Reflections on the January 12th Earthquake

Dr. Ernest Desir

In the late afternoon on that day, I was in a house made of concrete when I felt the walls trembling. First, I thought it was a heavy-weight truck that was passing by. As the vibrations became stronger, I realized it was an earthquake so I started walking towards the bedroom, but after hesitating for a few seconds, I decided to run outside.
   

The destroyed hospital in Jacmel

There, the air was thick with dust so I assumed several houses must have collapsed and I went to St Michel hospital, the main hospital in the South-East. It was around 6pm. On my way there, I met Dr Gaston Deslouches who was covered in dust. He was also going to the hospital; the house where he was working was destroyed. I also saw a 22-year-old man lying on the ground, covered in blood, his left arm fractured. We immobilized the arm and called the hospital’s ambulance, which arrived promptly. When I arrived in front of the hospital, I was surrounded by two dozens injured people who were crying for help. Some had fractured limbs; others were injured and covered in blood. We were not ready for such a catastrophe; we had no knowledge, no medical supplies or personnel. Since I was the only one in front of the hospital, I asked the ambulance driver to use his megaphone to call out for doctors, nurses, auxiliaries, private or public, to come to the hospital. I started checking up and talking to the injured people. I reduced limb fractures using pieces of cardboard, wood or anything that could immobilize the fractured or deformed limb. People were screaming from every direction.
   

Left: PROFAMIL's Medical Director in Jacmel, Dr. Ernest Desir

I thought I was the only doctor there, surrounded by victims of the quake so I decided to go get help inside the hospital, that’s when I realized that a dozen staff members were already helping more than a hundred victims lying on the floor, some injured, some with fractures, some already dead. Some were patients from the hospital that were evacuated because some services such as maternity, internal medicine and surgery were completely destroyed. A man covered in dust pulled my arm and lead me to his wife who was 32 weeks pregnant, who was lying on the floor. When I examined her, she had already passed away. We spent all night taking care of similar cases, minor and major injuries, multiple traumas, open or closed fractures, pronouncing deaths. We took care of these people as best as we could. Note that there was no orthopedist-traumatologist and that it was difficult to take on cases that were outside of our specialties. Moreover, the operating room was not in working conditions because of the earthquake, the only road leading to the capital from Jacmel was completely blocked due to rockslides. We had to contact a private hospital in the area (Centre Hospitalier Christian Martinez) and the director agreed to lend us the operating room for our injured.

Clients awaiting services at a PROFAMIL mobile clinic in Jacmel.

On February 13, the day following the quake, we started amputating, debriding the wounds, etc. The injured were staying under makeshift tents, made out of pieces of wood and sheets. This lasted about 4-5 days, and then international help came, first the Americans then the Canadians and Doctors Without Borders. The Cubans were already there, even before the catastrophe. At this moment, following the fall of leadership within the Haitian government, it is DWB that runs the hospital, with the help of the Haitian medical staff.

The population in the South-East as well as the West is still in shock. We still feel aftershocks. Little by little, we go back to the houses that are still standing, but only by the day; at night, everyone avoids being inside them. Some NGOs have distributed some tents but there aren’t enough for everybody. Many people still sleep in cars or makeshift tents.

The tent which serves as the new wing of the hospital

Currently, many organizations provide health care under fixed tents or through mobile units. PROFAMIL’s clinics in Jacmel and Port-au-Prince were destroyed. We have created a mobile unit that roams the outskirts where the population was most affected, in the South-East. We have installed a 90m² tent [968 square feet] in the middle of Jacmel in order to keep providing FP services such as prenatal consultations, gynecological care, lab work, etc., until we find an appropriate building for the clinic.

Little by little, life resumes its course in Jacmel.