Voices From Haiti: ‘I Cannot Hold Anymore’

“Mwen pa ka kenbe anko” means “I cannot hold anymore” in Creole.

That was the phrase Linda* kept repeating as she supported her belly with her hand. In her 42nd week of pregnancy, Linda was at home when the 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti at 8:30 in the morning on August 14. The earthquake completely destroyed her house in Pestel, leaving her with no place to deliver the baby, so she made her way 21 miles to Beaumont in search of help.

Linda was the first patient we saw at the St. Agnes Clinic, where we had come to assess the clinic’s needs and see how we, Project HOPE, could support them. Soon, we discovered that there was only one nurse for the entire facility, which already had nine patients waiting.

Dr. Jouvens from Project HOPE was on site with us and decided to consult with patients while we waited for the clinic’s medical doctor and administrator — the only doctor available in Beaumont since the earthquake, serving a city of 13,000 people.

Dr. Jouvens started with Linda and immediately discovered that she should have delivered already.

Cora Nally, a member of Project HOPE’s Emergency Response Team, contacted the U.S. Coast Guard to evacuate Linda to Les Cayes General Hospital. Immediately after, another patient was brought to us who had been buried under rocks since the day of the earthquake and was found by his friend after being reported missing. Dr. Jouvens immediately rushed to the emergency while Cora worked to confirm the number of patients for transfer and the team scrambled to manage where the helicopter must land and who could help.

We finally received some backup when another doctor arrived from the clinic to support us, and we managed to find a soccer field for the landing 10 minutes from the clinic. While Cora remained on the phone coordinating and managing the transfer, a third emergency case showed up: a young woman who suffered a traumatic blow to her hips by a falling concrete block.

It was 1:05 p.m. when the USCG helicopter showed up to our makeshift landing pad. As the helicopter landed, a crowd of more than 100 people showed up, hoping that it was bringing food and water for distribution.

Suddenly, the logistics to ensure the safety and priority of our patients were complicated. Between having to transport the three of them to the helicopter in a tap-tap (public transport vehicles used in Haiti) and managing the growing crowd, this was the biggest challenge we had to face.

With the help of volunteers at the clinic, the landslide survivor’s friend who brought him to the hospital, Dr. Jouvens, and the Project HOPE driver, we were able to make a safe route through the crowd and evacuate all three patients to the helicopter. At 1:25 p.m., they finally left, on their way to Hospital General des Cayes, so they can receive proper care.

*Patient’s name changed for privacy.

Obenson Amazan worked with Project HOPE’s Emergency Response Team in Haiti during our response to the devastating August 14 earthquake. To learn more about our response and how you can help, click here.