“I would strongly recommend this hospital— to explain how they welcomed me and treated me. I will always encourage people to come here,” said 23-year-old Hermitha Jean. She recently gave birth to twins in the St. Damien Hospital’s Maternity Ward. We met her today to discuss her little girl’s progress.

Hermitha, Proud to be a new mother

Due to difficulties during pregnancy and a pre-natal infection in both twins, one of the babies died just eight days after birth. Today, Hermitha is here wearing a hospital gown in the neonatology section, as she is every day, to nurse little Saïka Jean.

According to this new mom, she is blessed to have been referred to St. Damien when her water broke and she went into labor because the doctors here saved her life and the life of her surviving baby. Mom and babies could have died for lack of medical treatment which Hermitha could not afford. As soon as her water broke, she went to the nearest hospital where she was told that they could not admit her because she had not been a patient during the pregnancy. She was, however, still required to pay the consultation fee of $20. Still going through labor, she was referred to Doctors Without Borders. They too were unable to help her and referred her to St. Damien.

She had once heard about St. Damien but she did not expect anything different than what she had endured at the other hospitals. When she arrived, they took her in and treated her with dignity. She spent three days in bed before having the babies. After 21 days in the hospital, little Saïka could not be sent home with Hermitha because she was still fighting the infection and suffers from low birth weight. The doctors’ prognosis is that the baby will do fine since she is starting to gain weight and the infection is beginning to get under control. Hermitha seems happy when she tells us the good news: “Saïka is going home next week.”

Hermitha's baby receiving care in the neonatology ward

Hermitha’s pregnancy was a particularly difficult one due to the circumstances of her life. Because she could not afford pre-natal care for herself, she had no idea that she was carrying twins. Her boyfriend and his family refused her any help. Her own family denied her any emotional or financial support because they were ashamed of Hermitha’s out-of-wedlock pregnancy. She became a pariah to everyone she knew. All alone without family or friends, hungry and with severely edematous legs and feet, she cried constantly and prayed steadfastly. Penniless and lacking the proper nutrition to nurse the growing fetuses, she fell into depression and begged God to bring on a premature birth because she could no longer bear the agony. The doctors told her that her babies were due in April but she delivered in January—she was in her seventh month of pregnancy. To be exact, the babies were born on January 13. By the time this story is published, little Saïka will have had her 1 month birthday. Acknowledging the miracle that God performed in her life, she does not harbor any resentment for her family or her boyfriend’s family.

For Hermitha to get to St. Damien Hospital, she must take 3 tap-taps (Haiti’s transportation vans) at the cost of 10 Haitian dollars each day (approximately $1.25 US). In addition to the cost of transportation, she must also find the money to pay for diapers and baby wipes. Almost every day, she arrives without breakfast and yet must extract milk for the baby. As hard as it is for Hermitha to find the money for food, diapers, baby wipes and transportation, she is grateful that these are the only expenses required of her and she knows without a doubt that if St. Damien Hospital had the diapers and wipes, they would provide them to her daughter for free. She ends our conversation with a poignant remark: “Were it not for St. Damien, I would have died.”

Given her remark, it is easy to understand why her story is that of a miracle.

Dieuveck Rosembert   

Communication Officer

Patient at St. Damien Neonatology Unit

Published in Haiti’s Le Nouvelliste January 20, 2012 and translated into English:

Haiti: The Saint-Damien Pediatric Hospital launches two new services

While many institutions of the country celebrated the second anniversary of the earthquake of January 12, 2010, Our Little Brothers and Sisters (NPFS) inaugurated last Thursday, maternity and neonatal unit of St. Damien Pediatric Hospital in Tabarre .  The management of the  St. Damien children’s hospital took the celebration of the second anniversary of the earthquake of January 12, 2010 to inaugurate on Thursday, maternity services and neonatology. In these new structures arranged in an attractive space, Our Little Brothers and Sisters (NPFS) intend to give a new signal in the various activities leading to the rebirth of the country.

The Apostolic Nuncio, Bernadito Auza, with guests visiting the neonatal unit

Maternity has 42 beds, two new operating rooms, five delivery beds and employs 53 people under the leadership of Dr. John Edgar Aupont, program manager for high-risk pregnancy. Aupont says, fewer than 15 babies are born every day safely in this hospital where the care is completely free. 500 deliveries are made each month. This center has become the benchmark for excellence and for the high-risk pregnancy in Haiti. All furniture and equipment were imported from Italy. Staff training is provided by teams of doctors and midwives from particular Buzzi Children’s Hospital University of Milan, Italy. According to Dr. Aupont, neonatology is a unique medical branch in the country with 32 beds in intensive care, which deals each month with 50 premature infants with neonatal diseases, treated by 20 doctors and nurses.

Doctors and nurses in the process of caring for premature babies with neonatal diseases

The neonatal unit is paired with pediatric hospitals Dal Ponte Hospital, Varese and Bambino Gesù in Rome. Father Richard Frechette, in his speech for the occasion, welcomed the cooperation that existed between the Department of Public Health and other partners. A partnership that has enabled the realization of that dream. In addition to the maternity hospital St. Damien, with the support of the Fondazione Francesca Rava, has created two other maternity facilities in the region, receiving 23,000 visits per year, and offer direct assistance to the field: the clinic Manitaine in Tabarre, where laboratory tests are performed and visits of obstetrics and prenatal ultrasound performed, and the mother-child center Timoun Piti in the area of ​​Wharf Jeremie. All patients who need special assistance were sent to the hospital Saint-Damien.

“Our centers are very well equipped (latest technology) and are paired with Italian institutes for the training of doctors, midwives and nurses in Haiti. They are already considered a landmark in Haiti for qualified assistance to pregnant women and their babies, “adds Father Frechette.

In her speech, Genevieve Arty, medical director of the hospital, said to the attention of the guests the presence of any management team at the opening ceremony. For her, this reflects the size of the view that NPFS  bring to the community of Tabarre and other parts of metropolitan Port-au-Prince. “This act of medical care allows us to meet the needs of the population of Tabarre. We celebrate life with the opening of these new structures, “said Dr. Arty, who emphasized the modernist of these new services.

For its part, the representative of the Ministry of Health estimates that each time a hospital structure is formed, it is a response to the problem of suffering at the community level. ”We welcome a very high point of activity that takes place in this hospital. I understand that there is a skill and dynamic that lends its service to the hospital. The center will remain in our field of vision. We will work to increase the capacity of the hospital structure for the good of this community, “she added.

Ultrasound is not included in the training and practice of gynecologists and obstetricians in Haiti, even thought it is a technique of great help for early diagnosis of fetal malformations and diseases of pregnancy and for assistance during childbirth. Thus, this advanced training, organized by the Fondazione Francesca Rava – NPH Italia with the prestigious International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISUOG), took place from January 9 to 13 at the NPFS pediatric hospital of St. Damien in Tabarre. This is the second phase of a program in 18 months, will allow the introduction of ultrasound technology in training and practice of 30 Haitian doctors and midwives at St. Damien, other health facilities in the country and of the Hospital of the State University of Haiti. At the end of the course, the same participants, members of the Haitian Suoga, become trainers themselves. Teachers and trainers are among the best specialists in the United States and Italy, and are Dr. Lisbeth Hanson, Head of Mission and Professor Enrico Ferrazzi’s Buzzi Hospital in Milan (Dr. Ferrazzi is also the Clinical Advisor and Coordinator Project maternity NPH), and Dr. Jean Claude Fouron.

Opened in 2006, St. Damien Hospital in Tabarre is the only pediatric hospital in Haiti. Both maternity and neonatology rooms opened during the earthquake efforts and were fitted over the last two years to achieve excellence in clinical expertise and highly specialized staff, in order to save thousands of children and their mothers with assistance quality offered by qualified personnel in Haiti. According to officials, St. Damien is the first pediatric hospital in Haiti. In 2011, it provided free care to 80,000 children whose medical needs could not be met elsewhere in the country. Following an Italian project and thanks to the decisive contribution of the Fondazione Francesca Rava, it provided assistance in emergency earthquake in more than 10,000 people in less than three weeks, 150 medical volunteers have come Italy in the range of 6 months. NPH is present in Haiti since 1987 under the medical direction of Father Rick Frechette. In collaboration with the Fondation Saint-Luc, it gives work to 1,600 Haitians and helping 1 million people a year with its four hospitals, including St. Luke’s Hospital for families, St. Philomena for cholera, two centers for disabled children, two native plants, three orphanages, including 2 homes built after the earthquake, 28 School Street, the training center Francisville, to name a few.

Amos Cinci

cincir2005@yahoo.fr

Dear Friends

I have been home with my dying mother, as a son and as a doctor and as a priest. Daily mass, managing her pain medicines, helping in any way I can. I was determined to stay with her to the end, especially since my whole adult life I have been far from home in the foreign missions.

I have to tell you, every day at mass, when I ask mom if she has any special intentions, she says, “for you, for God to keep you strong, and for your mission in Haiti.”

Now we have this huge sadness in Haiti. I told her I have to leave for a while. She said to me, “you have to go. The  problems there are worse than mine.”

Tonight I will drive to Kennedy Airport in New York with Conan Conaboy. We cannot fly to Haiti tomorrow, so we will fly to Santo Domingo. Kieran and Vern Conaway will meet us there, and Robin from Chicago. We will drive to Haiti together to see how we can help.

I know there is extensive damage at our new hospital, that the perimeter walls of all three of our Tabarre programs have fallen. I know there is damage to the hospital walls.

I also know there is severe damage at the old hospital in Petionville.

Lets pray everyone is alright.

I have heard that everyone at the orphanage in Kenscoff is OK.

I will not arrive until Thursday morning, since the border between Domican Republic and Haiti will be closed when we arrive tomorrow. We will find the best way to keep you informed and let you know how you can help.

Let’s stay bound together in friendship and prayer.

God bless us all. especially the suffering people of Haiti, and my dear mother, Gerri Frechette.

Fr Rick Frechette

Manise plays with Ron and Ronni before being discharged from the Hospital

On October 15, Manise in good spirits and health, was discharged from the hospital to begin her recovery by the beach with Ron and Ronni Pruhs. We are so pleased that the smiling girl above will have a second chance at life thanks to the Sunrise Rotary Club of Marco Island Florida and their participation in the Rotary Club International’s Gift of Life Program. In addition to Manise, the club has sponsored seven other children for life-saving surgeries and has provided them with scholarships for school once they return(ed) to Haiti.

In just a few short weeks, Manise should be well enough to return home to her family who are anxiously awaiting her arrival.

Thank you to everyone who has come together to care for this little girl!

Beautiful Girl!

With the physical therapy team

Ronnie update 10/15/09:

Manise is out of intensive care, on the pediatric floor and is doing VERY well. The people who cared for her in the CICU and before continue to be amazed. So are we. We are developing a good rapport and affection for her. She is a charmer for sure.

We are discovering a few things. She threw a tantrum yesterday because she believes she can’t walk. She might have surprised herself because she cried and yelled and didn’t collapse or have a seizure. One of the doctors and I explained to her that there is nothing wrong with her legs, and that the doctor repaired her heart. She walks with Ron and me, but she’s not always happy about it. Some of it may be pain related, but she really has very little pain, and it is alleviated by Tylenol.

The cardiologists are saying she could be released by the end of the week.  We went to Longboat Key yesterday and checked out the condo. It’s a really nice place with lots of room.  The only thing between us and the Gulf of Mexico is the swimming pool.

An update from Ronni:

Today we had a consult with physical and occupational therapies.  Because Manise hasn’t been active for most of her life, we are helping her muscles to be worked and stretched.  The attatched picture is of the PT-OT “team”.  They gave us some hints about activities for her. The projection is for her to be in the hospital for another week, if all continues to go well.

Today we have been blessed with such wonderful news!  Manise, our little cardiac surgical patient, sat up for two hours, drank some apple juice, ate Cheerios, and was aware enough to complain about the cold American air conditioning. And according to Ronni Pruhs, one of her generous surrogate caregivers, “She has had a few visitors and has more bubbles and stuffed toys than she’ll ever need.”

To give you a little history, Manise is an 8-year-old girl who first came to St. Damien one year ago. She was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect that required her to be on oxygen 24 hours a day. Unfortunately, this meant that she could not leave the hospital until a life saving surgery could be performed. The necessary operation is complicated and could only be performed outside of Haiti. Earlier this summer, through the help of Sister Judy Dohner, St. Damien’s surgical director, Manise was accepted as a Gift of Life Child through the Marco Island Florida Rotary Club and was scheduled to have surgery on October 1^st. Little Manise has been blessed by so many generous organizations and individuals who have stepped up to donate what they could. St. Joseph Children’s Hospital in Tampa, Florida where the operation was performed, has donated all their services related to the surgery. The Ronald McDonald House, which is such a strong support system for families all around the US, is hosting Ron and Ronni free of charge while Manise is in the hospital and the condo where Manise will recover has been donated by an anonymous samaritan from Wisconsin. In addition, American Airlines, Naples Oxygen Company and the Miami fire department have all worked together to ensure that Manise has oxygen through her flight and on her way to the hospital.

Unfortunately, the day before the surgery, Manise coded once during the insertion of a cardiac catheter then a second time later that evening. The doctors feared that she would not survive the surgery so she was kept in a medically induced coma to save the little strength her heart had left.

Manise did have surgery as scheduled and her heart was fully repaired; however she remained in critical condition for many days afterward. Wednesday, we received the good news that Manise was breathing on her own and her heart was strong! She improves every day and could be discharged from the hospital as soon as Monday. She will then stay for four to six weeks in a condo on Marco Island Florida with the St. Damien dental team, Ron and Ronni Pruhs. Ron and Ronni have been coming to Haiti from their home in Wisconsin for over 15 years extracting teeth and filling cavities and have are now generously donating their time to care for Manise while she recovers from the operation.

We are so grateful that this little girl will finally have a chance at a healthy life. It is only through many generous people, however, that the surgery was a success. St. Damien Hospital and Manise’s family extend our sincere gratitude to everyone mentioned above as well as the dozens of other contributors who made this operation a success.

My name is Erin Kloos and I am a returning volunteer to NPFS and St. Damien Hospital. I would like to introduce myself as the new main author of this blog as I will be responsible for its content over the next year.

I first arrived in Haiti in October of 2007 and spent the following year working and living in Tabarre at St. Damien Hospital. As of my return to Haiti almost two weeks ago, I am delighted to see many positive changes at the hospital and within the organization. New health-related educational programs have been instituted, beautiful new flowering shrubs have been planted on the hospital grounds and Kay Germaine, the therapy program for special needs children is fully up and running. Unfortunately, there are a couple faces that are missing from St. Damien, but that is to be expected in a hospital…I suppose.

When I was still new in Haiti, Kennens was already a “regular” at St. Damien. He had battled cancer for many months but unfortunately his disease was not curable. One night I was playing cards with Kennens when a pair of shy eyes and crater-deep dimples peeked around the corner. It took some coaxing, but 8-year old Sebastien, the newest resident of Kay Mango (AKA the cancer ward) eventually joined us for a game of Casino

Sebastien warmed to me but remained bashful until one night when he surprised all of us, his mother included. He and Kennens had both just returned for a treatment trip to the Dominican Republic and as it was also Kennens’s 15^th birthday, I baked a cake in celebration. Sebastien provided the entertainment with his expert dance moves and his unique renditions of “Happy Birthday.” It was like he was a brand new kid, still sweet but with no inhibition. At one point, he even stopped his dancing to suavely steal a kiss on my cheek – a move he repeated a few times in the months to follow.

It wasn’t until he left the hospital the next day that I learned that after eight weeks of surgeries and radiation treatment, Sebastien was a failure to treat. Like Kennens, his case was terminal

I have met a few other children in the hospital who seem to live as uninhibitedly as Sebastien did. Unfortunately, they too had close relationships with death.

Five months after I returned home, Sebasiten passed away. Only three months later, Kennens lost his battle as well.

I loved these two boys and I am happy that they both received the best care possible at St. Damien Hospital. In spite of our loss, it is a comfort to know that they both died in clean beds with caring staff fighting for their lives. I take inspiration from Kennens and Sebastien and so have assembled a video of the two best dancers I have ever known. You can watch my short, amateur video above.

~Erin