Donations Needed to Ship Another 35 Beds to HSC

According to Handicap International there were an estimated 800,000 disable people in Haiti before the earthquake and estimated 2,000 to 6,000 people were left with some kind of disability by the earthquake. In response to the growing number of disabled people, HSC built a new prosthetic lab, which is now up and functioning. As of June 6, HSC staff and doctors were able to fit its first 6 patients. Another 80 patients with amputations are waiting to be fit, and volunteer prosthetists continue to actively train the Haitian staff in their skill.

The 100 Beds for Haiti's first shipment of 35 beds from Germany have made their way to Miami, Florida, and will be headed to Haiti this week! And it also means that we've reached a little more than 1/3rd of our goal of sending 100 beds to Haiti. In this same light, we were recently informed that there are an additional 35 beds in Germany, which have been donated from a few hospitals. In order to get these beds from a warehouse in Germany to Milot, Haiti, we need more donations to cover the shipping costs. If you haven't had an opportunity to donate, please visit our website www.100bedsforhaiti.com to send us your donation today!

Dr. Peter Kelly, President of Crudem/ Hopital Sacre Coeur recently shared with us this story while working at HSC last month:

At the last nightly meeting before I left I was told of a volunteer who recruited other volunteers and patients to go to the ICU and fix the hair and clean a young woman with a cervical spine injury who is paralyzed from the neck down. This poor woman has been in our ICU waiting for spinal surgery to stabilize her spine so she can be moved to a rehabilitation facility. It took 5 volunteers to stabilize her while a fellow patient cleaned and braided her hair. Other volunteers cleaned her legs and feet and massaged them with lotion. When they were finished they were rewarded with a beautiful smile from the patient that lit up the whole room. It was her first smile since arriving!!

HSC continues to receive critical patients, and again, the need for beds--not cots or make-shift beds-- is overwhelming for overall patient recovery. Whether to make new amputee patients more comfortable in their recovery, or support patients in both pre-operation and post-operation, real and stable beds will is an important link towards overall physical and psychological recovery.