StoriesfromDame-Marie–November2016

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HurricaneMatthewAftermath:October4,2016TheeyeofthisCategory4stormsatoverDame-Marieforaday–and-a-halfwith140mileperhour winds, torrential rains and a 30-foot-high storm surge, leaving little intact along theshoreline. All agriculture, livestock, farming,electricityandcommunicationsweredestroyed,leaving all the southern andwestern communities from Les Caye to Jeremie toDame-Marieunderdesperateconditions.

The best account of the aftermath is the narration by Linda Brooks, a Canadian native andfriendofourprogram,wholivedontheDame-Marieshoreinhernewlybuiltretirementhome– please view the short one-minute-plus interview taken one day after the hurricane –https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_SdYPf4CI8hdmNSWFV3STRXQnM/viewFour weeks after the hurricane, our November team encountered villagers under starvationconditions,anincreaseintheoutbreakofcholeraandtheprobabilityofnoelectricityforuptotwo years. Hôpital de la Communaute Dame-Marienne, the community hospital where weoperate,servedasthereliefcenterforthecommunityandthelocalHaitianmedicalstaffhadbeenworkingtirelesslydoingwhattheycouldfortheirpeopledespitetheabsenceofpower.The town and our special benefactor,Monsieur Pierre Antoine,was in the thick of things --donating from his family foundation truckloads of food and supplies, setting up a waterfiltrationsystemforthetownandfixingthehospitalgeneratorintimeforourarrival.For our readers who haven’t seen the beauty of Dame-Marie,https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_SdYPf4CI8hZmd1dUcxNmljT00/viewisalinktoavideothatMonsieur Antoine put together three years ago in the hopes of encouraging tourism andfurthermedicalmissionaryhelp,andwhatcapturedourmindsandheartswhenwefirstvisitedthiscommunityin2012andwhatitfeltlikeinSeptemberwhenweservedthere.Thesong“AyitiSe”byMichaelBenjaminhasbecometheunofficialsecondnationalanthemofHaiti.InEnglishthefirstversegoes--“HaitiIs…Haitiisaprettysea,astunningmountainwithbeautifulrivers.Itisprettybeacheswithcoconuttrees,lovelylandscapeswithbrightcolors”.

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Dame-Marie:November2016TheNovember teamwas limited tonine travelingmissionaries from theoriginal groupof16becauseof theunknown livingandworking conditions, and theneed to travel fromPort-au-Prince using a small charter planewith restricted weight requirements to a grass airstrip inDame-Marie due to the damaged overland road conditions. The seven remaining teammembers traveled with us in spirit however, as each donated the cost of their trip to helpsupportourcommunityinneed.Ifyou’veneverlandedonagrassstrip,thefirstpassislowtoscareanimalsofftherunwayandthen a steep bank to return in for the landing! Hundreds of hungryHaitians in amakeshiftcommunityalongtheairstripgreetedourarrivalinhopesthatfoodwasarriving.Ittookafewtenseminutes toconvincethevillagers (adefinitereasonto learntheCreole languageASAP)thatwehadonlymedicalsupplies.

Eventually a fewvillagerswerehired tohelpus carrynine50-lb.medicalbagsand carry-onsdowntheseaclifftothewaitingfishingboat.

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Afterthechaotic landingsceneandwadinginthewatertoget intotheboat,somequietandpeacefulmomentswerehadduring the30-minuteride to theshoreat the townproper. Noone thought about the lack of a dock at the other end and, although a bit humbling, thefisherman’scarrybythestrengthandgeneroushospitalityofourhostsgotustoshore.Wedoneedtobeaware,though,thatfuturetripsbyboatcanresultinnewhazards—gettingwetandpersonal luggage filling with seawater! Luckily, the medical supplies are always packed inplasticbagsinsideinthecanvasbags.

Onceashore,theshockofseeingthedevastationleftbyHurricaneMatthewtothecommunityofDame-MarieandourfriendLindaBrook’sretirementhomebecamearealityforus.

Seeingwhateveryonehadlostinthevillagemadeanyhardshipswehadtoendureseemvery,veryminorandwequicklygot toworkand theweekwasveryproductive.Thereweremanyamazing medical experiences, as well as individual interactions with the medical staff, thepatientsandtheirfamilies.Thisphotoofouranesthesiologist,EricBalch,makingayounggirl

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smile with his balloon-animal creation emphasizes the spontaneous gesture of friendshipbetweenculturesthatsaysitallaboutwhywedowhatwedo.

Despite only nine of us,wewere able tominister to over 150medical patients, perform 18surgeriesandhelpwithseveralOBemergencies.Andequallyimportant,webroughthopefortheHaitianmedicalstaffthatwewouldreturninFebruarywithafull-sizedteamtocarryon.

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Although,thereisnoelectricity,norunningwater,noroofontheschoolandnotextbooks,thehopeandcourageof theHaitianyouth is shown in this image takenononeofour lastdays.Schoolwas reopening and they still had a teacher and a desire to learn and try for a betterfuture.

Aspecialphotoofour2016Dame-Mariemissionteams--Heroesall.

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AndnowholidaywishesandappreciationtoallofyouveryspecialHeartswhohavebeenapartofourjourneysinceourfirstmissiontripinNovember2006.• To our former missionaries, our present ones, and our future ones reading this story --

familymemberslikenoothersnow;• To our colleagues running the Port-au-Prince program and our growing number of

dedicatedvolunteersandpastandpresentBoardofDirectorsatMATH;• ToSaintFrancisandallthedepartmentsthatcontinuetosupportoureffortswithsupplies,

pharmaceuticals,andsomuchmore;• ToDoctorJohnRodis,FionaPhelan,andKristenDurocherontheirrecentsupportwiththe

HartfordBusinessJournalHealthcareHeroesLuncheonandtheChannel3TVappearance--aspecialhugtothethreeofyou,andtoourChairAnneD’OrvilliersandCelesteRockel,agraphicdesignerwithoutcompare,foryourhelpinmakingmypresentationlookgoodandpolished;

• ToRickThibadeau,PresidentandFounderofMATH,JohnChapman,TreasurerandFinance,and theentireBoardofDirectorsofMATH that tookusatourword thatwewouldhelptheirprogramgrowwhenweformedapartnership,yourtrustandyourfriendship;

• ToSisterJudyCarey,mymentor, friend,andAngelwhose innumerableskillshelpedblazethesuccessfulpathourvisionhastakenfromtheinitialconversationwhereIpouredoutmyprofessionaldespairatthefragilityoflifeonmyinitialtrip;

• To the leadershipandstaffatSaintFrancis inourWomen’sand InfantsServiceLines, foryour support at our functions and your donation of all that ETO that really turns intovaluabledollarsforourcause;

• ToDonnaCollinsatPerkinsTravelwhoalwaysseemstopulltogetherourtravelplanssowecangettoPort-au-Princeontimeandwithallourgear;

• Tothosekeyveteranswhohaveworkedtirelesslyandwithoutvisiblethanksovertheselasttenyearsintomakingeachofour24priortripsrunsmoothlyaspossible;

• ToourHaitianmedicalcolleaguesthat Ihavecometotreasurefortheirdedication,skills,andleadershipdespitelimitedresources;

• To my Haitian brother-in-arms, Monsieur Pierre Antoine, and his amazing family of sixSistersandtherestofhisextendedfamily -- Icontinuetobeamazedbythe24/7servicetheygivestotheirchildhoodcommunity,andkeepingussafeandoutofmischiefontheseincredibleadventuresinservice;

• ToBetteGebrianandherhusbandEdwin,ourspecialangelsinJeremie,whohavetaughtussomuchaboutHaitianditspeople,andfortheiramazingcompoundwherewesometimesareblessedtostayandrechargeourspirits;

• To the Haitian people in Port-au-Prince and Dame-Marie that I have come to know andrespect and have taughtme true courage and a view of life I would be hard pressed tomatchifIhadtowalkintheirsandals24/7;

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• Tooursupporters,family,donors,neighborsandpatientswhohavereachedouttohelpourprogramsurviveandprosper;

• Tothefuturewhereourhopefortheoperatingroomtostayopenwhenwearenotthereandisstartingtobecomeareality--sixEmergencyC/S’sperformedbyHaitianstaffhiredtosupport theDelivery Room in the last 3months -- and the addition of twomoreHaitiangeneralsurgeonstoourprogramwhowillbeonourFebruarytripandwehopewillbecomealsoamainstayofsurgicalavailabilityatDame-Marieandthesurroundingcommunities;

• Andtoallofournow500missionaryheroesrecruitedandtrainedbyourprogramfromourfirst day, to the over six thousand patients that we have treated in extremely difficultenvironmentsoneatatime

MyveryspecialhandmadeChristmas/Holidaycardtoallofyou–

HappyHolidaysandMissionHugstoallofyouwhoworkandsupportourMATHmissionofHelpingHaitiansHealHaitians

ThebusrepresentstheschoolbusweusedintheDominicanRepublicourfirstsevenyearsandtheoverlandbuswenowusetotraveltoDame-Marie.ThehandmadeChristmasangel,madefromasteeloildrumbyHaitianswiththecandleintheback,representstheinnerlightinourhearts that keeps us working despite the hardships of those with few blessings and glowsbrighteraswebecomemoreawareofourresponsibilitytodomorefortheglobalcommunityinneed.

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Inclosing, IofferthisspecialgiftaboutourworkintheDominicanRepublicandHaiti–poemwrittenseveralyearsagobySharonAllard,oneofourlongestservingsurgicaltechs,abouthermission experience; song composed by Dr. Hugh Blumenfeld, one of our Family Practicephysicianswiththegiftofmusiccreativity;andvideoproducedbymyniece,ErinHolford,fromLA--https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_SdYPf4CI8hcFJFQ2NYTkJucTQ/view.Listentoherwordsthefirsttime,watchtheimagesthesecondtimeandenjoythemusicthethird time you play it. The opening scenes are from ourmission trip to Dajabon, DominicanRepublic, where there is a long bridge that separates Haiti from the Dominican Republic.Armedsoldierspatroloneachside,whilethetrafficofpeopleandgoodsflowbackandforthonspecialtradedays.

GodBless,

MedicalDirectorforMATHDame-Marie

www.medicalaidtohaiti.org