Posted February 28, 2010
February 26, 2010 Update
Daniela Greilich
Temporary Home Correspondent, NPH/NPFS Haiti, NPH International
Driving through downtown Port-au-Prince it is heartening to see small signs of improvement: men were collecting huge mounds of garbage in the street, ditches were being dug and cleared and people dressed in bright yellow USAID shirts were working busily to clear rubble. This traumatized city of crumbling buildings and tent cities is going back to normal. The markets are open and people stream through them selling vegetables, housewares, chickens. A new business appears to have sprung up to fit the growing need of people to construct tents: branches as big as a fist are being sold on street corners, and people are working to construct new homes throughout the tent cities. The new homes have a base of branches, sheets and tents are hung to make walls and a roof.
In the last update, the patients were out of the hospital and set up in the courtyard. It was difficult for our medical staff to keep up the high standard of care, but they persevered. A neonatal nurse even managed to give an ailing woman a blood transfusion, though it took hours longer than normal because of the heat.
After the second night outside, Father Rick was able to convince everyone to go back in. He explained that he was also living in the hospital and that he promised that he would not leave in an emergency situation until they were all out and safe. He explained that he had had tents set up outside the chapel, and that if there was an earthquake and they were evacuated they would go to those tents. Italian engineers had come that day to go over the hospital again. They knocked off some exterior cement and checked the strength of the beams. The hospital structure is sound. Hearing this, the patients believed him and believed in him, and went inside.
 First prosthetics are here!
Yesterday at Kay Germaine, we had the great joy and pleasure of seeing a small miracle. Leel Ulysse, who is ten years old, had her right foot amputated after the earthquake. Yesterday she was fitted with a prosthetic foot. The prosthetic was done by a team of Italian technicians who came down for the week and brought a container full of state-of-the-art equipment, all donated! They will leave tomorrow after a week here, but teams will continue to come, using the equipment they brought. They were able to fit 10 kids with new prosthetics in the past two days!
Maternity and Neo-natal Ward
The unit has been calm the last few days because there have not been any aftershocks. It is much better for the moms to be inside and we are so happy they are back inside. We have had 45 babies born on the unit since it started after the earthquake. Two healthy babies were born last night. A beautiful fat baby girl was born two days ago and the parents named her after Alison, our amazing neo-natal nurse. She will now be the godmother as well. Twins (both boys) were admitted tonight to the ward, one at 2.5 lbs and the other at 1.5 lbs.
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St. Damien Hospital Update
Monica Gery
Information Officer, NPH International
The hospital is estimated to be back to 90% pre-quake status. There are 130 admitted child patients, 100 daily outpatients and 30 daily ortho outpatients. All adult post-op patients are now out of the hospital with a handful in the adult post-up tent currently located outside the main door.
Since St. Damien’s is now considered the Orthopedic Center of Haiti, patients continue to arrive for services such as amputation revisions, dressing changes, and physical therapy.
The Italian surgical tent has come to a close as surgeries are winding down a bit. They thankfully have left all their equipment and supplies for us including an EKG machine, complete surgery theater, ultrasound, etc. The Italian civil military will continue to stay with us and help for the next month. This week they built the structural support around the chapel and they are also helping the St. Luke program with food distributions. They continue to assist in patient support such as heli-vacing patients to their ship, the Cavor, for CAT scans.
The two ORs inside St. Damien continue to operate. One OR is used exclusively for orthopedic surgeries and the other for general surgeries, which are performed by local pediatric surgeon Dr. Jeudy. Dr. Tom Green and his ortho surgical team from Seattle are leaving tomorrow after spending a full month where they have performed over 300 surgeries.
After the 4.7 magnitude aftershocks Sunday and Monday, the hospital directors designed an organized evacuation plan. Each ward now has their assigned tent already set-up outside in case of another evacuation.
Tents have also been set-up in front of the St. Luke soccer field so that children and or adults that travel a distance for services have a place to rest after their dressing changes or revisions. Showers and bathrooms are also being completed.
Human Resources has hired a psychological support team to help employees cope with the mental health impact that they are facing.
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Posted February 24, 2010
 Daniela Greilich
Temporary Home Correspondent, NPH/NPFS Haiti
As the last rays of the sun leak out of the day and night descends quickly as it does every night in Haiti, the bell rings at the chapel: eight children´s bodies have been found in a school, and an unknown man on the street. They were brought here for prayer tonight, Mass tomorrow and after, eternal rest.
It has been quite a day. We were awakened at just after one in the morning, for the second night in a row, to an earthquake of 4.7 magnitude. It shook us out of sleep and sent everyone racing from the buildings. The patients in the hospital have refused to go inside and the courtyard is now covered with mothers, children and nurses, mattresses and cots and small babies wrapped in sea green towels.
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There is a rumor going around that another quake is about to hit us, and this rumor frightens people. And who can blame them? The memory of the January 12 earthquake is too close, and our patients will not take the risk of being inside. Who wouldn’t want to sleep outside to avoid the middle of the night sudden waking of fear?
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Gena Heragty
Director of Special Needs Programs, NPH/NPFS Haiti
It is shortly after 5 a.m. and we have been up for hours. The tremors are back - with a vengence it seems! Shortly before one in the morning we were awakened by the shaking house. Up and out for some, while others slept through it all. I looked at the shaking staff and felt myself shaking as well, not being able to find words to speak. A feeling of “here we go again” pervaded my spirit and that of my Haitian family here in Kay Christine. We told the two kids who had gotten up to go back to bed and they were happy to go back to bed – not too bothered.
Carmelle, Rosemite and myself were sitting in the bedroom chatting when we had another one! Out the door we ran and this time more children were up and they rushed down the stairs to go outside. Out! Out! Out! As I went down the stairs with them and they skedaddled out the front door, I veered to the left and went into the bedroom of the children that will never be able to rush anywhere - the severely disabled kids. In my mind I had one thought: whatever happens next, I will be with these kids.
.jpg) When I entered the room I immediately heard laughter. Who else would be laughing at this moment but Tifle! Our dear Tifle was laughing her head off probably because she saw the staff panicking and running outside.
Dear Tifle with her crooked body was full of smiles for me when I rested my head next to her. She just laughed and laughed as if to say, what is wrong with you? And she was my comfort. If we were to die then, how nice to die in the company of a laughing young woman with shining eyes full of love. I looked around the room and most of the other children were fast asleep - oblivious to the panic and fear that had invaded so many of us. After a few minutes, I went outside where the older children were shivering in the cold air and we all went inside to the therapy room to join our voices in prayer and song.
We prayed for protection and we prayed for strength as we, the adults, were feeling weak. Our responsibility weighed heavy on our shoulders and yet I kept thinking of Tifle and her message of laughter. As I prayed with the kids I reminded them that before the orphanage existed, we were all strangers. We knew nothing about the lives of each other and some of the kids were not even born 20 years ago! And yet somehow we have all been gathered together to form a family. And we have a beautiful family. I told the kids and my staff that we are family, brought together by a love and belief in God. If then, our family was thus created, from love and faith, we must remain firm in our love and faith. We must trust and we must leave our lives in his hands.
Meanwhile my phone kept ringing as survivors of the earthquake (mothers that lost kids and now have children with amputations in the hospital) rang to see if I was okay and if the Kay Christine kids were okay. They have never even met the Kay Christine kids and only have known me since January 12, and yet they were concerned!
And Tifle? I learned a lot this morning from Tifle. When I was going down the stairs, I chose to go to the kids. I chose a possible death over a safe exit. Fear would have led me out, but love brought me to the kids, and I always try to make any decision based out of love, not fear. I did this out of love for the kids that cannot move and get out. I made this choice because if they are to die in an earthquake, I want to be with them. When I made this choice, I was greeted by the smiling face of Tifle, the smiling face of God, telling me I had made the right choice! Telling me, “Gena, do not worry. I am here with these kids. See, they are sleeping peacefully and those awake are laughing and smiling. Do not worry - you are not alone. I will not abandon my children.” Was I afraid? Of course I was afraid, shaking in my sandals! Does this mean I will not be afraid again? Of course I will be afraid. I am still a wobbly human and will always be in the face of such forces. However, whatever happens, one thing is a little bit clearer to me… I am not alone! God's love does not keep us from trials, but sees us through them.
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Posted February 23, 2010
.jpg) Daniela Greilich
Temporary Home Correspondent, NPH/NPFS Haiti
Haiti is in mourning. One week ago, we mourned the one-month anniversary of the tragedy with three days of prayer, mass, and reflection. This week, the Sisters of Charity heard that some of their fellow sisters, the Sisters of Mary, had died when their church collapsed. They recovered some of their bodies and they are now buried outside of the church at Saint Damian hospital. This week they also discovered a school with two-hundred children inside. The Sisters are recovering the dead, because the government is not present, tragedy compounding tragedy. This morning, we had a funeral for three ex-pequeños, two brothers and a sister, who died instantly when the earthquake caused their home to collapse. The funeral was held at Kenscoff, the main orphanage, and they were laid to rest surrounded by their two surviving brothers and almost 500 of their brothers and sisters, who showed solidarity through prayer, readings and song.
This is but a small glimpse, but one that is close to home for us here at NPFS Haiti, happening inside our walls and to those near and dear to us.
In one of his sermons this week, Father Rick said that we are now in phase two of the crisis, and that this phase is so much harder than the first. The first was one of action, adrenaline, of saving a child’s life by amputating a limb and rescuing people from under the rubble. But now, after more than five weeks, we can no longer find anyone alive, the amputations have been done and now need to be cared for and watched over, and we have begun to think of what we have lost.
And so now we begin to look forward, to take stock of what happened, to begin to feel our losses, and the uncertainty of the future.
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Posted February 22, 2010
What Family Means During Lent
Fr. Rick Frechette, C.P., D.O.
National Director, NPH/NPFS Haiti
Lent is meant to be a heavy time. The dark of winter, the recognition of sin and personal failing, the seeking of penance and self-discipline. This takes place during the period of the sun lengthening to full light at spring, which is the rich symbol of the victory of light in resurrection. Our Lent begins with three heavy darknesses.
We have retrieved the bodies of Mikhael, Delourdes and Ronald Ferdinand (the siblings of hermano mayor and NPFS employee Joseph). They currently are lying in our hospital chapel for burial today at St. Helene. These have been very emotional days for us, especially for Joseph and his older brother Dodo. Yesterday at Mass, the chapel was packed with hermanos mayores, crying and comforting, showing that the family bonds we have tried to instill are real, and are clearly seen when it counts. We stood before their lifeless bodies without words, with nothing but each other and our faith, hope and love. These really heal and give courage. It is amazing to see it as a true and deep dynamic. Father Wasson’s intuitions and instincts were right about the ability of a community to form a family.
Four other hermano mayores were arrested yesterday in separate incidences, two by Haitian police during a small rice distribution. The police assumed them to be thieves of the rice and the usual unfairness ensued. They were liberated only when the police themselves became beneficiaries of most of the rice.
Two others were arrested by U.S. military when the bus they were on as passengers hit a wagon. We still cannot understand why they were chosen as the culprits. One was handcuffed and beaten.
I mention this because before both injustices these youths were so clear about right and wrong, fairness and corruption and they are balanced in their views about how to handle it.
Rejecting offers from others to inflame it on the radio, they came to "dad," (me) as they said, to try to talk and figure it out.
I so admire their equilibrium and their refusal to be treated unfairly and this led to long discussions about how to proceed. But it also led to longer discussions about the importance of not internalizing the incident. In other words, fighting the tendency that victims many times have of feeling that for some reason they deserved what had happened. I admire their desire to have "dad" help figure it out and deal with it.
The third incident was also remarkable. A young woman was brought to our hospital in labor. Her mother, father and husband were killed in the earthquake and she didn’t want to deliver the baby. She kept crying and screaming out to the baby, “Don’t come out! Don’t come out! Stay where you are. This is no place for you. It’s no place for anyone!”
She literally fought the delivery. The Italian midwife volunteers tried to help her. Instead of pushing during contractions, she would suck up a deep breath and draw pressure away from her pelvis telling everyone to leave her alone, begging the baby not to come out into such a world.
The Italian midwives were crying, begging the mother to believe life was good. Begging to see the child and welcome him or her. They were midwives not just of the baby but of the mother’s soul. After 12 hours of resisting labor, then came the little baby and a mother with a new but faint twinkle in her eye.
It makes me shudder.
Let us thank God for the power of family during Lent and for the powerful reality that with even no blood or cultural ties we can really be family to each other.
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Posted February 12, 2010
 Thirty Days Later
Fr. Rick Frechette, C.P., D.O.
National Director, NPH/NPFS Haiti
It is tradition of the Catholic faith to celebrate Mass in the remembrance of the dead after one month has passed. Today throughout Haiti, at 7 a.m., in what is left standing of the parishes of Port-au-Prince, this Mass will be celebrated for the estimated 200,000 dead. In addition, President Preval has declared today to be a day of national fast, and the beginning of three days of national mourning. We are participating in this act of solidarity by offering Mass at 7 a.m. at Titayin, together with Bishop Dumas, at the burial place of the indigent dead. We ourselves have buried about 2,500 people there in the last 30 days.
After weeks of frenetic activity, we are returning to a state of equilibrium. Our hospital had become a trauma MASH unit, as had all other medical centers in Port-au-Prince that are still standing. We were able to offer about 30 surgeries a day at four sites (two in our hospital, one on our hospital grounds in a tent, and one at the St. Camillus Hospital, which we staffed for the emergency.) Many of these, sadly, were amputations – sometimes two for the same adult or child.
To give an idea of the size of the problem, it is likely there are about 20,000 people now who have been amputated or who have orthopedic hardware screwed through their skin to the bone. Port-au-Prince estimates about 20 Haitian orthopedic surgeons, and visiting teams to Haiti will soon leave. All 20,000 need to be followed closely for removal of hardware, control of infection, reevaluation of the amputation, and of course for artificial limbs and rehabilitation. We have worked closely with the St. Camillus Hospital so as to return our St. Damien Hospital to a pediatric center and to have a growing center for adults at St. Camillus.
In collaboration with the Papal Nuncio, the president of the Haitian bishops conference, the local CARITAS office and the Italian Protezione Civile, we are setting up seven positions in the provinces, (especially since about 30% of the population has abandoned the capital) to be able to allow access of these people to a medical system. We can do our best to follow a certain number from these sites, return them to Port-au-Prince for needed attention by helicopter or land, and use the points as well for large distributions of food and educational materials for schools. We hope to continue to partner with St. Camillus and the Haitian bishops to strengthen a similar response in Port-au-Prince.
At Francisville, we are making a center for production of artificial limbs. Gena Hergaty hosted a meeting two days ago of 30 non-governmental organizations at our St. Germaine program, to determine the best collaboration for all those eager to invest in rehabilitation and physical therapy.
On the home front, Erin Kloos has made an exception recovery after being dug out of our crumbled Fr. Wasson Center. The funeral of her brother Ryan will be later this month in Phoenix. Fr. Craig Hightower celebrated the funeral of Molly Hightower, concelebrated by Fr. Phil Cleary, President of NPH International. I hope I can arrange to leave Haiti for a few weeks to see my father, and to visit both families for Mass in their homes.
We offered Mass last Saturday for Molly and Ryan on top of the rubble of the Fr. Wasson Center on an altar made of fallen block, using chant and incense to honor Molly and Ryan and all who died in the earthquake, and to show our faith and hope, and determination to rebuild and continue our life-giving mission.
The Fr. Wasson Center is being cleared by heavy government equipment, and we will rebuild a central administration center on the site, with metal instead of cement framework, which are fast becoming popular here. We will also make an artistic monument to stand prominently on the corner, by a famous Haitian artist, dedicating the new center to Ryan and Molly and honoring all the victims of the earthquake.
In Tabarre, our three areas of destruction were the perimeter walls, the tower, and the chapel. The Italian Protezzione Civile is clearing the debris, reinforcing the tower, rebuilding the chapel and rebuilding the walls. Additional internal, non-structural damage to the hospital is being repaired by the Italian companies that made the initial installations (especially the central oxygen supply). The new maternity and neonatal program, born of necessity during the traumatic days following the quake, is following a good and logical course, and the rest of the hospital is returning to normal.
The surgical capacity will still be challenged as we tend to many postoperative children and new traumas. The cancer center got quite a boost, thanks to Sister Judy, as it is now a partner with the Danny Thomas Children’s Cancer Hospital in the U.S. This will bring quite a help for development, diagnostic, training, material and medicines.
The St. Helene orphanage in Kenscoff was largely spared, but we were glad to see so much charitable activity on the part of the children, coming to the hospital to visit injured children and distributing food and supplies in the tent cities.
The Family Services team has been very attentive to vulnerable children in the tent cities and has elaborated a good plan for continued involvement. Future reports will be given on all these points I mention in this summary by the people involved.
We are still gathering the names of those who have died or disappeared in the rubble. We hope soon that Daniela, our temporary home correspondent, will be able to make a memorial page on the NPH Web site. We are very much struck with sorrow by the deaths of our colleagues or deaths in their families.
The St. Luke program has been valiant and tireless, and we suffered the loss of some staff and directors. We also suffered the loss of one third of our 18 street schools. We will resume school in tents, as soon as we have enough, and thanks to Artists for Peace and Justice, we are studying all aspects of rebuilding.
Everywhere around us there are huge problems. There are wounded, homeless and hungry among our 800 employees (all programs combined, including St. Luke). This is made more dreadful by the advance of the rainy season. We had our first rain yesterday.
In a separate letter over the next few days, I will outline the investment we hope to make in addressing these three social problems and the rebuilding and advance of our own programs.
For today, please join us in mourning. Join us in prayers for the dead, for the living, for the future.
Thank you and God bless you.
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Posted February 12, 2010
Kay St. Germaine Update
Gena Heragty
Director of Special Needs Programs, NPH/NPFS Haiti
I woke up to the sound of rain this morning and I said "Oh, no," as straight away I thought of those in the camps. The sky did not even look as if it was dumping more misery onto a people already in desperation. In fact, the sky looked calm and sleepy and the thin clouds were like a light sheet pulled back from a sleeping bed. I rang my staff in Kenscoff (the mountains where the orphanage is and where I usually live) and they were shocked because they woke up to clear skies.
A little while ago I got a phone call from Guerlande, mother of Bedgina, two months old and an amputee. I asked how they were. Yesterday they received a tent from someone that wants to help them. “We are in the mud. Everything is wet and we can’t even put up the tent because everything is wet and muddy.”
I rang Fritzner. He is the uncle of Stevenson. “What can I say, Dr. Gena. We are here, everything is wet, everywhere is muddy. The little tent you gave us for Stevenson is good so he was ok. He is gone back to the hospital today for his appointment, so you will see him.”
It is quiet where I am sitting and the hazy sun has evaporated all signs of the morning downpour outside my door. My mood is pensive and I wonder what is next for the people of Haiti. Over one month now and still no signs of real solutions for those displaced. Is it normal that after one month people are still crowded together in makeshift tents (made from sheets). Is this what always happens in countries where bad earthquakes occur? Was I being unrealistic when I expected that by now most families would have a real tent and people would be located in areas where there is flat land and where it would seem that it would have been possible to set up proper services? I wonder if I am crazy for thinking this could have happened by now. I mean four weeks have gone by already! I try to be optimistic but those of us living here know all too well that the rainy season in Haiti is never much fun and I DREAD what will happen if people are not properly set up before the rains come.
 Our work goes on and in a small way we make a difference. Mothers and fathers in the hospital share their stories with us and now we are family to them. Johanne had surgery yesterday. They removed the bone that had crushed into her brain. An Italian doctor did the surgery and we are all so thankful. You should have seen her family - mother and grandmother! The first day, Johanne was taken by helicopter for a CAT scan. Her mother and grandmother, watched every helicopter that flew by for the next hours, waiting for Johanne to come back. When she came, you would think that it was God himself, come down from heaven, such was their relief to see Johanne. Yesterday was the surgery and again the waiting, and the waiting. The surgery went well and Johanne was stable last night and this morning. How beautiful to witness the love that surrounds her. You can see her in the below photo and Norma is working with her to get her to swallow food in her mouth again.
 In the same room as Johanne is Angelin, who was buried in the rubble for five days. She is five years old and has lost half her leg. In the beginning she was so sad - never could get a smile from her. Sad eyes, telling stories no five-year old should ever have to tell. Her mother stays with her - a young mother that lost her other child in the quake. These days Angelin is much better and much more responsive. Her smile is brave and hopeful and she smiles more frequently now. But sometimes when she is sitting by herself, you can just see how much she has gone through - from the way she sits and stares and her mind is miles away.
This is Veronica. Her mother died and she is being looked after by her loving dad. She is full of the joys of life and always has us smiling! She is two. And how about these beautiful young ladies? They are both so proud of their efforts on the crutches! Marie Marthe is to the right as you look at the picture and Marie Francis is next to her.
 
Lest you think tis only girls in our hospital, how about these darling boys? First is John Joseph, then Peterson and his mom, and then Mykenly.
I know it is not easy for you to see these kids in this way. It is not easy for us either, and for sure it is not easy for the families. However, this is the reality we face and I am happy to tell you that we will be involved in their lives from now on. I say we, but really it is you, too, because it is your money we are and will be spending. And these are just a few – there are many more and if I have the time, I will bring them into your lives. I tell these mothers and fathers that they are not alone because people care and they are so thankful. My team and I are thankful to all of you.
I started this letter this a.m. and now it is already dark. To my eyes, the sky is ominous as if she also needs to cry for all that she sees every day. I spent most of my day on the computer – pulling together many people in an attempt to get Yolene (Director of our special needs school) out of the country to go see her husband who is near death in Michigan. He was evacuated out of here days after he was crushed in the quake. Thanks to our friends in Digicell she is scheduled to go to Jamaica tomorrow and they will help us get her a visa to be with him. Meanwhile as I write, a dedicated friend has been traveling for hours from the south of Haiti to get here tonight so she can go with Yolene tomorrow. This morning, all of this seemed like an impossible task, but I am a person of hope and the day I give up hope is the day I go into the grave! So fingers crossed it all works out and she can make it to see him before he dies. It is a tough journey for Yolene who is only married since last July. Life sure is not easy is it?
Best wishes to all of you reading this and many, many thanks for all the help and support. I need you to keep Haiti right beside you all the time – like your loved ones. We are all afraid that people will loose interest after a while and for sure you must be getting tired of hearing about Haiti all the time. Understand that for now, we are not able to do big things – we need to be sure that when we start rebuilding for people, we will be doing it in a way that will be safe for everyone. So for now we give money, clothing and food and we take down all the details so we can find the best way to help each case. The discharged families from the hospital are coming to us for therapy. This week we hired a new therapist for the amputees. She has some basic training and she is very happy to have a job. We will be hiring more therapists in the coming weeks and also a music teacher will start with us on Monday. We need to get the kids singing and laughing!
Love to all. Keep the faith!
Donate to support our repair and relief efforts in Haiti.
Related Information:
• Updates on American Volunteers in Haiti
• What does Friends of the Orphans Do in Haiti?
• How Can I Help?
• Earthquake in Haiti Fact Sheet
• Message from Fr. Rick
• VIDEO: ABC News at St. Damien Hospital
• VIDEO: NBC Nightly News at St. Damien Hospital
• NPH Haiti Fact Sheet/Visitor's Guide
• Helping in Haiti
• Friends of the Orphans Haiti Initiative
• VIDEO: Fr. Rick Frechette in Haiti
• Their Stories: Father Rick Frechette, CP, D.O.
• Rehabilitation and Educational Center for Disabled Children Opens in Haiti
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