Almost a month ago, I boarded a FedEx Corporate Jet to the devastated country of Haiti with a cautious optimism that I would be part of something special. Somehow, special doesn’t even begin to sum up our trip.
After Le Bonheur Children’s received a call on January 18 for help from the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and the US Department of Health and Human Services, it only took four days to have a plan in place, and a week later we landed in Haiti ready to serve.
The objective of our team was to provide critical pediatric orthopedic and general surgery support, and our nine-member team included:
Initially we started working at the Haiti Medical Mission of Memphis in Croix des Bouquettes. Quickly, we learned that despite our expert care, the country’s lack of infrastructure for transportation made it impossible for patients to travel to us, and we needed to go to them.
So we switched gears and began work at Centre Hospitalier du Sacre-Coeur or Sacred Heart Hospital in downtown Port-au-Prince. Before the earthquake, Sacred Heart was the city’s premier, private hospital, and only sustained relatively minor damages during the earthquake, allowing fully functional radiology departments and four operating rooms.
We were home as soon as we walked through the door and our anesthesia support was welcomed with cheers – the day prior there was no anesthesia. Since January 13, Sacred Heart became home to hundreds of relief workers from across the United States and internationally. Working together, we were able to provide help to hundreds of patients each day. Our team alone helped more than 600 patients and assisted in or performed more than 75 surgeries.
How was my experience? Gosh, how do I even begin to answer that question? For me, this trip was a once in a lifetime. Was it a life changer? Absolutely. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not going to go quit my amazing job at Le Bonheur Children’s to move to Haiti. But I’ll never forget how thankful the Haitian people were for our being there to help. I’ll never forget the faces of the children I met. I’ll cherish every day the friendships I made with my team. I’ll never forget how lucky I am to live in Memphis.
And most importantly, I’ll never forget that it will take not months, but years for Haiti emerge from this earthquake. But I believe with my whole heart that they will emerge better and stronger, but recovery will be long and hard. I will continue to support our host for the trip the Haiti Medical Missions of Memphis, and Dr. Kraus’s mission to transform our “oasis” into a rehab hospital that will transform the lives of many.
Many thanks to the Memphis organizations that stepped up to make this a Memphis effort: FedEx, St. Jude, ExtraOrtho, Memphis Grizzlies, Memphis Rotary and Panera Bread. Without your help, our mission would not have been possible.
To read my entire blog, visit lebonheur.org/blogs/lebonheurresponds.
