My brother Ben is a nurse in North Carolina. This evening he sent us this account of his encounter with a Haitian burn victim. Read. Pray. Act.
- Kev
Today, while working in the ED, I received a burn patient from Haiti. He was in his late thirties, and spoke no English. He was in a car accident as a result of the earthquake two weeks ago. The car burst into flames, incinerating the other three passengers (his family). Some bystanders were able to get him out of the car. He sustained full-thickness burns to his entire face, both arms, his abdomen, and both his legs. He was taken to a field hospital, where he sat for ten days before being flown to the USS Comfort, a Naval hospital ship. He arrived today, after being flown in a C-130 with several other critical patients. He came without any belongings at all, save for a scrap of paper clutched in his burned fingers. Written on it was a phone number for his only remaining family in Miami. He will survive, but will always bear the scars from this awful tragedy, both physical and emotional. My heart went out to this man, no family, no home, not even a shirt on his back. I have seen death and tragedy in many forms, but nothing on such a scale as this. Over 200,000 dead, millions homeless and destitute, an entire nation it seems, buried in rubble. I had not really thought much about donating to the relief effort. Now, I see we need to be doing all we can. Sure, it isn't part of the US, and the UN can send supplies, but we are members of the human race first, and Americans second. I intend on doing more to help. I ask for you all to pray fervently for the people of Haiti, and for the relief workers. God bless you all.
Ben
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