In his second blog post, Alex Cottin writes about Merlin's response a week after the earthquake.
Amputations, bodies piled up on the streets, a decaying leg found on the street, the pungent smell of infection and death, crying children in severe pain: without doubt, today was a very long and difficult day.
Gerard, our driver, shared his story with me, one of thousands played out across this tiny Caribbean island. In the wake of the earthquake, Gerard’s father had to amputate his wife’s leg with a machete to save her life.
I will be blunt: the situation in Haiti feels at times apocalyptic. And there is so much work to be done.
I woke up early, eager to push ahead at the clinic Merlin established at Delmas 33, one of the worst hit areas of Port-au-Prince. As there is no health infrastructure to speak of, our work is significant here and Micaela Serafini, our medical coordinator, is working as a doctor, running triage clinics and treating wounded patients. The rest of the surgical team and close to 5 tons of medical supplies are scheduled to arrive later today. There are so many tasks to do and all team members - from surgeons and medics, to logisticians and team leaders - have so many different hats to wear.
Richard, our surgical team leader pointed out that the medical focus has shifted from mostly lower limb trauma to dealing with infected wounds – a complication that is, under normal circumstances, easily treatable or preventable. Today, Richard treated a number of wounded and injured survivors, old and young. We met a young boy with both of his tiny feet amputated sitting next to an elder man whose hand had been badly crushed, with fingers so infected, they’d swollen to the size of a baby’s forearm. Without doubt, Richard’s skills were indispensable today and Merlin is doing what we do best – saving lives in times of crisis.
As the day comes to a close, the story of Gerard’s parents haunts me, as do the bodies and injured survivors on the streets. I simply cannot put into words the magnitude of this devastation. I crawl into bed, tired, but grateful to the incredibly kind hotel manager who’s allowed us to pitch our tents on the hotel terrace.
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