Photos

Advertisement

Two Lehigh Acres men have returned to Lehigh after delivering some 21,000 pounds of medical supplies to several hospitals in Haiti. The items were donated by HMA Inc., which operates the Lehigh Regional Medical Center and 50 or more other hospitals owned by the firm headquartered in Naples.

Chris Rakunas, the chief financial officer at Lehigh Regional Medical Center, and Dr. Stephen Schroering, a Lehigh orthopedic surgeon, rode in a cargo plane to Port-au-Prince to deliver the much needed medical supplies. They arrived back in Lehigh last week.

"We took everything that could be needed to help the victims of Haiti," Rakunas said. "And it seemed to be very much appreciated by the doctors there who have been asking for all kinds of supplies."

Rakunas and Schroering slept at an orphanage complex for the few nights they were there. It is a six-acre complex which includes a church and is operated by Harvest Word Missions, of which Schroering is the medical director.

Trips to Haiti are not new to Schroering who spends much time during the year, along with other volunteering physicians and medical personnel, helping out in Haiti. When the Jan. 12 earthquake rocked Port-au-Prince, it left as many as 200,000 or more people dead and Schroering thinks the quake may become one of the worst natural disasters in history.

LRMC's Rakunas went along to help with logistics and delivering the 21,000 pounds of medical supplies.

"We were flown there by Nation Air Cargo which charged nothing for the flight. Rakunas said he and Schroering sat in the cockpit of the large cargo plane.

Once the plane landed, Rakunas said the U.S. Air Force unloaded the 20,000 pounds of medical supplies.

"It took them 45 minutes and then the plane took off to make room for other planes coming in with supplies," Rakunas said. He went on to explain that skids of supplies were placed on even larger skids and taken out to a wide field area near the airport for storage.

"It was quite a site to look out into the field and see acres of skids filled with all types of supplies," he said.

The two men got a ride to the orphanage of which Schroering volunteers. Rakunas said he met the woman who operated the orphanage and compared her to Mother Teresa because of her love and kindness for the children.

Once there, Schroering set up a makeshift hospital in a church on the campus of the orphanage.

There he treated children who had broken limbs and other ailments such as dehydration.

The next morning, Rakunas said he and Schroering returned to the airport in Port-au-Prince to retrieve the medical supplies and have them put in trucks for delivery to at least six hospitals treating the victims of the quake.

"We were able to spot our skids of supplies but when he got a ride on a golf car out there, we found that our supplies were being loaded on a small truck," he said. "I think they had made a mistake, but we made sure they understood that these supplies belonged to us and we were there to load them on trucks to distribute for quake victims." Rakunas is at least six feet tall and his presence likely convinced the would-be takers of the supplies that they need to leave them be and according to Rakunas, the men left without incident.

The supplies were taken to six hospitals and Rakunas said the doctors and medical people were happy to have them.

"Our hospitals had contributed a lot of medically needed things such as IV bags, and a lot of them, and these were of great demand," he said. "We took all kinds of medications with us, too."

While in Haiti, Rakunas and Schroering were able to drive down some of the streets of Port-au-Prince. It was a sight that neither will ever forget. Rakunas said most of the city was destroyed. He also noted the first time in his life that he detected what Schroering explained was the smell of death.

During the few days they were there, Rakunas found himself assisting Schroering in helping out at some of the medical facilities.

"He was a great help to me," said Schroering. "He helped as we put splints on arms and legs."

When the first arrived at the orphanage where Schroering comes to help during the year, they noted that the only damage was that a part of the church's roof had been damaged. And yet within a block, Schroering said several children were killed and injured due to the quake.

"All of our children were okay and so was Miriam Frederick who runs the orphanage," he said.

Rakunas said the financial assistance and other items brought to Lehigh Regional Medical Center by the public was also being sent to Haiti for relief, but were not included in the 21,000 pounds of medical supplies donated by LRMC and its HMA member hospitals.

Schroering said he will be going back before the end of the month. He noted that there is a great need for physical therapists. Going along with him will be local medical personnel who will donate their time helping quake victims, too.

While there, the two men visited hospitals in the western part of the island nation. There, an old woman, who said she was the grandmother of the small child she held, handed over the child to Schroering and said the child's mother had been killed in the quake and the father was not known. She told Schroering she wasn't able to take care of the child due to her age and physical condition Schroering took the baby back to the orphanage, where it received much needed medical attention.

For Rakunas, the sight of the devastation reminded him of what he has seen on TV of war-torn Germany when American troops marched into Berlin. "It was surreal," he said.

He also said it was eerie at night in Port-au-Prince with hardly anyone in the city because the survivors are living in tent cities in the parks and on the edges of the city. Many of them are living under makeshift blankets and sheets because of the need for tents, he said.

Facebook  MySpace  Digg  Stumble    Mixx  Fark  del.icio.us   LiveSpaces

Member Comments

View Comments: | Post a comment

No comments posted for this article.

You must first login before you can comment.