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Medical Team Returns from Haiti

Fresno – A group of Valley residents saw firsthand the devastation and destruction in Port–Au–Prince, Haiti.

The team of doctors and nurses and support staff was in Haiti for a week, delivering medical supplies and treating patients. The Wheelchair Foundation flew them there, on a private plane. 

They describe what they saw as a war zone.

“From the moment we hit the ground, we were being escorted by the air force out of our plane, we were unable to leave airfields, sleeping on benches. People with machine guns walking with us from the hospital tent to where the x–rays are,” said Dr. Joaquin Arambula of his experience. 

They say the sick and wounded lined up to get treated in a tent. 

The group also delivered a batch of wheelchairs. 

“Wheelchair foundation is bringing about 5,000 over there. Of that 5,000 we brought 50, and just the 50 we brought, they were gold,” said Thomas Miller, a former Army medic who traveled with the group. 

He says the group had to be picky about who was given a wheelchair. 

One man who received one was paralyzed, and couldn’t move the entire right side of his body. 

“I found myself picking up and carrying him to his wheelchair and kissing him on his forehead because I was so touched.  Here’s a man who wasn’t able to move for 15 days.  The fact we were able to give him a wheelchair and some sense of normalcy. The most touching situation I’ve ever dealt with in medicine,” said Dr. Arambula. 

And despite the difficult conditions, this group says, they would gladly do it all over again. 

“In the near future, if they asked us, I’m sure all of us would jump at the opportunity to go,” said Miller. 

SOURCE: FOX 16 KMPH-Fresno

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Selma Medical Team Share Stories of Haiti

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A medical team from Selma just flew home from Port-au-Prince after volunteering there for the last week. This team is made up of three nurses, one doctor and a former army medic.

They’ve all seen gun shots, stabbings and assaults before but nothing prepared them for what they encountered once they got to their destination.

Inside Dr. Joaquin Arambula’s iPhone are 5 days worth of photos chronicling the mass destruction in Haiti and the affects on its inhabitants. “It’s going to take more than two days, two weeks, two years to fix the structures and issues that they are going to have,” he said.

Sunday afternoon Dr. Arambula and fellow nurses Jennifer Tarazon, Tamara Bryan and Tim Miller met in Northwest Fresno to wind down and reflect on what they saw in Port-au-Prince.

“We had a floor of 75 kids that were either amputations, waiting for amputations, dehydration and they actually had a death from tetanus,” said Tarazon.

Bryan added: “Things are in boxes laying around and the supplies you have to work with are far and few. You have to just rig things together and make your own equipment.”

“There’s no way this country will be anywhere near [where] it was, which it is still behind, in 30 years,” said Thomas Miller a former Army medic.

Miller said there was too much red tape keeping them from doing their jobs effectively. “I think there needs to be a non-government group that in some way creates a liaison that can somehow filter the right people to the right places,” he said.

The few times they were able to venture out they were under constant military guard.

“God bless our troops, those guys. Talk about the professionalism. Everything was amazing. We couldn’t have gone anywhere without them,” said Miller.

This group, which managed to survive off of 8 hours of sleep, said the memories of the children they met will stay with them forever.

“You’re taking care of a child and she’s trying to hug you and she only has one arm and you want to cry but she’s smiling and she’s laughing and she’s just thankful that you’re there,” said Tarazon:

“They need help. They need a lot of help. I would go back in a heart beat. Without even thinking twice about it,” said Bryan.

This group was able to donate 50 wheelchairs to people in need through the Wheelchair Foundation. They want to go back but they have to raise the money first… they say it costs thousands of dollars to ship supplies and themselves into the disaster area.

SOURCE: ABC 30 KFSN-Fresno

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Rotary Club of Freeport presents twelve wheelchairs to the Rand Memorial Hospital

FREEPORT, Grand Bahama — On Friday January 21st 2010, the Rotary Club of Freeport presented twelve new wheelchairs to the Rand Memorial Hospital.  This presentation is made possible through fund-raising efforts by the Rotary Club of Freeport and the Wheelchair Foundation.

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Photo L-R: Harlene Saunders; Dr. Lea Percentie; Harold ‘Sonny’ Waugh; Steve Gunn; Wilbur Major, Patsy Johnson (in chair); Sharon Williams (in chair); Mike Stafford and Richard Bates (Photo by Prescott Knowles)

The club’s wheelchair project has been ongoing for about twelve years and approximately 160 wheelchairs have been presented to deserving recipients on Grand Bahama and throughout the Abaco Cays.  In Grand Bahama, wheelchair recipients are generally provided with their chairs through the Northern Bahamas Council for the Disabled.

SOURCE: Bahama Islands Info

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New Fundraiser starting for planetohaiti.org

David Archuleta is listed as a Key Donor with the Charity Relief “Plane To Haiti”. David truly has a heart for helping others in need!

ANGELS FOR A CAUSE IS STARTING A SPECIAL FUNDRAISER,
DONATIONS THAT ARE MADE DIRECTLY TO PLANETOHAITI.ORG VIA THEIR WEBSITE FOR $10.00 DURING THE TIME FRAME 02/01/10 TO 02/28/10 WILL RECEIVE A SPECIAL GIFT FROM US.

Angels for a Cause will be hosting a ‘One month’ fundraiser to help bring much needed donations to this cause.
Many fans have already donated to this worthy cause, and we THANK YOU for any and all donations each of you have made to date.

Donations must be made directly at http://www.planetohaiti.org/ and you MUST email the confirmation receipt to

an***********@ya***.com











. We will mail your bracelet to the address listed on the receipt. Donations from 02/01/10 through 02/28/10 will receive an AFAC sky-blue awareness bracelet that reads David Archuleta/Prayer of the Children.

Mission Statement
This urgent humanitarian mission will serve the devastated people of Haiti to provide over three tons of medical supplies, doctors, and medical staff. The plane is being loaded and ready to be fueled. Government clearance has been granted to land, but the necessary funding has not yet been satisfied. Your donations will help this plane fly as soon as possible, with excess funds used for additional wheelchairs and relief supplies. No donation is too big or too small. Please help today! All donations will be handled by The Wheelchair Foundation.

SOURCE: Angels For a Cause

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2nd "Plane To Haiti" update from Charli Butterfield

Well, another very busy day for us on the ground in Ft. Lauderdale.  We are preparing for our 2nd flight to Port-au-Prince tomorrow.  I have been on the phone all day confirming the names and required paperwork for all the new doctors and nurses we are taking to Haiti tomorrow along with some people working for “Clean water for Haiti” and two missionaries.

Every seat on the plane is full, with people both going to Haiti and returning back home to resupply. We have filled our cargo compartments with more much needed medical supplies, donated by Medshare and SEIU.

Jeff Behring also called me today and said they have desperate needs for basics, such as children’s vitamins, aspirin, eye drops, etc., so the crew of the aircraft, Captain Phil VanderWilt, Carol VanderWilt, Tim Hablitzel and myself all went out and bought all that we could fit into the trunk of our car to bring down with us tomorrow.

We are also bringing the military personnel on the ground at the airport 20 more pizzas, soda and ice!  Wish us luck and we will be home tomorrow night!  The photo’s are of the crew loading the plane with medical supplies at the Ft. Lauderdale airport.

Charli Butterfield

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