Thursday, February 18, 2010

Since arriving in Haiti on Tuesday, it has been a whirlwind of activity. I knew there were “tent cities” popping up everywhere, but actually seeing the masses of tents comprised of sheets, tarps, rope, sticks or anything else that people could find to provide a little privacy and shelter from the sun is altogether another thing. As we arrived into the outskirts of Haiti, I could see the poorly constructed tent cities, knowing full well that once the rains begin, the makeshift tents will do little to protect them from the elements. Fortunately, once in the heart of the city, proper tents are replacing the makeshift shelters.

As the heavy rain and wind storm woke me up last night, all I could think about were all the people in the outskirts of the city who, having lost everything, were now facing soaking rains. I could only imagine the condition of those “tents” this morning.

It is hard to see so much destruction and loss of life and limbs. While visiting the field hospital at the airport in PAP the first night, I saw a tiny little baby girl who couldn’t weigh more than 5 lbs, lying on a cot with both legs broken and in casts. I am told that when a mom is told that their injured child is ready for discharge that the mom panics as she doesn’t know where she is going to take her child. They have lost everything and have been living at the hospital since the earthquake.

There are many organizations here doing what they can to help the people of Haiti. It is just such a monumental task and unfortunately, many Haitians fall thru the cracks. I only pray that we don’t give up on Haiti. They need our help more than ever.

Today, I bought bread and raisons and passed them out to many of the kids hanging around the perimeter roads outside the orphanage where we volunteer. You’d think I’d just given them a meal fit for a king by the smiles on their faces.

Art and I are quickly acclimating to the rigors of the work here, but know that we must pace ourselves if we are going to be of any real service to others. Today is just another day of many to follow.

Cyndy in Haiti

Art's update from Haiti

February 4, 2010

As most of you know, the orphanage in Haiti where Cyndy and I have been volunteering for the past 3 years has been set up as a place for the injured to come and recuperate following the earthquake. We have set up a hospital in our church and have staffed it with volunteer nurses. We have a retired naval officer, Mike, trained as a field PA who keeps a close watch on the healing process. Tonight he was concerned about the pain that 17 year old Darlene was experiencing. She had broken her leg when the school building she occupied collapsed during the earthquake. She had a compound fracture of the tibia that had broken through the skin. She has a cast on her leg that was put on 10 days ago. The cast was applied 10 days after the earthquake.
We decided to take her back to the University of Miami Medishare hospital where the original cast was applied to take a look under her cast.
You will probably hear this story out of Haiti many times in the coming weeks and months. As they removed Darlene's cast, the smell of infection was overwhelming. I held Darlene's hand and tried to distract her as the medical staff reacted to the discovery of infection. Infections like this will certainly cause a second wave of terror in Haiti. There will be more amputations and more deaths following this earthquake.
Darlene is one of the fortunate; she has people around her who care and have medical knowledge. PA, Mike said as we got back to the compound tonight. "Thank you Jesus, I think we saved her leg tonight." Pray for Darlene and pray for her leg to heal.

Art, reporting from Haiti