Earthquake Effects Linger On

During the morning hours of a recent clinic day in Port au Prince, a young man limped up. “Im 15 years old now” he told us with a shy smile. As he conveyed his story, he told us of the day of the earthquake when the roof of the house he was staying in came down on top of him. “It landed on my leg” he said. He told the story of the terror and pain of being without treatment for many days. “One day we found an American team, who told me I had a broken leg” he conveyed. “It was a blessing from God, I think.” In a mobile clinic on the streets of the city they inserted an external fixator, a device that consists of two long screws inserted into the bone and connected by a metal rod outside of the skin. The only trouble was, no one had a plan for its removal.

Amidst the chaos after the earthquake, many people came to help and almost all soon left. This left the people of Haiti in the same condition that they were before, only now caring for major injuries.  “From clinic to clinic, all around the city” this young man and his mother had traveled for months looking for help. Afraid to touch something that had been in so long, time and time again everyone told him the same thing: “tell whoever put it in to take it out, not me”. Now nine months later, still having a device inserted into his bones that should have been removed after only a few weeks, his leg muscles were stiff to the touch and contracted. It was apparent that he would need surgery soon.

Seeing the need of this young man we took him to one of the largest facilities in Port au Prince, the Medishare/University of Miami Hospital to locate a orthopedic surgeon. Here, was one of only three places in a city of two million people effected by the earthquake which had orthopedic surgeons left in the country. Unfortunately, we also discovered another reason that this family was unable to have this metal tool removed from his bone. In Haiti today the average wage stands at 300 US dollars per year, making it difficult to keep a family fed. To have this procedure done, this aid hospital required over 200 US dollars, an amount that was impossible for this poor family to raise. Due to generosity of people just like yourself, we were able to cover the entire hospital fees for this young man. At the time the clinic was over, he was scheduled for surgery and was grateful most of all to God who made a way for him to get care.

Please continue to pray for this young man, as surgery will only be the beginning of the long struggle of rehab that will need to take place to allow him full use of a leg that had remained immobile for 9 months. Please also pray for the hundreds left in Haiti like this young boy who need orthopedic care now that all of the major aid has left the country. The needs are still as great as ever in Haiti.