2/5/10
Today was the most emotionally draining day so far.

We went down into the hardest hit area of Port-Au-Prince.  The entire downtown area is totally destroyed.  Many areas we have been to have had one building down and one standing next to it, but the downtown area looked like Berlin after the bombing of WWII.  The whole area is destroyed.  The smell of bodies still under the rubble was so strong that you had to wear a mask.

We also went to four orphanages today to make sure they had food and water and helped them out with finances to be able to buy supplies that they needed.  It is so amazing that the kids smile and laugh when they have been through so much.  We handed out stickers, crayons, coloring books and candy to all the kids.  We had our own mini-riot.  It was so much fun.

I will send pictures of the day. (Seen below)

- John

I want to help John and Eric!

I want to help John and Eric!

1/31/10
Today we went to the city (Port-au-Prince) and it was as bad as you might expect.  Buildings here are not well built and are built completely of concrete.  When you shake a four-story building like this it collapses flat with everyone inside.  Seeing a destroyed city was hard to do.  It was difficult to believe it was real.  The smell and a few bodies remain.  People are going on with their lives for the most part, but there are tent cities everywhere with 10s of thousands of people.  They give off a feeling of restlessness and despair.

Today we set up clinic in a school.  The area was about 50 x 150 feet with surrounding one-story classrooms and an open courtyard with huge shade trees.  The main school building was bright white and bright blue with two-story columns and enormous blue doors.  It was decorated with patios and rails.  It collapsed except for the entryway.  You could tell the community took immense pride in the school, and unfortunate sequelae of their beautiful school was that the high walls, high ceiling and patios collapsed and buried twenty of their children in the rubble.  We were told the bodies were still buried.  The courtyard was littered with empty juice boxes, a few small backpacks and neatly lettered assignments among the broken concrete and desks.  Out of the rubble, the corner of a chalkboard poked with neat and bright letters announcing school pride.  Each letter was written with a different color of chalk by a teacher the morning of the quake.  You can see the love for the classroom in the writing.  That was as hard for me to see, as were the broken desks and half finished lessons on the chalk boards.

In clinic we saw many patients with multiple injuries from falling concrete, including persistent infections and broken bones.  Tomorrow we will have a few hours of clinic and will likely see several hundred patients.

Guesly should be commended for leading this trip down here – we have treated thousands of patients and saved many lives.  Hopefully we have given a small amount of comfort to this country.  I want to thank Guesly and our community for making this small amount of healing possible.  We will be home in a few days.

- Dr. Nuemann

I want to help John and Eric!

1/27/10
We had another quake today after one in the night and two yesterday.  It is amazing how fast people will leave the buildings.  We had a lady with a broken pelvis RUN out of the clinic building yesterday.  Earthquakes take a building that makes you feel safe from the weather and outside and makes you feel afraid to be inside – almost everyone else sleeps out on the porch.  I’m not sure if that is because I am brave or stupid.  Most of my patients are displaced and sleeping outside on the ground – everyone from new babies to octogenarians.  I’m seeing a lot of respiratory disease with people sleeping in the dust.

I believe we served 400-500 people today, though I don’t have the official count.  More and more people are coming.  We see a lot of earthquake related injuries, but people have many secondary issues coming to light now, such as the above mentioned pulmonary issues and also infections.  Hygiene is terrible, as many people are living without plumbing and proper food areas.

We have some very sick patients.  It is interesting that since there were so many amputations (at other facilities, none here at HCM), patients resist going to those other facilities.  We had to transfer a patient since we do not have orthopedic surgeons here.  She was very anxious that she would be an amputee. 

There is very difficult time to achieve adequate follow up.  Now that the immediate crisis is winding down, the demand is probably higher for rehabilitative services.  We don’t have crutches, physical therapy or many local nurses trained in wound care.

We are making a difference and it is a lot of work.  There are several local temporary hospitals and they are working hard to address surgical issues.  Our location is acting mostly as a clinic and taking care of OB care, though no deliveries since last night.

The people here are so kind and very appreciative and patient.  They start showing up at 4:30 in the morning and wait all day to see us for a brief visit.  The clinicians are all tired, hot and busy, but I believe we would all agree that there is certainly a joy in practicing pure medicine.

It is truly a blessing that the community circling us was able to send our team to care for our Haitian neighbors.  All those who helped to send us here should be aware of the incredible difference their money makes – every dollar.  People should also remember that the recovery for these people is only beginning.  We will be leaving in five days, but the work will not yet be finished.

- Dr. Paul Neumann (on the team with Clark Yoder)

I want to help John and Eric!

I want to help John and Eric!

This young man’s wife had her leg amputated.  He speaks a little English, so we have been teaching each other how to speak our languages.  In one of our conversations, he told me that he wanted to study theology and become a pastor.  The other night my voice was not sounding too well, so I asked him to preach.  He did a great job!  I now have three men that I am training because we only have a few days until we leave, but I want to make sure the pastoral care continues.

We will see you all on Tuesday!

Blessings,

- John

I want to help John and Eric!

1/25/10
Clark called Sunday night from Haiti via Satellite phone.  They arrived safely from Santo Domingo, albeit not without adventure – their bus broke down on the way.  He said one of the doctors treated a few people that night for a variety of injuries and infections.

Below is information received from various spouses of the team.  Clark thought they would be sleeping on mats (based on the phone call), so I’m not sure how accurate the comment about sleeping in beds is.  Also, the mentioned 45-minute drive time to Port-au-Prince would be pre-earthquake drive time.

Dr. Dessieux is leading a team of 18 doctors and medical professionals on a 10 day trip to Haiti to provide medical relief.  Nine of this team are from Santiam Memorial Hospital and the rest are from different parts of the United States (including Dr. Dessieux’s brother and sister also in the medical field).

The Oregon members left Portland at 6 am on Saturday, January 23^rd, and arrived into Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, early morning on Sunday the 24th.  After gathering some supplies and leaving Dr. Dessieux behind to meet the second part of the group, they drove over land to the Haitian Christian Mission Clinic located in Fonds Parisien, 15-20 miles (45 minute drive) from Port-au-Prince.  The team arrived around 6 pm and started seeing patients right away until they were able to go to sleep in a bed.  After some 30 hours of travel in airplanes, airports and buses, they must have been glad!

Dr. Dessieux and the second group arrived this morning (Monday) and have been busy seeing patients.  At the end of the day the clinic has seen an estimated 190 patients.  Tomorrow there are plans to bring out a school bus and offer transportation to and from Port-au-Prince.  All the team members are doing well.

I want to help John and Eric!

Kelsey Sommer (Yoder) is Western’s new Spanish teacher, but has been connected to the Mennonite Church and lived in Oregon all her life.  Soon after the earthquake in Haiti, her father, Clark Yoder, joined Dr. Guesly Dessieux (born in Haiti) and his team from Santiam Memorial Hospital in Stayton.  A nurse  at Santiam Memorial, Yoder and Dr. Dessioux’s team bring their medical experience to the people in Haiti doing relief work.

For more information, check out the links below.  Western will also post messages from Yoder and company as Sommer receives them.

› Oregonian:  Stayton doctor, originally from Haiti, will lead a medical team into earthquake zone
› Statesman Journal:  Stayton to the rescue in Haiti
› Clip is from SalemKATU and a part of the article Doctor born in Haiti to return for relief effort.

I want to help John and Eric!

I was feeling so overwhelmed yesterday that even though we are helping, it seems so small compared to the need.

Another pastor told me a story that encouraged me:

A little boy came across a beach that had thousands of starfish that had washed ashore.  He began to throw them back into the ocean one by one.  An adult came along and told him that there were too many starfish, so he wasn’t going to make a difference.  The little boy picked up a starfish and threw it back into the ocean and said to the adult, “I made a difference to that one.”  He threw another, “I made a difference to that one”.

What we are doing seems so small sometimes, but we are trying the best we can to make a difference, one starfish at a time, I mean one person at a time…

- John

I want to help John and Eric!

I want to help John and Eric!