Guest Post: Day 1 in Haiti

As Dr. Royer is in Haiti with the CHRISTUS team, updates on the team’s work there will be posted by the CHRISTUS Communications team in Dallas.

The CHRISTUS team flew out of Dallas around 3 on Saturday morning, and arrived safely in Port-au-Prince around 7:30 a.m. The team was able to unload medical supplies as well as food and water from the plane, and hit the ground running. CHRISTUS physicians, surgeons and nurses participated in several cases today, performing wound care and many other procedures. Two CHRISTUS physicians have been placed in charge of the Operating Room (OR) beginning tomorrow, and one of our nurses has been appointed Charge Nurse of the OR. Dr. Royer will begin working in the Emergency Room tomorrow.

The team reports that it is not raining, but has been very hot. There is no running water, so they have been sterilizing their hands with antibacterial gel. The hospital is open 24 hours a day, but the ER is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Our team will be serving in 2 shifts, 7 a.m. – 4 p.m. and 4 – 11 p.m.

The team says that there is still much recovery to be done in Haiti, as one would expect. As they will be staying in a staff tent, they decided to give the 5 tents they packed for their use to families in Haiti who needed them.

One of the CHRISTUS nurses, Michele, was born and raised in Haiti and lost her mother in the earthquake, but said that she vowed not to allow her death to paralyze her and therefore be in vain. Michele has been circulating throughout the hospital, using her 11 years of surgical experience to provide care, and translating, along with one of our Chaplains, who also speaks Creole. The team reports that her presence there has been galvanizing, and they are working tirelessly to honor Michele’s mother’s memory by caring for her neighbors in every way they can.