At the capital city’s general hospital, 50-year old nurse Linda Benoit tends to those who have lost even more than they realize. That includes patients like Niliane Coline, 27, whose leg was crushed during the earthquake. Because she is six months pregnant, Colin can’t take much medicine to ease the pain from her amputated leg, and cries out when she is moved to a different bed.
“They gave her medication but it’s not sufficient,” Benoit says.
For Colin, there is more anguish to come. Her four-year old daughter was killed during the earthquake, but her husband Marcelin Blanc has decided not to tell her yet.
“I don’t want anything to happen to her while she’s pregnant right now,” says Blanc.
Every step of the way nurse Benoit is there, checking Colin’s healing leg, and offering words of encouragement and a soft touch.
Born and raised in Haiti, Benoit now lives in New York. After seeing the devastation in her homeland she took all of her vacation days from work and joined a group of Haitian American doctors and nurses to volunteer, working non-stop on everything from patient care, to managing staff, to stocking the pharmacy she built with donated supplies.
“I just wish Haiti had a few more nurses like her on the ground,” says a fellow volunteer.
Well, now they do. A group of about 30 Haitian-American medical professionals are on the ground in Port-au-Prince, compelled to help their homeland. “We have to be the ones to step up to say we’re not going to allow somebody else to clean our house for us,” said Witlet Maceno, a 29-year Registered Nurse from Brooklyn, New York. Like Benoit, Maceno took time away from work and his family (he has a five-month old baby) to volunteer here in Port-Au-Prince. His efforts are grassroots and effective. He borrowed a truck from his sister and has partnered with the non-profit group Can-Do to pick up supplies from the airport and deliver them directly to hospitals and medical tents. No middle man, no red tape. He saw a need and is filling it.
This group is made up of members of the Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad and the Haitian American Nurses Association. They are working around the clock to distribute medical supplies and treat patients. The need is overwhelming, their work beyond valuable. They are treating patients as fast as they can, doing their best to save life and limb, and prevent infections from spreading. They do it because this is their country, but also because they can’t stand by while others suffer. “I think God put me on this earth to help people,” says Benoit. “My happiest moment is when I help people.”
Related Links:
Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad
www.amhe.org
Haitian American Nurses Association
www.hana84.org
Can-Do
www.can-do.org
