From: vernmarysue@hotmail.com
Subject: An Update as of Feb 3
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 11:03:46 -0500

My dear friends,

Greetings from Santo Domingo. I came back here from Haiti last night on the NPH/Dominican Republic bus which had brought in a team of people from Florida. After they were warmly welcomed they were told that there were no rooms available for them - the rooms were already "double-assigned" meaning the night shift gets the rooms during the day and the day shift gets them at night. We have about 20 people sleeping on the roof - which believe it or not is quite comfortable as there have been nice breezes at night - oh, and thankfully no rain! The bus and two trucks loaded with supplies for the hospital left the DR at midnight Monday night and got in about 9 AM in Haiti and then at 2:30 PM the same drivers headed back - and I jumped on.

There is so much going on at the hospital it is really hard for anyone to actually have a handle on it. Thankfully Fr. Rick is here! And thankfully no matter how busy we are and no matter how many things are pressing in on him, Fr. Rick starts our day with Mass at 7:00 AM in the Chapel - a chapel with a few busted windows and a cracked wall - but in pretty good shape considering the perimeter wall just outside the chapel fell to the ground.

Monday was a very, very busy day as we agreed to accept upwards of 200 of the post-op patients off the USS Comfort. The ship was full and could take no more patients for surgery. Fr. Rick met with an admiral from the ship and then we hosted Lt. Gen Keen, the deputy commander of U.S. Southern Command, who came for a tour of the hospital and who promised whatever support we needed in order to help alleviate the pressure on the USS Comfort. It was quite a gathering and many of the surgeons at the hospital got to meet the general and share their stories. Mostly they told him of the need for long-term follow-up for all the people who lost limbs - and especially the children who will need follow-up surgeries as they grow up. And of course, the physical therapy needs are going to be incredible. After the meetings were over the helicopters started rolling in, one after another, bringing the patients. Oh the dust!

A most amazing thing happened - and I will tell you the whole story over a beer or two - with respect to two of the children who absolutely need to get to the U.S. for follow-up surgeries. Surgeries that are simply not available anywhere in Haiti. A plastic surgeon from LA identified these two girls, ages 9 & 10 - both with moms who have been staying at the hospital with their daughters the entire time. On Monday morning we began putting together the requests to get them medical visas to travel to the U.S. Of course it's hard to get a "visa" when you don't have a passport - and you don't have, nor can you get from the Haitian government, a copy of your birth certificate. And it's even harder to get a visa when the U.S. Embassy is only taking came of Americans - and is not open to issue visas anyway! So through a friend in the Embassy - and with a little help from Mary Sue - I got into the Embassy and met with Homeland Security people and they explained the "new" procedure for requesting a "humanitarian parole". Suffice to say we submitted the paperwork by late Monday afternoon - I had hitched a ride to the Embassy with the Missionaries of Charity who were just leaving the hospital so I knew I was on the right track! Ladies and gentlemen, within 24 hours we had the humanitarian paroles approved. The approvals came in after I left for the DR and so we were on the phone with the hospital and Mending Kids International as I was driving back - developing a plan for getting the first child out. At this point all we had was an e-mail saying the parole had been granted - we had no assurance that the CBP (Customs & Border Patrol - DHS) people at the airport in Haiti got the e-mail so someone from the hospital raced to the airport looking for the right person - and they found the right person and everything was confirmed. The doctor from LA was on a scheduled flight out at 11:30 PM last night and he took the girl who could sit (and the mother) with him on his flight. Mending Kids International is sending a medevac plane to get the other girl as she requires a stretcher. This organization was founded by Mel Gibson's ex-wife and she is getting these girls into the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles for 100% free treatment! They even were able to send us letters from the hospital confirming the offer for free treatment - we were going to add those letters to the application but as it turned out the approval came without that step being completed. Quite amazing, no? I am drafting a letter for Fr. Rick to send to the director of Homeland Security. They need some good press on this one!!

Make no mistake - my role in all of this is strictly as a helper. The woman on Fr. Rick's staff who normally does medical visa requests drafted the letters. I helped a bit with the English and the special circumstances surrounding these two cases. The other thing I would add here is that without my connection to Fr. Rick I would not be in Haiti because I wouldn't know where to start. He graciously welcomes me in and then you get to work trying to find a niche - I think I found my niche as I will work on more medical visas and I will continue to work in the pharmacy at the hospital that is dedicated to Fr. Rick's outreach program.

So many more stories to add..... suffice to say I've been all around Port-au-Prince and I have seen the massive destruction. It's enough to make a grown person cry. The city of Leogane, an hour south of Port-au-Prince is literally gone.

We have a 26 year old man, Joseph, staying with us in Santo Domingo - he and his four siblings grew up in the orphanage (and had moved out as they in effect, "graduated") and lived in the area near the old hospital. His four siblings were killed in the earthquake and their bodies were not recoverable. One of his brothers, Michael, was good friends with our family - he was a very good and very spiritual young man. The sadness at times is a bit overwhelming. People are really suffering. Please pray for them.

And I thank all of you for your prayers. In these kinds of situations we all take consolation - and gather strength - knowing that we have people like all of you praying for us.

God bless you all.

Vern