| Much has happened since the earthquake struck southern Haiti on Saturday, August 14 at 8:30 am. Duane and I had returned home that morning when reports started filtering in that the damage was severe but that there was still activity at the hospital. We quickly made plans to return the next week with a team.It amazes me how God supplies in times of need and He most certainly did that day, with members of the community immediately offering assistance (I don’t even know who most of them were or how to properly thank them) and with the help of the team recruited by Dr. Jose from Cox Health – Dr. Nugent, Gail, and Sean. Thank you for your hearts of service and your desire to assist those in Haiti. |
| Since our return on the 28th, the staff has been operating on their own. They are tired, but continue to serve. Our focus right now is on repair. There is a sense of urgency because once infection sets in we will be forced to do a lot of amputations. We have had to perform some already, mostly due to severe damage. We will do everything we can to save limbs because the disabled in Haiti have an extremely hard time surviving. We had a very good working relationship with Samaritan’s Purse while they had their mobile hospital in Les Cayes and have exchanged patients and supplies back and forth for the past 4 weeks. This week they shut down their operation and we will be assuming responsibility for follow-up of their patients. They were kind enough to leave us with supplies and equipment that we can use, including a portable x-ray machine that we have had a need of for a long time. Often it’s difficult to work with other organizations as we all have our own agendas, but it was awesome to work alongside of Samaritan’s Purse with our common goals. We give a special thanks to them for serving the Haitian people. Along with everything else, we are moving forward with the installation of the solar system, planned for the middle to end of January. The earthquake has demonstrated the need for reliable electricity even more. We sent a container on September 1 with the panels and mounting hardware, along with a lot of building materials we will need for planned repairs on employee’s homes. We are exploring the extent of damage to their homes and how we might help them. You have all responded to our request for donations in tremendous ways that we couldn’t have imagined. Thank you for your generous financial support – God is good. We have raised enough funding that we can confidently extend free services to the earthquake victims until October 20, and we will be putting an additional $10,000 into our poor fund for other needs. We have a team leaving for Haiti on October 12 (Dr. Luke, his daughter Maddy, Duane, Ruth, & Tabitha). They will assist in the treatment of patients and evaluate if there is a continued need to extend free services. Our plan is to build up the poor fund as needed. We will continue to keep you informed. I wish I had some pictures to share as they always say a 1,000 words – hopefully I will have more next time. Please continue to keep our staff and their families in your prayers while they continue to put in long, busy hours; for the victims and their families; for those who lost their homes as they try to find solutions; for us to make wise decisions; and for our chaplains as they seek to share the gospel message with all who come through CSL’s doors. Praise the Lord for all He has done. Dan with Duane, Dr. Jose, Dr. Luke, and Tabitha |
Tag Archives: Haiti Earthquake August 2021
A Productive Trip and Safe Arrival Home
Our team arrived home safely on Saturday evening. The Lord blessed us with a profitable week, and we have many good things to report.
Thank you to all for your generous gifts. We have stopped charging for services for 2 weeks and will extend that an additional 30 days to those with earthquake related injuries; we will reevaluate as we approach the 45-day mark and extend if needed. Monthly operating costs are between $50,000-60,000. I expect actual cost will be higher during this time due to the length of stay needed for the healing of these types of injuries. Our staff are paid a monthly salary and our desire is to give bonuses to those who have put in extra hours and days.
We also want to thank those who simply showed up. I’m told that within minutes of the earthquake, people started arriving at the hospital to offer their help. They knew we were going to have great need, so they came – other missionaries, local doctors, even those on our construction crew. It is amazing to see God’s providing care in all circumstances and we give Him the glory.
We finished our week concentrating on the most urgent cases. Our surgery staff and the team from Springfield worked long and hard. Even though much was accomplished, we still have a long way to go. It’s difficult to see people with lower priority injuries having to wait their turn – some have been at the hospital for over a week. We believe the injured from the outlying areas will continue to come. Infection will also become a major issue as time goes by, bringing another set of issues to deal with.
Samaritan’s Purse set up their mobile field hospital in Les Cayes and we met with their staff early in the week to discuss how we could work together. We decided that CSL would take the major trauma orthopedic cases as Dr. Dylan Nugent and Dr. Huges Lamy specialize in this area and that Samaritan’s Purse would concentrate on the other injures. We started transferring patients between the hospitals and hope to be able to continue this for the duration of the earthquake relief.
Our trips to Haiti always have a little drama which sometimes becomes an adventure – and this trip was no exception. For the last couple of years, we’ve been flying to Les Cayes from Port Au Prince on small planes because the road has become very dangerous. A new airline recently started servicing Les Cayes with 3 daily flights; we used them on the last trip for the first time and were excited to be able coordinate these flights with our flights back to America. On Tuesday we were notified that our flight to Port Au Prince was cancelled and that all other flights were full – it seemed that a plane or helicopter was constantly overhead delivering something or someone somewhere. After some debate, discussion, and phone calls, we decided to hire a driver to take us back to Port. Turns out the gangs who control the road had agreed to stand down for 30 days because of the earthquake and we made the 5-hour trip back on Friday without any trouble.
Looking back, we are grateful for the foundation that Dr. Bill put in place and the vision he had for a self-sustaining hospital and staff equipped to manage these situations. They do a wonderful job, and their testimony is strong. Looking ahead, the staff is tired. They have worked hard under trying circumstances and need a break. We have at least 6 employees whose homes were destroyed or suffered damage. We still need to discuss what assistance we will be able to provide.
Duane and his team of mighty men have put in many hours preparing a container of building supplies, solar panels, equipment, and medical supplies to be shipped out this week and have had to repack and reconfigure due to changing needs. Their work is essential – thanks men!
Being at CSL last week with the disaster aftermath has reinforced the need to have reliable electric service. We continue to work on getting our system up and running with January 2022 as our target. We are still about $50 thousand short of our goal.
God has blessed us with your trust and continued support as we strive to provide for the needs of the Haitians, working in the name of Christ. Please pray for healing of those injured; for strength and wisdom for the CSL staff; for the chaplains as they share the good news of Christs’ love; and for ongoing support of the planned projects.
Dan Boerman
Homeward Bound – The Wray’s
| Dear family and friends; Just a quick update to let you know that we have been able to book flights back to Canada and we should be getting back to British Columbia on Thursday, Lord willing. We truly appreciate your prayers and encouraging emails, and we feel that the Lord is opening the door for us to get back to Canada at this time. Here is a news update. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIt_r8xK8vg Thanks again so much for your prayers, we are excited to be heading home to see our kids and grandkids. Thanks, bye for now, Love Rod, Debbie and Katie |
A Busy Hospital
It has been 12 days since the earthquake struck Haiti. We arrived at the hospital on Friday afternoon, the 20th. There were patients lying everywhere – outside, under awnings/trees (anywhere to get shade), in waiting areas – literally anywhere they could find a spot. We went right to work preparing for an early start on Saturday. Since then our team and the hospital staff have made huge progress. This morning is calmer; there were fewer people sleeping on the grounds last night. There are a few tremors happening from time to time and a lot of the Haitians are scared to sleep inside. Can’t say as I blame them.
We are so thankful that God spared the hospital from damage, allowing us to remain fully functional. Up until Sunday, when Samaritan’s Purse’s mobile hospital became functional, we were the only hospital fully operating in the area. We had a meeting with Samaritan’s Purse on Sunday and are working together to best treat some of the most difficult cases.
It is hard watching patients wait for treatment as we prioritize and do the worst cases first. There is one man who for days has been on a hospital gurney in the middle of the clinic waiting area. I think his family moved him there so he could get some air, or maybe so we would have to see him every time we walk through. His right leg is broken and he has a cardboard splint stabilizing his leg. It is even harder to see the kids; we’ve cast their broken legs and arms and sent most of them home. It’s the ones who have lost arms and legs, they are the hardest. A three-year-old, who had to have her arm removed yesterday is maybe the worst. In a country like Haiti, losing an arm or a leg will make your life very difficult, as if it’s not difficult here already.
The team from Springfield, Missouri, continue to work very hard, trying to get through as many difficult cases as they can with the time they have here. What a blessing to have them here. Dr. Dylan Nugent did his post residency program in Kenya, Gail Dooling spent 14 years in Papua New Guinea, Sean Apple has spent time in Pakistan, and Dr. Jose was a doctor in the army. Having Dylan, Gail, Sean, and Jose who are used to dealing with trauma in less than ideal conditions have helped get through these difficult cases. Sometimes special experiences are priceless. Today we had an emergency C-section come in the middle of concentrating on orthopedic cases; the baby was just stuck, time was running out, and Gail new exactly what to do and pushed in the right area, releasing the baby.
A big shout out to our staff of doctors and nurses who have put in countless hours treating those in need. I’m aware of 6 staff members who continue to put long days in here when their homes have been destroyed. John Eddy’s family comes every night and sleep on benches in the community health area. How to help these staff members will be a challenging question to answer in the near future.
We have a couple more days of work before we head home. We were notified yesterday that our flight out was cancelled. No explanation – just cancelled. We tried to reschedule for Friday but all flights were full. We really don’t want to leave early and leave cases undone. We are working on options but it is out of our hands. Please pray for a good solution.
Thank you to all for your donations sent since the earthquake hit. Keeping the hospital operating through this time without billing for services is expensive, and it is a blessing to see how God is already providing. We appreciate your prayers and support.
Dan Boerman
Caring for the Wounded
Things are going well at the hospital. The staff here has done an excellent job following the earthquake. They are very tired so we gave them Sunday off and did prep work most of the day. The team from Springfield Missouri Cox Health are doing a great job not only treating patients, but also training the staff in ortho trauma. We are learning a lot that we will be able to use in the future. Dr. Dylan Nugent, an ortho surgeon who spent time in Kenya, has been happy with the skills of our doctors, especially Dr. Lamy.
The team from Springfield brought over 650 pounds of medical supplies; Tabitha Sheen was able to arrange the purchase of an additional 850 pounds in Port Au Prince. Agape Air was kind enough to fly all the supplies to Les Cayes.
Thank you for your support and prayers. We will continue to keep you updated and will hopefully be able to share pictures soon. Dan