the frontline combating the cholera epidemic that has cruelly persisted for almost a year. They have developed a strict protocol and there is an isolation room at the clinic designated to treat any suspected cases.
As the recovery in Haiti has been painfully slow, medical care continues to be in short supply. Consequently, The Holy Spirit Clinic has become one of the most important health care facilities in the Port-au-Prince area. The number of patients seen at the clinic has doubled since the quake and doctors are currently seeing almost 200 patients per day, five days per week.
To accommodate this, HMMoM increased its number of employees from six to 27. Expenses subsequently have grown. “We went from spending $5,000 per month (before the quake) to $15,000 per month (after the quake),” Dr. Kraus said.
Race organizers expect as many as 1,000 runners to participate in the 24-Hour Tour d’Esprit;
Even with this level of community support, having enough money to cover this year’s costs at the facility is a concern.
“We serve an astonishing number of patients with our donated dollars,” said Ms. Kraus. “No one is paid to run our organization. It strictly operates by volunteers. We respect every donated dollar and use it as frugally as possible.”
With the exception of the local Haitian employees, all the medical professionals and the communications director are volunteers who receive a small stipend, food and lodging in exchange for their services. Volunteers with the organization must also pay their travel expenses.
In spite of their concerns, members of the charity continue to look toward the future of the medical facility. “I would like to see the clinic gradually become a Haitian-run facility, “ said Dr. Kraus. HMMoM is realizing this goal, as 17 of its 27 employees are local residents.
Additionally, this month the charity hired its first Haitian-born medical director, Dr. Romel Dorsaint. “God chose me to serve the poor. I’m God’s instrument to share his love with my Haitian brothers and sisters who are suffering in faith,” said Dr. Dorsaint.
Ms. Kraus sees a need for a large benefactor to allow the clinic to continue operating on a large scale. Until then, HMMoM will continue to rely on the Memphis community to support the 24-Hour Tour d’Esprit, enabling them to provide hope in the form of good health in a country where both are in short supply.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tour d'Esprit Takes Memphis Runner and Occupational Therapist Far Beyond a One-Mile Loop
I wrote this about a Memphis occupational therapist spending a year at the rehab clinic in Croix de Bouquets.
As a gifted runner, Jeanie Zelinski has reaped many of the rewards enjoyed by successful athletes: a college scholarship, life-long friends, the exhilaration of competition and the joy of winning. However, that running would eventually take the 27-year-old Memphian to one of the poorest countries in the world was an unexpected twist that would lead her to a new passion.
“I really knew nothing about Haiti. I was uncomfortable with my life and I just felt like there was more I needed to be doing. I had so much energy and it just seemed to be spinning,” she said. Zelinski, an occupational therapist, became interested in going to Haiti during the 2010 24-Hour Tour d’Esprit race, which benefits Haiti Medical Missions of Memphis (HMMoM).
HMMoM staffs and stocks a medical, dental and rehabilitation clinic in Croix des Bouquets, Haiti. The Holy Spirit clinic treats approximately 200 Haitians each day free of charge. It is one of the few-surviving medical facilities in the Port-au-Prince region after the devastating 2010 earthquake. In addition, as the cholera epidemic persists, the Holy Spirit clinic has become increasingly busy. The 24-Hour Tour d’Esprit is the major funding source for HMMoM.
Zelinski was a member of the winning Breakaway team, which completed an amazing 240 laps around the one-mile course in 24 hours.
While at the race, she heard that HMMoM had opened a rehabilitation hospital after the earthquake. She later contacted Susie Kraus, also an occupational therapist and wife of one of the founders of HMMoM, Dr. Gordon Kraus. “Susie told me about the rehab clinic they had opened in Haiti and I thought, I’m a therapist, I can go.”
Zelinski mulled the idea over for several weeks, discussed it with her family and then reality hit. “I had school loans, I had to pay off my truck,” she said. Although HMMoM would pay for her food, lodging, and provide her with a small stipend, the cost of a year without a salary became an obstacle. “I had the time and desire to give but sadly, money was a barrier,” she said.
Before she knew it, Memphis runners helped remove that barrier.
Races were organized to benefit her trip and in three months, the running community had raised enough money to help pay her expenses while she was in Haiti. ”The people of Memphis just didn’t quit,” she said.
In January of 2011 Zelinski began her new life in Haiti. “It was so hard and uncomfortable at first. I wasn’t able to communicate because of the language, I was learning about Haitian customs and I was so afraid of disrespecting someone,” she said. Zelinski likens herself to an oyster being rubbed by sand. “I’ll be a good pearl some day.”
Although Zelinski’s experiences in Haiti are always evolving, she is getting her bearings and feels that she is making an impact. Along with a physical therapist from Texas and two Chilean therapists, a rehabilitation clinic with a focus on wellness has taken shape. The therapists have established a successful, busy outpatient clinic that treats adults and children during individual sessions, exercise and education classes.
“Disabilities are so traumatic in Haiti. If a child can’t sit up then two lives are completely affected because the mother must take total care of that child,” she said. For one young child with cerebral palsy, the rehabilitation team designed a chair out of a bucket so his mother could allow him to sit independently instead of having to hold him upright.
In addition to patient care, working to unravel the vast landscape of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is another project the rehabilitation team has been working towards. Since the earthquake, HMMoM’s medical complex has become one of the most important facilities in the country. The team has partnered with many NGOs and the Ministry of Health to share supplies and other resources so all donations reach those who are most in need.
Eventually, she would like to see HMMoM hire Haitian therapists, which would ensure the longevity of the clinic. Currently, the organization employs 17 Haitians at the medical facility, including two rehab technicians who Zelinski is training.
Zelinski says she is learning and continues to adjust. She often struggles with her relationships with the Haitians. “They put me on a pedestal and I’m just Jeanie,” she said. She’s also learned to temper her own expectations of herself. “When people have nothing, sometimes they want more than I can give. I can only give rehab. Sometimes I have to put up a wall.”
In spite of this, Zelinski describes her journey as incredible. “I’ve gotten way more out of my experience than I have given. The people are poor but they are so rich in spirit, culture and passion. They put me to shame,” she said. “I love my life. I wouldn’t change what I’m doing.”
Running continues to be a part of Zelinski’s routine in Haiti. “I took Jeanie to Haiti, too, and she has to run. It has always been a part of my life and it has to be part of my life in Haiti,” she said. While running may be her gift, running has also given Haiti the gift of Jeanie Zelinski.
Sarah Rose
As a gifted runner, Jeanie Zelinski has reaped many of the rewards enjoyed by successful athletes: a college scholarship, life-long friends, the exhilaration of competition and the joy of winning. However, that running would eventually take the 27-year-old Memphian to one of the poorest countries in the world was an unexpected twist that would lead her to a new passion.
“I really knew nothing about Haiti. I was uncomfortable with my life and I just felt like there was more I needed to be doing. I had so much energy and it just seemed to be spinning,” she said. Zelinski, an occupational therapist, became interested in going to Haiti during the 2010 24-Hour Tour d’Esprit race, which benefits Haiti Medical Missions of Memphis (HMMoM).
HMMoM staffs and stocks a medical, dental and rehabilitation clinic in Croix des Bouquets, Haiti. The Holy Spirit clinic treats approximately 200 Haitians each day free of charge. It is one of the few-surviving medical facilities in the Port-au-Prince region after the devastating 2010 earthquake. In addition, as the cholera epidemic persists, the Holy Spirit clinic has become increasingly busy. The 24-Hour Tour d’Esprit is the major funding source for HMMoM.
Zelinski was a member of the winning Breakaway team, which completed an amazing 240 laps around the one-mile course in 24 hours.
While at the race, she heard that HMMoM had opened a rehabilitation hospital after the earthquake. She later contacted Susie Kraus, also an occupational therapist and wife of one of the founders of HMMoM, Dr. Gordon Kraus. “Susie told me about the rehab clinic they had opened in Haiti and I thought, I’m a therapist, I can go.”
Zelinski mulled the idea over for several weeks, discussed it with her family and then reality hit. “I had school loans, I had to pay off my truck,” she said. Although HMMoM would pay for her food, lodging, and provide her with a small stipend, the cost of a year without a salary became an obstacle. “I had the time and desire to give but sadly, money was a barrier,” she said.
Before she knew it, Memphis runners helped remove that barrier.
Races were organized to benefit her trip and in three months, the running community had raised enough money to help pay her expenses while she was in Haiti. ”The people of Memphis just didn’t quit,” she said.
In January of 2011 Zelinski began her new life in Haiti. “It was so hard and uncomfortable at first. I wasn’t able to communicate because of the language, I was learning about Haitian customs and I was so afraid of disrespecting someone,” she said. Zelinski likens herself to an oyster being rubbed by sand. “I’ll be a good pearl some day.”
Although Zelinski’s experiences in Haiti are always evolving, she is getting her bearings and feels that she is making an impact. Along with a physical therapist from Texas and two Chilean therapists, a rehabilitation clinic with a focus on wellness has taken shape. The therapists have established a successful, busy outpatient clinic that treats adults and children during individual sessions, exercise and education classes.
“Disabilities are so traumatic in Haiti. If a child can’t sit up then two lives are completely affected because the mother must take total care of that child,” she said. For one young child with cerebral palsy, the rehabilitation team designed a chair out of a bucket so his mother could allow him to sit independently instead of having to hold him upright.
In addition to patient care, working to unravel the vast landscape of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is another project the rehabilitation team has been working towards. Since the earthquake, HMMoM’s medical complex has become one of the most important facilities in the country. The team has partnered with many NGOs and the Ministry of Health to share supplies and other resources so all donations reach those who are most in need.
Eventually, she would like to see HMMoM hire Haitian therapists, which would ensure the longevity of the clinic. Currently, the organization employs 17 Haitians at the medical facility, including two rehab technicians who Zelinski is training.
Zelinski says she is learning and continues to adjust. She often struggles with her relationships with the Haitians. “They put me on a pedestal and I’m just Jeanie,” she said. She’s also learned to temper her own expectations of herself. “When people have nothing, sometimes they want more than I can give. I can only give rehab. Sometimes I have to put up a wall.”
In spite of this, Zelinski describes her journey as incredible. “I’ve gotten way more out of my experience than I have given. The people are poor but they are so rich in spirit, culture and passion. They put me to shame,” she said. “I love my life. I wouldn’t change what I’m doing.”
Running continues to be a part of Zelinski’s routine in Haiti. “I took Jeanie to Haiti, too, and she has to run. It has always been a part of my life and it has to be part of my life in Haiti,” she said. While running may be her gift, running has also given Haiti the gift of Jeanie Zelinski.
Sarah Rose
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Haitian Sensation--The Kids are Alright
In a world where the news cycle is constantly changing, tragedies eclipse one another and human suffering becomes so commonplace it’s not only easy; it’s sometimes necessary for us to turn a blind eye. However, this is not the case for some young Memphians whose Global Call to Action Project, “Haitian Sensation”, was brought to fruition last Saturday night at the Bridges Center.
“Haitian Sensation” is a project developed by students at White Station High School. The program’s aim was to raise funds for Haiti Medical Missions of Memphis (HMMoM). A variety of local young artists performed including rappers, rock bands, soloists, poets, dancers and performance artists. During the show, donations were collected and at the end of the free event, more than $500 had been collected for HMMoM.
I was lucky enough to attend “Haitian Sensation.” So many talented individuals--many of them from local high schools--came together for this Memphis-based charity. The students at White Station High School chose to support HMMoM with their project without a request from the charity. I hope the students and performers at “Haitian Sensation” realize the far-reaching, positive impact they have made. As a volunteer with HMMoM, I do.
HMMoM staffs and supplies a medical clinic outside Port-au-Prince, Haiti where medical and dental care and physical and occupational therapy are provided to patients free of cost. During “Haitian Sensation,” many of the performers expressed understanding of the catastrophic effects of the 2010 earthquake and Haiti’s ongoing struggle to recover. Since the earthquake, the cost of running HMMoM’s clinic have increased dramatically as the clinic was one of only a few medical facilities to survive the devastation.
Based on what we all read in the newspaper and watch on the television, one might reach the conclusion that Memphis youths are too busy getting pregnant, joining gangs and dragging down TCAP scores to care about anything. I would like to thank everyone involved with “Haitian Sensation.” Not only did these young Memphians help bring hope to Haiti; they gave me hope for Memphis’ future.
Friday, January 28, 2011
25ish Things About Me
I wrote this on January 25, 2009. I can say that this list stands true except for the part about seeing Amish people on the horizon. They left me about a year ago. In place of number 20, I am adding 25a. Also, I ran another marathon this past year making the total number four. Thankfully, I have added no more children to our family.
1. I am addicted to the following: red wine, running, coffee, and Nestle Toll House semi-sweet morsels.
2. The people I have loved throughout my life are those that make me laugh.
3. Although I think the West Coast is more beautiful, I prefer the East Coast.
4. I am politically very liberal.
5. I walked to the hospital while in labor with my third child and then carried him home 30 or so hours later. (Alright, I will admit that the hospital was just around the corner from our house, but still!!)
6. I am a COLLEGE football fan.
7. The range of emotions my children invoke is amazing.
8. I am a news junkie.
9. My favorite author is John Irving.
10. I have very few regrets but all of them involve the way I treated someone. (I wish I could go back and redo a few events...take back what I said, said what I meant to say, or just said nothing at all.)
11. I ran the Columbus Marathon three years in a row.
12. I am fortunate to be a physical therapist because I have the opportunity to help people when they most need it.
13. When I was growing up I spent summers in a two-bedroom shack in Canada. There was no phone, no TV and I bathed in the lake out front. I sold minnows to my neighbors.
14. I lived in Mexico for a semester but am still not fluent in Spanish. (would still like to be!)
15. I do love to cook but lately feel as though it is more of a chore.
16. I majored in journalism my first two years of college. I was writing about the death of a student on campus and had to call her mother...I decided to change after I realized I didn't have the stomach for that kind of work.
17. My husband inspires me to do better.
18. I like to listen to Queen when I run.
19. I still can't believe I have four children but am reminded when I wake up in the morning and someone is driving a Hotwheel on my face.
20. I moved to Memphis from a county in Ohio with a high population of Amish people. It has been about a year and a half, however, I still see a horse and black buggy coming over the horizon once in a while.
21. I loved being a waitress in college because the tip on the table always gave me instant gratification.
22. I love instant gratification. I am an impatient person but having kids is helping me to change this.
23. I am kind of a loner but hate being lonely.
24. I love gangster movies, and, of course, the Sopranos.
25. I am a work in progress.
25a. I have recently vowed to not lose touch with any good friends. So....if you, my good friend, move and think you have gotten rid of me, think again. I WILL call and possibly visit. I have lost touch with too many important people that have blessed my life and I won't let that happen anymore.
1. I am addicted to the following: red wine, running, coffee, and Nestle Toll House semi-sweet morsels.
2. The people I have loved throughout my life are those that make me laugh.
3. Although I think the West Coast is more beautiful, I prefer the East Coast.
4. I am politically very liberal.
5. I walked to the hospital while in labor with my third child and then carried him home 30 or so hours later. (Alright, I will admit that the hospital was just around the corner from our house, but still!!)
6. I am a COLLEGE football fan.
7. The range of emotions my children invoke is amazing.
8. I am a news junkie.
9. My favorite author is John Irving.
10. I have very few regrets but all of them involve the way I treated someone. (I wish I could go back and redo a few events...take back what I said, said what I meant to say, or just said nothing at all.)
11. I ran the Columbus Marathon three years in a row.
12. I am fortunate to be a physical therapist because I have the opportunity to help people when they most need it.
13. When I was growing up I spent summers in a two-bedroom shack in Canada. There was no phone, no TV and I bathed in the lake out front. I sold minnows to my neighbors.
14. I lived in Mexico for a semester but am still not fluent in Spanish. (would still like to be!)
15. I do love to cook but lately feel as though it is more of a chore.
16. I majored in journalism my first two years of college. I was writing about the death of a student on campus and had to call her mother...I decided to change after I realized I didn't have the stomach for that kind of work.
17. My husband inspires me to do better.
18. I like to listen to Queen when I run.
19. I still can't believe I have four children but am reminded when I wake up in the morning and someone is driving a Hotwheel on my face.
20. I moved to Memphis from a county in Ohio with a high population of Amish people. It has been about a year and a half, however, I still see a horse and black buggy coming over the horizon once in a while.
21. I loved being a waitress in college because the tip on the table always gave me instant gratification.
22. I love instant gratification. I am an impatient person but having kids is helping me to change this.
23. I am kind of a loner but hate being lonely.
24. I love gangster movies, and, of course, the Sopranos.
25. I am a work in progress.
25a. I have recently vowed to not lose touch with any good friends. So....if you, my good friend, move and think you have gotten rid of me, think again. I WILL call and possibly visit. I have lost touch with too many important people that have blessed my life and I won't let that happen anymore.
The Epic Controversy of School Consolidation
As a proud parent of three children who attend Germantown Elementary School, I am thrilled to be a part of such an exemplary public school district. While I sympathize with many county school parents and their desire to maintain the status quo, I support the consolidation of Memphis City and Shelby County Schools.
Recently a group pushing for the formation of Germantown Municipal Schools has taken shape. A petition to explore this possibility has more than 900 signatures. I signed the petition last week because I thought it was an idea worth exploring. However, given the potential costs, I don’t think this would be worth pursuing. Parents of children at Germantown Elementary are supportive of the school and involved in their children’s education. We are blessed with wonderful, enthusiastic teachers. I’m confident this won’t change with consolidation.
Based on the talk between county school parents and the many letters to the editor in the Commercial Appeal, people in the county overlook the many excellent city schools. Much like the county, these schools have great teachers and parents and most are located in areas of economic prosperity.
The lack of economic prosperity in so many parts of Memphis is what drives me to support consolidation. Forty percent of Memphis City School children live below the poverty line and I fear that as wealth continues to move further and further from the city, the tax base in Memphis proper will continue to shrink. If SCS becomes a special district and county residents no longer have to pay for Memphis City Schools, the tax base will be small and I fear a decline in already troubled Memphis City Schools would be imminent. The city and its schools will be caught in a downward spiral as the wealthy desert the city in pursuit of higher property values and better schools.
Unfortunately, what ails the city schools is rooted in decades of societal decay caused by poverty and racism. This can’t be fixed by consolidating the two school districts. However, as county residents, we can’t turn our backs on the problems of the city as we bask in the security of our neighborhoods and the academic achievements of our children. When poverty and crime rates rise, county residents will be impacted. Economic development and tourism will decline along with our city’s reputation.
The enormity of the potential new school district and lack of a plan for managing it concerns me. However, the divisiveness between the differing sides really frightens me. The only lines that separate county and city are on a map. The two school boards need to pull together and make decisions for the sake of all children in our community. Our success as city and county depend on it.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Another Successful of Tour d'Esprit Thanks to Running Community
Haiti is a country that has long endured considerable suffering; however, 2010 had been especially cruel beginning with the calamitous earthquake in January. Since then, the people of Haiti have faced unimaginable tragedy. Medical needs have been greater than ever and the Memphis running community rose to the occasion with an outpouring of support at the 12th Annual Tour d’Esprit.
The 24-hour race, the main funding source for Haiti Medical Missions of Memphis, was thankfully very successful this year. Numerous records were set on the course including the amazing 240 laps completed by the Breakaway Team. Participation records were also set as the number of teams increased from 23 in 2009 to 34; and the number of registrants grew from 784 to 975.
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| Record-breaking team Breakaway. |
Immediately after the earthquake, Haiti Medical Missions of Memphis was one of the few medical organizations able to care for victims. The clinic doctors and nurses at the Holy Spirit Clinic in Croix des Bouquets continue to treat about 100 patients a day and are again on the frontline working to contain the cholera epidemic. The rehabilitation hospital, opened in March of 2010, is an amazing one-of-a-kind facility where Haitians receive outpatient and inpatient physical and occupational therapy.
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| Tent city in Haiti. |
Memphis runners are a vital part of allowing Haiti Medical Missions of Memphis to continue to provide health care to the Haitian people free of charge. Since the earthquake, medical facilities are very sparse and the need for supplies and personnel at the facility has increased dramatically. Support at the 12th Annual Tour d’Esprit was desperately needed, especially in light of the recent cholera epidemic.
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| Runners camped out at the race. |
Planning for next year’s event September 29 - October 1 has already begun. Race organizers are looking forward to even more runners competing in this fun-filled 24-hour family event. Mark your calendar for the 13th Annual Tour d’Esprit. Your participation supports the ongoing mission to give health and hope to the people of Haiti.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
When Carbs Aren’t Enough, Good Music Can Feed a Great Run
Most Days, the sound of my footsteps combined with the noise left in my head as I leave my rambunctious household behind is all the music I need to power a good run. However, since I am currently training for a marathon, the longer distances have me wanting the company of some good tunes.
This has forced me to spend some time organizing some of my oldies but goodies into play lists. I have also discovered new artists that will hopefully energize my early-morning training runs.
Below is a list of some of my favorites. If you want to hear them, you can access the list on iTunes. Hopefully, some of you will share your running tunes. Happy listening…..and running!
(I also had on my list "Matches to Paper Dolls" by Dessa. For some reason it would not publish on my iTunes list.)
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You can access and listen to my list by clicking here:
Sunday, September 19, 2010
The Football Gene
I inherited the football gene from my father. He is a pathological sports fan and if it is on ESPN he watches it—burly men pulling planes, golf, poker, race cars, burly men carrying massive barrels filled with cement, more golf and even eating competitions.
Foremost in my father’s aggregate of sporting events is college football. Since I can remember, every fall he has watched game after game on Saturdays. I would often sneak a peak and wonder about the rules and which color he was rooting for and why. My father is an Ohio State Buckeye fan. Growing up, I learned that an Ohio State loss implicitly leads to my father losing his appetite and nothing brings greater anguish to my mother than someone not eating one of her carefully planned, multi-course meals. Every weekend, the stakes were palpable.
I’ve known about my defect from an early age. When I was in grade school, there was always an Ohio State/Michigan day before the biggest event in the world for those who live on the border of the two states. Sweatshirt wearing, taunting and name-calling were all part of the fun and I was right in the middle of it.
When I became a student at The Ohio State University, I decided I would escape the football gene no matter how much it hurt to stare at the long shelves of books in the library instead of the massive, raucous crowd inside the Horseshoe on game day. My sensible and recently mature side told me how ridiculous it was to care so much about a bunch of over-sized, egomaniacal boys running up and down a field with a ball.
Surely I had inherited a more productive pastime from one of my parents. My mother is a Midwestern version of Martha Stewart. She can stencil a ceiling (really!), garden, decorate all our birthday cakes and is an excellent seamstress. All my Barbie dolls looked fabulous thanks to her tiny creations. I even let her make my clothes in middle school. Having the sewing gene would be far more useful.
However, as my proclivity for college football was apparent at an early age, my lack of sewing talent was immediately obvious. I couldn't sew a straight line if Kurt Herbstreit’s life depended on it. Gigantic holes made while trying to rip out my circuitous seams were the hallmark of my creations.
Eventually, I gave up on sewing. The machines my mother has optimistically given me sit in my attic collecting dust while I sit on the edge of my seat every Saturday. I stopped fighting the football gene my last two years of college. I bought tickets with my friends, tailgated and lost my voice screaming at the games. I watched, horrified from the stands, as the Michigan Wolverines would destroy yet another perfect season for the Buckeyes.
As an alumnus, I continue to watch Ohio State football with the same fervor. Any Buckeye fan can attest that this past decade has been a thrilling roller coaster ride. Even though I live in Tennessee, I make my children wear their Ohio State clothes every Saturday during the football season. They know these days as “Buckeye days” and if they wear the appropriate attire, it will positively affect the outcome of the game. Since I do the cooking, a Buckeye win is good for everyone in the family.
I have a defense for what some may call irrational behavior and I am not afraid to use it—genetics. I just can’t imagine the turmoil I will feel if my daughter ever asks me to sew her Barbie an Ohio State Buckeye shirt for game day.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Finding Solid Ground Beyond Suburbia
The following entry was written in part to raise awareness for Haiti Medical Missions of Memphis (HMMoM) and the upcoming fund raiser October 1 and 2, The Tour d'Esprit. It also really captures the importance of running and having experiences outside of my comfort zone.
I seldom take a day off, so when faced with the possibility of missing an entire week of running, I became concerned. Since becoming a mother, running is my sanctity—often a game changer in the middle of a day wrought with crying kids and diaper disasters. However, the idea of running for pleasure seemed like a luxury I should forgo in a country where so many lack the basic necessities of food, water and shelter.
Oddly enough, my dirty, worn-out shoes began to look more and more like the engagement ring and shiny earrings tucked away in my dresser drawer. In spite of this, I tossed them in my suitcase, just in case.
After several flights and a very bumpy and chaotic drive along a crude road, I arrived at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, just outside Port-au-Prince, eager to start working. On the grounds of the seminary are the Holy Spirit Clinic and a new rehabilitation hospital, opened after the January 12 earthquake, which are both run by Haiti Medical Missions of Memphis (HMMOM). Dr. Gordon Kraus, medical director and one of the founders of HMMOM, and his wife Susie, an occupational therapist, started the rehab hospital for Haitians recovering from catastrophic injuries sustained during the earthquake.
The grounds of the seminary are utopia compared to life outside its walls. Along with the intractable poverty that has plagued Haiti for hundreds of years, evidence of the earthquake--concrete rubble, pancaked buildings and tent cities—was everywhere. However, every morning, the walls of the seminary would open and the clinic waiting area would rapidly fill.
Starving babies, patients with open wounds, fevers and ailments not commonly seen in industrialized nations, would wait from early morning to mid-afternoon to see the doctors. As a physical therapist, I spent most of my time with the patients in the rehab center. I also treated some of the seminarians, also injured during the earthquake, as outpatients. All my patients would eventually be discharged to a tent.
Living in suburban America, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the minutiae and pursuit of what is perceived to be perfection. My time in Haiti helped me see many things in my life anew and appreciate what is truly important: love, health, laughter and the ability to pursue an education. I am truly lucky to never have to worry about clean drinking water or feeding my children.
During my stay in Haiti, I did decide to run. Initially, I rationalized that by giving up some of the things I value, relating to the Haitian people would be easier. However, if it weren’t for the daily encounters with myself on the road, I may have never made the decision to go to Haiti.
As running at home makes me a better mother, wife, friend and in general, more whole as a person, it served me in Haiti as well. My daily laps on that rocky path in Haiti allowed me to re-connect with myself and make better decisions on how I could make the most of my short time in a place where so much needed to be done.
This year’s Tour d’Esprit will have special significance for me. While I run the mile loop through the grounds of Holy Spirit Catholic Church and nearby woods, I will not only reflect on the clinic and all the patients I had the good fortune of treating, I will remember my morning runs on the grounds of the seminary. I’ll never forget the early light on the surrounding mountains, passing the banana trees and the grave of the archbishop of Port-au-Prince who was killed during the earthquake, and hearing the heavenly voices of the seminarians singing in morning mass.
I am so privileged to have witnessed first-hand the importance of HMMOM to the Haitian people. The Tour d’Esprit is the main funding source for HMMOM and the money raised allows Holy Spirit Clinic to provide free medical and dental care to people who have no money and no other options for care. The newly started rehabilitation center continues to accept inpatients so they can receive physical and occupational therapy and the mobility equipment that will enable them to return to their families.
More than ever, I realize that having the time and energy to run is a gift. However, it is so much more than just part of a daily physical fitness routine; running is the inspiration that takes me to places far beyond my four-mile loop in suburban Memphis.
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