Israel's Haiti field hospital: a microcosm of a country's turmoil 

By Natasha Mozgovaya
Haaretz 
Januray 18 ,20101

Port-Au-Prince - The Israeli field hospital in the earthquake-
stricken Haitian capital reflects the streets of the city, fluctuating 
between despair and hope amid the looting, violence and stories 
of miracles. Each account takes on great importance against the 
background of the earthquake that devastated the Western 
hemisphere's poorest country. 

A baby around 18 months old lies on a bed in intensive care. 
She was admitted with an open sore and a massive infection 
throughout her body. The respirator shakes her every time it 
forces air into her. She has already been resuscitated a few times, 
and the team is not optimistic. 

In the children's ward, located in a tent, is a baby under 
a year old; someone left him here after he was pulled out of 
the rubble Sunday morning. He has open sores on his leg and 
does not make a sound except for a slight chirping when the 
doctor checks his leg. The doctors say he is in shock. 
 
"His condition is stable and pretty good considering what he's 
been through. He'll get antibiotics and surgery on the leg - 
it's a rare case of survival; apparently he was in an air pocket," 
says Dr. Assaf Amit, who heads the children's emergency 
department. "When he came here his condition was 
life-threatening." 

His parents aren't here - perhaps they are dead - but the 
Israeli nurses caress him and give him a warm bottle of milk. 
"Apparently it's genetic, the ability to survive - he was lying 
in the rubble without food for five days," says Gali Wiest, 
the delegation's head nurse. 

"We were shocked by the sights, and the nurses here 
have to cope with providing nursing care - it's a third-world 
country," she says. "I have four children myself and 
I was an emergency-room nurse, but the sights here 
are very difficult and you need a lot of mental fortitude. 
We've already taken in 87 children, most in moderate to 
serious condition; there have been a few operations and 
amputations, and they keep coming." 

But no one stays for long. The hospital has a two-week 
mandate - nothing compared to the time it takes to 
recover from complex injuries. 

"We're all thinking about the fact that we discharge them 
into the street, in effect, because they have no home," 
says Dr. Avi Yitzhak. "But you have to make the right 
decision: Either you take in 40 people and treat them 
for two weeks or you try to save as many as possible 
to at least stop the primary injury." 

Yitzhak immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia in 1991 and 
says he feels a special connection to the patients here. 
He says he knows the problems of practicing medicine 
in the developing world. 

"There's no organized network of clinics here, there's 
nowhere to discharge them to and we have to treat 
as many people as possible, as long as it's still possible 
to save them," Yitzhak says. 

"When I went out on rescue yesterday I saw what was 
happening in the streets, the bodies, the people who 
didn't know what to do. It's obvious that the work is 
very intensive and I assume that we could burn out 
at a certain stage. But for now we're full of energy and 
we're thrilled by our ability to help." 

Willsmith Joseph, 9, had surgery Saturday to amputate 
his toes, which had developed gangrene. Sunday morning 
he was in a deep sleep in the children's ward. His older 
brother knelt beside him. They will have to leave before 
noon. The nurse gives him two packets of antibiotics and 
some acetaminophen and tries to explain in English 
when to take them. 

"Where are you going?," I ask the older boy. 
"We have no place to go. To the tent encampment," 
he says. "Our house was ruined." Willsmith's face 
contorts in pain as he walks with his new crutches. 

"Had we not amputated his toes the gangrene would have 
spread and he would have died within days," 
Dr. Yitzhak explains. "Yes, it hurts, and there's an 
infection, but he'll live. It's a drop in the ocean, and it's 
frustrating, but we have to do the maximum to help as 
many people as possible." 

Most of the wounds are infected and neglected - some 
people were pulled out of the rubble after being trapped 
for a few days, others simply couldn't get to a hospital 
or were turned away. Max Darlene Azur, 29, came to 
the Israeli hospital with open wounds on both sides of 
her leg. For four days she shouted and writhed in pain 
in the town square. The bodies of two of her cousins 
were still inside her home. 

"I was in my room, and the wall simply collapsed onto 
my leg. But now I feel much better," she says. 

The hospital also had its first birth Sunday. 
Jeanne-Michelle was brought in with labor pains and 
delivered a beautiful boy, her fourth child. Jeanne-Michelle 
sits indifferent most of the time, but when she says 
her newborn's name - Israel - a broad smile spreads 
across her face. "I feel fine," she says. She will be 
discharged within a few hours, to make room for 
other deliveries. 

"It's very symbolic," Dr. Dar Shir says. "In a place 
where even without the disaster infant mortality is 
among the highest in the world and most women 
don't give birth in hospitals, the best experts in Israel 
delivered her baby. It's very moving, and balances out 
a little the things that are happening here, and reminds 
us that a woman who is ready to give birth will do so 
even when there's an earthquake. It's what keeps the 
human race going. Of course it's a problem to 
discharge them under these conditions, but at least 
she delivered safely and both mother and baby are 
in excellent condition." 

According to the field hospital's commander, Dr. Itzik Kreis, 
"Throughout the night we continued to deal with saving lives; 
we received a number of patients in very poor shape 
who needed surgery and intensive care. 

"For now the other medical teams don't have the ability 
to provide more than first aid. We are focusing on saving 
lives," says Colonel Kreis. "Most of the injuries are a result 
of the earthquake, but in a few days the situation can 
change and regular patients will start to come in as well." 

How to donate via Israeli organizations: 

Foreign Ministry: 
Tel (+972) 2-659-4222 

ZAKA: 
Online at https://www.zaka.us/haiti.asp 
Or via bank account: 
Zaka-International 
Bank of Jerusalem 
Branch # 30 
18 Keren Hayesod, Jerusalem, Israel 
Account No: 300060134 
Swift Code: JERSILIT 

Magen David Adom: 
Magen David Adom Trumot Lakaribim 
Israel Discount Bank 
Branch # 151 
Yad Eliahu, Tel Aviv 
Account No: 17926