Haiti Medical Mission
The call came at 10:30pm, Tuesday, January 19th, 7 days after the earthquake in Haiti. Fast asleep, I retrieved the call at 6:30am Wednesday morning. It was Dr. Capin saying, "I can't watch this on TV anymore-I want to go to Haiti-do you want to go?". I couldn't return the call fast enough! I replied an emphatic "YES" and after a frantic 48 hours of gathering medical supplies donated by Parker Adventist Hospital, purchasing all of the personal food and supplies to sustain us for 10 days, obtaining the necessary shots and medications to hopefully keep us safe from disease, finding and securing travel with International Medical Relief (an amazing organization based in Denver), and wrapping up loose ends at work, Dr. Capin and I joined 9 other team members for a trip that was sure to change our lives.
We travelled all night to JFK airport in New York where we were to fly by charter to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. For reasons still unclear, we were not allowed to board and the plane left without us. Disappointed but not without determination, we explored what seemed like 20 different options/scenarios to get us to our final destination. We finally settled on catching a commercial flight through Jet Blue (fly them! they were awesome!) to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The only catch was reducing 50 checked bags full of medical and personal supplies into 30! What a scene we made at the airport! We arrived in Santo Domingo concerned that our supplies might be confiscated. With Dr. Capin's ability to fluently and eloquently speak their native Spanish language, we breezed through the process of baggage claim and Customs. What a relief! Dr. Capin found a van company with 4 very nice gentlemen who agreed to take us to a hotel, pick us up at 3am the next morning and drive us the 7 hours into Port-au-Prince. We were really going to make it! The 4 vans caravanned and we crossed the border around 10am Monday morning witnessing a sea of people gathered to receive humanitarian aid. This was the first of many in-describable and often surreal scenes witnessed throughout the trip.
We set up camp (tents) on the grounds of a church that would be our home for the first half of the trip. We were received with such warmth by all of the parishioners living at the church since being displaced by the earthquake. Dr. Capin's only fear-"how do I set up a tent?!" was quickly abolished as the children were more than eager to help! The children were filled with life and laughter-a lesson we can all learn from in the face of despair. A small group of church members would gather every morning at 6am for prayer and song - an inspirational way to start every day for sure! The first day we drove an hour through Port-au-Prince to Carrefour, into a tent city of approximately 20,000 people, to the grounds of an orphanage where we set up clinic. We saw dehydrated babies, traumatized youth, and many people of all ages with minor to severe wounds and fractures. The second day was very similar at a different orphanage in Carrefour.
The days were long and hot and hard but knowing that just maybe we were maybe making a little difference for the people of Haiti certainly made it all worthwhile.
On Thursday, we joined the medical team at "Project Medishare," the MASH-style hospital set up by the University of Miami, adjacent to the airport. We re-located our "living quarters" and left behind the cacophonic sounds of the roosters throughout the night trading them for the roars of aircraft. Dr. Capin and I were inseparable for the remainder of the trip, providing wound care to the in-patients as well as to those coming for evaluation and treatment as outpatients. The work was equally as taxing but very rewarding as we were able to monitor the same patients and their progress each day. The courage and resilience displayed by the patients was not unlike what we saw throughout our travels while in Haiti. I see their smiling faces in my mind and pray they are continuing to heal.
They are an impoverished, underserved nation ruled by dictators for generations, many living in unimaginable conditions prior to the tragedy that rained down on them on January 12th. The Haiti that I saw was a country of kind, gentle, grateful people with a strong conviction of faith and spirit that will hopefully deliver them through this period of despair. If you, or someone you know are interested in further information, go to http://www.imrhq.org/
Lila Orr FNP-C
On Thursday, we joined the medical team at "Project Medishare," the MASH-style hospital set up by the University of Miami, adjacent to the airport. We re-located our "living quarters" and left behind the cacophonic sounds of the roosters throughout the night trading them for the roars of aircraft. Dr. Capin and I were inseparable for the remainder of the trip, providing wound care to the in-patients as well as to those coming for evaluation and treatment as outpatients. The work was equally as taxing but very rewarding as we were able to monitor the same patients and their progress each day. The courage and resilience displayed by the patients was not unlike what we saw throughout our travels while in Haiti. I see their smiling faces in my mind and pray they are continuing to heal.
They are an impoverished, underserved nation ruled by dictators for generations, many living in unimaginable conditions prior to the tragedy that rained down on them on January 12th. The Haiti that I saw was a country of kind, gentle, grateful people with a strong conviction of faith and spirit that will hopefully deliver them through this period of despair. If you, or someone you know are interested in further information, go to http://www.imrhq.org/
Lila Orr FNP-C
