Xero's Lesson

On day two in Haiti a caseworker from a nearby orphange walks into the exam area of our clinic/hospital. I was standing a short distance away, so my view wasn't perfect but it looked as if she was carrying a medium sized doll that had lost most of it's stuffing. I didn't think much of it as I was deep into another infected lower leg fracture.

Forty-five minutes later I walk back into the exam area and there is a pediatrician, internal medicine doctor, two anesthesiologist and an orthopedic surgeon staring at this thin bald, blind, black with white speckeled tiny child. There was much discussion about potential etiology of this child's problems. Malnutrition, scleroderma, infection, congenital problems etc.... There was no consensus. What was decided was we in no way were capable of solving this child's problems. So we wrapped him in a blanket and handed him back to the orphanage worker.

Over the next hour or so any time a physician walked past this little boy clinging to an orphanage worker who was gently caressing him, signs, symptoms and diagnosis were shouted out to see if anyone thought we were narrowing the diagnosis. Medically no progress was made. HOWEVER what actually was happening was the warm caring touch of the orphanage caseworker turned this almost lifeless child around. In another hour he was sitting up and would "fist bump" the doctors as we walked by.

After a few phone calls we were able to arrange for transfer of this child to the University of Miami tent in Port au Prince. They circled their doctors, had the same discussions reached no conclusions and handed him back to the orphanage worker. She continued to love on him and he continued to improve. The University of Miami doctors arranged for transfer to the US Comfort ship in the harbor. I don't know for sure but it probably went something like this on that great healing vessel. "Cogenital catarcts, viral infection, mental retardation, burns, meningitis...... hand back to caseworker who makes him feel better simply by holding on tightly and being there. Finally I did here about a "real" diagnosis for this child Xeroderma pigmentosa made by a super specialist pediatrician on the US Comfort. I bet after he made the diagnosis he handed the child back to the person who was doing the most good: the orphanage worker for the treatment that we all need, love. God Bless You: XERO. Thanks for the lesson.

Patrick's Faith

Last Wednesday I walked around a destroyed Haitian village doing first aid and simple orthopedic care. My translator, Patrick, helped me communicate to the many people we came into contact with. During a break where we stopped to get some water, I asked him what were his thoughts about the massive earthquake that had hit Haiti. He very matter of fact talked about the family members that he had lost, the changes in his life and about Haiti's future. He talked about his plans to continue his studies of the Bible in pursuit of becoming a pastor or counselor. I asked him how he felt about God now that this had happened to Haiti. Without hesitation he said well "in Jeremiah 29:11 the Lord said "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I was dumbfounded. Standing in the middle of a pile of rubble that used to be a house I had just witnessed one of the most profound statements of FAITH I had ever heard. My faith pales compared to his and I (in my opinion) have many more things to be thankful for. I would gladly trade some of my American wealth for some Hatian faith.
Patrick really is a great communicator. God Bless Patrick.

Why Did the Earthquake Happen in Haiti?

Why is Haiti frequently struck by natural disasters? Pat Roberts says its their deal with the devil that allowed them to escape the French coming to the surface. He states that its their practice of voodoo that has led to the disasters. Well, this is absurd. First of all it's just absurd. God is not vengeful.

Second the people of Haiti are incredibly faith driven. I saw many instances of this during my stay there shortly after the earthquake. The most poignant was as I performed an amputation revision on a patient under spinal anesthesia while my partner did the same on another patient on an operating table 5 feet away, both patients in unison started singing creole hymns. They essentially were singing "I love Jesus" while we amputated their legs. They left their lives in the hands of Jesus. I almost couldn't continue to operate. The presence of Jesus was palpable. Their faith is immense. All the Haitians that I came into contact with place Jesus as a very high priority. They were constantly praying and seeking to do Gods will. Almost ever family member I spoke with said "God Bless You". In fact one father who spoke no english on Sunday when we first made contact with him, went home and upon his return on Thursday he said perfectly clear "Thank you and God Bless You". He had learned those words in the interval.

So I say to Haiti " Thank You!" for the lessons I learned while there and "God Bless You" because you need it and you deserve it.
SAS

Haiti: Five Days at the Mission of Hope

I just returned from five days at the Mission of Hope in Port au Prince. My first thoughts are Wow, what a terrible disaster. It is a terrible disaster. Haiti is a mess. It is my impression that it was a mess before the quake and now it is a mess that has been shaken and fallen apart. There is no big picture solution for Port au Prince except to start over. Move all the people out, bull doze the city and start over. Haiti could build the best large Carribean city there is with the right leadership and funding. Very unlikely given their past. I'm not qualified to speak to this.

On an individual level, many lives have been lost and many more have been altered. All Haitians lost family members in this tragedy. We can't change that. We can change the on going suffering and rehabilitate the people still struggling with injury and need. I hope to inform and motivate with this blog to keep us involved. This will be an ongoing disaster for Haiti. HELP THEM.

More to follow