I arrived home safe and sound late Friday night.  Saturday was spent relaxing with Fatima and the kids.  The culture shock of walking around Manhattan this weekend compared to the last two weeks was eye opening.  The excess that most of us take for granted is what has struck me most.

Sunday my wife briefed me on her email campaign and I saw the large response that we’ve received.  The ripple effect that has been sparked because of this trip is a sign that people have the desire to help, they just need to be reached.

Now I’m back in the office where we’ll continue to arrange the Plastic Surgery coverage at Good Samaritan Hospital in Jimani.  Our next drive for donations will be targeted towards buying, and delivering, 30 wheelchairs to the Missionaries of Charity orphanage in Les Cayes, Haiti.  The nuns we visited with there are taking care of many amputated orphans who have no way to get around the facility now that they’re recovering.

We will continue to keep you informed of these and more of our projects in the future.

I could not have done any of this without your generosity.  Thank you, you’ve made a difference to the people of Haiti in their hour of need.

Goodnight.

I’m writing this while waiting to board my flight at the airport. The next team of Plastic Surgeons, from our efforts to organize, arrived at the hospital today. I briefed them about our service and Dr Silvio Podda will show them the ropes until he leaves. We’ve received a large response from our asking Plastic Surgeons for help, and have rotating teams scheduled through mid March thus far.

Our 6 hour drive to the airport was somber due to the terrible news received this morning. Right now I’m a bag of raw emotions and just want to get home to my family.   I’d like to thank everyone for their words of encouragement during these past two weeks, the many short messages that I received gave me strength at the end of each long day. I’d also like to thank Dr Silvio Podda for his camaraderie and friendship during this difficult time. His professionalism and his humor inspired me. I’d also like to thank my wife Fatima for all of her hard work and words of comfort over the phone.  I miss her and my kids more than ever before and can’t wait to see them in a few hours.

As I say goodnight from Haiti for the last time this trip I want to encourage all of you to help your fellow man in need. We are one human race on this earth for a very short time.

Goodnight from Haiti and thank you.

This morning I was notified that our helicopter pilot and owner were both killed in a crash last night. We got very close to them during the several hours in the air over Haiti the two previous days. They both showed a lust for life and for helping others. They organized and delivered food and medical supplies to many of the small villages that we landed in.   Jim and John gave their lives helping others from the air.

May they rest in peace.

When flying out of Haiti yesterday our team was faced with a difficult situation. The chopper returned for us with 2 of the 4 seats occupied. After some phone calls and thinking we agreed that we, the 2 MDs, would return and our friend Craig would go by truck with a driver that we met. It was a very unsettling feeling saying good bye to him so far from the border.

Craig’s email was working and we communicated throughout the late afternoon and evening. As midnight approached he neared the border which closes here at 7pm. We organized some of the local talent who had some connections at the border and Silvio and I drove there. After about 30 minutes and some negotiating Craig was on DR soil and we all sleep better having him back with us.

Today more gains were made here concerning the patient census and medical record numbers. Patients were allowed to have 1 family member stay with them, all the others were taken to refugee camps inside the Haitian border, as declared by the Dominican government. It was sad to see the fear in some of their eyes concerning splitting up their families. Nothing is easy here, especially the decisions to break up these bonds of human attachment after a tragedy such as this.

Goodnight from Haiti.

I’ve gotten to know two nuns who are caring for a patient of mine at an orphanage in Port of Prince. Every 4 days they drive the 2 hours in traffic each way. On Monday they told me of the trouble a sister convent of theirs was having with earthquake victim’s wounds. We exchanged information and Silvio and I said that we would try to help. We contemplated driving and as we were making are final plans we were informed that a volunteer had shown up and donated his helicopter and his pilot for our use. 20 minutes later we were in the air. We flew over Port of Prince and refueled at it’s airport.

Words can’t describe the devastation that we saw in and around the neighboring area. It seemed like 2 out of every 3 houses were leveled. Seas of tents were seen with messages of SOS and NEED FOOD from the air. We were speechless. I walked on the ruble at Ground Zero on that Sept 12th, and this reminded of that same feeling of helplessness.

We traveled about 100 miles south of there to the city of Les Cayes, we found the convent of The Missionaries of Charity, this is the order that Mother Theresa was part of. Seven nuns run the place with over 200 children in their care. The place was spotless in the middle of an incredibly poor city that has grown with 12,000 homeless since the quake. We rounded on all their patients and educated them about some aspects of wound care, but they were doing an amazing job anyway considering their resources and staffing. Then they took us through the city to meet an 11 year old girl who caught fire while cooking during a tremor last week. She’s burnt over 30% of her body and beyond the treatment capabilities at that hospital. We made arrangements with the nuns to transfer her and her father to our facility on Saturday. We spent the night in a tent inside the convent grounds and flew back today.

Tomorrow morning we’re back in the OR doing cases and rounding in the afternoon. Two more Plastic Surgeons from Manhattan get here tomorrow night. I feel as though everything that I needed to get in place here before I left is now done. Tomorrow I’ll book my flight home for Friday, where I can continue to organize and arrange from afar.

Goodnight from Haiti.

The atmosphere in the hospital has relaxed a little now that 40 of the sickest patients have been transferred. We used the day to do 15 cases, and to go through the largest ward and address the less critical wounds. Walking through the patient areas constantly amazes me of how strong these people are after going through this tragedy. Most smile when we approach their bed and say “God bless you,” when we leave.

My new Plastic Surgeon is Dr Silvio Podda, who is a star. We instantly became friends and have embraced this experience of getting ahead of these wounds. He came along just when I needed him most. He’s also the first of our surgeons to come down due to Vanity 4 Humanity’s request for surgeons.

Thank you Silvio. Goodnight from Haiti.