Volunteers donate blood to Haitian Red Cross

A local from Port-au-Prince, Pierre Jeanluckner has his finger pricked before giving blood to the Haitian Red Cross. Jeanluckner said giving blood is just one more way he can help his fellow citizens. Photo by Jennifer Browning.

By Jennifer Browning

Croix-Rouge Haitienne (Haitian Red Cross) stopped at the Project Medishare field hospital today for anyone wishing to donate blood. Local and foreign volunteers offered to donate.

Philadelphia logistics volunteer Patrick Looby donated his blood to the Haitian Red Cross today because he has seen the critical need. “There is such a blood shortage that it takes two to four hours to round up blood for a patient who needs it immediately." Photo by Jennifer Browning.

Before January, the institutions Croix-Rouge Haitienne visited to collect blood donations were schools and universities. Most of those were destroyed in the earthquake, so Robert Michaud, who is responsible for distributing blood units for Croix-Rouge Haitienne, is trying to find any organization willing to donate blood.

“Port-au-Prince supplies 50 percent of the country with blood. With the earthquake we are in a shortage, and we lost the majority of our donors,” Michaud said. “The rest of the cities are not supplying enough blood for themselves and for us, so we are trying to do the best that we can and go to as many spots to collect as much blood as we can.”

Project Medishare volunteer Laura Foster, an ER nurse from Tampa, is serving this week as a charge nurse. As a trauma nurse and a volunteer working in Haiti she sees the desperate need for blood donors.

“I see the critical need [to donate blood],” Foster said. “We had a lady who walked in with a hemoglobin of 1.8. That is not compatible with life. We were able to give her one unit of blood when she needed eight. That’s all we had. We got her up for a 3.4. At home if a patient had a hemoglobin level like that we would be panicking, but that is all we could do for her. Nobody should have to live like that.”

Since Foster and her medical team at the field hospital didn’t have enough blood to give to the patient, they had to administer certain medicines such as iron and vitamin B12 shots, in order to help the patient “build blood.”

“At home I have never seen a patient with a lower hemoglobin level than a three,” she said.

Volunteer nurse Laura Foster has her blood pressure taken before trying to donate blood to the Haitian Red Cross. After testing her blood, Foster found out that her hemoglobin was too low to give blood this time. Photo by Jennifer Browning.

Foster is a universal blood donor back in the States, and since she can’t donate for a year after working in Haiti, she decided to give here.

“I’ve donated three gallons at home, so I thought why not?” she said. “I might as well donate blood here where it is needed since I won’t be able to donate anytime soon when I return to the United States.”
Prior to volunteering this week with Project Medishare, Foster had participated in two mission trips abroad, however neither trip was in a third world country or after a disaster. For Foster, the week has been filled with both challenges and rewards.

“My experience this week volunteering has been wonderful an awful all at the same time. The people are so appreciative and so gracious, and they are such a proud people,” she said, “to see what they are living through is so difficult. To see [the patients at the field hospital] and tour the city and see the devastation first hand hits you hard.”

Foster said that working at the field hospital has also taken her out of her comfort zone.

“It’s been trying. I am an ER nurse at a Level 1 trauma center, so as a charge nurse I am way beyond my comfort level,” she said. “But I think we are all out of our comfort level the moment we stepped of the plane last week. I have learned a lot, which is good. Overall it has been very rewarding.”

Ironically, Foster found out moments later that she couldn’t give blood because her hemoglobin was low.

“I am really bummed because I could really help here,” Foster said.

Many others donated including Pierre Jeanluckner, who is a local working at the field hospital.

“It’s a pleasure to give blood today,” he said. “I work here at the hospital to help my people however I can. I translate for doctors and patients, I transport patients, anything that is needed I try to help. But this, giving blood to day, is just one more way I can do more for my people.”

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Young girl gains ability to perform everyday tasks after receiving necessary plastic surgery

By Jennifer Browning

At 9-months old, Julisa was toddling across their house with the support of small chair when she stumbled into a small pot of boiling water. She received serious burns on her right arm and left hand. Now at age 12, she experiences burn contractures on both limbs.

Project Medishare nurse Rose-merline Pierre Louis checks Julisa's arm to see how it is healing after surgery. Local staff through Project Medishare's Community Health Program are seeing that those who had plastic surgery two weeks ago have follow-up appointments. Photo by Jennifer Browning.

During a visit to a clinic, Rose-merline Pierre Louis, a Project Medishare nurse, found Julisa, who is now 12, and noticed her burn contractures, which are permanent, shortening of burn scar tissue that pulls joints out of position and results in physical impairment.

As the burns on her arm began to heal, Julisa’s right arm contracted so that she couldn’t straighten her arm. This made it difficult for Julisa to do simple tasks like eating, washing clothes, or doing other basic chores.

Rose-merlin thought that Julisa might be a good candidate for plastic surgery to correct her condition. Rose-merlin called, Project Medishare nurse liaison, Maguy Rochelin who informed her that a team of plastic surgeons were coming to Port-au-Prince as part of Project Medishare’s Plastic Surgery Program.

In mid-May, Julisa traveled to Haiti’s capital to hopefully get her burn contracture corrected so that she could one day soon begin doing simple tasks. The plastic surgery team from Miami felt Julisa was a good candidate and scheduled her for surgery.

While she is still recovering, Julisa said she could already tell the difference with her right arm.

“Before I couldn’t wash myself or feed myself because I couldn’t bend my arm and my hand was deformed,” Julisa said. “I am happy that the doctors could help me. It was painful the first week, but my arm is much better now.”

While Julisa’s arm could be corrected, not all of her fingers on her left hand were able to be relieved of the burn contracture. Julisa’s grandmother Ersile said she is a little disappointed that the hand could not be fully fixed, but she is happy to see improvement in her granddaughter’s arm.

“I am happy because I see the improvement for her arm,” Ersile said. “Before Julisa couldn’t help me cook and wash up after a meal, but now I know that if I have to go out that she can stay and help with the younger children.”

But even more important to Ersile is that Julisa will be capable of caring for herself, if necessary one day.

“Most of all, I feel better knowing that if something should happen to me, that Julisa will be able to take care of herself when she gets older,” Ersile said. “That makes me happy most of all.”

Julisa still has a long road ahead of her. For the next few weeks she still needs to follow-up at the clinic in Casse to change the bandage and check the progress of her healing.

In addition to receiving the surgery, Julisa is also a participant in the Presidential Emergency For AIDS Research (PEPFAR) Program.

As one of five organizations in the Cross Haiti Alliance, Project Medishare received a three-year PEPFAR NPI grant in December 2008. Project Medishare has been focusing activities in the very remote community of Casse/Lahoye located in the commune of Thomonde.

Program objectives are to enable indigenous NGOs to develop their capacity and capability to deliver orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) services at the community level; provide care and support services for HIV/AIDS OVC’s; prevent HIV infection among adolescent and youths; and provide access to palliative care for people living with HIV/AIDS and affected households.

Project Medishare’s local staff has agreed to live in this remote area. The community is also mobilized and participating, which has a positive impact on the community.

After Julisa was born, she never received a birth certificate. Through the PEPFAR grant, community health agents were able to assist Ersile in getting her granddaughter the proper documents.

The same grant also provides tuition so that Julisa can continue to go to school.

Julisa said that she loves attending school.

“I like geometry because I love working with shapes and tracing with the rulers,” she said, “and I love to draw. I hope that I will become better at drawing when my arm heals.”

Dorval, a community health agent standing next to her smiled.

“She is already a very good artist,” he said. “She makes beautiful drawings.

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Cleft lip patient receives positive follow-up

By Jennifer Browning

Misonier Levenson, 16-months-old, arrived at Bernard Mevs today with his mother, Monique, for a follow-up after his cleft lip surgery last week. Doctors at the hospital gave Misonier a thumbs-up.

Monique will bring her son back in another week so doctors can see how Misonier’s lip is healing. While the stitches the doctors used during surgery are designed to dissolve, the medical team still requests that if possible, parents come back to the hospital for follow-up.

Project Medishare’s plastic surgery team performed 18 surgeries between May 21-24.

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