The earthquake in Haiti was a devastating blow to a tiny nation already facing severe hardships. The moment it happened, I didn't think much of the situation until the news reports started to flood in of complete and utter destruction and devastation. The next day, I literally cried as I heard how many people were killed, injured, or trapped by the rubble. Personal stories of loved ones flooded every news station and pleas for help echoed into our homes. I felt so compelled to do more than text a donation to the American Red Cross, I had to make my way to Haiti to help.
The next few weeks proved almost impossible to find a way into the country. All of the relief organizations I had contacted had already mobilized people on the ground in Haiti or they simply felt that they did not need nurses. Then a month later, good news came that I was going to be able to go. I packed, prepared, and got approval from my boss and then the trip organization seemed to unravel and it fell apart. I was sad but determined. I was able to get in contact with an organization in NYC called NYC medics. I learned that they were some of the first healthcare providers on the ground in remote areas of Pakistan for the 2006 earthquake and they were highly organized and on the ground in Haiti. Lucky me I was given the opportunity to go for 2 weeks, so I deployed to Haiti, finally, 2 1/2 months after the deadly quake.
Nothing can quite prepare you for what you see in Haiti. I had been on humanitarian trips to mexico several times in high school and college and I thought I had seen poverty, well I had not! Crossing into Haiti my first sights were trash and people bathing in stagnated water that had a close resemblance to antifreeze. Emaciated Farm animals were everywhere, wandering down the side of the road. Pulling into the Love a child camp in Fond Parisien, my first sights were of children and adults making their way through the gravel and dirt on crutches and in wheelchairs. Amputees were everywhere and I had a small realization of just where I was, welcome to Haiti.
I spent about 10 days under the hot 95 degree sun in Haiti, trying to make sense of my purpose and what my role was in helping the people that had come to the hospital set up at the Love a child orphanage compound. There was organized chaos but lack of solid structure and role function for each individual healthcare volunteer. The role functions would sometimes change daily or at the last minute, depending on what was happening. Some people left to run a makeshift clinic at the refugee camp, some took children and women into Port au Prince for and HIV clinic, while some tended to patients assigned to them with daily wound care. I found that my focused clinical experience in Pediatric oncology did not serve me well in this situation. I found my most basic nursing skills under the pressures of the heat, exhaustion, and the emotions of sadness and frustration. Something as basic as IV insertion, became a little more complex in Haiti. Lack of the same supplies I am used to having, having to swing at flies to stay away from a wound, and the wind blowing the dirt everywhere, or the flooding in the triage areas, all became challenges I was not adversed to overcoming.
I did have a few really good days where I felt very positive about what I was doing. I eventually had to realize that if my nursing skills were lacking and or someone else was better at something it was best to step aside from that situation. I found that my love for people and children did become my biggest asset. I was able to comfort a child in triage for a couple of days and tend to her with candy, and coloring books. I did get a lot of opportunities to play with some of the kids and organize some coloring sessions. And I was able to do a lot of nursing care to people with wound care and emotional TLC. I heard from my patients, many personal accounts of loss and suffering. One of the patients I took care of was a grad student and in class at the time of the quake. She survived 4 days of being trapped in the rubble while laying next to classmates who were not fortunate to survive. She got out with injury that will effect her for the rest of her life and possibly limit any income opportunities she might of had. Most people would become depressed, but not Leoni, she was determined to get back to her full life again. She had faith, like many of the Haitians that I met. Faith that soon enough, Haiti will revive and the people will go on.
I can't say that I did anything extraordinary in going to Haiti or while I was there. What I have learned though is that I did make an impact somehow someway I affected someone positively. Even if I was able to bring a smile to someone for a moment, I had a purpose. It took me quite some time to realize this, which is why I haven't really spoke to many people about my experience. It takes a while to process an experience such as this.
Please feel free to donate to nycmedics.org so that they can continue their mission in helping others. The small organizations can make a big impact!
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