January 20, 2010

Afternoon

Baptist Mission Hospital - Fermathe, Haiti

I just finished rounds. Here is the story of one young woman, Rouite Tisma:

She is a 16 year old schoolgirl still at school at 4:30.

The earthquake hit and the building crumbled around her, killing 6 others.

Dad, knowing she had stayed at school, went that night with flashlight and search for his daughter. He told me he found nothing but piles of boulders and concrete where the school had been. Going from mound to mound, he called out her name ... Nothing but collapsed building. He helplessly called for hours wandering from pile to pile of building rubble. Miraculously, she recognized his voice, and she responded from beneath 6 feet of rubble and concrete. She called backed, hearing her Dad calling her name. It was pitch dark, but he directed his flashlight in the direction of his daughter's voice. He spotted the back of her neck through the deep pile. He told her that she would be alright. He ran back to get his son to help remove her from the crushed debris.

By Bill Frist, M.D.

January 19, 2010

This just in from USAID-DCHA.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

· On January 18, Haitian Prime Minister Bellerive noted that the Government of Haiti (GoH) has declared a countrywide state of emergency and one month of mourning. The GoH is working to stabilize the situation in the country and has requested that banks, including at least 30 in Port-au-Prince, reopen on January 19, allowing businesses to distribute employees' salaries and restart operations.

by Bill Frist, M.D.

January 19, 2010

Morning

Last night, we visited Double Harvest Hospital about an hour away from Baptist Mission Hospital. It is a tremendous facility that is in early stages of establishing a relationship with Harvard's Partners program. We decided to send one of our surgeons there (Dr. Warren Cooper, who all of my boys have operated or been with in Sudan over the years). Warren can do it all.

Then back to the hospital compound where we were treated to a fantastic home-cooked meal (I asked, "What's the sauce for the rice?" The cook said "I don't know but you will like."). Great conversation as everyone gathered in their scrubs, exhausted, to recount their experiences of the day. The nurses have got things really organized.