Helping out in Haiti

Local doctors treat victims of the earthquake, By Susan Wilinski It started with a desire to help people who have lost everything. Dr. Atif Malik, a physiatrist at the Specialty Surgical Center in Sparta, knew through personal experience the damage earthquakes leave after the tremors have ceased. He spent time in Pakistan with Todd Shea, director of Comprehensive Disaster Relief Services, in 2005 after an earthquake. “We were hoping to provide medical care to patients, and I think we accomplished this,” Malik said of the group he recruited which included his nurse, Amy Wedderman, LPN; Nilay Shah, M.D., neurologist; Amer Syed, M.D., internal medicine; Saima Malik, volunteer and photographer; Mohammed Elkersh, M.D., anesthesiologist; and Sherif Algendy, M.D., anesthesiologist, who work with him at and The Orthopedic Institute in Hackettstown. Malik made plans to leave on Feb. 5. Wedderman organized donations and medical supplies the team would bring. “Hackettstown Hospital requisitioned $2,000 for supplies that included things like gowns, needles, tongue depressors and antibiotics and Physician Sales and Services donated supplies,” Wedderman said. They flew to the Dominican Republic where they had to spend their first night, because the borders were temporarily shut down following the arrest of 10 American citizens accused of kidnapping. They drove all the next day to get to their destination. Upon arriving, the group dropped off their gear and headed directly to the hospital. That would set the tone for the next four days. They worked at the hospital during the evening, and a clinic during the day. “We saw patients with general medical health problems like diabetes and dehydration, but we also saw malaria, tetanus, infections and lacerations,” Malik said. “We also provided anesthesia for two patients who most likely would have died.” The conditions under which they were working were unlike any Wedderman had experienced or could have imagined. “There were oscillating fans for ventilation,” she said of the hospital, which had two “operating rooms” separated by a concrete wall that didn’t reach the ceiling. “There was so much dust and no sterility. As a nurse, it comes naturally to me to be an advocate for the patient. There was a 15-year-old girl who needed to be catheterized. She didn’t speak any English, and I don’t speak French. The interpreter was male, and there is no privacy. Something so basic, yet nonexistent.” “Port-au-Prince was a city that looked like it had been flattened by a large bomb,” Malik said. “Most of the buildings were destroyed and there were thousands of makeshift tents.” Despite the extreme heat, rubble, dust and plethora of medical conditions that needed to be treated, both Wedderman and Malik were moved by the spirit they saw. “They are very resilient people who are very sweet people,” Malik said. “They are like all of us, I think, but had very little to begin with. Our whole group was very grateful for having the opportunity to help these unfortunate people.” Dr. Burak Alptekin, MD, from the Specialty Surgical Center in Sparta went to Haiti the week before Dr. Malik and group. His practice is also at The Orthopedic Institute. For more information on Comprehensive Disaster Relief Services and how to donate, contact Todd Shea at toddshea@cdrspakistan.org.

We lost a man on our first night. Tons of people come to the hospital with one person. When he passed, the men surrounded him and said the Lord’s Prayer and sang ‘How Great Thou Art’ in French. They shook every hand, saying ‘God bless you. You couldn’t save my son, but may God give you the strength to save others.’ That’s what keeps you going.” Amy Wedderman, LPN