All.. our volunteer back office is doing the best we can keeping up with correspondence, working the phones, and gratefully processing donations. We are encouraged by the response. And …as former boss was fond of saying…. “a busy clerk is a happy clerk”.

Yesterday we got an especially nice surprise. We received a hand made card and a note from students at Holy Trinity School (K-8) in Wallingford CT. Sister Kathleen Kelly (RSM) is Principal there and long time friend to Hospice St. Joseph. Sister Katie.. as she prefers to be called… sent the notes along with a batch of very generous donations.

Here’s how the card read:

Dear Friends of Haiti,
“When I learned in the news what happened, I started to pray for you every day. I hope that Haiti gets better.With all the money that we get for you it will help you and the sick ones that hope to get better. I also hope our president Barack Obama will help you more and more. I also hope they find all the people. I hope you get better

Love, Jailene

Here’s the note:

Dear Sister Katie,
“Here is my life savings for the people of Haiti. I will pray for the people.”

Love Natalie

Sr. Katie reports that Natalie’s life savings was $5.37 in pennies which was included in Holy Trinity’s donation!

Sr. Katie thought these notes would bring us a smile…they did and much more…peace..Dennis

Seeing Max in person…..

Yesterday the Board of Directors gathered at Trinity College in Hartford to welcome Max, to hear his first hand account of what is happening and to strategize about the future. Max made his way out Haiti on Friday on an Army transport to Florida, was bussed to the Orlando airport and then got a ticket to Hartford arriving midnight on Saturday morning with only the clothes on his back. He plans on returning to Haiti today through the Dominica Republic.

Everyone was thrilled to see him, embrace him and listen to him. It was too much for him to explain in any great detail the devastation the earthquake has caused. But his enthusiasm returned in his narration of what Hospice St. Joseph is already doing on the ground and what he would like to see happen in the future. While EVERYONE is sleeping outside, the community is pulling together, groups are organizing, contacts are being made, including Catholic Relief Services (CRS). He feels that the neighborhood needs Hospice more than ever and he is committed to leading. When asked about a mass exodus from Port-au-Prince, he said thousands of people are still in Christ Roi and feels even if they go, they will return quickly as the provinces had NO services at all for people. And Port-au-Prince is where the food is – that will be a major reason people will return.

Life in Christ Roi is starting to revive slowly. He is concerned about children coming into the yard to be seen by the medical team – they are presenting with diarrhea and vomiting – sure signs that the water they are drinking is contaminated. A second wave of death as a result of the earthquake is in the making if diseases like cholera, malaria, typhoid take hold.

The medical team on the ground reports that there is NOWHERE for people in Christ Roi to get medical care right now. If you need a simple amputation, you can get that, but otherwise, nothing. Today (Sunday) some of the team will rest while others go out again into the neighborhood. They have been working non-stop.

I can’t repeat enough how impressed we all are with Max’s leadership ability, his know-how to get things done in Haiti and his determination to be of service. The Board of Directors along with Bishop Cote, Diocese of Norwich, fully supports his efforts and remain committed to Hospice St. Joseph for the long haul.

We will keep you informed of the specific plans of the Board soon.

Peace,
Sue

Again we were not able to get through by phone but Geri got through on Skype.

Since Max feels things are in good hands on the ground with the medical team there he is flying out tomorrow – basically if you have a us passport you just line up and the airport and they get you on a plane as an evacuee. He wants to attend the Board of Directors meeting on here in Connecticut on Sat. so he can give all of the members a detailed account of conditions in and around Hospice as well as Haiti. He says he will go back on Sunday through the Dominican Republic.

Erin has made a promising connection with CRS and Hospice may become a site for food distribution.

The medical team went out and saw 350 patients. About 250 had infected wounds. Word will spread tomorrow and they are somewhat concerned that people will start showing up in the yard in large numbers. They much prefer to go out and find people. Their supplies have not yet gotten to Haiti, but they have been able to go to some larger groups and get things to take back to Hospice.

STILL no large organizations have been in the neighborhood to help. It’s kind of mind boggling. A small organization like ours was able to get a team there, get them from the airport to Hospice and start working.

Since I can’t give you too much news of Hospice right now, I am including excerpts of an email someone sent out whose daughter is working with Save the Children. She is in an area called Leogane, not too far from Port-au-Prince, which is entirely flattened. It also speaks well of the efforts of other countries besides the US. It follows:

“I walked through town today and counted: Japanese crew; Swiss Doctors Without Borders (MSF); Swede MSF; Canadian MSF; our crew; another group from Massachusetts; HSC docs [local doctors from Leogane] and another mystery group on their way. The Japanese are incredible – they have their own operating room including an x-ray machine and brought their own ice cream makers. We’re all jealous.

Houses with the most severe stench of decaying bodies are starting to be bull-dozed. So hopefully the stench will subside within a week. It’s pretty overwhelming in some areas.

This morning Jean Marc and I played air traffic control when 2 helicopters and a plane all wanted to land at the same time. Shipments are flying in about every 30 minutes – unfortunately there’s not much coordination about where the stuff is supposed to go. It’s totally chaotic.

The UN is trying to distribute tents and tarps, but they haven’t quite mastered distribution yet. Within seconds they’re overpowered and chaos ensues. Jn. Marc and Nathan are off to rescue the latest UN distributors as I type.

Information from other sources: Doctors report that:
…..90% of the buildings have just been flattened. There are the “tent cities” of the refugees. He said some of them have sheets for shelter, and some have used metal to make shelters. He could hear the Haitians singing hymns as we spoke……”

Sue again – I will be at the Board meeting tomorrow to take notes so may not report anything until Sat night. Thanks to you all for keeping up with this.

We weren’t able to speak directly with Max last night – couldn’t get through. But our intrepid and “never give up” Geri O’Hare finally reached them. Geri sent this synopsis of the conversation from last night.

“Just got off SKYPE with Max and Erin (Erin is with medical team). When I asked Max how he was doing he said “I will finally sleep tonight” … now he has other people to take over and he can finally sleep for 3 or 4 hours.

Thank you all … I can only imagine the burden he has been carrying…

Sue and Denis know a little about the baggage situation this AM. Some of the supplies were left in Miami because AA could not get them all on the flight. They will arrive tomorrow at 5:30 AM. Max will send a driver to get them. The team arrived without a problem!

The team did get to the General Hospital, did not get a briefing by IMC, but did get meds, antibiotic, IV fluids, Tetanus …so they were very happy. IMC Med Director of the hospital Dr. Robert said they could come back when they run out. Very nice, very helpful.

Erin says the plan for tomorrow is for the team to go out with the community nurses and volunteers to the wounded in the area, and not hold a ‘clinic’ at HSJ. Erin says there really is not a lot of room. If they determine a person needs a procedure or minor surgery they can perform they may take them back to HSJ. They have to yet develop a plan for getting patients to a larger surgery facility…(ok, facility is too big a word…more like a surgery tent…)
.
From Erin’s assessment, nothing is going on in Christ Roi, no organizations are there…
Max and Erin sounded good – tired but good.

I had to call them back 3 times during our brief conversation. But Erin is able to text me and receive my texts… so that’s good.”

Geri

Max’s wife Rose, an emergency room nurse, was able to join the medical team. We are so glad she has been able to join Max there.

On another note, we (Sue and Dennis) spoke with Sr. Anne Weller yesterday. Sr. Anne is a Sister of St. Joseph from Tipton, Indiana. Sr. Anne, now retired, is one of the original founders of Hospice. This has been hard for her and of course her heart is still very much there and she wishes she could be there now. We assured her that all of the employees were okay. I still think it’s a miracle that 28 people who were in many different places at 5 in the afternoon when the earthquake struck all survived.

We have also been in touch with Sr. Ellen Flynn, Sr. of Mercy from CT, who poured her heart and soul for many years into Haiti. She spent most of those years at Hospice. Ironically Sr. Ellen had just come home. She spent her final 3 days in Haiti at Hospice and left for the states just 4 days before the earthquake struck. We are blessed to have her here now and already trying to help.

We are so gratified by all of the responses we get to these emails. Thanks for taking the time to read them.

Good news – they have landed.

Last we heard they were loading the plane. There was a slight delay because of the 6.0 aftershock this morning, but the group said that cargo was going on and they were cleared for take-off. I am not quite sure how this was arranged, but it’s an American Airlines charter through the State Dept. carrying various military personnel so we are pretty confidant it will get cleared to land.

Last night Max said he gathered a group of about 12, including some nurses from the neighborhood, to go out with some first aid supplies and to find people who will need help when the medical team arrives. He doesn’t want people to try to crowd into the courtyard at Hospice and many will not be able to get there anyway. He is working hard to get the wall rebuilt so the team will have privacy and security.

Max said that NO employees have homes anymore. And anyone in Port-au-Prince who might have a home is too afraid to be in it. ALL of Port-au-Prince is sleeping outside. He added that he also feels a tremendous sense of community in the Christ Roi neighborhood. But he does see a need for people to have a way to process what has happened to them and to their country.

In spite of all of this he shared how they are using humor. Champs Mars is a large park near the Presidential Palace where thousands are camped out. When some is trying to find someone they are saying – “oh, he’s in room 102 at Champ Mars. It’s a 5 star”!!

James Michel, our Board Chair, spoke with one of the two guests who were at Hospice when the earthquake struck. She is now home in Brooklyn. She explained to James how she had to jump from the 3rd floor – which had just become the 2nd floor. She couldn’t say enough good things about Max and his ability to take charge – making immediate and necessary decisions, gathering people, etc. We are so grateful to have someone like Max on the ground there.

Please pray the medical team arrives safely, for their safety during their stay and of course continuing prayers for the people of Haiti. We hope that the team will send us updates and maybe even pictures that we can share with you.

Peace, SUE

First some good (hopefully) news! Please pray this actually happens. Fifteen of our medical group have a flight out with an American Airlines charter at 7AM tomorrow. The situation is somewhat fluid – they are saying a 60% chance. There will be military personnel on the plane, so that makes the chances higher. Please don’t stop contacting people about planes as this could still fall through, it’s not the whole team and we may have to go with other possibilities in the future. Thanks to all of you who put the need out there – we did get many good leads and have reached out to them. Now on to our:

Conversation with Max – Monday night – Jan. 18th

Max sounds okay – he is working tirelessly. He is trying to find ways to de -stress but it is difficult.

A connection with a group in the countryside came through with a small amount of food and medical supplies. Max is going to get some people to go out in the Christ Roi neighborhood to try to reach people who cannot get to Hospice. They will be equipped to provide wound care.

Our hope is that a big relief organization will eventually use Hospice as a site for longer term medical care. People here are working diligently on that.

We saw on the news this morning that just one site is doing 70 amputations a day. Being an amputee in Haiti is even a harder life – Port-au-Prince is very much like San Francisco – very steep hills – add to that the rubble, etc. –

For those who know the staff – they are sending food to Fenel every day. He recently suffered a stroke (pre earthquake) but has now suffered a broken foot. Maxim’s brother has sustained serious injuries. Salvador has been at Hospice every day helping to manage the people in the courtyard.

Max feels the building needs to come down before it falls down on its own. He is trying to seek assistance on that.

Max has always believed that educating the children is the key to Haiti’s future. He will not just wait for the year or year in a half goes by before schools are rebuilt. He is actively working with others to develop ways to get children together for schooling as soon as possible.

Max says that he is committed to being in Haiti – it’s a commitment to both the living and the dead.

James Michel, members of our medical team and other HSJ folks were able to speak to BOTH Max and Pharra…We are scheduling a daily 8 PM call. Both Max and Pharra sounded good, Max even joked a bit on a few subjects. We are sure they are tired. We learned that Pharra was in the bldg with one of our 2 guests staying at Hospice. They were on the third floor when it collapsed into the second. They ultimately needed to jump from the second floor into the courtyard where they were caught by waiting staff . The other guest was already out in the courtyard because Pharra had asked him not to smoke in the bldg. As the quake occurred he began to run back toward the bldg but was tackled by one of our staff. I guess smoking is not always bad for you. No guests from the provinces were in the bldg at the time.

Giselle, the employee we had not had contact with has come to HSJ. She had been caring for a badly injured friend at a local hospital. All our our employees have been offered 2 months salary and those that can be spared are being encouraged to leave Port-au-Prince and temporary relocate with family in the country side.

40 people are sleeping in the yard every night, with Max and Pharra. HSJ is feeding 75 a day from the Nutrition Program stores of food. They can get into part of the first floor but I don’t know if they have total access to all the meds. The generator is working and among other things can be used to charge the cell phone they are using. Max had just bought diesel the day before the quake, so he has enough to get back and forth to the airport

Max says the biggest problem the people have is access to health care..not enough of anything. Hospice is trying to make a difference with neighborhood nurses and supplies we have in the neighborhood using whatever we have..but supplies are running out.  Max has had NO contact with any relief orgs bringing things in – no food, water, medical supplies. The Red Cross actually came there asking if WE had meds as they were out.

On our last trip  Max took people from St. Patricks in Farmington CT on a walking tour of the neighborhood. We walked to “housing” five or six levels below street level on Rue Christ Roi…Max now reports that is totally destroyed and estimates that most of the people who lived there have died there and no one but family and God will ever know they are gone.

Ton from Varetts tried to get supplies from Hosp ALbert Schwitezer, but they had none to spare

Max did say he wants to participate in some way..perhaps be able to call in.. at our regularly scheduled board meeting this Saturday.

Here is the US supporters and friends have been great support…all really doing what they can. We need to keep that going…please forward this email to people not on the distribution and send them to our website to get information and donate if they are able. We noticed this morning that the front page of our local paper devoted about as many lines to the University of Connecticut losing a basketball game as they did to the crisis in Haiti.

..Dennis and Sue

Hi all,
We are OK but the building collapsed. We had two visitors we were lucky everyone get out ok. We are selleping in the yard and trying the best out of the situation. Most of our employees are ok. I have not been able to receive news from three of them> Soeurette lost several members of her family including a daughter. Others also lost family members.
Right now every program will be put on hold for a long long time. We have to go from a program mode to a humanitarian mode for some time. We start helping people on a small scale but the need is overwelmed. Haiti is no longer what you knew. Everything is lost. We need everything: Meds, food, water, clothes tents and everything else we can put your hands on. I am going to try to communicate with you all if we can. Remember we do not have a place to operate but I am waiting to find people to put the rest of the building down to start providing meds and water. Please call my wife and let her know I am okay.
Peace, Max