As soon as the earthquake hit Haiti, images swirled through the media. Everywhere I looked, photos and videos of grief-stricken and injured people stared back at me. There’s no doubt that the earthquake left the Haitians in a living nightmare. But what I hadn’t seen until now was the amazing resilience and hope in the midst of all the rubble and despair.
Two Children’s trauma nurses, Tiffany Morgan and Heather Rubin, traveled with Compassion International to Haiti 10 days after the earthquake hit. Their raw footage and stories reveal the true nature of the Haitians – a courageous group of people determined to survive.
A stark difference
Every year at Children’s, about 14,000 injured children arrive at the hospital within minutes after their traumas occurred. Each child has a dedicated team who gives them immediate attention.
Tiffany and Heather found the Haitians in a completely different scenario. Instead of minutes or even hours after the traumas, they had been living for two weeks without pain medication or any kind of treatment. Our nurses’ intervention saved people’s limbs and, in some cases, their lives.
Watch Tiffany talk about the difference between serving as a nurse in Haiti and at Children’s and why she felt prepared: