Spring Update

Meet Mikelson. He is very pleased to meet you. You saved his life.

MikelsonMikelson’s mother Betiane couldn’t have been more amazed and delighted by the birth of her son. He meant the world to her. Despite the unrelenting hardships of Haitian life, she toiled away to make a loving home for her precious child. But, the food scarcity brought on by the drought and a general lack of resources took their toll. Her once bubbly bundle of joy became more listless by the day. Mickelson’s eyes cast a dull stare. Betiane took him to two small hospitals in the north, but neither had the answer for Mikelson’s illness. “Go to a well equipped hospital,” they told her. “We must take him to Hôpital Sacré Coeur,” Mikelson’s aunt urged. But Betiane was hesitant. She had no money. With no other alternative, she went to Milot – fully expecting to be turned away at the door for lack of funds.

When Betiane reached the gates of Hôpital Sacré Coeur, Mikelson was so deteriorated and dehydrated that the staff rushed the infant to the emergency room. There, Mikelson received a blood transfusion and an IV of lifesaving fluids. Three days later, Mikelson’s dull eyes took on the sparkle of life and his once listless body crawled, bounced and actively explored his hospital environment, all outstretched hands and wiggles.

“If it wasn’t for Hôpital Sacré Coeur, my son would have died because no other hospital could help him,” Betiane said. “Plus, Hôpital Sacré Coeur takes care of a human life first before money.”

You are the reason Hôpital Sacré Coeur can take care of a human life first before money. Your steadfast generosity saved Mikelson’s life.

As many of you know, I am not just Chairman of The CRUDEM Foundation, I am also a practicing OB-Gyn who has lead volunteer medical teams on over 50 missions to HSC over 20 years. Like you, I am aware of my responsibility and desire to help the poor and the sick, particularly in Haiti.

Like you, I and my family enjoy quality healthcare, an abundance of food choices, satisfying steady employment and a hope filled future. Like you, I am upset and concerned when I learn that others, particularly women’s and children’s, basic needs are not met.

wIDSONMeet Widson. He is also very pleased to meet you. You saved his life.

Seven days ago, Widson’s mother Staisy realized his bellybutton was enlarged. Staisy took her 11 month old son to a village midwife who gave him tea saying Widson had gas. After two days of treatments Widson’s belly button had gotten bigger. Frantic, Staisy took her infant son to the government run hospital near Cap Haitien. After examining him, the physicians there told her to take Widson to Hôpital Sacré Coeur. “Hôpital Sacré Coeur has the experts that can help your son,” the government doctor told her.

As soon as Staisy arrived at Hôpital Sacré Coeur, a pediatrician examined Widson. X-rays were ordered and the results were rushed to the physician. The pediatrician quickly saw that Widson’s intestine had become infected from lack of basic needs. Emergency surgery was set up. Hours later, a much happier Widson recuperated in the children’s ward, under the careful attention of the Hôpital Sacré Coeur medical staff and his mother’s loving gaze. Unlike the government hospital, despite all the advanced lifesaving care, no one demanded payment before seeing Widson. At Hôpital Sacré Coeur, treatment is never withheld due to inability to pay. The life of the patient always comes first.

 
Staisy will be forever grateful for what Hôpital Sacré Coeur did for her baby. “If you want your life to be saved and receive great care in the north side of Haiti,“ she said. “Come to Hôpital Sacré Coeur in Milot!”

You are the reason Hôpital Sacré Coeur can provide quality healthcare to the poor. Your steadfast generosity saved Widson’s life.

We treasure these victories your donations provide. Especially now.

We thought we had seen the worst of it when we took down the last M.A.S.H. urgent care tent a year and a half after the 2010 earthquake. We were wrong.

Life in Milot, Haiti is getting more desperate by the day. The cumulative effects of the earthquake, an ongoing cholera epidemic, a nationwide drought and a critical food shortage have reached emergency levels.

In the first two months of 2014, outpatient clinic visits increased 13% over 2013. Admissions and surgeries trended up as well. We expect this pace to continue bringing an increase of at least 10,000 more patients than last year and over 20,000 more than 2012.

Your support is more critically needed than ever. Here’s why:

  • The drought has made scratching out a living impossible. Jobs and food sources have evaporated.
  • People are eating their breeding stock, their roosters and yam cuttings because of incessant hunger.
  • The cost of rice has doubled.
  • The number of malnourished children, like Mikelson, has increased dramatically.
  • Because basic hygiene is impossible to accomplish without tools and resources, we are seeing more serious infections and diseases, like Widson’s.
  • Despite the excellent healthcare services Hôpital Sacré Coeur provides, deaths are rising because we don’t have adequate financial resources to pay for all the medicines and supplies needed to treat this new surge of patients.

For almost 30 years, caring donors like you have defied the grim statistics and worked miracles on a daily basis. You have been the answer to the prayers of hundreds of thousands of Haitians who have exhausted their meager resources and walked perilously close to death.

As one tireless hospital staff member wrote recently:

There are days when I feel like running to the airport and boarding a plane back to America – leaving all this sadness and devastation behind. I often feel alone, like nobody cares back at home what happens to these people. But then a container filled with medical supplies appears from nowhere, as though God wanted to remind me that He cares.

Our donors are exceptional people. You see the big picture. You know that in today’s highly interconnected world, your well-being is intimately connected to the survival of others. You don’t exclude people from your circle of care and compassion just because they are not Americans. You know we all on this journey together.

Hospital-2And your view of the world has defied the odds and saved lives.

After his recent visit to Hôpital Sacré Coeur, a medical volunteer wrote:

“Haiti has a lot of problems. But (CRUDEM) Hôpital Sacré Coeur has accomplished a lot since the (2010) earthquake, and makes people’s lives in Milot better every year.”

None are more deeply grateful for your compassionate gifts to the hospital than our patients:

“I am quite certain my children would not have survived the epidemic here were it not for (the hospital’s) doctors. There is no deeper sorrow, no greater pain, than the potential loss of your children. We were able to avert that, and I am forever grateful for their generosity of time and effort. They are angels.” –Anonymous Parent, Milot, Haiti

“I remember wondering where I would be without these physicians and nurse…I was in terrible pain. I was told later I would certainly have died without them. They are the difference between life and death.” –Anonymous Patient, Milot, Haiti

As you know, we attack the big problems, one small, solvable problem at a time. That is why we have a track record of making a difference in Northern Haiti. We provide accessible, quality healthcare, while being an economic driver and the region’s largest employer.

During this time of exceptional humanitarian need, we ask you, our exceptional donors, for your much-needed financial assistance to keep the hospital properly staffed and stocked with urgently needed medical supplies. Your gift in support of Hôpital Sacré Coeur saves lives.

Gratefully yours,
David G. Butler, M.D.
Chairman

P. S. Between now and Memorial Day, HSC will serve another 18,500 people – but only with your generous support. Please join us in saving lives by sending your tax deductible donation by May 31st for medical and preventative healthcare programs. There are thousands of Mikelsons, and Widsons just waiting to call you their hero!