I met an orthopedic medical team at Epi Dor several months ago that was working at the Adventist Hospital. Dr. Nelson of Cure International set up an orthopedics department there after the earthquake. Now the couple we met at Epi Dor is coming to Haiti for a year to take over the program. Pray for their efforts and preparations. Their blog site is: Caribbean Orthopedics http://caribbeanortho.blogspot.com/ and www.caribbeanortho.com.
A DOCTOR HEADS OUT TO HAITI ON A MEDICAL MISSION
(Post-Crescent) - By Kara Patterson
During short medical mission trips to Haiti in April and August, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Terry Dietrich and his wife, Jeannie, a retired nurse, cared for many patients whose injuries and conditions predated the island nation's January earthquake.
Among those patients was a 9-year-old girl whose neighbor had brought her to Hopital Adventiste d'Haiti (HAH), where the Appleton couple was working, to see if a doctor could correct the severe growth deformity that was causing her to become bowlegged.
"I'm amazed, there is this neighbor man, not even her family, and he brings her six hours to Port-au-Prince to see if some care can be given, not even knowing," said Terry Dietrich, 64, who has spent 39 years contributing time to medical missions — most often with his wife at his side — in developing countries such as Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Romania, El Salvador and a handful of African nations. "I said, of course, we can take care of her, and (the neighbor) started crying. It's things like this that really affected Jeannie and me, to see the hearts the Haitian people have for their own people and knowing we can take care of people like this."
When Terry's friend and orthopedics colleague, Dr. Scott Nelson, who had developed HAH from a small general hospital into a specialized center for orthopedic care after the earthquake, asked Terry to return to Haiti and run the hospital upon Nelson's scheduled departure, the Appleton couple agreed after careful consideration. They couldn't let the opportunities for orthopedic care for Haitians of all income levels leave the country with Nelson.
The couple leaves for Haiti later this month to begin a yearlong commitment to HAH. Terry has scheduled two-week visits to Wisconsin so he can see Fox Cities patients in February, March, June, July and September.
"The poor people (of Haiti) really haven't had a good hospital to go to through the years," said Terry, who plans to return next November to his practice full time at ThedaCare Orthopedics Plus. "That has changed now with the earthquake. There is only one hospital in Port-au-Prince that wasn't severely damaged, and it was this little hospital owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. With the needs of all the earthquake victims ... the hospital became known as the place to go for your orthopedic care. That is why we decided to put a year of our lives into this project. The Haitians now have something they have never had before."
The Dietrichs are combining their year of overseas service with a fundraising project and have begun efforts to raise at least $500,000 to start a charitable fund for the hospital.
"Many people come and they are impressed and they are inspired to do something ... sometimes coming back for second trips," said Nelson, now a full-time faculty member at Loma Linda University, a Seventh-day Adventist health sciences university that helps support HAH. "There's just not that many people who are willing to give up everything. Terry and Jeannie saw the benefit in making a major sacrifice. He is highly skilled and a very versatile orthopedic surgeon who can adapt to the situation like few other people could."
While in Haiti, Terry plans to help train Haitian medical personnel and also to put the mechanics in motion for the hospital to become financially sustainable.
"It's very apparent that the subsidies will stop," he said. "So how do we deal with that? My goal is twofold. The need is first of all to attract Haitians who can pay for their services there and providing the services for those Haitians so the hospital can have a revenue flow that can keep the hospital open, keep paying the bills ... and then we have an institution where the volunteers can come in and provide services at minimal cost to the indigent patients."
Jeannie, 61, said she is eager to help in whatever way she can.
"The Haitian people are incredible people," she said. "These people wait hours and hours and sometimes their surgery has to be put off. They don't complain. They are just so delighted that someone is there to help them, and they help each other. You can't help but have a desire to be involved with something like that."
The couple treasures photographs of Haitian patients who are on their way to recovery, including the young girl, who is standing inches taller after surgery and is relearning how to walk.
"This sort of work is just magical for the people who are involved in it," Terry said.
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