“Haitian Inspiration Tour” Takes America’s Hearts

We wanted to share this lovely message we received from a member of the Project Medishare for Haiti staff:

“What a great and busy few days Team Zaryen has had! The trip included: a halftime exhibition at the DC United vs. Portland Timbers game at RFK Stadium in DC, a live taping at Fox News CT, a meet and greet with the Governor of Connecticut at the State House, scrimmage and soccer clinic in Stamford, a re-union with Ralph Gedeon who was an ISTAT (International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading) Medivac patient from the earthquake, a NY Red Bulls Pre-Game exhibition and a meet and greet with the team, an appearance on Fox and Friends’ national morning show followed by a tour of Times Square and the surrounding area, a Soccer Clinic in Astoria, and finally a shopping trip in Newark, New Jersey’s Wal-Mart where they shopped for their families with such care.

Suffice it to say that the past week has been nothing short of magic! With their sincerity, humility and big hearts; the members of Team Zaryen captured hearts and inspired those wherever they went. It has been my privilege to be part of this team for the past 21 months and I am most grateful. The team wanted to extend their thankfulness to everyone affiliated with Project Medishare and the Knights of Columbus. You all would have been so proud of these incredible, resilient and spiritual men and women as they shared their experience, strength and hope not only with the Wounded Warriors but everywhere they went.”

Team Zaryen in their Nike Soccer donated uniforms

Project Medishare for Haiti would like to once again thank Nike Soccer, Perry Ellis and of course the Knights of Columbus.

Team Zaryen meeting with members of the NY Red Bulls

We also wanted to send a special thank you to everyone that came out to meet and support Team Zaryen during their Inspiration Tour, without all of you this would not have been possible.

Team Zaryen in Times Square

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Haitian Inspiration Tour

Team Zaryen, Haiti’s amputee soccer team which is sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and Project Medishare, will be participating in the Haitian Inspiration Tour in the United States from October 16-October 22, 2011. The team will host soccer clinics for wounded U.S. soldiers, perform exhibits for Major League Soccer halftime shows and scrimmage against Connecticut high school students. A website featuring Team Zaryen’s Story, Tour schedule, Team information, Mission statement, News and Photos was just unveiled and you can check it out here!

The Team Zaryen Haitian Inspiration Tour schedule is as follows:

Monday, October 17, 2011:
Washington D.C
1-3pm: Amputee Soccer Clinic with service members (Walter Reed Army Medical Center)

Tuesday, October 18, 2011:
Washington D.C
10:30am-12 noon: Soccer Clinic at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium
12:15-1:30pm: Demonstration Game Team Zaryen vs. American Amputee Soccer Team

Wednesday, October 19, 2011:
Washington D.C
10:30am-12 noon: Soccer Clinic at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium
8pm: D.C. United vs. Portland Timbers (Team Zaryen performs at half-time show)

Thursday, October 20, 2011:
Stamford, Connecticut
10:30am: Team Zaryen is welcomed to Connecticut by Governor Dannel P. Malloy
2pm: Demonstration with students at Trinity High School in Stamford, Conn.
Harrison, New Jersey
8pm: New York Red Bulls vs. Philadelphia Union at the Red Bull Arena (Team Zaryen performs at half-time show)

Friday, October 21, 2011:
New York City Media events

We want to wish Wilfrid and Team Zaryen a successful tour next week. As always, please be sure to check our Facebook and Twitter feeds often to get up to date information on all things Project Medishare.

Thank you to Nike Soccer and Lynn Merritt for donating the awesome uniforms to Team Zaryen and to Perry Ellis for outfitting the members of  the team off the field!

This would not be possible without the help of the Knights of Columbus, thank you for your continued partnership with Project Medishare!

Team Zaryen

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The Miami Dolphins Give Back

The Miami Dolphins organization has been incredibly charitable and supportive of Project Medishare. This week at practice was no exception. As you may recall from a previous post the Dolphins helped to reconnect three young boys, displaced by the 2010 Haitian earthquake, with their family members in Haiti. These boys were all MedEvac’ed out of Haiti with serious injuries following the earthquake and received numerous surgeries at Miami Children’s Hospital. 10-year-old Peterson suffered a serious head injury and a severed ear and required 16 surgeries, Junior, a 17-year-old high school student sustained a serious leg injury, and 10-year-old Belix also had a head injury and multiple surgeries.

On Tuesday, August 9^th, 2011, Aventura Worldwide Transportation Services picked up the boys and their family members in Miami and drove out to the Miami Dolphins official practice facility in Davie, FL. There they were greeted by coach Sparano’s wife, Jeanette, Ilona Wolpin, Senior Director of Community Relations and Michelle Beck of Community Relations. They were brought to the VIP section of the stands and enjoyed a fun afternoon of watching the Dolphins practice while eating lunch, playing and laughing with each other. The boys were all given Dolphins merchandise including a banner. When the practice was over, the boys were brought down to a special area where they were able to meet many of the players as well as Head Coach Tony Sparano and received many autographs on their banners!

Miami Dolphin Reggie Bush with Junior, Belix, Kristian and Jeanette Sparano. Photo credit: Kelly Gavin

It was an extraordinary day that these Dolfans will surely never forget!

Miami Dolphin Jake Long with Belix, Junior, Peterson & Wadner. Photo credit: Kelly Gavin

On a side note, it was very heartwarming to see some of our special friends, Kristian and Xavier Jack, reunite with Jeanette Sparano and Benny Sapp. They all became very close last year after a tragic event occurred in the Jack family. Xavier and Kristians brother Quentin and their sister Ashleigh moved to Georgia but all of the children formed lasting relationships with Jeanette and Benny.

Head Coach Tony Sparano, Xavier Jack, Miami Dolphin Benny Sapp, Jiovanni & Kristian Jack (front). Photo credit: Kelly Gavin

Special thanks to the Miami Dolphins, especially Ilona Wolpin, Senior Director of Community Relations, Coach and Jeanette Sparano, Michelle Beck, Community Relations and Eric Knowles, Senior Director of Government Affairs. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Aventura Worldwide Transportation Services and Scott Tinkler for providing transportation for the day.

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Three Young, Displaced Haitian Earthquake Survivors

Three Young, Displaced Earthquake Survivors Reconnect With Family In Haiti

On Tuesday, June 21, 2011 Project Medishare was able to reconnect three young boys, displaced by the 2010 Haitian earthquake, with their family members in Haiti thanks to the Miami Dolphins. They are only three of the roughly 200 critically injured young children who were medically evacuated from the battered nation and transported to South Florida for life-saving surgery immediately following the earthquake. Only a few of their parents and siblings were able to come with them to the States, leaving the rest of their family members behind in the devastated capital of Port-au-Prince.

The boys arrived at Sun Life Stadium and were given an exclusive tour around the facility. They were able to walk on the field, see the team locker rooms, and an up close look at the team trophy case. The boys were then taken to a room where through teleconferencing technology, each was able to participate in a video chat session with their family members in Haiti.

The first child to be reconnected with his family in Haiti was Peterson who was joined by his mother Armenise. 10 year old Peterson suffered a serious head injury and a severed ear as a result of the quake and required 16 surgeries. Peterson was able to speak with his older sister for first time in over a year. Junior, a 17-year-old high school student sustained a serious leg injury, “I’m just waiting to see my family because I was missing them a lot”. Junior and his older brother Wadner were both able to be reconnected with their father and brother. Lastly, 10 year old Belix and his father Prezner were reconnected with Prezner’s sister and his three youngest children.

Laughter filled the room as the families reconnected. Emotions were also high as the family members shared tears of joy from being able to see each other for the first time in over a year. It was truly a touching moment and it was hard for the families to say good-bye, but the families are optimistic about being reunited once again in the not so distant future.

To see a brief video of this special day, please click here for a Channel 7 News report.

Belix, Peterson & Junior at Sun Life Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins

Special thank you to the Miami Dolphins for opening your facility to these boys & making this a day they will not forget.

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Suddenly I See (Edith’s Story)

Edith, twenty-four years old, was riding as a passenger in a tap tap when a barrel fell off of a truck and struck her, injuring her C6/C7 vertebrae and causing paralysis. She could not move her legs, she was not able to sit-up or balance on her own and she could barely move her arms. She arrived and was admitted to the Project Medishare field hospital after first visiting another hospital in Haiti. When the organization moved to Hospital Bernard Mevs in the summer of 2010, Edith subsequently moved as well in order to continue treatment and obtain further critical care.

Edith completed her rehabilitation program and returned to her home. Unfortunately, her return home was short-lived and only lasted for one month. On a follow-up visit to Edith, she was found without her wheelchair and living outside. She had developed a severe wound living in those conditions and was immediately brought back to Hospital Bernard Mevs Project Medishare.

Marty, a physical therapist with extensive experience in spinal cord injury rehabilitation was at Hospital Bernard Mevs Project Medishare for a six-week volunteer stint. When they first met, Edith had begun preparing for her discharge back home. She was leaving the hospital with the mindset that she would constantly require assistance from someone else in order to be mobile. Marty did not share this notion; she believed that Edith had the potential to push her own wheelchair.

Edith said that Marty “was crazy” to think Edith could push her own chair. She really did not think she had the strength or function in her arms and hands to hold the wheel and push her chair. Marty explained to her that by using different muscles she would be able to do so. After nearly two weeks of daily strengthening exercises, Edith was ready to try pushing her chair by herself. Marty found rubber tubing to attach to the rim of the wheels to help Edith’s hands grip the wheel. Once everything was set it was time for Edith to see herself the way Marty saw her; strong and with limitless possibilities.

Using her shoulder muscles instead of her arms and squeezing in on the wheels, Edith was able to push the wheel. With a smile on her face, Edith said that she was “very tired and very happy”. She really did not believe that she would be able to push herself on her own but surprised herself and was very excited by what she was able to accomplish. Marty of course was extremely proud and happy for Edith who now has the ability to move around her own home and not be dependent on others.

Below is footage of Edith pushing her wheelchair by herself for the very first time.

 

Special thanks to Rachel Belt of Project Medishare in Haiti for providing the video and details of Edith’s story and to Xavi Manrique for assisting in the editing of the footage.

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An Unrivaled Spirit

Wilfred Macena

Twenty-six year old Wilfred Macena was at work welding in a shop when the catastrophic earthquake hit Haiti in January 2010. Like so many others, Wilfred was trapped under the rubble. He was able to free himself but not without escaping injury. Wilfred damaged his right leg when it was crushed by falling debris.

Wilfred stayed at home with his injured leg for three days before finally getting to Adventist Hospital. He waited at Adventist Hospital for four days but ended up leaving out of frustration as he was never seen by a doctor and went to the neighboring Dominican Republic. Seven days after being injured in the earthquake, Wilfred had an above the knee amputation on his right leg in the Dominican Republic. At first he was very hesitant about the procedure. He asked the doctor what his prognosis would be following the amputation and was told that he would be able to walk again with a prosthetic leg which made him feel comfortable with the procedure.

On April 1, 2010, Wilfred went to the Project Medishare field hospital to have his leg fitted for a prosthetic. Upon his return to the hospital on April 3, the staff explained to Wilfred how to walk with the prosthetic and within five minutes he was up and running! Dr. Barth A. Green, co-founder of Project Medishare, was in the tent and asked Wilfred if he wanted a job with Project Medishare. Wilfred currently works in the Prosthetics and Orthotics laboratory and clinic at the Hospital Bernard Mevs Project Medishare. He takes measurements for prosthetic limbs and knows how to fix them. He has learned how to speak and understand English while working for Project Medishare. Wilfred is also a mentor to anyone that is facing amputation and for those being fitted for prosthetics. He is the perfect example that life does go on even after amputation and is a constant source of encouragement and inspiration. He is playing soccer again with the Project Medishare Team Zaryen Amputee Soccer team. He has a one and a half year old and is expecting his second child in July.

Wilfred’s spirit is incomparable. It takes two hours to get from his tent home to work every day by taking three tap taps. He repeats the same long, treacherous trip to get home each night. He says that he is extremely grateful to Project Medishare because if he did not work there he would not be able to work as he lost everything, including his welding tools, in the earthquake. It is fair to say that the feeling is mutual; Project Medishare is very grateful to have Wilfred as part of our team.

Wilfred Macena at work in the Prosthetics and Orthotics laboratory and clinic at the Hospital Bernard Mevs Project Medishare

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One year ago today, millions of lives changed forever; Project Medishare stands by its commitment to Haiti

By Jennifer Browning

Today marks one year since a powerful earthquake devastated Haiti causing widespread death and destruction. That day, in less than 40 seconds, millions of lives were changed forever.

In less than 40 seconds, millions of peoples lives changed in Haiti after a 7.0 earthquake struck a year ago today.

Just 20 hours after the earthquake, Project Medishare volunteer doctors, nurses and emergency personnel touched down in Port-au-Prince. They were among the first to respond to the disaster. Over the past year more than 5,000 doctors and nurses have joined us in treating more than 75,000 patients.

While Haiti has faced a hurricane, flooding and cholera, Project Medishare has continued to stand by the Haitian people in our mission to improve medical services in Haiti. But things are worse here in Haiti today than they were a day after the earthquake.

After Project Medishare transitioned from the field hospital to Hospital Bernard Mevs Project Medishare (HBMPM), the hospital staff there have treated over 45,000 patients, provided over 10,000 emergency room visits and performed an estimated 200 surgeries each month.

Not only is HBMPM Haiti’s only critical care and trauma facility, it also continues to operate the only pediatric and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU/PICU) and spinal cord injury unit.

A Project Medishare nurse evaluates a child at Hospital Bernard Mevs Project Medishare, currently Haiti's only critical care and trauma facility. Photo by Jennifer Browning.

Through our Amputee Rehabilitation Program we have fitted over 200 children and adult patients with lifesaving prosthetic limbs. Thanks to the Knights of Columbus, who have joined us in our quest to provide prosthetic limbs to Haiti’s amputees, we will be able to provide prosthesis and therapy for children. As these children grow, we will be able to fit them with up to three prosthesis including two years of therapy.

Project Medishare’s training and education programs for HBMPM medical staff are also moving forward with a generous grant from the American Red Cross. Today University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine’s Enrique Ginzburg, M.D., and Gillian Hotz, Ph.D., are meeting here in Port-au-Prince with leaders from the American College of Surgeons international program and other universities to coordinate the education and training of critical care health professionals in Haiti.

Tomorrow, architectural plans that will double the 45 beds at HBMPM and add an education center to train Haitian health professionals in critical care will be finalized. This will help us achieve the long-term goal in making HBMPM and its Haitian medical staff self-sustainable.

Project Medishare’s existing Community Health Program continues to serve over 100,000 in the Central Plateau. Through this program community health agents have been essential in battling cholera in and around the community along the Artibonite River. Armed with bullhorns and packets of oral-rehydration therapy, as well as donations of bleach and soap, our teams initiated a community education campaign. Our community doctors and nurses are also working at the Cholera Treatment Center in Mirebalais where we have treated over 10,000 patients suffering from this disease.

Project Medishare community health nurse Wiseline Celestine uses a bullhorn to educate people in Thomonde about cholera. Project Medishare's health agents were vital in educating the people in order to prevent cholera in their communities. They are also conducting additional home visits since the epidemic occurred. Photo by Jennifer Browning.

In the coming months, Project Medishare will celebrate the opening of the Akamil Production Facility in Thomonde and the Maternal Health Center in Marmont.

The final pieces are being put in place to finalize the Akamil Facility. Ground breaking began June 2007 for the construction of the facility, but final construction and equipment installment was delayed after earthquake. When production begins, it will mean so much to rural Haiti and those Project Medishare serves in the commune of Thomonde.

Thanks to the Greig Family, who completely funded the construction of the Maternal Health Center, women in the Central Plateau are closer to having access to a full package of women’s health services including reproductive health education, family planning, along with HIV/AIDS counseling and testing.

With the ongoing support of volunteers and friends around the world, Project Medishare has accomplished so much in the past year.

There is still critical need in Haiti today. Today, Project Medishare remembers those victims who perished or were injured in the earthquake.

To show your support Text “Save” to 501501 to donate $5 or click here to make an online gift to assist Project Medishare in continuing lifesaving work in Haiti.

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Rural Haiti pushes for decentralization of resources as earthquake victims migrate to the countryside

By Jennifer Browning

This weekend in the first of a two-part article, the Miami-Herald takes a look at rural Haiti and the government’s intentions to look toward decentralizing the country in order to give more power to the municipalities and provinces.

Rural Haiti has already experienced a mass exodus–over 400,000 people have fled to rural areas to seek shelter with family and other relatives. Later this month, Haitian leaders intend to outline a rebuilding plan during a critical aid conference in New York. The leaders are working toward a plan that will incorporate rural areas into the development of the country.

In addition to providing care for earthquake victims at the Project Medishare and the UM Global Institute Hospital in the capital, Project Medishare continues to provide ongoing support to our existing rural programs like the Community Health Program and our Integrated Community Development Program, which includes helping local farmers with better agriculture practices in the Central Plateau.

As resources in Port-au-Prince continue to dwindle, soon there will be another exodus to the countryside. Schools and health clinics will need to be built and funded to accommodate these urban guests who will more likely become permanent residents.

Click here to read the first of two parts of the Miami-Herald’s story about how rural Haiti is pushing for decentralization of power and resources.

In the coming months, we expect to see a continued growth in our rural communities of Thomonde and Marmont in the Central Plateau. If you would like to help us in continuing our support of our Community Health and Development Programs in Haiti’s Central Plateau click here.

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Volunteer nurse reflects on experience on January 14

By Anna Morrison

We loaded our supplies and boarded the small charter plane in the dark on Thursday morning, only 36 hours after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti’s capital city of Port-au-Prince. There was a simultaneous air of sobriety and excitement that surrounded us. Our team of doctors and nurses was thrilled to be a part of some of the earliest medical response to the victims of the earthquake, but we also knew that the agony and suffering that awaited us were far bigger than we were and would be beyond anything our training and careers might have prepared us for up until this point.

A view of the UN hospital compound positioned in an air hangar where Project Medishare volunteers treated patients injured by the 7.0 earthquake on January 12.

The hour and a half flight was mirrored by another hour and a half spent circling the Port-au-Prince airport, awaiting permission to land. We grew anxious and afraid that we would be prohibited from landing and our efforts to help would be stymied. Over the loudspeaker from the captain, the announcements came in waves, “We are 2nd in line to land.” “We have been bumped to 4th in line.” “Folks, we are now slated at 6th in line to land.” Our hopes grew dim. This could go on all day.

Finally, after what seemed like endless, dizzying loops around the coast and mountains hugging Port-au-Prince’s devastation, we were given the go-ahead to land. A collective sigh of relief was released, as we had probably never been happier to touch-down in all our lives. To describe our state of readiness and emotion as “chomping at the bit to get out and help” would have been an understatement. We were charged and ready to get to the people who needed us and the wait to do so had only intensified our resolve.

Medical volunteers arrive at the Port-au-Prince airport.

After a short, dust-choked ride on the back of a transporter truck, we arrived at the airport-based UN compound where we would spend the next several hours treating severely injured patients inside two airplane hangars that had been converted into makeshift hospital wards to house the endless stream of injured that flooded the compound. Both hangars housed about 200 patients each and each patient could be found lying on a standard green military-issue cot. Hovering over most cots were a myriad family members of the injured, some appearing desperate, calling and reaching out to us, others just seem dazed, eternally staring out into nothingness. Next to some cots, often those of small children, there was no one, a noticeable emptiness in the vast sea of bodies that crammed the hangars. These were the newly orphaned we’d heard about and would hear so much about in the coming days.

Before seeing patients, we held a brief strategy meeting with Project Medishare Co-Founder, Dr. Barth Green, Executive Director Ellen Powers, and Dr. Enrique Ginsberg as to how best to divvy up the daunting tasks before us. As there were only two nurses in the group, one nurse was assigned to each hangar of 200 patients, a nurse to patient ratio of the likes of which we had never seen before. Our first task as nurses was to ensure that every patient who needed it received a tetanus shot. We rounded up small armies of volunteers, taught them how to administer shots of anti-tetanus serum and set them about the task of inoculating patients.

Once the shots were administered, it was of highest priority to dress wounds to prevent infection, hang IV fluids to fight dehydration, and to administer antibiotics to those who needed it. Again, we instructed teams of volunteers who had shown up throughout the day as to how to properly dress wounds and set about literally cleansing hundreds of wounds and changing hundreds of bandages. Additionally, we hung dozen of liters of IV fluids and administered as many antibiotics and pain medications as we had brought with us, but unfortunately supplies were limited as these were yet early days. We also assisted in the air evacuation to the United States, Dominican Republic and other countries of dozens of critically injured patients who would have otherwise died in our care for lack of the proper monitoring and interventional equipment.

In all, it was a highly productive day and night of intense patient care and, although, we were physically exhausted and emotionally laden with all of the suffering that we had seen, there was a sense of accomplishment in having been able to do so much inside of only a short 20-hour trip. We had come and seen what needed to be done and were bringing back the message to our colleagues loud and clear. Port-au-Prince needed major medical attention and a solid and continued medical presence, and as we have seen, UM and Project Medishare and their volunteers have answered that call in ways immeasurable.

Thank you to Project Medishare for allowing me to be a part of that early mission to assess the situation and to treat as many patients during that first visit as possible. I have since been able to return to Port-au-Prince and to the newly-built UM/Project Medishare Field Hospital and serve a five-day rotation as the acting Director of Nursing of that facility. This second tour of duty was also a great honor and an experience I will never forget. I was privileged to work with some of the greatest hearts and minds in medicine from around the world in a spirit of solidarity and teamwork that I have seldom experienced elsewhere and under some of the most challenging conditions I have ever worked in. It was the kind of context in which miracles happened every day and I feel so thankful to have been able to be a part of Project Medishare’s invaluable service to the Haitian people.

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Triplets arrive at Project Medishare/UM Global Institute hospital

By Jennifer Browning

Seven days ago, Carly, Carlins, and Carlene were born under a simple tent in a camp housing earthquake victims. The triplets arrived at the Project Medishare/UM Global Institute’s hospital this afternoon.

The mother was worried about Carlene who seemed to be having breathing problems, but after observation the little one seemed to be fine. Doctors notice Carly seemed a little dehydrated so they decided to give her fluids intravenously.

Since doctors couldn’t determine whether the mother had any prenatal care during her pregnancy, they will monitor the children closely.

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