Orlando Orthopaedic Center in Haiti

We’re proud to share an update from former Orlando Orthopaedic Center team member, Sarah Murphy. Sarah was an athletic trainer at Orlando Orthopaedic Center and has served as one while on mission trips while helping those in need. She checked in with us after her seventh mission trip to Haiti.

Dear Orlando Orthopaedic Center,

I just returned from my 7th mission trip to Haiti on February 13.  It had been three years since I had last been there, so it was just good for my soul to go back and visit my Haitian family at Lifeline Christian Mission.  My mom and I joined a medical team of doctors, nurses, and other medical and non-medical workers, which was a new and exciting experience for me!

Being an athletic trainer, I was able to help wherever needed, from administering breathing treatments to asthma patients, assisting in surgery, sterilizing and packaging surgical equipment, and doing wound care.  

One of the challenges of doing healthcare in Haiti is that the resources are so limited. You have to be creative and do the best with what you do have.  As challenging as it can be, it is also the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.  All of us on these teams go because we share a heart to serve and help, but each time, we always leave with so much more than we came to give because of the many blessings we receive from the beautiful Haitian people.

As the only athletic trainer on the team, I was able to focus more on orthopaedic care and injury prevention which hasn’t commonly happened on this team in the past.  

Thanks to the braces, theraband, and home exercise programs that were donated by Orlando Orthopaedic Center Foundation, I was able to fit patients with braces who would benefit from the needed support, teach range-of-motion exercises to parents of kids with cerebral palsy, and do therapy with patients with various orthopaedic injuries.  

One of the highlights was being able to teach educational and preventative classes on stretching and proper lifting technique for people with knee and back pain commonly caused by repetitive motion and improper body mechanics.  

The Haitians in my class loved it and said it helped immensely.  They vowed to take what they learned to lift better moving forward.

We talked a lot as a team about 1 Corinthians 12, one of my favorite scriptures about the Body of Christ and each part being indispensable!  

I want to thank Orlando Orthopaedic Center for being a part of this trip I was able to take with Lifeline and for sharing your resources to make a difference in the lives of people in Haiti. Your support has truly made a lasting impact on the lives of many people!

Thank you,
Sarah Murphy