I was surprised to read this article today. I know Big Dave and saw him quite often at Bernard Mevs/Project Medishare Hospital. Pray for healing for Big Dave so that he can return to the work that he loves doing. I was also at the hospital when they brought in the driver for a French journalist a few weeks ago. That man died of his wounds. Pray that the police and UN form a stronger presence in the Airport Rd/La Piste/Delmas 2 areas.
Karen
AMERICAN WORKING IN HAITI CLINGS TO LIFE AFTER ROBBERY ATTEMPT
(Sacramento Bee) - By Adam H. Beasley
MIAMI - Bernard Mevs Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, couldn't survive without people like Dave Bompart, a gregarious do-gooder from Ohio known to doctors and nurses by his nickname: Big Dave.
But Big Dave is now the one in need of care after he was shot in the abdomen three days ago during a robbery attempt outside a nearby bank, where he had just withdrawn money to buy food for Haitian orphans. Bompart survived the original attack Tuesday afternoon, holding the wound together as he walked a block to Mevs, but has spent the last three days fighting off death both there and at Miami's Ryder Trauma Center.
Brazen thieves fired multiple rounds at Bompart, striking him once in the torso before fleeing without any money. Bompart, 50 of Columbus, underwent two emergency surgeries in Haiti before medics airlifted him to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
As of Friday afternoon, he remained in critical condition, without any noticeable improvement. Many of the same University of Miami doctors that had once worked alongside Bompart in creating Haiti's only trauma hospital are now trying desperately to save him.
"It's extremely painful not to be able to talk to him," said wife Nicolle, speaking to reporters Friday. "But he knows that I love him. There's nothing that's been left unsaid."
Dr. Nicholas Namias, Ryder's top trauma surgeon, wouldn't speculate on Bompart's chances of survival, saying only that the patient was on life support and was "very, very sick."
Despite Bompart's high-profile and jarring attack, robberies outside of Haitian banks have, for the most part, been rare. Compared to other countries with high crime rates, Haiti remains relatively safe.
But with the ongoing high unemployment and deteriorating social conditions, there is anecdotal evidence of crime being up. Last year, a young radio journalist was killed outside a bank in a similar ambush. A few weeks ago, the chauffeur of a French radio journalist stuck in traffic near the international airport was killed in a robbery attempt.
More so than robberies, however, fears have centered around kidnappings, where in recent months kidnappers were killing victims even after ransoms were paid.
Not surprisingly, her husband's safety has been a worry for Nicolle Bompart ever since he relocated to Haiti following the country's devastating 2010 earthquake. The couple knew the dangers involved in his charity work, but Dave always believed it was worth the risk, his wife said.
Both lost their first spouses to premature deaths, and Big Dave - a veteran of the Trinidad and Tobago military who also spent time working for the United Nations - believed it was his calling to help people who have experienced a similar tragedy. In 2009, the Bomparts established Eyes Wide Open International, a religious-based non-profit aimed at helping the poor.
And so, when the earthquake struck two years ago, he was on a plane to the impoverished nation within two weeks.
Once on the ground, Bompart hooked up with University of Miami's Project Medishare, a joint initiative with American and Haitian doctors at Bernard Mevs dedicated to providing comprehensive health and development services. He ran Medishare's logistics operation for a time, before creating an orphanage on the island. The couple also adopted a 14-year-old Haitian boy who lost his parents in the disaster.
"He's a huge person in every sense, but his heart is bigger than his body," said Dr. Barth Green, Project Medishare's co-founder.
In a bittersweet twist, Bompart was at a bank withdrawing money to feed hungry kids Tuesday when at least one assailant approached him and opened fire. A bullet struck Bompart, who Nicolle lovingly called "a bit out of shape," in the lower chest. Doctors believe his ample natural insulation might have helped save his life, as none of his vital organs was fatally injured. Squeezing together the wound, he rushed to Bernard Mevs, located just a block away.
He has been mostly sedated ever since, although Nicolle said her husband of 14 years did respond the first time they were reunited.
"We know that God loves us, we know that no matter what the results are, He's going to use it for good," she said. "Honestly, if (Dave) was able to talk, he'd tell you he'd do it all over again."
(Staff writer Jacqueline Charles contributed to this report.)
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