Find us
on facebook.

I've lost 22 pounds so far. How many guys do you know can say I'm 51 and in the best shape of my life.
– Brian B.

In six weeks I have accomplished 100% more than I have ever done before, and I have tried a lot a lot of things. I feel better about myself than ever before. I feel powerful and strong.
– Carollyn S.

The workouts here... I detest them, and highly recommend them.
– Courtland K.

THE FACTORY IN HAITI

Factory member Bill Pierce

by Patrick Early on 2/18/2010 at 1:38pm.

The Factory welcomes back member Bill Pierce after his return from a two week relief mission in Haiti. Bill took leave from his job as a respiratory therapist at St. Vincent's Hospital in Worcester to go to Port-au-Prince as part of a fifty person team to provide emergency medical services for the earthquake stricken city.

"The experience was unbelievable. It really opens your eyes and makes you thankful for what we have here." With most of the city's infrastructure destroyed including all the major hospitals, their temporary facility saw a large variety of conditions. "A lot of crush type injuries from buildings collapsing in the aftershocks, a lot of c-sections for babies being born, gun wounds from looter violence, we saw everything."

Many people have been forced out of their homes with the close packed buildings destroyed or partially collapsed, making the frequent 96°F temperatures and humid climate a constant issue. "Our translator was a Haitian whose house had been destroyed so he was forced to sleep in the streets. His family had to deal with the elements through the night. A lot of times when it rained it would be a torrential downpour on top of them, this on top of hearing gunfire from looters, or dogs barking all night."

The extreme heat and humidity served as a testament to an individual's fitness level. "I went to boot camp in Fort Benning, Georgia from July through October, and it didn't even come close to the conditions in Haiti. Some of our team members who were in worse physical condition struggled and needed treatment themselves, and the team that relieved us had immediate issues within days of their arriving."

Dehydration was an ever present threat for both the people of the city as well as the relief workers. "We constantly stayed on each other to keep hydrated, but even still more than half our group in the ICU suffered from dehydration related issues. Only myself and another nurse from Seattle who is a big outdoor sports person went the whole time without any dehydration or gastro-intestinal issues."

Welcome back Bill, way to represent.