Out of the rubble and into a new life
Out of the rubble and into a new life
I felt a surreal quality to the "business as usual" at the clinic this trip. I knew these people had suffered tremendous loss – all of them - in some form or another.
Yet here they were. The calm, orderly manner in which they approached me defied the chaos outside the clinic. Their resilience is admirable.
So is the way they care for others. Often unrelated others. It is not unusual for a neighbor, aunt, friend, or even a stranger to see a child alone and take that child into their care. Permanently.
And these are people who struggle every day just to eat. They really do embody the maxim "‘it takes a village to raise a child." They do this so well that it puts me to shame.
But I found a way to help.
Gesnel Augustin went to help dig survivors out of the rubble in the city of Jacmel, three days after the quake.
Gesnel pulled a 2-year-old boy out of the rubble of the boy's house, his dead mother next to him. The baby suffered only a minor injury to his foot and was brought to our clinic for care.
Gesnel wants to raise this child. There is a child sponsorship program at the clinic that is well known in Cyvadier and Gesnel asked for help.
I was offered a chance to help another child and support a man who did the right thing. It is one of the most positive experiences of the trip. Since the child’s actual birthdate was unknown we deemed him 2 years old and made his birthdate the day he was pulled from the rubble.
It seems fitting. And it’s not everyday one gets to declare a birthdate! It certainly was a new beginning for this child, renamed Godson as the miracle child he seems to be.
I was there after the hurricanes. Now an earthquake. Destruction on top of poverty is really shocking to see. It creates inhuman conditions. It traumatizes and kills hope. And it brings the disparities of the world into sharp, uncomfortable focus. Yet there are rainbows like Gesnel and his new son Godson.
I am always a bit agitated when I return from serving at the clinic. I cannot reconcile the disparities and priorities of how we are blessed to live, and how they struggle to survive. Thinking of Gesnel and Godson makes me smile.
I feel like I’m doing something good for Haiti. I hope to have a long and meaningful relationship with Gesnel and Godson.
I believe the hope for Haiti is in its children, and I want to be a part of it.
-- Trudy Vogel, RN
Tiny lives, huge challenges
Tiny lives, huge challenges
The twin babies came in weighing only 3 pounds.
Their mother gave birth to the preemies in Jacmel just two days after the quake, and was still suffering from dangerous preeclampsia (pregnancy-induced hypertension).
Our team worked to keep the infants alive -- a poncho, aluminum window trim, foil and exam lamps became in improvised incubator to warm them.
We took shifts through the night to monitor them and, by morning, they had improved.
Still, it was clear they would need intense neonatal care to progress. We snagged a medevac flight from Jacmel to Port-au-Prince to the Israeli Field Hospital there.
The tiny babies were swaddled and tucked into wash tubs for the flight, accompanied by our Dr. Beth Kramer and the twins' aunt.
We've been told they've now been moved to either a Miami hospital or the USNS Comfort, the hospital ship anchored offshore.
We're still working to locate the babies and their aunt, among the thousands separated from their families here, where most people are still just beginning to emerge from the initial shock from the quake.
Fragile lives facing formidable odds....
A father's vigil
A father's vigil
Will he lose his leg?
Will he lose his leg?
Roland Candio's broken leg is badly infected.
Though he wasn't directly injured in the earthquake, he may lose his leg because of it.
A flood of survivors needing surgery means Candio, 39, can't be seen at the nearby American ortho clinic until late March.
We're trying to save the carpenter's leg with antibiotics to fight the infections, and daily aggressive wound care.
Wounds unseen...
Wounds unseen...
Not all the patients arriving at our gates have injuries that are readily apparent.
But it's soon obvious they've suffered terrible trauma. Some wail; some are silent; some can't walk, though exams don't reveal any bone breaks.
They've spent time under the rubble, and maybe even seen a parent or child perish.
Their wounds are deep. Keep them in your thoughts...
Linedina's fight
Linedina's fight
Meet an 11-year-old hero
Meet an 11-year-old hero
One minute, Charles La Fond, his brother, father and mother were visiting a friend's home in Port-au-Prince.
The next minute, the earth shook, flattening the three-story building they were in.
Charles, 11, pulled his mother, Rose Iris, 41, out of the rubble. He couldn't get to his younger brother or his father, who died beneath the debris.
Rose Iris arrived at our clinic, brought by friends over the treacherous mountainous roads, in intense pain, suffering from leg and foot fractures, head injuries and a severed ear that had been reattached -- without anethesia -- by rescue workers in the capital city.
FOTCOH Paramedic James Bender tended to her wounds -- by now, the ear sutures had become infected and her leg injuries had worsened without proper care.
Carried in, she walked out on crutches to stay with relatives in Jacmel. though she managed smiles and profuse "thank yous," we knew she was just beginning to comprehend the devastating loss she'd suffered.
A mother dies; an infant lives
A mother dies; an infant lives
Clinic underway!
Clinic underway!
7:20 am Eastern - We're beginning to treat patients now; latest earthquake aftershocks were felt, though we're fine and so is our clinic structure.
Meanwhile, four more team members are boarding another donated charter flight in Ft. Lauderdale, bound for the nearby Jacmel airstrip, fortunately also unaffected by today's new quake.
A second charter carrying additional members and supplies is expected for this morning, though our transport still largely depends on negotiations made on the tarmac here with arriving pilots willing to help.
We'll keep you posted.
Key team members on the ground
Key team members on the ground
Team leaders and providers have made it safely to our clinic in Cyvadier on the southern coast of Haiti and just outside Jacmel, only 25 miles from Port-au-Prince and the epicenter of the earthquake.
Following Dr. Bill Edwards and Sue Behrens, APN, Beth Kramer arrived aboard a small cargo charter plane that first made a refueling stop in Turks & Caicos and delivered Kramer, a physician, along with vital treatment supplies.
Disaster relief specialist Troy Erbentraut, pharmacist Jess Streif, surgeon Garon Lukas and nurse Kay Shank also made it to the clinic and are collaborating on setting up clinic operations to best serve those most in need.
The rest of us? We're hopeful we'll snag charter spot spots out of Ft. Lauderdale and into Jacmel early Tuesday and join our colleagues.
Almost there....
Almost there....
11 a.m. Eastern - The whole team has made it to Ft. Lauderdale and, just about now, two Friends of the Children of Haiti team members are expected to be touching down on the tiny 3,000-foot landing strip in Jacmel, Haiti.
Medical Director Dr. Bill Edwards, and team leader Sue Behrens, an Advanced Practice Nurse, will be arriving via a private charter jet one of several we'll use to get all 21 team members, and our critical medical supplies, to our clinic, just three miles from the air strip.
Our patients -- survivors of the horrific earthquake who've been without treatment-- are waiting, and back here in Ft. Lauderdale, we're anxious to be on our way and to take on the challenge.
We're also grateful for the owners of the planes and the pilots -- who are donating their aircraft, fuel and expertise so we can provide relief.
Keep praying
Keep praying
We are not treating patients at the clinic yet. One of our local doctors has been working at the hospital and trying to recruit help for us.
Sponsors keep asking about their respective sponsored kids. It is impossible for us to check with them all. We have seen several but attaching names is difficult. We will not be able to make a good assessment until the beginning of the month, when they pick up sponsorship funds.
Prayer is powerful, and we ask everyone to continue praying for the Haitians.
- Dick Hammond
Mass confusion
Mass confusion
We just returned from Jacmel, the big port city near the clinic.
Nothing seems to be happening. The airport in Port-au-Prince is a mess, and I understand that the US military is now directing operations.
This country is still under mass confusion. Nobody knows what anybody else is doing.
- Dick Hammond
Things are bad, getting worse
Things are bad, getting worse
We have just returned from talking to the mayor of Jacmel, the nearest big city where we get most of our supplies. The road over the mountains, which leads to Port-au-Prince, is closed to all traffic except motorcycles. They don't anticipate it opening soon.
We also talked to representatives with the United Nations helping about getting team from Port-au-Prince to the clinic, if we need to use ground transportation. The UN could make no promises. Usually, we use small aircraft to get from the main airport to our clinic, but their availability is unknown right now. We have offered to help Jacmel with medical help if we can get the team here. We also have given some supplies.
Everything here is disorganized. Even the UN is disorganized. They do not know what to do. We would like to help but I am expecting help also.
Things are really bad and getting worse by the moment. They are digging mass graves because more bodies keep appearing continually. No numbers, but there are a lot.
- Dick Hammond
Clinic damaged, team needed
Clinic damaged, team needed
The FOTCOH medical team is still planning to travel to Haiti this Monday, January 18. Dick and Barb Hammond along with Larry Shank report that they are OK. They were at the clinic in Cyvadier when the earthquake struck. The clinic did sustain some damage, but "nothing we can't handle," according to Dick. There is water and power (provided by the new CAT generator).
Dick stated "we need the team here now - to help the people." Jacmel (near-by town) was hit hard and the hospital was heavily damaged, said Dick. The main building at the Cyvadier Hotel has also collapsed.
FOTCOH is considering all possible travel contingencies now for the medical team.
Please keep everyone in Haiti in your thoughts and prayers.
- Sue & Eric Behrens
FOTCOH January 2010 Team Leaders
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