BREVARD MEDICAL PROS IN HAITI: First Hand Accounts
“The scene was one of massive destruction of buildings, roads blocked with fallen debris and people lying in the streets.”
Having done volunteer work in Haiti prior to the earthquake, I wanted to go help as soon as I heard about the earthquake.
On January 13, 2010 I started looking for a sanctioned group with which to go to Haiti, but couldn’t find one. I tried to contact the American Red Cross, but couldn’t get through their endless loops on the automated phone system and on their website.
Dr. Michelle Henderson discusses a patient's condition with a colleague.
I filled out the volunteer paperwork for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, but nothing was organized to get a team going. Dr. Anthony Ware called to see if I was going, and another friend, Dr. Lyle Ashberg wanted to go.
A physician assistant friend of mine, Liz VanHorn, had been to Haiti and works for a local doctor who is friends with a Haitian man, Alex Von Lignow, who was visiting his sister in Melbourne.
He is a brother-in–law to Dr. Reynold Savain, a Haitian radiologist who built CDTI (Center for Diagnostic Testing and Imaging) du Sacre Coeur Hospital in Port au Prince in honor of his son, who died of a brain tumor.
His goal was to improve healthcare in Haiti with the state of the art facilities at CDTI. Glen Womble, RN and sales rep, heard I wanted to go, and he wanted to go too. Alex, Liz and Glen set up a team of 11 people, doctors, nurses, PAs, to go to Haiti and work at CDTI.
Getting flights to and from Haiti was difficult. We called several airlines, the air force, private companies, and couldn’t find flights. Finally, Missionary Flight International out of Fort Pierce was able to get us on a flight leaving Jan 17.
We gathered as much medication and equipment as we could, took our own food and water purification tablets, DEET, anti-malarial meds, sleeping bags, and anything in general that we thought we would need to survive.
Smell of Death and Infection Was Everywhere
The founder and owner of CDTI Hospital, Dr. Savain, greeted us with enthusiasm at the airport in Port au Prince. After loading all of the gear and supplies we had brought, we drove into the heart of Port au Prince.
“Tent Cities” were everywhere and made up of conglomerations of people under any tarp/sheet/cloth they could salvage held up with sticks in any open area they could find.
The scene was one of massive destruction of buildings, roads blocked with fallen debris and people lying in the streets.
Tangled webs of the notoriously bad electrical wiring hung everywhere waiting to catch any of the living that wandered into the electrified and deadly lair. The smell of death and infection was everywhere.
There were literally hundreds of people crying and laying on the ground with infected wounds, many with broken bones oozing pus sticking out of the skin.
When we arrived at the hospital, which was surrounded by a wall, we were greeted by armed guards at every gate. Half of the hospital was damaged by the earthquake and unsafe, but fortunately the half with the operating rooms and emergency department was stable.
Human carnage was everywhere in the hospital yard and parking lot. There were literally hundreds of people crying and laying on the ground with infected wounds, many with broken bones oozing pus sticking out of the skin.
Family and friends were carrying patients in, some on pieces of wood, with no pain medication, no splints, and generally no emergency services at all to assist them in transport.
French volunteer firefighters and paramedics were treating patients in the yard. A team of doctors and nurses from Dallas had set up a makeshift operating room in the emergency department, a room 12 feet by 20 feet, and were performing guillotine amputations – a surgical technique used in emergency situations for contaminated wounds or infection as a quick means of removing necrotic or damaged tissue.
There were only a few Haitian doctors working, and initially there was a lot of tension between the Haitian, French and Americans. I worked as a liaison and explained we were all there for the same purpose, and encouraged everyone to work together. Tension lessened as the week went on.
Less Than Optimal Conditions
Our team changed into scrubs and went to work. To say that conditions were less than optimal is a gross understatement. We didn’t have enough sterile equipment and the sterilization processor wasn’t working.
Initially the hospital employees wouldn’t help. We set up several tubs of soap and water and betadine and cleaned the instruments the best we could. We lined up four gurneys in the Emergency department with no room dividers to be used as operating tables.
We performed 60 to 80 amputations and wound debridements a day, triaging and prioritizing injured patients by the severity of their injuries. Some had been lying on the ground for days without treatment, and several died because of infection, myonecrosis, kidney failure and dehydration.
Haitian patients are very stoic and grateful. The only pain meds were Motrin and Tylenol for crush injuries and broken bones. No food or water was available for the patients for the first week.
Disappointed in the US Government
Various church groups and agencies showed up and asked what we needed. I am disappointed in the United States government and I never saw the Red Cross. I saw some Marines once, and told them we needed a MASH tent. They never came back. The LDS church was one of the most giving and organized.
They brought food, water, tents, blankets, medication and encouragement. Direct donations can now be made to the CDTI Hospital in Port au Prince by logging on the their website: www.cdtihospital.com.
Working from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, we ran out of equipment after five days. We billeted in a house with no furniture except some mattresses on the floor, and were thankful for the security provided by the continuous armed guard at the gate.
There were many cracks in the walls of the house from the first earthquake, the main water pipe was broken, so we only had a trickle of water for 20 minutes a day to flush toilets and take showers, and the electricity was by diesel generator only on for short periods.
Just outside the gate, there were hundreds of homeless people sleeping on the ground with no shelter. The lucky ones had a blanket. During the night we often heard guns being fired.
They were in the distance, but it was still disturbing. In the middle of the night, on several occasions, the street people sang hymns. I was told they sang because they were scared of the evil spirits of the dead, and hymns of praise would keep them away.
Aftershock Scare
At 6 a.m. on the morning of the fifth day, a 6.1 aftershock earthquake hit. I thought it was one of the guys shaking my bed to wake me up, but it didn’t stop. Glen started yelling “GO GO GO” and we all ran out of the house. We were scheduled to leave that day, and the quake solidified the decision. We packed our bags and headed to the airport.
All the way to the airport I had second thoughts about staying. There was so much work to do and so many people in need of care – my heart cried out to them. When we got to the airport, there were some supplies that would allow me to keep working so I stayed with one other physician. The rest of the team left.
Returning to the hospital, we continued to work. Organizing and motivating the few Haitian employees to work productively was a monumental task. The good ones helped right away.
As I needed more things done, such as cleaning, triage, cooking for the patients when we received food, the hospital owner, Dr. Savain, would accompany me when trying to communicate with the employees to tell them to do whatever I asked. After a while, they became friendly and cooperative. Only about one third of the CTDI employees ever returned.
Included in the large contingent of Brevard medical professionals who accompanied Dr. Henderson on her first trip to Haiti were, left to right: Cocoa Beach surgeon Dr. Mike McLaughlin; physician assistants Liz Van Hemel and Brian Janke; and Cape Canaveral Hospital Director of Anaesthesia, Dr. Chris Vonderehide.
Language Barrier
Many Haitian people volunteered to translate. Initially I paid them with food. When we were more organized, and I could see how hard they worked, I started paying them $5 per day to interpret, and help move patients to the OR, pass out food and clean the grounds. Other American volunteers also gave me money to pay them.
Various groups of volunteers from all over the world showed up to help – Portuguese, French, Bulgarian, Israelis, Chilean, Brazilian, Korean, Swiss, German, Spanish, Mexican, and Japanese.
Being a part of the medical relief effort in Haiti was a very moving experience. All different cultures, religions, organizations, just wanting to help, working together through language barriers to care for people suffering from this tragedy of biblical proportion was truly Amazing.
To be continued…
Dr. Michelle Henderson
Dr. Michelle Henderson
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MICHELLE HENDERSON, MD is a board certified orthopedic surgeon at Cape Canaveral Hospital . She specializes in hip and knee surgery. A native of Michigan, she attended Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. An avid sports enthusiast (running, biking, surfing, scuba, hunting, fishing, yoga, kite boarding), she takes personal as well as professional interest in the aging athlete.
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